The Emperor of Gondwanaland and Other Stories [Paperback]

Paul Di Filippo (Author)

Book Description

Series: Di Filippo, Paul | Publication Date: June 10, 2005

Paul Di Filippo's fiction spans genres—from cyberpunk to alternative history to extravagantly funny tales involving talking beavers. As whimsical as they are intelligent, the eighteen stories gathered here, each introduced by the author, find strange characters in even stranger circumstances. An all-access pass to Di Filippo's whirlwind imagination, The Emperor of Gondwanaland makes clear why its author is one of the most respected science fiction writers around. The man who coined the word ribofunk (to describe science fiction with a biogenetic twist), Di Filippo sees into the heart of our times with a vision and creativity that simply won't quit. The Emperor of Gondwanaland is more like a fluid Dalí dreamscape, painted with the deft brushstrokes; a wildly fantastic escape to alternate universes from one of the most imaginative writers around.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The best of the 18 stories in Di Filippo's first nonthemed collection are both fun and unpredictable. Typically they pay homage to other authors, as in "Anselmo Merino," which puts a science-fictional spin on Herman Melville's Benito Cereno. In the idiosyncratic "Beyond Mao," co-written with Barry Malzberg, Chinese "taikonauts" venture into space. It would be pure Malzberg if it weren't half Di Filippo. In "Observable Things," Cotton Mather teams up with Robert E. Howard's fictional Puritan, Solomon Kane. "A Monument to After-Thought Unveiled" features an even more outlandish pairing—poet Robert Frost starts his career by writing horror fiction for Weird Tales magazine, edited by H.P. Lovecraft. The poignant title tale underlines the emotional importance of computers to lonely but imaginative individuals, while the amusing alternate world satire, "Shake It to the West," updates J.A. Mitchell's 1889 novel of America in decline, The Last American. Not every selection is a winner, but the versatile Di Filippo (The Steampunk Trilogy) remains consistently inventive. (July 5)
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From Booklist

Since the publication of his first single-themed collection, The Steampunk Trilogy (1995), melding nineteenth-century pseudoscience with faux Victorian prose, Di Filippo has garnered a reputation as one of the genre's most inventive and quirky stylists. Over the last decade, he has followed up with seven other variations-on-a-theme collections, including Lost Pages (1998), which presented alternate lives of famous authors, and Strange Trades (2001), which explored unusual professions. Here, as underscored in his brief introduction, Di Filippo takes pains to avoid a uniform motif and present a smorgasbord of diverse ideas and styles. "Anselmo Merino" recasts Melville's "Benito Cereno," the classic story of a slave revolt at sea, with aliens filling in for Africans. In the title story, Gondwanaland appears to be an imaginary micronation existing only on the Internet--until the protagonist falls in love with an all-too-real citizen. "Ailoura," one of the volume's standouts, reenvisions the Puss in Boots fairy tale as a whimsical space opera. A perfect introduction for Di Filippo newcomers and a delight for his fans. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (June 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256656
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256656
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Stuff., March 7, 2007

By 

Brett J. Callahan (Lake Oswego, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Emperor of Gondwanaland and Other Stories (Paperback)

I bought this a year or so ago when it came out and devoured it. I cannot believe no one has reviewed it. There's not a bad story in it. If you like Paul Di Filippo and don't have this book, what are you waiting for???

If you're a Di Filippo novice, this is a great starting place. Unlike his other books, which stick to a theme (renegade biology, steampunkery, odd jobs, etc...) this is a grab bag of treats. SF, fantasy, cyberpunk, alternate history, contemporary magical realism, and the just plain odd all get royal treatment in this book. Get it--you'll not be disappointed!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Darn Good, June 4, 2007

By 

J. Lyon "certified geek & gaper" (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Emperor of Gondwanaland and Other Stories (Paperback)

Paul Di Filippo is a talented writer, there is no doubt. This collection is better than the Steampunk Trilogy. I thought that book started out great and finished so-so. The Emperor of Gondwanaland has it's ups and downs, but on a whole, it is wonderful. The variety of stories alone is fantastic. But there are some real winners too, and they left we wanting a full novel version. I admit, I didn't read the story about Robert Frost, the poet story in the Steampunk Trilogy still bugs me and I couldn't bring myself to read it. Here is the best example of this books quality though, I borrowed it from the library, but now I want to buy it! The stories are rich in detail and world building, so rich that I want to read it over and over. It's worth it.