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Title/Author

Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound

Mark Leslie, Editor

Average Review Rating Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Inc.

Published : 2012

Copyright : All contributions copyright by their respective authors 2012

ISBN-10 : PB 1-894063-92-9
ISBN-13 : PB 978-1-894063-92-0

Publisher's Write-Up

The first Tesseracts anthology was edited by Judith Merril. Since its publication in 1985, 264 authors/editors/translators and guests have written 443 pieces of Canadian speculative fiction, fantasy and horror for this series. Some of Canada's best known speculative fiction writers have been published within the pages of these volumes - including Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Spider Robinson (to name a few). Tesseracts Sixteen is the seventeenth volume in the series. The entire series includes Tesseracts One through Sixteen, and Tesseracts Q, which features translations of works by some of Canada's top francophone writers of science fiction and fantasy.

According to Greek Mythology, Mount Parnassus was sacred to Apollo (god of prophecy, music, intellectual pursuits and the arts) and home of the Muses. At the base of the mountain was a fountain named Castalia (a transformed nymph) that could inspire the genius of poetry for anyone who drank her waters or listened to her quiet soothing sounds.

The theme for Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound is speculative fiction inspired by literature, music, art and culture.

In selecting stories, editor Mark Leslie's goal was to capture not only the spirit of what might be found on Mount Parnassus, but to allow it to be released, freed from the mythological Greek mountain and expanded upon in a way that only speculative literature can "unbind" such a theme.

Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound features works by 27 modern day Muses gifted with the ability to take the reader on fantastical journeys: Neil Peart & Kevin J. Anderson, Robert J. Sawyer, Ryan Oakley, Steve Vernon, Hugh A. D. Spencer, Sandra Kasturi, Michael Kelly, Rebecca Senese, Randy McCharles, Chadwick Ginther, Stephen Kotowych, Carolyn Clink, J. J. Steinfeld, David Clink, Robert H. Beer, L. T. Getty, Scott Overton, Sean Costello, Virginia O'Dine, Melissa Yuan-Innes, Derwin Mak, Kimberly Foottit, Matthew Jordan Schmidt, Adria Laycraft, and Jeff Hughes.

Come sip from the mythical fountain, gaze into the infinite reaches of the universe and explore the endless depths of the mind in Tesseracts Sixteen's "unbound" tales of wonder and imagination!

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Reader Reviews

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Review by Paul Lappen (310816) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 9/10
This latest collection of speculative fiction stories and poems from Canada focuses on the subjects of culture and the arts.

A long-time rock music fan is looking for the ultimate AC/DC bootleg tape, which may or may not actually exist. There is a story about language (not any particular language, but language in general) being intelligent. In a world where genetic engineering has eradicated most congenital diseases, the next genetic abnormality to be eradicated is the "art gene." A famous composer lives alone on a space station orbiting Saturn. His final composition involves playing Saturn's rings like an instrument.

There is a poem called Zombie Poet. A pair of stories explore the world of dance. The first is about a special kind of memory cloth that can transfer insanity to a sane person, and the other concerns a dance competition between humans and aliens. A woman returns to her high school for her 60th high school reunion. She became a famous singer, and she meets up with an old boyfriend (she is white, and he is black).

Muses are treated like intestinal parasites, and removed from people, but destroying them is not easy. A man has rented an isolated cabin in British Columbia to write a novel, but what is on the page becomes a little too real. Another story is about genetic engineering, but, this time, humanity has abolished moods, in effect making Prozac permanent. A desperate attempt is made to bring artists about to die forward in time to provide a dying humanity with emotion and creativity.

This is yet another first-rate collection of stories from Canada. All parts of "the arts" are covered, in very unique ways. Individually, these stories are excellent; together, this book is highly recommended.
Paul Lappen (31st August 2016)

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