The Fiction Issue 2008
Martin Amis
Martin Amis is one of the great writers of contemporary fiction. Even if he’d given up putting pen to paper after his third novel, Money, this would be an irrefutable fact.
How to Look Amazing in Photographs
Another up-and-comer, Amanda sent us something that can’t be translated into our non-English editions because it’s an extended riff on the pronunciation of the word “douche.”
Ursula K. Le Guin
Any major science-fiction gourmand will tell you that Ursula K. Le Guin is among the most compelling writers living today.
The Earthquake in Chile
Kleist’s perennial story in this issue, “The Earthquake in Chile,” is part of forthcoming, freshly translated collection of his prose.
The Putti
Will Self’s books are about stuff like a woman growing a penis and raping her abusive husband (Cock and Bull). I mean, he’s Will Self. It’s a pretty big deal.
Six Stories
Gangemi is the author of The Volcanoes From Puebla, a criminally underappreciated title that critics like to label “transfiction” when really it’s just a damn good book.
The Defender of Snakes
I thought of her as the defender of snakes. She was a German woman with shaggy, sandy blond hair. The first time I saw her, she was sitting with a group of paragliders at the Friends coffee shop.
Distance to Galactic Center
Gus Visco is a Bronx-based writer. He is currently working on a historical fiction novel about the Soviet Union’s failed attempts to control the arctic psychics of Novaya Zemlya.
Intelligence
Everything becomes 100 percent better when you come across something like what Seth sent us.
Obscenity, Who Really Cares? John Calder Keeps on Keeping on
It’s telling that Calder decided to name the company after himself as his endearing willfulness made him one of the most litigated-against publishers of the mid-20th century.
Science Fiction's Hidden Hero
Screw Ray Bradbury and all his Midwestern sci-fi fame and glory. It's great that he gets all moony over rolling fields of grass, and sure he's a jolly read, but his characters never really tickle danger.