Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond - Posts Tagged "jeeves"
Old Venus ToC Announced
George R.R. Martin has announced that Old Venus, a theme anthology he has co-edited with Gardner Dozois, has been turned in to the publisher, Bantam Spectra. It should be out next year.
It's an anthology of stories set in that swampy, dinosaur-ridden Venus-of-the-mind that used to exist before we sent probes that revealed it to be a sulphurous hell-hole.
The antho brings together some stellar names. My contribution is a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster romp, with the names changed to protect the innocent (me) from lawsuits.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSEE, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
It's an anthology of stories set in that swampy, dinosaur-ridden Venus-of-the-mind that used to exist before we sent probes that revealed it to be a sulphurous hell-hole.
The antho brings together some stellar names. My contribution is a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster romp, with the names changed to protect the innocent (me) from lawsuits.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSEE, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
Old Venus Table of Contents
George R.R. Martin has posted the ToC and release date (March 3, 2015) for Old Venus, another retro-sf anthology consisting of stories written by current authors set in the Venus-of-the-mind that existed before space probes and fly-bys showed our sister planet to be an acidic hell-hole hot enough to melt the eyeballs of anyone dumb enough to go there.
Here's who's in:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSS, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
My contribution, "Greeves and the Evening Star" is a Jeeves-and-Bertie style Wodehousian romp.
This is the fourth Martin/Dozois antho I've been included in since Songs of the Dying Earth came out in 2010. The others are Old Mars and Rogues, the latter to be on sale a couple of weeks from now. I'm very interested to see if Rogues brings me new readers, because it looks to be heading for New York Times bestsellerdom, judging by the Amazon ranking. At the moment of writing, it's the number one selling sf/fantasy anthology, based on pre-orders, although it's actually a cross-genre work and a hardcover priced at US$22.21.
I haven't checked all the ToCs closely, but I may be the only author to be in all four anthos. I wasn't supposed to be in Old Mars, though; George and Gardner asked me to put in a story -- "The Ugly Duckling," a Martian Chronicles pastiche -- when someone dropped out at the last minute.
Here's who's in:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSS, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
My contribution, "Greeves and the Evening Star" is a Jeeves-and-Bertie style Wodehousian romp.
This is the fourth Martin/Dozois antho I've been included in since Songs of the Dying Earth came out in 2010. The others are Old Mars and Rogues, the latter to be on sale a couple of weeks from now. I'm very interested to see if Rogues brings me new readers, because it looks to be heading for New York Times bestsellerdom, judging by the Amazon ranking. At the moment of writing, it's the number one selling sf/fantasy anthology, based on pre-orders, although it's actually a cross-genre work and a hardcover priced at US$22.21.
I haven't checked all the ToCs closely, but I may be the only author to be in all four anthos. I wasn't supposed to be in Old Mars, though; George and Gardner asked me to put in a story -- "The Ugly Duckling," a Martian Chronicles pastiche -- when someone dropped out at the last minute.
Stephen Fry reads me . . . aloud
I’ve mentioned before that I’m rather proud of a Jeeves-and-Bertie pastiche called “Greeves and the Evening Star,” that is my contribution to the latest Martin/Dozois theme anthology, Old Venus (scheduled for release March 3). Well, I’m even more chuffed to report that for the audio version of the book, my story is narrated by the hands-down, best-ever portrayer of the inimitable Jeeves: Stephen Fry.
The reading was recorded a couple of weeks ago, and led to a palm-to-forehead slap on my part. You see, there was a bit in the first draft where Bartie (my version of Bertie) referenced Ulysses’s stuffing his ship’s crew’s ears with beeswax so he can sail close enough to the isle of the Sirens to hear their song without being drawn to destruction on the rocks. But Bartie, in a 1066 and All That fashion, also mixes in Jason and the Argonauts.
All very well, and amusing to those who can keep their myths separate, but I later rewrote the passage to have Greeves (Jeeves, of course) straighten the young master out. But then I rewrote it again, and didn’t notice that I’d let Jeeves drop the clanger. Which he would never do. As Stephen Fry noted when he saw the text.
Ah, well. It’s right in the audio version at least. And I’m still dead chuffed about the reading. And if you’ve never seen the Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie renditions of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, do so. Right now.
The reading was recorded a couple of weeks ago, and led to a palm-to-forehead slap on my part. You see, there was a bit in the first draft where Bartie (my version of Bertie) referenced Ulysses’s stuffing his ship’s crew’s ears with beeswax so he can sail close enough to the isle of the Sirens to hear their song without being drawn to destruction on the rocks. But Bartie, in a 1066 and All That fashion, also mixes in Jason and the Argonauts.
All very well, and amusing to those who can keep their myths separate, but I later rewrote the passage to have Greeves (Jeeves, of course) straighten the young master out. But then I rewrote it again, and didn’t notice that I’d let Jeeves drop the clanger. Which he would never do. As Stephen Fry noted when he saw the text.
Ah, well. It’s right in the audio version at least. And I’m still dead chuffed about the reading. And if you’ve never seen the Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie renditions of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, do so. Right now.
WSJ Review of Old Venus
A first time for me: getting singled out for special mention in a Wall Street Journal review. Tom Shippey says good things about Old Venus, including:
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
Old Venus reviewed in NY Daily News
Once again, my P.G. Wodehouse pastiche, "Greeves and the Evening Star," gets singled out for special mention in a review of Old Venus, the retro-sf antho co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This time it's by Cesar R. Bustamante, Jr., (gotta love those hand-me-down American names), the book blogger for the New York Daily News.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
Another "Greeves" Fan
Once again, "Greeves and the Evening Star" scores with a reviewer of Old Venus. This time, it's Cat Fitzpatrick at the UK's Fantasy Book Review site, who says:
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
