Rachel Cordasco
Rachel S. Cordasco
Wisconsin, United States
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Past articles by Rachel:
The Absurd, Ironic World of Pierre Boulle – Speculative Fiction in Translation
This is part of a series on French author Pierre Boulle. You learn a lot about an author when you read nine of his books in the space of two months. When that author is Pierre Boulle, you’re sure to be intrigued and entertained. A man writing about the issues of his time, Boulle explores the connections between science and religion, the pressures of technology on the environment, the violence… → Read More
Review: Garden on the Moon by Pierre Boulle – Speculative Fiction in Translation
This is part of a series on French author Pierre Boulle. Julliard, 1964 translated by Xan Fielding Vanguard Press, 1965 315 pages Boulle’s third book to be translated into English demonstrates the writer’s gift for creating heightened tension in the plot and then easing it with a heavy dose of irony. And if you like learning about the space race of the 1950s and 60s, you’ll love this book.… → Read More
Review: Time Out of Mind and Other Stories by Pierre Boulle – Speculative Fiction in Translation
This is part of a series on French author Pierre Boulle. selected and translated by Xan Fielding Secker & Warburg, 1966 254 pages It’s a bit confusing when you try to sort out exactly which of Boulle’s stories from which English edition of Time Out of Mind first appeared in which French collection.* Here’s a handy list: from Contes de l’absurde, 1953 (5 stories) * “The Age of Wisdom” (Le… → Read More
Review: Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle – Speculative Fiction in Translation
This is part of a series on French author Pierre Boulle. Julliard, 1963 translated by Xan Fielding Vanguard Press, 1963 246 pages If you’ve watched the 1968 Planet of the Apes film, that’s great. Now forget all about it. Pierre Boulle’s novel Planet of the Apes is, like many of the author’s works, a social satire. Presented in the guise of a literal message in a bottle (but floating in space… → Read More
Pierre Boulle – Speculative Fiction in Translation
Pierre Boulle (1912-1994) was a French author who wrote several science fiction novels, including Planet of the Apes. Trained as an electrical engineer, Boulle spent eight years in Malaysia as a planter and soldier. His experience as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore during World War II inspired his famous novel The Bridge on the River Kwai. Listed below are Boulle’s speculative… → Read More
Review: Fast Forward Japan by Juza Unno – Speculative Fiction in Translation
translated by J. D. Wisgo Arigatai Books June 21, 2021 162 pages grab a copy here or or through your local independent bookstore or library Read more about Juza Unno and the translation of these stories here. “Four Dimensional Man” “The World in One Thousand Years” “The Theory of Planetary Colonization” “Mysterious Spatial Rift” “The Living Intestine” “The Last Broadcast” “Adventures of the… → Read More
Jakarta by Rodrigo Márquez Tizano, translated by Thomas Bunstead
Something terrible lies just under the surface. I particularly love the delicious feeling of readerly vertigo in those books with unreliable narrators, where something suddenly shifts and you reali… → Read More
Romanian SFT: Anthologies (Part IV) – Speculative Fiction in Translation
Galaxy 42: Collected Stories, eds. Daniel Timariu and Cristian Vicol (Galaxy 42 Magazine, 2020). “Love According to ‘Ticks'” by Danut Ungureanu “God of Tears” by Milos Dumbraci “The Fifth Season” by Teodora Matei “The Ritual” by Cristian Vicol “The Source Code of Humanity” by Boris Velimirovici “Bug” by Alex Lamba “Bodies to Let” by Daniel Timariu “The Recluse” by George Cornila “Beyond the… → Read More
Romanian SFT: Review of TWELVE: A Romanian Science-Fiction Anthology – Speculative Fiction in Translation
selected and introduced by Cornel Robu Sedona Publishing House (Timişoara, Romania) more information about the anthology here Stories included (in order of original Romanian publication): > * “Igor’s Mannequin” (1938) by Victor Papilian, tr by Virgil Stanciu * “Tristan’s Last Avatar”/ “The Last Avatar of Tristan the Old” (1966) by Vladimir Colin, tr by Mihaela Avrămuţ * “Les Trois Grâces”… → Read More
Romanian SFT: Anthologies (Part I) – Speculative Fiction in Translation
