New Speculative and Genre Fiction
Booktopia is proud to soon be carrying two new publications from some very talented Filipino authors.
Philippine Speculative Fiction, Volume 2
by Dean Francis Alfar (Editor)
First, there’s Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 2, a collection of short fiction of the imagination (including fantasy, science fiction, horror, magic realism and surrealism) written by Filipinos at home and abroad. Nineteen authors are represented, both new and established, from all over the Philippines and as far away as France and The Netherlands. The only anthology of its kind in the country, the previous volume was a Finalist for the National Book Award for Best Anthology.
Editor Dean Francis Alfar is an advocate of the literature of the fantastic. His plays have been performed in venues across the Philippines, while his fiction has been published in national (Philippines Free Press, Story Philippines, Manual, Digest of Philippine Genre Stories) and international markets (Strange Horizons, Rabid Transit: Menagerie and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror). His writing awards include nine Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, including the Grand Prize for Novel in 2005 for Salamanca (Ateneo Press, 2006). He was the recipient of the National Book Award for the graphic novels Siglo: Freedom and Siglo: Passion. His first collection of short fiction, The Kite of Stars and other stories, is scheduled by Anvil Publishing for release in 2007.
The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, Volume 1
by Kenneth Yu (Editor)
The second one is a collection of genre stories in digest form. This is a small magazine format, just like Reader’s Digest. Other well-known magazines in this format would be the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. As you can see, the digest format is very popular with genre fiction. Genre stories are those that fit into specific genres like science fiction, fantasy, mystery, crime, horror, detective, etc. The premiere issue has a mix of fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction.
An excerpt from The Middle Prince, by Dean Francis Alfar:
The middle prince soon found himself unable to bear the weight of the fishes’ declarations, and clutched at his bleeding ears vainly in an effort to stifle the power of the multiple assertions. The last thing he remembered hearing before he lost his ability to comprehend the vision of thousands of coruscating mouths and slipped into darkness, was a voice that said: “There is nothing more precious than a love foretold, and nothing as equally damning.”
An excerpt from Wail Of The Sun, by Vince Simbulan:
He dreamed of riding to battle on sheets of flame, of reducing whole armies to ash, of razing castles to the ground. He was Rubric again, and fire obeyed his every whim. Then the dream descended into nightmare, scenes of his final battle, of his greatest triumph over the Witch-Queen Amarath destroyed by her final curse, and Rubric could only wail in horror when his flames betrayed him as a stray fireball reduced his wife and his world to ashes.
An excerpt from Thriller, by Andrew Drilon:
“I was at the mall when it broke out,” he says, “I managed to get this rifle and a pack of bullets before I got out, but guns only get you so far. There were five of us a couple hours ago; now, it’s just me.”
An excerpt from Insomnia, by Joseph Nacino:
5 April 2006… So I managed to talk to Justine’s friend, Eden, in Diliman and this is getting stranger by the minute. It seems that the language Justine isolated from the taped conversations are really old, older even than Latin. Eden told me she’ll get back to me on the translations. She seemed really excited…
An excerpt from Inhuman, by Alexander Marcos Osias:
“What name will you answer to? Tell us, in the name of Jesus. What name will you answer to?”
A long wail escaped from Marcel’s throat before it turned to a soft snicker.
“We have many names.” The words seemed spoken by neither male nor female, and was full of strange echoes and distortions, as though a million voices had uttered them in unison through a narrow crack in a thin, splintering door. “Do you want them all?”