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DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER

Events and News from Borderlands Books

May, 2013

Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features

Upcoming Author Events

Valencia Corridor Sidewalk Sale, Saturday, May 11th from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

SF in SF with authors Austin Grossman and Robin Sloan (in the Variety Preview Room at the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street, San Francisco), Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 pm

The Pub From Another World Preview, Sunday, May 12th at 3:00 pm

John Scalzi, THE HUMAN DIVISION (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99), Wednesday, May 15th at 7:00 pm

SF in SF featuring Connie Willis and Gene Wolfe (in the Market Room at the Hilton San Jose, 300 Almaden Blvd. San Jose, CA 95110), Thursday, May 16th at 7:00 pm

Mass Autographing Session at the Nebula Awards, (in the Winchester Room at the Hilton San Jose, 300 Almaden Blvd. San Jose, CA), Friday, May 17th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Mary Robinette Kowal, WITHOUT A SUMMER (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99 ) and Susan Palwick, MENDING THE MOON (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99), Monday, May 20th at 7:00 pm

Annalee Newitz, SCATTER, ADAPT, AND REMEMBER: HOW HUMANS WILL SURVIVE A MASS EXTINCTION (Doubleday, Hardcover, $26.95), Saturday, June 1st at 3:00 pm

Lauren Beukes, THE SHINING GIRLS (Mullholland Books, Hardcover, $26.00), Friday, June 7th at 7:00 pm

Hannu Rajaniemi, THE FRACTAL PRINCE (Tor Books, Hardcover, $25.99), Friday, June 14th at 7:00 pm

(for more information check the end of this section)

Coming up this summer, Kate Elliott and Katharine Kerr, Seth Harwood, Simon Wood, and many, many more great authors!

News

* 7x7 Magazine mentions Borderlands in their article "Seven Two-in-One Coffee Shops to Give Your Caffeine Routine a Jolt".  Thanks, guys!  <http://www.7x7.com/eat-drink/seven-two-one-coffee-shops-give-your-caffeine-routine-jolt>

* The winners of the Edgar Awards were just announced on May 2nd.  Congratulations to the winners and to all of the nominees!  <http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html>

* West Virginia is considering a bill to make teaching science fiction in schools compulsory.  Not only is this awesome, but it's NOT an article from "The Onion". <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/19/bill-compulsory-science-fiction-west-virginia>

* i09.com presents: Fun with Radium! <http://io9.com/seriously-scary-radioactive-consumer-products-from-the-498044380>

* It's time to retire "Boob Plate" Armor, argues Emily Asher-Perrin on Tor.com.  Because it would kill you.  http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/boob-plate-armor-would-kill-you?WT_mc.id=10897

* We're sorry to report the death of special effects pioneer (and wizard) Ray Harryhausen at age 92. <http://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/181947528/remembering-monster-maker-ray-harryhausen>

* Wow, just . . . wow.  Check out the synopsis for this were-hedgehog paranormal romance.  You read it right, a were-hedgehog. <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hedging-his-bets-celia-kyle/1115084845?ean=2940016662312&isbn=2940016662312>

From The Office

Steampunks Without Context

by Alan Beatts

A few of us at the store were chatting about the phenomena of Steampunk recently and the conversation went in some interesting directions.  Before getting into that however, I want to make something abundantly clear.  When I refer to "Steampunk" I'm referring to the lifestyle or the fashion movement rather than to the sub-genre of fiction.  Steampunk as fiction has been around for a much longer time than the current popular culture meme.  We could argue for days about what the first steampunk novel was but both Infernal Devices by K. W. Jeter in 1987 and The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling are sure as hell steampunk novels.  There was a bit of a hiatus in the 90s and early noughties but then the fiction genre came back.  And it came back before the pop culture scene.

It is amusing to read comments from people who are really into the steampunk "scene" who rail against the idea that it is based in genre fiction.  I've even seen some (quite upset) commentators insist that it's not fiction, it's their _lifestyle_.  Which seems to me a bit self-absorbed and . . . well . . . dumb.  It is as if they want to distinguish themselves from the people who dress up as Stormtroopers from Star Wars or characters from Star Trek.

To be fair, the steampunk lifestyle folks are very different from the average costumed science fiction fan.  But not necessarily in a good way.

