September SFFKIT - Non-Anglophone SFF

This month's challenge is to read something in the genre which was originally written in a language other than English.

For example, you could read something by Jules Verne or Cixin Liu whether in the original French or Chinese or translated into English or some other language. H. G. Wells wouldn't count whether in the original English or translated into eg German or Japanese.

(ETA: For those struggling to find titles:

https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-non-english-science-fiction-books/
"For readers a little tired of familiar stories, non-English science fiction is one of their best sources for new perspectives, ideas, and stories. From Polish great Stanislaw Lem (in my opinion, the best science fiction writer out there) to newcomers like Ryu Mitsuse from Japan, Ofir Touché Gafla from Israel, Khaled Towfik from Egypt, and Vandana Singh from India, people who have only read English-native science fiction are in for a treat when they broaden their global horizons."

Apex Book of World SF
A series of anthologies - even if you don't want to get the anthologies, you can browse the lists of stories and authors and see if anything intrigues you.)

My own choices for this month are Monteverde: Memoirs of an Interstellar Linguist by Lola Robles (Spanish) or The Healer by Antti Tuomainen (Finnish)





Please fill in the wiki if you feel so inclined: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_SFFKIT#September:_Non_Anglophone_SF...

I'm planning to read Monday Begins on Saturday by Arkadi Strugatski and Boris Strugatski.

I was thinking about reading Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (French); but I don't think I can realistically fit it in between now and the end of September and; also I seem to have misplaced by copy (sigh)-- so I think I'll go with Night Watch (by Sergei Lukyanenko; translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield).

I'm going to Japan, with the first volume of Spice and Wolf.

Any suggestions would be welcomed. I've read most of Jules Verne's stories, not aware of any books on my shelves that fit this category.

I could be mistaken...

Of classic SF that was translated; We by Yevgeny Zmyatin (Russian). Books by Stanislav Lem would be translated SF; Solaris but he has written a lot and I think he is accessible.

Been a while since I read it, but I remember enjoying The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach.

For those struggling to find titles:

https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-non-english-science-fiction-books/
"For readers a little tired of familiar stories, non-English science fiction is one of their best sources for new perspectives, ideas, and stories. From Polish great Stanislaw Lem (in my opinion, the best science fiction writer out there) to newcomers like Ryu Mitsuse from Japan, Ofir Touché Gafla from Israel, Khaled Towfik from Egypt, and Vandana Singh from India, people who have only read English-native science fiction are in for a treat when they broaden their global horizons."

Apex Book of World SF
A series of anthologies - even if you don't want to get the anthologies, you can browse the lists of stories and authors and see if anything intrigues you.

>8 Robertgreaves: thank you.

The books in The Witcher series would fit here. Also Dragon Rider, The Neverending Story, Inkheart, Mio, My Son, The Secret of Ji, The Goddess Chronicle, Lonely Castle In The Mirror.
Just some I can think of. Also plenty of Japanese manga / graphic novels to choose from.

I'm planning on reading the SFF graphic novel Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann.

Being French I would like to use this occasion to read some French science-fiction written in French. However my experience has been that sadly, there are not that many good books. I'll probably read a short story by Audrey Pleynet that has attracted some attention and that I've been meaning to read for a while.

>12 chlorine: What about the Linda og valentin graphic novels? Or Tidsfuglen? Both series are gorgeous.
Sorry about the danish titles, but I mostly read them in translation.

>13 amberwitch: Thanks for the suggestions! Graphic novels are indeed an exception in French SFF, I'll have to see what my library has to offer. I've already read the Tidsfuglen series and the Valérian and Laureline series does not click for me.

It's been a long while since I read The Neverending Story. Glad it fits this category (and that it gives me a reason to re-read it!).

>15 threadnsong: Oooh I read this book so many times when I was a kid. :) Enjoy your reread. :)

I want to mention The Elven by Bernhard Hennen.

I recently picked up several books from Audible that will fit here, not sure which ones I will get to. Most of these were part of the 2 for 1 credit sale ending today.
The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirahk, Estonian fantasy
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, Japanese dystopian
Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, Chinese fantasy from the 16th century
The Last Wild Horses by Maja Lunde, Norwegian dystopian

>12 chlorine: Being French I would like to use this occasion to read some French science-fiction written in French. However my experience has been that sadly, there are not that many good books.
I'd like to help! What are your criteria for "good"? There are indeed a lot of bad to middling books out there, but also some decent stuff...

Also, if people would like to contribute to the Speculative Fiction from around the World list I created a few years back, that would be terrific!

>18 staci426: I hope you enjoy The Man Who Spoke Snakish: I loved it!

