Every five thousand years, so the people of the planet Thanet believe, the world ends in fire and a new cycle of creation begins. Now the Last Days are once again upon them, and a fiery star draws near. This is the Death-Bringer, the Eater of the World, whose coming heralds the end of all things.... But to Captain Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise™; the Death-Bringer appears to be nothing but a rogue comet, easily destroyed. Picard faces a difficult dilemma: how can he save the Thanetians' rich and intricate civilization without destroying the very beliefs upon which their culture is based? This quandary is challenge enough, yet the captain's position becomes even more complicated when Deanna Troi discovers that, incredibly, the comet is alive!
The Millennial War left a sullen void where civilization once stood. But then the whales began their song -- a mysterious song that resounded throughout the polluted seas and told an ancient heartbreaking tale that moved the survivors to revive and honored ritual . . .
The complete vocal score of Somtow Sucharitkul's opera "Ayodhya," written for the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Reign of the King of Thailand. This grand opera retells the entire story of Thailand's national epic, the Ramayana, in modern terms. Premiered in 2006 with Michael Chance, Nancy Yuen, John Ames, and Charles Hens. Piano reduction with detailed orchestra notes by Trisdee na Patalung. LIbretto is included.
Commissioned by the government of Thailand as a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy, Somtow Sucharitkul's Requiem takes its inspiration from the words of great American poets: T.S. Eliot, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. Tom Mintier of CNN called in "a moving work"in a feature that aired on the anniversary of the tragedy. Set for soprano, large chorus and orchestra, the three-movement work is a triptych on the themes of Devastation, Mourning, and Hope. This is a study score that contains the entire orchestral and vocal music of the Requiem in a convenient and readable A4 size.
When Johnny's family moves to California, he finds it hard to fit in at his new school until Rebecca, the half-human daughter of a vampire, begins to attend Johnny's school and the two of them become close friends, each facing their own personal demons.
complete vocal score and piano reduction Dan-no-Ura is an opera about the Battle of Dan-no-Ura, and one of the most celebrated naval battles of all time along with the Battle of Actium and the Battle of Trafalgar. The events are loosely adapted from the epic Japanese novel The Tale of the Heike and other literary works. A number of historical events and personages have been telescoped, combined or omitted in order to produce a cohesive operatic work. The opera is set in a very specific period, the the end of the Heian Era in the late twelfth century. The aesthetic is one of consummate elegance and utter simplicity. Whether the production is naturalistic or highly stylized is a matter of directorial choice, but this aesthetic must constantly be borne in mind. The action of the opera takes place against a very fluid backdrop, as though the audience were a moving observer or even a camera, able to pan and tilt through the melee and to zoom in on important scenes.
Novelist, composer and conductor Somtow Sucharitkul (who writes books under the name S.P. Somtow) had an extraordinary epiphany while driving downthe California coast. At almost 50 years of age, having spent very little time in his native Thailand, he was seized by an overwhelming desire to enter a Buddhist monastery. This is the story of that journey, full of surprises, culture shock, discoveries, humor and spirituality. Visions, dreams, comedy, philosophy, wisdom and superstition mingle in an unforgettable fusion.
This is a special issue—our 50th, as you may have noticed from our cover. To celebrate, all past and present editors were to contribute a story. (It helps that they are also amazingly talented writers.) So we have stories from Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Paul Di Filippo, Darrell Schweitzer, and Cynthia Ward in addition to our other fare. But wait! There’s more! This issue features four original tales—Elizabeth Zelvin has a fantasy/mystery stories, Phyllis Ann Karr has a weird western, and Cynthia Ward has a gonzo science fiction crowd-funding story. And I have completed a story by the late H.B. Fyfe, who was best known for his science fiction stories, though this one is a revenge tale that most closely fits the mystery genre. And the good stuff doesn’t stop there. We also have a superhero story from Darrell Schweitzer. Space Opera from Algis Budrys and E.E. “Doc” Smith. A historical mystery novel by western author B.M. Bower. A historical investigation from Charles Todd. A Mallworld story from Somtow Sucharitkul (who also writes as S.P. Somtow). And no issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles. All in all, this is an probably our best Black Cat Weekly yet. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Ladies of Wednesday Tea” by Michael Bracken [short story] “Hidden in Plain Sight” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Ice Ice Baby” by Barb Goffman [short story] “Flayed” by H.B. Fyfe and John Gregory Betancourt [short story] “Blood Money” by Charles Todd [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The House of Marble” by Elizabeth Zelvin [Michael Bracken Presents short story] The Eagle’s Wing, by B.M. Bower [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The House of Marble” by Elizabeth Zelvin [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Rise and Fall of Whistle-Pig City” by Paul Di Filippo [short story] “Rabid in Mallworld” by Somtow Sucharitkul [short story] “Fighting the Zeppelin Gang” by Darrell Schweitzer [short story] “Winona of Bleeding Kansas” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] “The Campaign Is Now Officially Complete” by Cynthia Ward [short story] “Blood on my Jets” by Algis Budrys [short story] The Skylark of Valeron, by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. [novel]
Study score of Somtow Sucharitkul's song cycle "Songs Before Dawn" for chamber orchestra and two to three solo singers. This intricate, cross-cultural work, commissioned by the Norwegian government as part of its celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, is presented in a full instrumental and vocal score in a convenient 7 x 10 paperback size.
