Pages

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Hild roundup #18

It's clear that now Hild's been out nearly six months things are slowing down. I have zero (none, not one) interviews to report, for example. I am okay with this: I have Hild II to write.

I  keep thinking about short story ideas, though. Speaking of which you can now read "Cold Wind," for free at Tor.com, or read it on your Kindle (device or app) for 99 cents. (Lois Tilton reviews it here. She sounds a little...puzzled.)

In other news, Hild--as well as being a finalist for the Nebula and Lambda Literary Awards, a Tiptree Honor Book, and one of Autostraddle's Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2013--is short-listed for the Bisexual Book Award.

Other links can be found at the master list of Hild roundups.

REVIEWS
The English Bookshop
She was the light of the world, Anna Bark Persson
"Hild is above all a gorgeously written and richly imagined novel […] Ironically enough, considering that the novel is historical fiction, it many times reminded me of why I used to like epic fantasy so much […] Griffith manages to make what is often an unfamiliar world intelligible to me more deftly than many fantasy authors."

Emphatic Hands
"One of the best examples of historical fiction I’ve encountered in a while. I was really impressed…"

Chicago Public Library
"Nicola Griffith is better known for her mystery and science fiction work, but Hild, her first work of historical fiction, may be her breakthrough."

Have a Heart of Fire; Have a Heart of Gold
"There are books that begin to make me sad as I go on, because the book gets thinner and thinner on one side...and I know I will be having to leave that world and those people soon. / Hild was one of those books. It was not just the fact that I finally felt represented in a historical novel — something that is not to be underestimated. It was not just the fact that the historical details were fascinating to the extreme, especially the religious, outlook, and domestic details. It was not just the fact that I absolutely ADORED Hild, as a person, and her brother and her cronies and her people and her land. I guess it was all of those things. But more: I was utterly immersed in the world. I was growing as Hild was. I was helpless yet powerful, strong yet frightened, friend to all peoples but friend of no person."

MISCELLANEOUS
The Riveter Magazine
"Fiction as a genre has a particular cult(ure) associated with its distribution. I would argue American fiction publishing culture follows “masculine” competitive logic (not that women should not be competitive or masculine!) that seeks to undermine readers, engender their interpretations, and distort their agency. Women are writing experimental novels, we just aren’t hearing about it. Wood’s article focuses on outdated, male-centric academic criticism and fails to mention non-academic reviewers who have anticipated, if not outright caused, the rise of female authors like Donna Tartt, Rachel Kushner, Nicola Griffith, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie."
This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

Print