Anyone working in the Marketing Department of a Science Fiction or Fantasy Publisher will tell you how difficult it is to get one of the mainstream Newspapers or Magazines to review SFF titles.
Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction and Crime Fiction take up the prime real estate with regular appearances by the more popular or controversial Romance and Chick-Lit titles getting whatever’s left over. I guess it is/was presumed that Fantasy fans were too busy playing D&D or Video Games to read Newspapers and those who do read them wouldn’t be interested in the made-up nonsense, or something like that?
Regardless, it’s a rather exciting reflection on the times that one of the most circulated publications in the world, The New York Times, has decided to launch a Science Fiction & Fantasy review column called “Otherworldly”. Now, I can’t imagine many of my favourite authors – Peter Brett, Brent Weeks, Sebastien De Castell, Scott Lynch, etc – will be making an appearance anytime soon, for the selected titles (as we will see in a moment) do seem to lean closer to the ‘Literary’ and ‘Mainstream’ side of things, but it’s a pretty big step in the right direction and – in fairness – probably the right approach for that particular publication (based on their readership).
The column will be produced by N.K. Jemisin every other month (the first was on December 28th 2015, meaning the next should be at the end of Feb) and it will cover Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult and Graphic Novels. If you missed that first edition of the column, you can find it here. The titles reviewed are by China Mieville, Emma Newman, Charlie Jane Anders, and Keith Lee Morris.
Not surprisingly, based on the authors chosen, the majority of novels are given the thumbs up by Nora, who does a great job promoting the genre. Her tone and style match the publication’s and she has chosen a diverse range of titles that her excellent narrative adds significant desirability for. Emma Newman’s Planetfall is praised for its exciting destination and rare protagonist. Charlie Jane Anders earns herself the title of ‘master absurdist’ for the Millennials with her highly anticipated All The Birds In The Sky (which we loved too). This Census-Taker by the hugely popular China Miéville is called frustrating, and a bit of a guessing game, but the perfect exercise for those looking for such a thing. And, finally, the only title not recommended, is the horror Travellers Rest by Keith Lee Morris. It’s called too familiar for its beautiful prosaic style to save.
We look forward to the next edition. Good work N.K. and good luck!