>19 Dilara86: Thanks for the help offer! :)
It's hard to define what I like but I'll try. I like books that are well written (which is often one of the problems with French SFF), with interesting characters and/or original and consistant worldbuilding. It's also a plus if the book makes you think about important topics like what it means to be human, how should society be organised, gender, ... I'm also a fan of dystopia and time travel (for which I'm willing to be more lenient about my consistency criterion).

Some examples of SFF books that I like are the Murderbot books, Ancillary Justice, The paper Menagerie and other stories, the Ted Chiang short stories, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Red Mars, The giver, The windup Girl, ...

Some French SFF books that I really liked are L'enchanteur by René Barjavel and Les fiancés de l'hiver by Christelle Dabos. BTW I checked and saw that Dabos has new books since her mirror series and that might well be my september pick.

>18 staci426: Your list is interesting!

I've wishlisted The Man who spoke Snakish as I'm always looking for books coming from all over the world.
I have read The Memory Police some years ago and remember liking it. It was a strange, quiet book.

I see that The Last Wild Horses is part of a series, have you read the others? I have read the first one, The history of bees, and rather liked it, but did not love it.

>19 Dilara86: That's good to hear! Maybe I should put this one at the top of the possibilities.
Thanks for posting your list. A lot of interesting titles there.

>21 chlorine: I agree about looking for books from around the world. I've never read anything from Estonia, so am looking forward to trying something new.
I did not realize The Last Wild Horses was a later book in a series. I have not read the others, so will have to get to those first.

>22 staci426: I wouldn't be surprised if the Maja Lunde books are part of a loosely connected series. They seem to be located in different places, as the one about bees was in China and the one about horses is apparently set in Mongolia. This gives me the impression that they are part of a set about climate change rather than a strict series. From the blurb I would say this one can be read independently of The History of Bees but I'm far from sure!

>20 chlorine:
You might enjoy Pollen by Joëlle Wintrebert. It is set in a matriarchal, pacifist society, that relegates violent men to a satellite. People are born in groups of 3 (2 girls, 1 boy), that have a special bond. It's all a bit hazy because I read it in 2013, but I remember liking it, and finding it both reminiscent of classic feminist SF such as The Gate to Women's Country and Octavia Butler, but it also had some original ideas, and it wasn't too derivative. The writing is quite sensual, and not male-gazy.

More recent, and more challenging stylistically: Tè mawon by Michael Roch. It is a cyberpunk-ish/afrofuturist dystopia set in a very socially-stratified world, where the top country is a federation of Caribbean and Central-American countries. It is written in French with some créole martiniquais / kréyol thrown in (from single words to whole dialogues) without translations.

For something short but hard-hitting: Sous béton by Canadian author Karoline Georges, set in a self-contained high-rise building (my post about it). The language is sparse and - I think - accessible to non-native, non-fluent readers in French, but the content could be upsetting to some.

For a playful but serious response to Twilight's problematic worldview: Entends la nuit by Catherine Dufour (my post about it). Set in Paris.

For a space opera with a badass female protagonist: Étoiles mourantes by Ayerdhal and Jean-Claude Dunyach

And lastly, I suppose you know Alain Damasio?

>22 staci426: You're welcome!

>23 chlorine: That's the impression I got too. I hope so, because I only have the 2nd one, The End of the Ocean...

I'm also hoping to get to the last of the Mirror Visitor books by Christelle Dabos, The Storm of Echoes.

>25 antqueen: Ooh you are lucky to have that book still to read in this series! :)

>24 Dilara86: Wow these are all great suggestions, thank you so much! Do you have resources to help you find French authors?
Yes, I forgot to mention among the French authors I know and like Alain Damasio and Catherine Dufour. I also just remembered that I wanted to explore the books of Karim Berrouka. Now I've gone from having too little choice to having too many! :)

>27 chlorine: I can't think of any online resource off the top of my head... I go to the Utopiales science fiction convention in Nantes most years, and always come back with a big pile of books...

I read Fées, weed et guillotines : Petite fantaisie pleine d'urbanité by Karim Berrouka. Obviously, YMMV, but I found it rather underwhelming, which is a shame as I met the author and had him sign my copy!

For some reason, I forgot to mention one of my favourite novels: Les jardins statuaires by Jacques Abeilles. It is very literary (the author was close to Julien Gracq) and slow-paced, so not for everyone, but if you're in the mood, it's fantastic.

