Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

February 19, 2013

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night…

A Review of Ian Rogers’ SuperNOIRtural Tales (Burning Effigy Press, 2012). By Derek Newman-Stille I was so excited to see that Ian Rogers had collected a number of his Felix Renn Black Lands novellas into one volume and published it as SuperNOIRtural Tales. I had reviewed his novellas Temporary Monsters (http://speculatingcanada.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/performing-the-monster/), The Ash Angels (http://speculatingcanada.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/spectres-spooks-and-supernatural-s-a-d/ ), and Black-Eyed Kids (http://speculatingcanada.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/when-death-is-better-than-continuing-fear/)...

Fiction Book Reviews Comment: 1

February 18, 2013

“The Rest Is Silence” Reading Questions

Some Book Club Discussion Questions for Scott Fotheringham’s “The Rest is Silence” In “The Rest is Silence”, the narrator plays a game with his/her father where they imagine a world without various items. Think of an item and envision what the world would be like without it. What questions or concerns did this book bring up for you about science...

Reading/ Book Club Questions Comments: 0

February 17, 2013

Medusa’s Confusion

A review of Sandra Kasturi’s The Medusa Quintet in Tesseracts 14: Strange Canadian Stories (Edge, 2010) By Derek Newman-Stille In her poem The Medusa Quintet, Sandra Katsuri re-envisions the story of Medusa. She is created as a largely unaware and unquestioning woman who is coping with ideas of perfection and an imperfect body. Her body is destroyed and her vain...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

February 16, 2013

Quote – Useful to Amuse The Enemy

“It is almost always useful to amuse the enemy.” – Ursula Pflug – Airport Shoes (Strange Horizons http://www.strangehorizons.com/2007/20071126/airportshoes-f.shtml )

Quotes Comments: 0

February 15, 2013

Interview with David Nickle

An interview with David Nickle by Derek Newman-Stille I was pleased that David Nickle was willing to do an interview here on Speculating Canada and particularly that he shows such a strong interest in the ability of Speculative Fiction to open social questions, challenge taken-for-granted notions, and encourage readers to think for themselves. Spec Can: To begin our interview, could...

Interviews Comments: 0

February 14, 2013

Quote – Fighting About Love

“They’d fought as any couple fought – over work, over money – but he’d always taken heart in the fact that the fights, framed as they were by the banalities of life in the city, had always been about their love for one another. “ -Helen Marshall Hair Side, Flesh Side (ChiZine, 2012)

Quotes Comments: 0

February 13, 2013

Loss and Changes

A Review of Scott Fotheringham’s The Rest is Silence (Goose Lane Editions, 2012) By Derek Newman-Stille Memories are a significant part of our experience, particularly when things are changing rapidly. Scott Fotheringham’s The Rest is Silence is a novel about rapid changes – personal, social, and environmental. Two narratives intertwine in this novel: that of a man in the Nova...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

February 12, 2013

Quote – We Learn From Mistakes, Not What We Are Told To Avoid

“We learn from the mistakes we make, not those we avoid because someone warned us of them. We discover our own faith, unwrap what we believe and how we worship life, not by following age-old rituals out of duty but by asking questions about our suffering.” -Scott Fotheringham – The Rest is Silence (Goose Lane Editions, 2012)

Quotes Comments: 0

February 11, 2013

Speculative Fiction Speculations # 6

SF Speculations Comments: 2

February 10, 2013

Upcoming Interview with David Nickle on Friday February 15th

In our upcoming interview, David Nickle discusses coming of age as a writer of Canadian Speculative Fiction, particularly non-violent, anti-individualist storylines and a general sense of outsider identity that permeates the lives of many Canadian Spec Fic authors. He wants readers to question themselves and their reality, challenge their preconceptions, and experience those moments of “scary transcendence” that are embodied...

Interviews/News Comments: 0