Romanian SF anthology: Nemira ’94: Short Stories, eds. Romulus Bărbulescu, George Anania, N. Lee Wood, and Norman Spinrad; translated by Cezar Ionescu, Gabriel Stoian and Pia Luttmann (Editură Nemira, 1994). “If it is true that we live together through the crisis that precedes our transition to a new form of existence; if it is true that the experience accumulated so far by our species proves… → Read More
Romanian SFT: An Overview – Speculative Fiction in Translation
OVERVIEW Anglophone readers might think that Romanian speculative fiction in English is rare, but they’re wrong. In fact, if you start looking for it, you’ll find it everywhere. Granted a number of the books, collections, and anthologies are either out of print or difficult to get in some Anglophone countries, but the more that we readers ask for Romanian SFT, the more we’ll get it. Romanian… → Read More
Polish SFT: Andrzej Sapkowski – Speculative Fiction in Translation
ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI (b. 1948) “An economist by education, Sapkowski worked in foreign trade from 1972-94. He is a five-time winner of the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, the most important honour for fantasy writers in Poland. He received Polityka magazine’s Literature Passport in 1997. What’s more, Sapkowski’s popularity is not limited to Poland; his novels have been translated into Russian, English,… → Read More
The Madwoman of Serrano by Dina Salústio, translated by Jethro Soutar
Many of the families described in The Madwoman of Serrano are fractured or built only after a long struggle. → Read More
Review: Legend of the Galactic Heroes Volume 10: Sunset By Yoshiki Tanaka – Speculative Fiction in Translation
translated by Matt Treyvaud November 19, 2019 224 pages * here be spoilers Haikasoru has done it. They’ve published all ten books in Yoshiki Tanaka’s Legend of the Galactic Heroes series in English. Sadly, this was also one of Haikasoru’s last publications, but we can take heart from the fact that they’ve left us with a wealth of excellent Japanese speculative fiction in English translation. But… → Read More
The Skiffy and Fanty Show: Speculative Fiction in Translation #17: Science Fiction and Fairy Tales
This month, Rachel and Daniel talk about the SFiT that came out in September and what they're reading now. As Daniel points out, several of the short stories they discuss have some kind of fairy-tale element to them, leading the co-hosts to think about the interesting connections between that genre and science fiction. And while… → Read More
The Skiffy and Fanty Show: Speculative Fiction in Translation #16: Looking Back on the Summer’s SFT
Rachel and Daniel return this month with a wide-ranging conversation about the SFT they’ve been reading/hearing about/wanting to read from the summer. While Rachel was reading Liu Cixin’… → Read More
Reviews of Short Fiction: June Edition – Speculative Fiction in Translation
Each month, Daniel Haeusser reviews short works of SFT that appear both online and in print. He is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Canisius College, where he teaches microbiology and leads student research projects with bacteria and bacteriophage. He’s also an associate blogger with the American Society for Microbiology’s popular Small Things Considered. Daniel reads broadly… → Read More
The Skiffy and Fanty Show: Speculative Fiction in Translation #15: An Interview with Julia Meitov Hersey
This month, Rachel has a special guest on the podcast! Julia Meitov Hersey (@JuliaMeiHersey), who translated the psychological-fantasy-thriller Vita Nostra from the Russian, comes on to talk about … → Read More
Interview: Élisabeth Vonarburg – Speculative Fiction in Translation
I’m so pleased to have had the opportunity to interview award-winning author, editor, and translator Élisabeth Vonarburg! Along with writing numerous novels and short fiction, Vonarburg worked as fiction editor (1979-1990) and editor (1983-1985) of Solaris, the world’s oldest-established French-language sf magazine. Here she talks about her writing, SF in translation, and much more. Enjoy! Here… → Read More
A Bond Undone by Jin Yong, translated by Gigi Chang
A Bond Undone's nested, even playful, structure is in perfect keeping with the rest of the novel’s balance between serious, deadly conflict and humorous dialogue. → Read More