Welcome to Bite-size Reads, my 2022 challenge to read (some of) the amazing anthologies on my shelves. I’ll be chiming in every couple of weeks with thoughts on the stories I’ve recently enjoyed – starting today with tales from Sinopticon, a curated collection of Chinese SF translated and presented by Xueting Ni.
Solaris Books
With Sinopticon, critically acclaimed writer and essayist Xueting Christine Ni has curated a unique exploration of China’s speculative fiction from the late 20th Century onwards. In advance of publication next week, she was kind enough to stop by for a chat about translation, curation and the Chinese science fiction scene.
Gyen Jebi is desperate enough for cash to pursue a government job. Nobody knows why the Razanei occupiers are so keen to recruit artists, but Jebi soon discovers they won’t take no for an answer. Assigned to a horrifying military project, Jebi must decide where their loyalties lie – if they can find the courage.
Thara Celehar can speak to the recently dead. A reserved man haunted by his own ghosts, he asks the dead questions to confirm burial rites and inheritances, and to ease the hearts and minds of the living. But sometimes the dead have dark secrets. When a woman is murdered, Thara is determined to do right by her – whatever the cost.
The Hexarchate is no more. Only two Hexarchs survive: slippery Shuos Mikodez, backing Cheris’s nascent democracy; and immortal Nirai Kujen, determined to resurrect the high calendar to maintain his grip on life. And even Protector-General Kel Inesser and her fleet don’t back him. Kujen isn’t worried: he has another incarnation of Shuos Jedao at his command…
When Allah created man out of clay, he created djinn out of fire. Ephemeral spirits that tempt us, trick us, and sometimes grant our wishes, these creatures of folklore take centre stage in excellent Mahvesh Murad & Jared Shurin’s anthology, The Djinn Falls in Love.
The fractures are becoming kaleidoscopic in the third instalment of the Fractured Europe sequence. University intelligence man Rupert is now settled in Europe and working as an agent for Rudi; former chef Rudi is trying to work out who is behind a string of terrorist attacks; and who knows what the Community – or the Coureurs – are really up to…
In a recognisably near future, countries have broken away from the EU, regions have declared themselves independent and even city blocks claim sovereign status. It’s a headache for bureaucrats – and the postal service – and a busy time to be a spy. Welcome back to fractured Europe.
Rudi is an excellent chef with a stubborn streak he can’t hide. When he becomes a Coureur – a member of Europe’s clandestine postal and people trafficking service – life becomes more interesting than a Friday night cooking for Hungarian mobsters. But Rudi has no idea what secrets he’s carrying – or who will kill to protect them.
onemore.org 