Two Stellar Speculative Fiction Reads for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

5 May

For May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I’m sharing a Science Fiction and a Fantasy novel, which were written by Asian American authors, I read and enjoyed with our HPL Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group.

The Grace of Kings
by Ken Liu
You may remember in a past blog post, I discussed The Three-Body Problem by Chinese author Cixin Liu translated by Chinese American author, Ken Liu.  Many of our members enjoyed the book so were curious to read a book written by Liu himself.  We read The Grace of Kings the first in Liu’s The Dandelion Dynasty trilogy for our August 2020 book; it is available to Hoboken patrons after you log in with your library card to eLibraryNJ.  I had read reviews of Liu’s book The Grace of Kings describing it as Silkpunk since it takes details from Asian countries and used them as a way to advance technology in a manner similar to how Steampunk used Victorian era steam technology in Europe.  The book does contain clever creations like battle kites, but Liu creates an even more elaborate world beyond this which will sure to entice Epic Fantasy fans like some of our book group members are.  You can check out the first and second book (The Wall of Storms) in the series in print from Hoboken and other BCCLS Libraries.  The third book The Veiled Throne is scheduled to be released at the beginning of November.

How to Live Safely in A Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu
Last month, our group read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.  The story focuses on a time machine repairmen and his relationship with his parents, one of whom disappeared and the other of whom has chosen to live in a time loop.  Charles Yu parents were immigrants from Taiwan and some autobiographical details from Yu’s own life are used in the story.  I enjoyed the philosophical musing throughout and I thought the window into the experience of immigrants that was provided was very insightful.  Some of the group found the book a bit slow going at first, but were drawn to the ending where the narrative began to coalesce more.  This book will appeal to those who enjoy unusual quirky narration and meta-fictional elements.  Yu’s latest novel, Interior China Town, won a 2020 National Book Award for Fiction.  Both of Yu’s novels are available in print from Hoboken and other BCCLS Libraries and you can log in for access to the eLibraryNJ.

Stay tuned I’ll be writing about a Chinese/Filipino author our book club enjoyed, Rin Chupeco, as part of my June post celebrating Trans and Non-Binary Speculative Fiction Authors for LGBTQ Pride Month.   

Email hplwriters@gmail.com, if you’d like to join the mailing list for our Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group.  Our next group meeting will be on Thursday, May 27 at 4 PM, when we will be discussing All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders.  You can request or stop by the second floor reference desk for a print copy.

Share your favorite books written by Asian American Authors in our comments!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

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A Musical Peak Inside Witch House

28 Apr
Ic3peak picture from Freegal.com and Crystal Castles from Hoopladigital.com

Witch House is a darkly atmospheric electronic music microgenre that began to take shape in the late 2000’s/early 10’s.  Its influence can be seen bubbling up to the more mainstream surface in pop music hits like Katy Perry’s Dark Horse or the edgier music and style of Billie Eilish. A worldwide phenomenon, it took a spoonful of Goth, a pinch of Ethereal, and a helping of Trap and combined it into a spooky electrobrew decorated with occult imagery that would be a bit overwrought if not for the fact that the bands never seem to entirely be taking themselves too seriously.  One of my favorites, that is pretty exemplary of the genre, is Australian artist, Goo Munday’s, Eyes. Thanks to streaming a lot of DJs on Twitch during the Pandemic Shut Down, I’ve grown fond of Witch House, which some of my favorites mixed in with their Industrial and Goth sets. I thought I’d take a quick look behind the curtain into the mysterious Witch House with six artists, whose work has been labeled as being part of the genre (though as often time is true with music, they are all uniquely individual in their own right).  You can stream their music from Hoopla or Freegal.

Ic3peak
Many Witch House bands incorporate unusual spellings of their names, songs, or album titles using things like triangles and Unicode symbols.  Hence the spelling of one of my favorite Witch House bands Ic3peak.  Ic3peak formed in 2013, in Russia, by duo Anastasiya Kreslina and Nikolay Kostylev. They have recorded songs in both English and Russian, although much of their more recent music is in the later.  Sometimes categorized as rap, Anastasiya’s vocals although at times sung, other times more resemble chanting. Freegal features several of their albums.  Some of their more popular tracks are Плак-Плак (Boo-Hoo), Марш (Marching), and Смерти Больше Нет (Death No More). If you are a fan of South African experimental electronic rap act Die Antwoord, this could be a new favorite.

Δaimon
Δaimon, frequently spelled as Aaimon consists of the San Diego couple Brant Showers and Nancy Lutz. I found their self-titled album, available to stream from Freegal, suspenseful and majestic with haunting vocals. You can also check out EPs and remixes of songs including a terrific version of Exu Rei, remixed by popular Witch House artist, Mr. Kitty.

Sidewalks & Skeletons
The United Kingdom’s Sidewalks and Skeletons is the solo-project of Jake Lee, who started his career as a metal guitarist, before focusing on creating dark electronic music and to me you can see some of his early influence in the metal genre in his current work.  You can check out the Sidewalks & Skeletons track Exhume on the Occult Box Compilation from Cleopatra that also offers up a sample of other delightfully macabre music which is worth a listen.

Pastel Ghost
Austin, Texas based Vivian Moon is the force behind Pastel Ghost. I enjoy Pastel Ghost’s distorted vocals which makes me think of a more electro-rave form of the shoegaze, I loved back in the 90’s. Pastel Ghosts is a bit more ethereal and a little less spooky than some others on this list. Freegal features a plethora of Pastel Ghost’s work including a remix of Shadows done by Sidewalks and Skeletons as well as a version done by Mr. Kitty.

Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles are a Canadian group whose name came from a commercial for a toy for She-Ra’s castle, which included the lines “The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles” and “Crystal Castles, the source of all power.”  Probably the most well known of the bands I’m writing about, you can borrow all four of their albums from Hoopla and at some BCCLS Libraries. The sprinkle of video game like noises in some of their songs has also had their music described as Ninetendocore. If you enjoy fellow Canadian avant-garde singer Grimes, then Crystal Castles is definitely one for you to check out.

Blvck Ceiling
Dan Cuccia known by Blvck Ceiling is from Spokane, Washington.  You can check out his album Throne from Hoopla Digital. I saw one review comparing it to the soundtrack of a Dungeon Crawler and I could definitely see this one adding some ambience to your next Dungeons and Dragons game. My favorite track off the album is Key to the Garden.

Are you a fan of Witch House? Share some of your favorite bands and their songs in our comments!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

Tags: , , , , , ,

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