Nordic Visions The Best Of Nordic Speculative Fiction

A Unique Speculative Fiction Collection From The Nordic Countries Storytelling has been a major force in the Nordic countries for thousands of years, renowned for its particular sense of dark humour, featuring pacts with nature and a view of the world you seldom find in other places. Perhaps it is the freezing cold winter? The closeness to the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic? Maybe it’s the huge ancient forests... Most have heard about Nordic crime fiction with its dark noir flare or the Icelandic Sagas. This anthology combines all that is unique about Nordic speculative fiction, from the darkest dystopian science fiction to terrifying horror. From the rational to the eccentric, these stories combine a deep sense of place with social criticism, themes of loneliness and the concern for humanity's impact on the wilderness. Featuring 16 stories from the best contemporary speculative authors from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Faroe Islands, including John Ajvide Lindqvist, Hannu Rajaniemi, Tor Åge Bringsværd and more, many of which are appearing in English for the very first time.

The anthology "Knowing the Neighbours" features a selection of Near-Future stories written by some of the best European Science Fiction authors from 15 countries and in translation from 11 languages. Europe has always been the forge of fantastic literature from True Story by Lucian and The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, passing from Micromega by Voltaire and Somnium by Johannes Kepler, up to the novels of Jules Verne and the short stories by Primo Levi. Moreover, Europe has also been the founder of fundamental literary and artistic vanguards (like Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism) that deeply influenced our consciousness and thinking. That's why Europe has still a lot to offer to the future of humanity if only its stories would be translated more and more. As European readers and writers know so much more about American and English Science Fiction than their own national ones, it's about time to get to know our neighbours through the stories of our fellow European writers. Ranging from disaster tourism to the use of AIs to improve the quality of wine, from planned obsolescence in common objects to aesthetic benchmarks to value everything, from animatronics as new friends to climate change and community resilience, their stories will take you on a tour along the many shapes of European futures. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 - Roseweed by Vasso Christou (Greece) 2 - Amber Queen by Olivier Paquet (France) 3 - Fragmentation by Tom Crosshill (Latvia) 4 - Planned Obsolescence by Nina Horvath (Austria) 5 - The Keresztury TVirs by Ivan Popov (Bulgaria) 6 - The Golden Nose by Neil Williamson (UK) 7 - Goal invariance under radical self-modification by Julie Novakova (Czech Republic) 8 - Beautymark by Linda De Santi (Italy) 9 - Petware by Uwe Post (Germany) 10 - The Naming Tree by J.S. Meresmaa (Finland) 11 - Any House in the Storm by Tais Teng (Netherlands) 12 - Lying Weather by Krystyna Chodorowska (Poland) 13 - Reaping Day by Anna Jakobsson Lund (Sweden) 14 - The Rescue by Margrét Helgadóttir (Norway) 15 - Team Memory by Carme Torras (Spain)

Creatrix is more than just a fancy name for a female artist. She is artist plus...artist plus priestess, artist plus healer, artist plus activist: her work has both sacred and worldly dimensions. She is an energy worker first and foremost, weaving energy into form, colour, words and sound, in order to transform herself and those her creations touch. What does it mean to live a life in service to your creativity, and in direct connection to the creative source? In this, her ninth book, Lucy H. Pearce, award-winning author of Burning Woman, Medicine Woman and The Rainbow Way shares... Powerful practical insight into all parts of The Creative Way. The unique challenges for women artists and writers. How to align with your authentic voice and The Work that calls you. Techniques for harnessing your powerful creative energy and dealing with fear, anxiety, creative blocks. How to earn your living creatively: building a social media platform, working sustainably, creating multiple income streams, networking when socially anxious... How our creativity can be our most potent transformational medicine. With Creative Inquiries and Practices, this interactive book is written for all those that must create in order to live: for the Highly Creative, the Highly Sensitive, the multi-passionate, for those that shake when they share... Soulful, serious-minded, irreverent and authentic, let Creatrix take you on a journey to the heart of your creative soul.