>28 Dilara86: The Utopiales seem interesting, I should try and go one day!
I don't know if it's because I read fewer books than you or just a difference in character but I'm not very adventurous about books I read: I don't pick many books without checking reviews to see if I have a reasonable chance of liking it. I guess this prevents me from trying out lesser known authors

Too bad about the Berrouka book. I got interested in him because I read one of his short stories in the short-story collection about work edited by La Volte, and this story was very good.

And Les jardins statuaires seem greath, I've wishlisted it, thanks! :)

I just started Night Watch (by Sergei Lukyanenko; translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield). Starting off (prologue) with a vampire attack from the prey’s point of view, it seems like a horror story; but the first chapter moves the narrative more into the urban fantasy realm. There are occult forces in play in Moscow; but not all are sinister… Too early to discern the shape of the plot; but it seems like there’s a sort of supernatural organization to police the vampires? We’ll see…

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I read this one years ago. I don't remember much about it but I remember I was disappointed because I wasn't really into it. I think I found it a bit superficial maybe? I hope you like it better than I did.

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: & >31 chlorine: I also read that one awhile ago. I don't really remember anything about it, but I must have liked it because I rated it 4.5*. Not sure why I never continued on with the rest of the series.

I ended up finding the first book of the Maja Lunde series at the library, so will be starting A History of Bees as my first read for this month. Then, I think I will move on to The Man Who Spoke Snakish.

I did what I should do more often and took a look at the science-fiction section in my library. Several books caught my eyes and the one that seemed the most interesting to me is Vie TM by Jean Baret. I also remembered that I have Moi qui n'ai jamais connu les hommes (I who have never known men) in my wishlist so I will have a tough decision to make for the book to read this month. :)

Night Watch (Night Watch #1; by Sergei Lukyaneko; translated by Andrew Bromfield) - Lukyaneko juxtaposes a world of Others directly over the brutalist architecture and crumbling infrastructure of the post-Soviet landscape of 1990s Moscow. Stepping in and out of the Twilight (a gloom that displays an alternate, blue moss-strewn version of “reality”), vampires, magicians, witches and shapeshifters variously allied with the Dark Ones or the Light Ones, vie to maintain the balance of their social order.
Anton, an analyst with the Night Watch (a police force of the Light Ones who patrol the night where the Dark Ones work and play) is thrown into the field when a portent of great power is detected. Anton works out what is happening over the course of three sections and is faced with hardcore existential crises with every discovery.
There are some interesting and maybe even clever ideas in this first-in-series (six-title run); but much is obscured by repetitive descriptions, inside (Russian) jokes that aren’t explained and, unclear action. I’m not sure if this is because of overly prosaic writing, awkward translation and/or a personal expectation that urban fantasy be a bit slicker; but while I’m glad I read it, I don’t think I’ll continue with the series.

The History of Bees wasn't really clicking with me, so I put that one aside. Might come back to it at some point in the future. So, I read The Man Who Spoke Snakish which I thought was excellent, highly recommend it.

>34 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I had more or less the same experience with Night Watch.

Currently reading The Apex Book of World SF, an anthology of short stories edited by Lavie Tidhar.

I've read 4 of the stories so far, 2 of which were not originally written in English:

"The Levantine Experiments" by Guy Hasson was originally written in Hebrew and translated into English by the author and similarly "The Wheel of Samsara" by Han Song was originally written in Chinese and translated into English by the author.

>37 Robertgreaves: These anthologies look good. Apparently there are three of them. Hope you are enjoying them. I love short stories.

COMPLETED The Apex Book of World SF, an anthology edited by Lavie Tidhar. Some of the stories were originally written in English, and some in other languages. As with any anthology the quality of the offerings is variable

>39 Robertgreaves: I'm curious about which were your favorite stories in the collection?

>40 chlorine: My favourites were The Lost Xuyan Bride by Aliette de Bodard, a French woman of Vietnamese descent, and Transcendence Express by Jetse de Vries, a Dutch man. Both were originally written in English. I will definitely be looking for more of Aliette de Bodard's work. Of the non Anglophone stories, my favourite was Wizard World by Yang Ping.

>41 Robertgreaves: Thanks! I read a de Bodard story two or three years ago but can't remember which. Never heard of Jetse de Vries or Yang Ping.

I read Sous béton by Karoline Georges (French speaking Canadian author).

I really liked the first part, about an unamed child stuck between an unnamed father and mother, in a concrete flat in a concrete building in a setting that has all the hallmarks of dystopia. The writing style really has something special.
Unfortunately the second part, which goes into fable territory, did not click for me. I'm at a loss about what the author was trying to convey.

>24 Dilara86: thanks for pointing it out, it was a very interesting read!