Let's start with a couple of pieces of generally accepted history.  The Victorian era was one filled with remarkable accomplishments in arts, technology, and society (for the purpose of discussion I'm going to use "Victorian" to refer to the period of her reign, 1837 to 1901).  But for the rest of the world it was also one of the most savage periods of colonial expansion in Western history (I personally think that the pseudo-colonial period of the early 20th century was even more savage but opinions differ).  And things weren't terribly better within Britain.  Poverty was rife, class divisions were enormous, the gap in the standard of living between the lower economic 10% and the top 10% were almost inconceivable to a modern American, and the rights of anyone who wasn't male, white, and well-off were almost non-existent by current standards.  In may ways, actual slavery (which was abolished in the British Empire in 1833) had been replaced with economic and status-based slavery, both within Britain and throughout the Empire.  The industrial revolution was tearing through the country and society was desperately trying to restructure to accommodate it - while piling up the wreckage of lives, professions, and the existing social fabric along the roadside.

When Dickens wrote in 1859, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," it seems more likely that he was thinking of his world, rather than the 1790s world of A Tale Of Two Cities.  And, from the viewpoint of someone living in the mid-1800s, that was probably a fair assessment of the Victorian era.  But look at that time and society from the vantage of 2013 . . . .  Wow, it _sucked_ . . . unless you were part of that group I mentioned earlier -- white, male, and well-off.

Oh, and heterosexual too.  Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for, in essence, homosexuality (aggravated by really, really poor judgement) in 1895 under a statute dating from 1885.

At the end of the 19th century in Britain, roughly 25% of the population was living at or below subsistence levels (i.e. they were able, at best, to barely feed, clothe and house themselves).  Over 10% were so far below that level that they couldn't afford sufficient food.  Many were housed in slums where families lived in a single room that was probably smaller than a modern US bedroom.

Of the remaining 75% of the population, 7% were what we would currently consider "middle class" and then there were the lucky 1-2% of the population who earned more than 150 pounds per year (for comparison, a servant earned around 10 pounds per year).  The remaining 66% of the population were mostly servants, industrial laborers, or agricultural laborers.

But the English (as opposed to the other British citizens - the Scots, Welsh, and Irish) had it better than the rest.  For example, between 1845 and 1852, over one million Irish died from starvation and another million emigrated to escape the disastrous famine.  In seven years the population of Ireland shrank by 25%.

Women were not allowed to vote, own property or enter into legal contracts.  A woman who brought property to a marriage lost all rights to that property to her husband, even if the marriage later dissolved.  In Britain legal rights of people of color were mostly equal to whites, as long as the person in question was male.  But at the same time the concept of "scientific racism" (the argument that white people are genetically superior to other groups) was very popular.  Of course, outside of Britain in the colonies, it was a very different story.

To an American, many of these details are easily lost behind a foreground of great literature, impressive visual style, and really cool mechanisms.  But it's not surprising that steampunk has not been very enthusiastically embraced in Britain.  Imagine how it must look to the British.  It might be something like the way we would see . . . Confederate Punk?  Ante-Bellum Punk?  Cotton-Gin Punk certainly doesn't sound cool enough.

How about Slavepunk?  After all, slavery, like steam power in Britain, was a driving economic force in the United States that also destabilized society (both by its support and its opposition).  And, as a plus, the clothes in the ante-bellum South were fabulous.  But no-one would get behind _that_ piece of pop culture in America.  At least I sure as hell hope not (though I could be being to optimistic, there do seem to be some folks who glorify the Confederacy).  You see, we understand that the 19th century in the U.S., though overflowing with remarkable accomplishments (and great clothes), was a complicated, shameful time filled with horrors of which we are not, nor should be, proud.

Much like the Victorian era.

The world of science fiction and fantasy has traditionally been much more egalitarian and tolerant than American society in general (though far from flawless, as any number of recent events demonstrate), as well as being much more respectful of different cultures, ethnic groups and sexual orientations.  It is something of which the people in our business, be they "pros" (i.e. writers, editors, and so forth) or "fans" (readers), are justifiably proud.  So it's really strange to me that the steampunk meme has been so popular.  Steampunk is about as white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant as anything I can think of and yet the gadgets, costumes, and tropes are everywhere in a field that usually doesn't play nicely with those sorts of social values.

To be fair, the Victorian era was filled with optimism and, in its later years, there were strong movements towards positive social change (child labor laws, universal education, beneficial social programs for the poor, etc.)  The idea that the world can be made a better place by the actions of groups and individuals is also something that is part of the DNA, if you will, of science fiction.  That view was an important part of the Victorian mind-set.  But all the lofty ideals in the world don't change the reality of the Victorian world.  I think that world is worthy of study, consideration and even limited admiration.  But I do not think it's worthy of emulation or glorification.

