Imatge de l'autor
5+ obres 120 Membres 6 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Crèdit de la imatge: Derwin Mak

Obres de Derwin Mak

The Dragon and the Stars (2010) — Editor; Col·laborador — 51 exemplars
The Moon Under Her Feet (2006) 8 exemplars
Mecha-Jesus and Other Stories (2024) 2 exemplars

Obres associades

Space, Inc. (2003) — Col·laborador — 117 exemplars
Tesseracts Eighteen: Wrestling With Gods (2015) — Col·laborador — 54 exemplars
Strangers Among Us: Tales of the Underdogs and Outcasts (2016) — Col·laborador — 24 exemplars
Thou Shalt Not... (2006) — Col·laborador — 15 exemplars
Shanghai Steam (2013) — Col·laborador — 10 exemplars
Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound (2012) — Col·laborador — 7 exemplars
Explorer (2002) — Col·laborador — 6 exemplars
Space & Time 133 (2019) — Autor — 1 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Data de naixement
19--
Gènere
male
Nacionalitat
Canada
Lloc de naixement
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Llocs de residència
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Educació
University of Waterloo, Ontario (MS|Accounting)
American Military University
Professions
science fiction writer
chartered accountant
Organitzacions
Venerable Order of Saint John
Royal Canadian Military Institute
Royal Heraldry Society of Canada
Premis i honors
Prix Aurora (Best Short Form Work in English, 2006)
Biografia breu
Derwin Mak

Derwin Mak lives in Toronto, Canada. He is a chartered accountant and an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He has Master’s degrees in accounting (University of Waterloo) and military studies (American Military University). He is also a member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute and gave a lecture about Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan War Museum there.

His science fiction stories include “The Siren Stone”, which was a finalist for a 2004 Aurora Award, Canada’s science fiction award; and its sequel, “Transubstantiation”, which won the 2006 Aurora Award for Best Short-Form Work in English. His novel The Moon Under Her Feet was a finalist for the 2008 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English. He co-edited, with Eric Choi, The Dragon and the Stars, an anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories written by ethnic Chinese outside China.

Derwin’s website is www.derwinmaksf.com.

[source: publisher's website. http://www.weirdandwondrousbooks.com/...]

Membres

Ressenyes

Before I start this review, I want to note something that’s more than a little important to the understanding of this book. This is an anthology written solely by ethnic Chinese writers who live outside of China proper. In her introduction Tess Gerritsen explores the fact that growing up, she was immersed in the Chinese culture–its superstitions, cultural beliefs, etc., but as she grew up she felt less “Chinese” and more “American”: “I believed in science, not superstition. As my memories of childhood receded…I forgot just how Chinese I am” (pg 1, Tess Gerritsen). Every story in the anthology (all 18, which is a lucky number in Chinese numerology) is centered around the writers’ growing up Chinese, “…an identity that none of us ever truly escapes, though we may grow up far from the shores of China” (pg. 2, Gerritsen).

I’m thrilled by this notion and was eager and excited for this collection. I have a not-so-trivial complaint, however. The cover art. It’s pretty, to be sure, but that is a Western dragon depicted on the cover, not an Eastern dragon. Doesn’t matter, a dragon is a dragon, you say? Think again. Unlike their Western counterparts, Eastern Dragons were considered to be good luck symbols, wise advisers and revered as sacred because of their ties with the Emperor. For me this is rather disruptive and irritating.

Onto the stories, however, which in theory, should have made up for the cover art’s lack.

“The Character of the Hound” by Tony Pi
I have never read nor heard of this writer before, but now I want to read more of his writings. Part cautionary tale for traitors, part murder mystery and learning when to compromise, this story was engaging from the first page. Wu Fan is an engineer for the Song Dynasty and is called upon to perform a special service for his country; he is to house a shen (spirit) to help solve a murder and theft. The story moves at an even pace, with Lu Fan and then Lu Fan/Quan Shen (Hound Spirit)’s narratives being distinct, but familiar. Its an interesting concept and one I hope the author explores in another short story or even a longer novel.

And that, my friend, ends what I enjoyed best about this anthology. The very first story in the collection is the only story I truly wanted to read again. The other seventeen stories failed to impress me, but more importantly they failed to entertain me. In William F. Wu’s “Going’ Down to Anglotown” I felt distinctly uncomfortable with the author’s depiction of what would have happened if Asia had more dominance over America than Europe. By the time I reached “Bargains” by Gabriela Lee (an author I’ve read before in the short story collection By Blood We Live) I was wondering if I had read the back cover correctly.

