Publicity – Page 2 – John Joseph Adams

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Today’s Reviews and Interviews

Over at Religion Dispatches, Gabriel McKee has a thoughtful review of Wastelands. Here’s a snippet: “Editor John Joseph Adams has chosen stories that show so much variation, not just in setting but in tone. There are several elegiac tales here, to be sure, but there are just as many optimistic ones, and even one or two comedies. It’s far from a tedious series of stories about savage motorcycle gangs—there’s real diversity here, and you’re hard pressed to find two stories that are alike.“

In other Wastelands news, there’s an interview with me up at Strange Horizons, in which I talk about the anthology, as well as other projects and other topics, including a bit about The Living Dead. There’s also a sneak-peek at the preliminary cover design–at least I hope it’s still preliminary…see if you can spot the typo. I’ve tweaked the cover to correct the error.

Also cool: io9 blogged about Seeds of Change, which they call “terrifically interesting.”

PW on Seeds of Change

Publishers Weekly has a nice review of my forthcoming original anthology Seeds of Change: "This thought-provoking anthology of nine original stories posits near-future paradigm shifts in everything from race relations (in Ted Kosmatka’s vivid and moving “N-Words,” where cloned Neanderthals encounter violent hatred from Homo sapiens) to the morality of uploaded consciousness (in Blake Charlton’s clumsy but charming “Endosymbiont”), with varying success. The hero of Jay Lake’s “The Future by Degrees” invents an energy-saving thermal superconductor only to be pursued by corporations protecting their business, with predictable results. Pepper, the mercenary hero of Tobias S. Buckell’s Crystal Rain, refuses to assassinate a dictator in the morally contrived “Resistance.” Considerably more powerful is Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu’s “Spider the Artist,” which combines African folk tales and advanced robotics in a chilling story about a rising social conscience in the Nigerian oil fields. Despite weak spots, this anthology accurately reflects many of today’s most pressing political and social issues, and will give readers plenty to think about and argue over."

Which, if you truncate it down, looks even nicer: ""This thought-provoking anthology of nine original stories posits near-future paradigm shifts in everything from race relations …to the morality of uploaded consciousness. … Accurately reflects many of today’s most pressing political and social issues, and will give readers plenty to think about and argue over."

Dark Wolf Interview

There’s a new interview with me up at Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews, in which I discuss Wastelands, Seeds of Change, The Living Dead, and other projects. If you’re a loyal reader here, probably not much new to see, but if you’re a JJA interview completist, well, there you go.

Two Takes on Wastelands

SF Site has an enthusiastic review of Wastelands: "Wastelands is a fine anthology: an educational introduction to the subgenre and a well-chosen jog of the memory for the more experienced connoisseur of calamity. And much as you might not expect Armageddon to have a sequel, I live in hope that there might yet be a Wastelands 2."

Also reviewing Wastelands is Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews: "A very good book, with different stories that gathers different views of the apocalyptic events and I highly recommend it."

SFF World reviews Wastelands

Rob Bedford at SFF World reviews Wastelands: "I can’t help but give this collection the highest recommendation. I think this will be a cornerstone for most reader’s shelves."

His favorite stories in the book seemed to be "Artie’s Angels" by Catherine Wells, "The End of the Whole Mess" by Stephen King, "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" by George R. R. Martin, and "Judgment Passed" by Jerry Oltion.

Wastelands Odds and Ends

A few Wastelands things to report:

Blogger daydalus calls Wastelands "an excellent collection envisioning humanity’s darkest days."
Elizabeth Bear’s story from the anthology, "And the Deep Blue Sea," is now available as a podcast from Starship Sofa. (You can also read it for free on the Wastelands website.)
I saw Wastelands in its native environment again yesterday, this time in the Barnes & Noble in Union Square. And unlike last time it was in its true natural environment–the SF section. They had about seven copies and it was faced out looking all nice and pretty.

Wastelands: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology Done Right

Tech blogger Josh Smith is only part-way through Wastelands, but likes it quite a lot thus far: "One of the strongest parts of the anthology thus far is the decision by Adams to focus on stories which portray life after the apocalypse, forgoing zombies and other provocateurs and focusing on the struggles and stories of individuals in a dramatically different world. This method of selection has led to some wonderful stories which allow me to connect with the individual characters and at some level understand them. So far the stories have evoked a strong response from me due in part to the attempts of characters to “do good” in some manner and either failing or coming to a realistic and forlorn conclusion."

He goes on to praise the "For Further Reading" appendix: "As a reader I cannot begin to express how awesome this is to me. Many times after finishing an anthology or collection I have been left at a loss as to where to find more material to read that is within the same vein as the original writing, something not always accomplished by reading the authors’ other published work. This reference has provided em a list of authors and books to add to my ‘To Read’ notebook in One Note."

SF in NJ: SFABC & SFSNNJ events

I was interviewed on The Dragon Page podcast. Go listen!

In other news, on Saturday I spoke at the Face the Fiction event, presented by the Science Fiction Society of Northern New Jersey. Which reminds me that I never posted a report of my speaking engagement at the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County’s monthly meeting.

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Wastelands Conquers All, Says Omnivoracious

Over at the Amazon blog, Omnivoracious, Jeff VanderMeer has a nice piece about Wastelands, which is, incidentally, awesomely titled "Apocalypse Wow: Wastelands Conquers All." In it, Jeff says: "[Wastelands] has been one of the great success stories of the early part of 2008–selling out its initial print run (and going back to reprint), garnering rave reviews, and just generally conquering all in its path. Given the volatile nature of anthologies, which have a high failure rate, that’s quite an accomplishment. But it’s no surprise, given the careful editing and packaging of Wastelands, which has its own website (including free downloads of some of the fiction) and includes reprinted stories from the likes of Orson Scott Card, Jonathan Lethem, George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, and many other luminaries." Jeff then sprinkles in some commentary by me, along with a selection of first lines from the stories, which he leaves un-identified to entice readers and leaving them to guess which stories and authors they come from.

Jeff says that the full interview he did with me will appear on the book’s Amazon page in the next week or two. Meanwhile, on his own blog, Ecstatic Days, Jeff leaked a bit of the interview, displaying my answer to his question: "Any funny stories in the anthology, and how did you deal with the possible problem of similarity of tone throughout the book?" Click through to find out!

Wastelands: Trailer + More Online Stories!

Wastelands sold out its initial print run, so Night Shade went back to press for a second printing, and from what I hear there were so many backorders that the second printing is going to be almost gone as well (though that’s bookstore orders, not actual sales per se, so it should be readily available wherever fine books are sold). To celebrate, I’ve made three more stories from the book available on the anthology’s website. So that’s now a total of six stories you can read online for free; the stories are by Elizabeth Bear, M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, James Van Pelt, Richard Kadrey, and Tobias S. Buckell.

And speaking of Tobias, he put together a book trailer for the anthology and posted it to YouTube. It’s got some cool apocalyptic imagery, as well as original music by Jack Kincaid. Go check it out, and spread it around!

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