Top Sellers At Borderlands

Hardcovers
1) Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
2) Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal
3) Protector by C.J. Cherryh
4) Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks
5) Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb
6) River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
7) Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
8) You by Austin Grossman
9) The Twelve by Justin Cronin
10) Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

Mass Market Paperbacks
1) Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
2) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
3) Midnight Blue Light Special by Seanan McGuire
4) Plague Nation by Dana Fredsti
5) Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
6) Soulless by Gail Carriger
7) Banner of the Damned by Sherwood Smith
8) Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer
9) Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
10) Plague Town by Dana Fredsti

Trade Paperbacks
1) The Apes of Wrath edited by Richard Klaw
2)  World War Z by Max Brooks
3) Empty Space by M. John Harrison
4) Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
5) Exiled Blade by John Courtenay Grimwood tie with Queen Victoria's Book of Spells edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Book Club Info

The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, May 12th, at 5 pm to discuss RULE 34 by Charles Stross.  Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, May 19th, at 6 pm to discuss FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury.  The book for June is THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION by Samuel R. Delany.  Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.

Upcoming Event Details

Valencia Corridor Sidewalk Sale, Saturday, May 11th from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm - The Valencia Corridor Sidewalk Sale is a relatively new event, where dozens of Valencia Street merchants offer special sales and discounts for one day.  We'll be doing a big clearance sale of the stock we removed to make room for the mystery section.  These are not "bad" books . . . well, some of them are . . . but many of them are books that, for whatever reason, just didn't sell quickly enough.  There are quite a few titles from small presses like Ash-Tree, Delirium, Cemetery Dance and Subterranean as well as a huge assortment of SF and fantasy paperbacks.  In addition to our sale, you'll find great deals and special events all up and down Valencia St, especially from some of our favorite neighbors: Back to the Picture, Glama-Rama Salon, Lost Weekend Video, Mission Comics & Art, and many, many others!  More info here: http://www.valenciastreetsf.com/

SF in SF with authors Austin Grossman and Robin Sloan (in the Variety Preview Room at the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street, San Francisco),  Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 pm - We are happy to help SF in SF welcome these authors!  Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson.  Authors will schmooze & sign books after in the lounge. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.  Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.  Bar proceeds benefit Variety Children's Charity - learn more at <http://www.varietync.org/>.  We REALLY encourage you to take BART into the City, or use MUNI to get here - parking can be problematic in San Francisco, to say the least.  We are less than one block away from the Montgomery St. station.  Trust us - you don't want to be looking for parking and be late for the event!  Phone (night of (night of event) 415-572-1015.  Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.

The Pub From Another World Preview, Sunday, May 12th at 3:00 pm -  San Francisco Theater Pub presents a special preview reading of a selection of plays from The Pub from Another World, a night of short sci-fi/fantasy/horror plays about everything from superheroes to unicorns, time travelers to mad scientists, and everything in between.  Get a taste of these original plays by local writers, and don’t miss the main event <https://sftheaterpub.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/announcing-our-next-night-of-theater-pub-on-may-20th/> on Monday, May 20, at 8:00 PM at Cafe Royale (800 Post Street), featuring the world premiere of a four-year-old girl’s first play, as seen on Boing Boing <http://boingboing.net/2013/03/02/horrorsf-play-by-a-four-year.html>!

John Scalzi, THE HUMAN DIVISION (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) Wednesday, May 15th at 7:00 pm -  We couldn't be more excited to welcome the fabulous John Scalzi back to Borderlands!  "Following the events of THE LAST COLONY, John Scalzi tells the story of the fight to maintain the unity of the human race.  The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance -- an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.  Against such possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won’t be easy, either. It will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning. . . and a brilliant “B Team,” centered on the resourceful Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you’re struggling to preserve the unity of the human race.  Being published online from January to April 2013 as a three-month digital serial, THE HUMAN DIVISION will appear as a full-length novel of the Old Man’s War universe, plus -- for the first time in print -- the first tale of Lieutenant Harry Wilson, and a coda that wasn’t part of the digital serialization."