I have no doubt that the authors included are talented, and I’m likely to even enjoy a couple of them outside of this anthology, but I could not enjoy them this time around. I know better than to fully trust the backcover blurb on a book–they are rarely ever truly indicative of the book within–but the forward filled me with hope. I just wish the book had fulfilled that hope better.
… (més)
 
Marcat
lexilewords | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Dec 28, 2023 |
This anthology has truly achieved diversity in more than one way. It contains stories that take place in all kinds of places, not limited to earth, under all kinds of circumstances and time frames. Even if they are all sci-fi and fantasy stories, they are incredibly different from each other in subject, style and mood. Some are light while others will leave you filled with emotions. The characters can be human or not, alive or death, from little kids to elderly, with superpowers, enhancements or handicapped. All these wonderful stories are presented with very unique and intriguing plots developed over Asian backgrounds (Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Japanese, Philippine, Korean, Indonesian, etc.)

Most of the stories carry deep teachings, sometimes boldly presented as the main theme while other times it can be subtly left there for the reader to analyze. Loss, struggle, hope and the continuous search for ourselves and a place to belong to, were themes I felt constantly reappearing in these lovely stories. This book took me longer than usual to finish, partly because a couple of stories were most definitely not of my liking. I found them confusing and had to slow down to keep a good level of comprehension. That can ruin the mood for the next story, so I took more breaks than usual while reading this anthology.

When I finished reading I realized I loved some stories, others remained in a gray area and couple of them I disliked. Yet, I could sympathize with all of them, which was great, because that's what happens when you are presented with diversity, with options that are truly different from each other. Quite probably you wont love them all, but you can get a real taste of diverse short stories that you will enjoy if you like science fiction and fantasy. My top 3 favorite stories were: Memoriam by Priya Sridhar, Old Souls by Fonda Lee and Rose's Arm by Calvin D.Jim
I got my eArc from Laksa Media Groups
… (més)
 
Marcat
Miss_Honeybug | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | May 3, 2020 |
Where the Stars Rise is a short story anthology that didn’t quite meet my high expectations.
Where the Stars Rise collects twenty-three short stories from authors living in Asia or who are part of the Asian diaspora. I was already familiar with a few of the authors in the table of contents, but most were new to me.

Going in, I was probably most excited about the stories by Karin Lowachee (author of the phenomenal Warchild) and Fonda Lee (whose new release Jade City I adored). Sure enough, both authors ended up having some of my favorite stories in the collection. Lowachee’s was actually set in the same universe as Warchild, following the younger brother of Captain Azarcon. Like other Warchild stories, it’s about a young boy who falls through the cracks during times of conflict. The protagonist’s birth family is destroyed, and he’s adopted by a small trading family. But they soon find him to be too “damaged” and end up sending him to become functionally a child solider. Karin Lowachee’s not known for uplifting stories.

Fonda Lee’s story, “Old Souls,” was my favorite of the collection. The heroine is a young woman who can remember all her previous lives, and in every single one she dies young. She knows that her death is imminent, and she desperately wants a way to change her pattern. When she meets an immortal woman, a solution may be in sight. It’s a great concept that sort of reminded me of some of Claire North’s work. I’d love to read more about it, but I think it works very well for the short story format.

I’d read S.B. Divya’s novella (Runtime), but I actually prefer her short story here, “Looking Up.” The heroine wins a spot on a colonizing trip to Mars, meaning she’ll leave Earth forever. With her departure imminent, she has to make peace with her past and the relatives who won’t speak to her.

I also enjoyed some stories by new to me authors. Amanda Sun’s “Weaving Silk” is the tale of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo and two sisters who’s parents died in the earthquakes. The older cares for the youngest, and the two make a living by selling food the scavenge and prepare themselves. I loved the relationship between the sisters and how the country as a whole tried to find some semblance of normalcy in the midst of disaster.

One of my other favorites was “The Observer Effect” by E.C. Myers. It’s a superhero story, where the heroine is determined to find her favorite superhero. In addition to being a lot of fun, the story also tackles whitewashing and the need for Asian American representation.

