You’ll find this in the collection, Zima Blue and Other Stories.
This is one of those
I take from this story that Alastair also thinks
Category: Fiction
The Paladin of Golota — P. Djèlí Clark
Once again, Djèlí writes the perfect short story, this one about zealots going to the battle fields of Golota to kill and die for their respective gods.
On the floor dying, is Zahrea, one of the zealots, and waiting to pick her body clean of valuables is Teffe, a picker, one of the local orphans who survive by combing the fields after each battle for anything worth selling. Teffe doesn’t believe in gods but while he waits for Zahrea to die he has no choice but to listen to everything she has to say about that.
Super good.
This is available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 37.
Next up on Djèlí’s timeline, from 2019, is The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#fantasy #pdjeliclark
Song of Kali — Dan Simmons
Carrion Comfort — Dan Simmons
Phases of Gravity — Dan Simmons
The Real Story — Alastair Reynolds
It’s
A reporter gets a message from Mars that she believes can only have come from the person that were first to land there, the person who has been missing ever since. So off she goes to meet them to get the story of the decade.
Super good writing with a really well done take on Dissociative Identity Disorder, and a wonderful base jumping experience that’s not to be missed out on.
After Fresco, which i felt was well below par for Alastair, this was definitely back to his usual high standards of sci-fi.
If ya wanna read you’ll find this in the collection, Zima Blue and Other Stories.
Next up in Alastair’s bibliography is Century Rain from 2004: his very first super length novel.
Alastair’s Page
#scifi #alastairreynolds
The Angel of Khan el-Khalili — P. Djèlí Clark
The second story from the Dead Djinn Universe, which i only just got hold of with it having been quite some time since i finished the other three books (silly me thought it was a trilogy). But not to worry, while it would have been better to have read it before The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it was very much worth reading still and doesn’t detract from anything i’ve already read in this series.
Once again, all the super good writing we’ve come to enjoy from Djèlí, my only question would be is will there be any more Cairo books? I do so hope so, this is a fantastic world Djèlí has created that begs to be explored a lot more. And i totally recommend this whole series for everyone, even if you’re not already into steampunk flavoured fantasy with a North African twist you soon will be.
This is available in the anthologies, Clockwork Cairo and Swift the Chase, and also can be read for free over at Tor.com.
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#steampunk #fantasy #pdjeliclark
Worlds Enough & Time — Dan Simmons
Hyperion Cantos
Orphans of the Helix – 1999
Standalones
Looking for Kelly Dahl – 1995
The Ninth of Av – 2001
On K2 with Kanakaredes – 2001
The End of Gravity – 2002
Dan’s Page
#scifi #dansimmons
Lovedeath — Dan Simmons
Entropy’s Bed at Midnight – 1990
Dying in Bangkok – 1993
Sleeping with Teeth Women – 1993
Flashback – 1993
The Great Lover – 1993
Dan’s Page
#scifi #dansimmons
Fresco — Alastair Reynolds
You’ll find this in the collection, Deep Navigation.
A rather brief short story about an observatory near Jupiter that listens to broadcasts from other galaxies.
I get the idea that this should be a prequel to something: not sure what the point is being on its own. Ho hum.
Next in the timeline from Alastair, it’s The Real Story from 2002.