I wanted to read a short story written by French author Audrey Pleynet for this month challenge but it appears that the editor, acutsf, went bankrupt. :( I don't think I've ever read a book by this editor but it's always sad when an editor ceases to exist (and I can't get the story now because it is no longer available).

For those interested, the October thread is up.

>19 Dilara86: Thanks, Dilara, for that list. I've added some things to my wish list. And I added a few that weren't on it, though I haven't read all of them.

>43 chlorine: It's a shame the book did not quite hit the spot, but at least, it's short :-D

>45 markon: Thank you! I've added Ulirát: Best Contemporary Stories in Translation from the Philippines to my wishlist!

I read the graphic novel Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann last night. The book is creepy and fun in the best way possible (reminiscent in some ways of Alice in Wonderland), and the art gorgeous, but I admit it feels like some of it slipped by me...probably because I'm not a regular reader of graphic novels, and miss some pieces when they're included in the art vs the language. I think this is one I'll have to wander back through sooner than later in order to get the full impact/story, but I did really enjoy it and would recommend it.

Since I couldn't get the short story I wanted by Audrey Pleynet I bought an issue of Bifrost magazine that has a short-story by her as well as two other French authors:
- Après les âges sombres by Jean-Marc Ligny: a post-apocalyptic story that lets us hope for a future where people can live in harmony with nature, but not very well written and some points are hard ot believe in
- Ombres by Ketty Steward. This one was very well written, but the ending felt a bit botched to me
- Encore cinq ans by Audrey Pleynet: a story in which humankind is put to sleep to let the planet heal from the damage that has been done to it. Well written but not quite believable, again.

I was impressed by Ketty Steward's style so I looked up other works she has participated to. I ended up adding the anthology Demain la santé to my wishlist. Dilara86: we currently are the only two LT members having this book in their collections! What are the odds? :)

COMPLETED Monteverde: Memoirs of an Interstellar Linguist by Lola Robles, translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel.

My review:
Extracts from papers and books by and about Rachel Monteverde, a linguist sent to study the languages and culture of the inhabitants of Aanuk.

Not much of a plot, the anthropology and linguistics only really got interesting when we left the noble savage Aanukiens and joined the cave-dwelling Fihdia.

>48 chlorine: I was impressed by Ketty Steward's style so I looked up other works she has participated to. I ended up adding the anthology Demain la santé to my wishlist. Dilara86: we currently are the only two LT members having this book in their collections! What are the odds? :)
TBH, Demain la santé is in my wishlist: I haven't read it yet. I'd be interested in your opinion if you get to it before me! But more generally, if you're looking for good-quality writing, you could do worse than look at La Volte's catalogue (this book's publisher). They've bagged some impressive names: Alain Damasio, Angelica Gorodischer, Doris Lessing (she write in English, but I couldn't not mention her), Karin Tidbeck, Valerio Evangelisti...

>50 Dilara86: Yes I figured it was in your wishlist because I saw no rating for it. :) The first one to get to it will let the other know how she feels. :)
And I also think La Volte is a very interesting publisher. I already read their anthology Demain le travail which I liked, and they seem to have a lot of interesting stuff, and of course Damasio himself (though I got a bit turned off of him after reading his first book La zone du dehors which I really didn't like, but I think it's not representative of his later work).

I finished The Neverending Story for this month's challenge. I remember being "meh" about it when I read it after the movie came out, and I see now what is a stumbling block for me this time around: the huge number of characters, names, places; it all seems like Ende was trying to fill 26 chapters. (Each letter of the alphabet starts a new chapter, which is clever.) And I was impressed by the second half of the book that teaches how bad things happen when you makes wishes that are selfish and unkind. Probably more for a pre-Tween youngster as a before bedtime storybook.

Thank you to everybody playing along this month. I hope you all found some new authors or enjoyed re-visiting favourites.

Found a new series - Spice and Wolf Volume 1 by Isuna Hasekura. I thought I had borrowed the manga version but I had what they call the light novel version, a novelisation of the manga series. There were some of the illustrations throughout as well. Very much enjoyed it - there are 24 books in the series to date, so it will keep me busy for a while!

In September, I finished the short stories nominated for the Hugo Awards, listed here. The Worldcon convention, which runs the awards, is in China this year, so there are more Chinese nominees than usual.

Apparently, getting English translations on short notice (early enough so that voters would have time to read them) was very difficult. The 4 Chinese stories came in my Voter's Packet and the quality of translations varied greatly. One author said that the translation provided was completely generated by AI, as he was not able to obtain an alternative under the circumstances!

Of the stories I finished, I particularly liked "Zhurong on Mars" by Regina Kanyu Wang.