“Rose’s Arm” by Calvin D. Jim was a pretty solid steampunk story about a one armed girl who’s desperate to help her father after her mother dies. To do so, she aims to get a mechanical limb, but what will it cost her? The ending packs a strong emotional punch.

I was ambivalent about the majority of stories in the collection. In “Memoriam” by Priya Sridhar, a robot might not just be a robot. “A Star Is Born” by Miki Dare deals with Japanese internment camps through the medium of time travel. “Spirit of Wine” by Tony Pi is a light-hearted story about two scholars who get possessed by a drunken spirit the night before their exam. “Vanilla Rice” by Angela Yuriko Smith addresses internalized racism and white beauty standards. In “DNR” by Gabriela Lee, a Filipina mortician remembers her life on Earth. “Back to Myan” by Regina Kanyu Wang has alien mermaids and remembering where you came from. “Wintry Hearts of Those Who Rise” by Minsoo Kang is a historic story set in ancient China. “Joseon Fringe” by Pamela Q. Fernandes is another historic story, this time about a Korean emperor being given ideas by a time traveler. “Decision” by Joyce Chng has a pregnant spider-jinn reflecting on her life. “Moon Halves” by Anne Carly Abad is a folkloric tale where the monsters might not be entirely monstrous. In “A Visitation for the Spirit Festival” by Diana Xin, Mrs. Liu inherits a ghost and travels back to China. “The Orphans of Nilaveli” by Naru Dames Sundar is a sci-fi tale dealing with conflict between the Tamil and Sinhalese.

Other stories feel on the negative side of ambivalent. The worst was probably “The Bridge of Dangerous Longings” by Rati Mehrotra, which I absolutely hated. It had what felt like a completely unnecessary sexual assault scene, and the story has a whole felt so vague and pointless. I’ve been planning on reading Rati Mehrotra’s new novel, and this story made me look forward to it less.
“The dataSultan of Streets and Stars” by Jeremy Szal had some interesting ideas but felt needlessly violent. I also wasn’t so fond of the characters. “My Left Hand” by Ruhan Zhao was just plain boring. I can hardly remember what happened in “Udātta Śloka” by Deepak Bharathan. “Crash” by Melissa Yuan-Innes had potential, but it ended much too soon, just where I felt like the story was about to really start.

Like all short story collections, Where the Stars Rise is a mixed bag. There were some highlights and stories I’d recommend, but there were too many stories I was “meh” on for me to really recommend this collection as a whole.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
… (més)
 
Marcat
pwaites | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | Dec 3, 2017 |
This is a collection of books written by people with Chinese ancestry who no longer live in China. The stories ranged from alternative history of China stories to modern futuristic stories. Many used the folklore of China, fox demons and dragons etc, very well. Many commented on the process of finding of blending cultures with a non-Asian community, or even non-Asian family members. Most of the stories were imaginative, while also providing food for thought. The last story though... not to my taste. I wish I'd stopped on the second to last one that was an odd take on reincarnation.… (més)
1 vota
Marcat
cammykitty | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Dec 7, 2010 |

Premis

Potser també t'agrada

Autors associats

Eric Choi Editor, Contributor
Tony Pi Contributor
Gabriela Lee Contributor
Melissa Yuan-Innes Contributor
Calvin D. Jim Contributor
Rati Mehrotra Contributor
S.B. Divya Contributor
Naru Dames Sundar Contributor
Jeremy Szal Contributor
Ruhan Zhao Contributor
Fonda Lee Contributor
Anne Carly Abad Contributor
Regina Kanyu Wang Contributor
Miki Dare Contributor
Priya Sridhar Contributor
Shaoyan Hu Translator
Deepak Bharathan Contributor
Diana Xin Contributor
Minsoo Kang Contributor
Amanda Sun Contributor
Elsie Chapman Introduction
Joyce Chng Contributor
Karin Lowachee Contributor
E. C. Myers Contributor
Wen Y. Phua Contributor
William F. Wu Contributor
E. L. Chen Contributor
Brenda W. Clough Contributor
Eugie Foster Contributor
Urania Fung Contributor
Emery Huang Contributor
Shelly Li Contributor
Charles Tan Contributor
Emily Mah Contributor
Susan Ee Contributor
Tess Gerritsen Introduction

Estadístiques

Obres
5
També de
8
Membres
120
Popularitat
#165,356
Valoració
½ 3.7
Ressenyes
6
ISBN
12

Gràfics i taules