Darkness divides and enlivens opinion. Some are afraid of the dark, or at least prefer to avoid it, and there are many who dislike what it appears to stand for. Others are drawn to this strange domain, delighting in its uncertainties, lured by all the associations of folklore and legend, by the call of the mysterious and of the unknown. The history of our attitudes toward darkness—toward what we cannot quite make out, in all its physical and metaphorical manifestations—challenges the very notion of a world that we can fully comprehend. In this book, Nina Edwards explores darkness as both a physical feature and cultural image, through themes of sight, blindness, consciousness, dreams, fear of the dark, night blindness, and the in-between states of dusk or fog, twilight and dawn, those points or periods of obscuration and clarification. Taking us across the ages, from the dungeons of Gothic novels to the concrete bunkers of Nordic Noir TV shows, Edwards interrogates the full sweep of humanity’s attempts to harness and suppress the dark first through our ability to control fire and, later, illuminate the world with electricity. She explores how the idea of darkness pervades art, literature, religion, and our everyday language. Ultimately, Edwards reveals how darkness, whether a shifting concept or palpable physical presence, has fed our imaginations.

Beware the women who are called witches, or those who claim the name for themselves... Banshees - a howling night-witch and harbinger of death; She-devils - Lilith and her daughters; or Bitches - Hecate, whose chariot is drawn by dogs. Alluring women, enchantresses, seekers of revenge, wise old women and badly-behaved girls. As Shahrukh Husain says, witches are 'womanhood in all its complexity'. Over fifty stories of crones and nixies, shape shifters and beauties are here, including the loving fox witch of Japan; Italy's Witch-Bea-Witch; Scotland's Goodwife of Laggan; Biddy Earl and the terrifying Kali and Baba Yaga who comes in many forms to haunt, entice, possess, transform and challenge. From every corner of the globe, with tom-foolery, fun, strife and victory, these folklore and legends celebrate women who step out of line.

One of NPR's Best Books of 2017! A groundbreaking anthology of science fiction from Iraq that will challenge your perception of what it means to be “The Other” “History is a hostage, but it will bite through the gag you tie around its mouth, bite through and still be heard.”—Operation Daniel In a calm and serene world, one has the luxury of imagining what the future might look like. Now try to imagine that future when your way of life has been devastated by forces beyond your control. Iraq + 100 poses a question to Iraqi writers (those who still live in that nation, and those who have joined the worldwide diaspora): What might your home country look like in the year 2103, a century after a disastrous foreign invasion? Using science fiction, allegory, and magical realism to challenge the perception of what it means to be “The Other”, this groundbreaking anthology edited by Hassan Blasim contains stories that are heartbreakingly surreal, and yet utterly recognizable to the human experience. Though born out of exhaustion, fear, and despair, these stories are also fueled by themes of love, family, and endurance, and woven through with a delicate thread of hope for the future. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"James Victore is a dangerous man. His ideas on optimizing your creativity, doing wow work and building a life that inspires will devastate your limits. And show you how to win. Read this book fast." —Robin Sharma, #1 bestselling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Begin before you're ready. Renowned designer and professional hell-raiser James Victore wants to drag you off your couch and throw you headfirst into a life of bold creativity. He'll guide you through all the twists, trials, and triumphs of starting your creative career, from finding your voice to picking the right moment to start a project (hint: It's now). Bring your biggest, craziest, most revolutionary ideas, and he will give you the kick in the pants you need to make them real. No matter what industry or medium you work in, this book will help you live, work, and create freely and fearlessly. Here are some dangerous ideas: • The things that made you weird as a kid make you great today. • Work is serious play. • Your ego can't dance. • The struggle is everything. • Freedom is something you take. • There ain't no rules. Take a risk. Try them out. Live dangerously. More praise for Feck Perfuction: "In James Victore's new book, he unequivocally proves why he is the master he is. In every chapter, he challenges and inspires the reader to reach for more, to try harder and to create our best selves. It is a magnificent and momentous experience. (All true)." —Debbie Millman, Host Design Matters "James Victore got famous creating tough posters that shook me to the core. He now does the same using the written word. To you." —Stefan Sagmeister, designer