SF in SF featuring Connie Willis and Gene Wolfe (in the Market Room at the Hilton San Jose, 300 Almaden Blvd. San Jose, CA 95110), Thursday, May 16th at 7:00 pm - SF in SF - Science Fiction, San Francisco - A Perfect Fit - comes to San Jose!  In conjunction with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend, SF in SF presents:
GENE WOLFE and CONNIE WILLIS!  Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A with the audience, moderated by author Terry Bisson.  Booksigning will follow, with the authors' books for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.  This event will be podcasted, courtesy of Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column.  This event takes place at the Hilton San Jose, (300 Almaden Boulevard, San Jose, CA,) in the Market Room.  Doors open at 6PM for general seating, and the event begins at 7PM.  This is event is FREE to Nebula Award Weekend registrants, $10 at the door for the general public (cash only).  All proceeds will be split between the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund and Variety Children's Charity of Northern California.  There will be a cash bar just outside the room.  (Please note that we had incorrectly stated the location of this event in the last newsletter.  The Market Room at the Hilton San Jose, 300 Almaden Boulevard, San Jose, is the correct location.)

Mass Autographing Session at the Nebula Awards, (in the Winchester Room at the Hilton San Jose, 300 Almaden Blvd. San Jose, CA), Friday, May 17th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm - Borderlands hosts the Mass Autographing Session at the Nebula Awards!  The autographing portion of the event is free and open to the public, and Borderlands will be on hand to provide books by the attending authors for sale. This is your chance to have your books signed by legends like Joe Haldeman, William Nolan, Robert Silverberg and Connie Willis, and also to meet the superstars of tomorrow, including Saladin Ahmed, Tina Connolly and Mary Robinette Kowal! Dozens of authors will take part, so don't miss this incredible opportunity

Mary Robinette Kowal, WITHOUT A SUMMER (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99 ) and Susan Palwick, MENDING THE MOON (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99 ) Monday, May 20th at 7:00 pm - We're delighted to welcome these two distinguished authors to Borderlands!  Join us to meet Mary and Susan and check out their very different but equally impressive new novels.

Annalee Newitz, SCATTER, ADAPT, AND REMEMBER: HOW HUMANS WILL SURVIVE A MASS EXTINCTION (Doubleday, Hardcover, $26.95) Saturday, June 1st at 3:00 pm - We're happy to welcome Annalee Newitz to the store!  "Climate change.  Pandemics.  Catastrophic volcanoes.  Should we just give up and accept our doom?  Absolutely not.  Homo sapiens will survive the next mass extinction.  Annalee Newitz's brilliantly speculative and hopeful work of popular science focuses our attention on humanity's long history of dodging the bullet of extinction -- and suggests practical ways to keep doing it.  From bacteria labs in St. Louis to ancient underground cities in central Turkey, we discover the keys to long-term survival.  SCATTER, ADAPT, AND REMEMBER leads us away from apocalyptic thinking, into a future where we live to build a better world. It is an argument for human ingenuity in devising solutions to global warming, etc. - NOT an argument against those threats."

Lauren Beukes, THE SHINING GIRLS (Mullholland Books, Hardcover, $26.00) Friday, June 7th at 7:00 pm - We're so excited to welcome Lauren Buekes back to Borderlands!  We thought her novels MOXYLAND and ZOO CITY were awesome, but this new book sounds even better.  From the publisher: "THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE meets THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE SHINING GIRLS by Lauren Beukes is the riveting, creepy story about a time-traveling serial killer being chased through decades past and present by his only surviving victim. The Huffington Post named it as one of their most anticipated reads of 2013, and it's received praise from Tana French, Matt Haig, and more. Beukes's previous work has been categorized as hardboiled thriller, cyberpunk, and supernatural and has won her fans in cult favorites like William Gibson and Neil Gaiman, but THE SHINING GIRLS represents a major work of crossover fiction that is sure to excite fiction fans everywhere.  Lauren Beukes is a recipient of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, was runner-up to Lev Grossman for the John W Campbell Award, was shortlisted for a plethora of other awards and received rave reviews from around the world including The New York Times and The Guardian. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa."

Hannu Rajaniemi, THE FRACTAL PRINCE (Tor Books, Hardcover, $25.99) Friday, June 14th at 7:00 pm - Join us to meet Hannu Rajaniemi and get a sneak preview of the third QUANTUM THIEF novel!  We were all very impressed with the first two books and are anxiously looking forward to the next one. Mr. Rajaniemi will read a bit, answer questions and sign books.  We're delighted to have him at Borderlands and hope you'll help provide a warm welcome!

Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge unless otherwise stated.  You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event).  For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs.  If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available books signed or inscribed for you.  We can then either hold the book(s) until you can come in to pick them up or we can ship to you.  Just give us a call or drop us an email.  If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed for a nominal fee.  Call or email for details.

Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts

All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of

Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA  94110
415-824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com

Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com

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