A complete vocal score of Somtow Sucharitkul's 2003 horror opera, "Mae Naak," edited and with a piano reduction by Trisdee na Patalung. The Nation called this opera "a truly great work" with its exotic colors and ironic cross-breeding of Thai folk music with the tropes of horror film music. As noted for its grand guignol as its sweeping lyricism, "Mae Naak" has been garnering rave reviews since its Bangkok Opera debut with Nancy Yuen in the title role.
The setting is Thailand and the protagonists are two boys, one Thai, the other African-American. The novel traces their relationship, which is a meeting of East and West. By a Thai-born writer, author of Vampire Junction.
S.P. Somtow's much anthologized story The Fallen Country, and the acclaimed young adult novel that derived from it, have been favorites since the 1980s when they first appeared. In 2015, wearing his other hat as one of the leading contemporary opera composers, Somtow premiered his opera The Snow Dragon, a third variation on this theme, taking the characters into a whole new dimension. This volume collects all three variants - short story, novel, and opera libretto, to form a fascinating study in the evolution of a writer's mind over a thirty-five year period. The Snow Dragon is the story of Billy, a twelve-year-old boy who suffers from such traumatic domestic violence that he has sought refuge in a fantasy kingdom. The Fallen Country has princesses and dragons, but it is a land of perpetual cold, and its inhabitants have no feelings. Billy meets Dora, an embittered therapist with issues of her own. To find an avenue of healing, Billy must convince Dora he is not imagining things ... that the place he goes to is a real place. And Dora must learn to abandon her safety net and follow her young patient into another world.
the finest new series of the 90s thus far... fantasy novels don't come any better than this! the makings of a classic!" - Edward Bryant "Somtow himself, with a poet's cunning, arranges it all into what could be described as, like, Dante for the next millenium" - Faren Miller in LOCUS "an object lesson in the potential of fantasy - erudition and post-modern pop awareness spice the narrative - adventurous, stirring writing, and Somtow's powerful, lucid prose glows with internal energy and intensity." - The London Times An ordinary American family gets caught up in a cosmic battle for control of the fate of the universe in S.P. Somtow's Riverrun Trilogy. Young Theo Etchison is a truthsayer - one with the ability to navigate the great river that connects all the parallel universes. His mother, Mary, is dying of cancer, but she may also be the mother goddess, the nurturer of the world. His father, Phil, is a second-rate poet; his brother, Joshua, has been seduced by a dragon-succubus. On a journey through America to a Mexican alternative medicine clinic, the Etchison family is sucked into the world of the Darklings, superhuman creatures who are battling for domination of the cosmos, who need Theo's special gift..
Kelver had been chosen by a heretic to be the chosen one who would bring down a galactic empire that had lasted twenty thousand years and controlled a million worlds. He was sent to Uran s'Varek, the vast artificial sphere build around the black hole at the heart of the galaxy, to be trained in the ways of the High Inquest, the godlike elite who ruled the known universe.Instead, he fell in love with the beautiful, cruel White Inquestrix Siriss, and the violet-eyed boy Arryk - was entranced by the singing city of Shentrazjit - wept at the sepulcher of worlds - made love in a desert of powdered chocolate - and was finally possessed by the Throne of Madness, whose unimaginable power came from the deaths of stars.The Inquestor Series, a dazzling future history of a galactic empire of shattering beauty and brutality, was iconic science fiction of the 1980s by World Fantasy Award and Campbell Award winner S.P. Somtow, who created worlds, languages, cultures and spectacle. In the words of Analog magazine, "He may yet give us the greatest science fiction novel of all time."Forty years on, the series has come to life again, with additional novels, revised editions and new introductions and ancillary materials. Somtow's far-flung galactic civilization is a creation to rival Silverberg's Majipoor or Herbert's Dune. It is a universe with its own language and exotic customs, vividly etched characters and rich history that spans thousands of worlds and tens of thousands of years.The godlike Inquestors of the High Inquest had forsaken all that made them human. But one young Inquestor rediscovered the power of compassion and hastened the end of their ancient, starflung empire...."In a prose that evokes the spirited imagination of thesymbolist painters and poets, Somtow postulates a complex universe of immense scope ... upholds the author's place as one of SF's formidable talents."- Publishers Weekly
Billy and Charley lives in vastly different worlds. When Billy's world begins to threaten his very life, he discovers Charley to be a true friend and his last hope for survival.
Now a 2014 Bram Stoker Award Nominee! Here are eight of World Fantasy Award winner S.P. Somtow's most controversial stories, including three previously uncollected ones. Each deals with a "sacred cow" of the Judaeo-Christian tradition and subjects it to the pitiless scrutiny of historian, mythographer, and fantasist. Violent, sometimes kinky, these stories nevertheless reach surprising epiphanies about faith and redemption. A curiously sympathetic Antichrist hunts down the next messiah with the aid of a unicorn. St Paul ponders about whether, in order to make his miraculous new religion work, he needs to get rid of an inconvenient Jesus. An entertainment mogul in ancient Rome figures out how to cut costs by staging resurrections in the arena. Lot's daughter has managed to survive as a vampire and pours out her heart in an incest survivors' support group.... These aren't the Bible stories you learned in Sunday school - yet they raise many of the questions you may not have dared ask there.Between them the eight stories in this book were nominated for ten awards, including Bram Stokers, International Horror Guild Awards, and an Asimov's Magazine Reader Poll.
On this alternate Earth, Rome rules all...including the New World, known in other dimensions as America but here as Terra Novo. General Titus Papinianus is governor of that untamed land, and Aquila, chief of the savage Lacoti nation, is a Roman senator. But official titles aside, their duty is to Caesar. So when Caesar sends them on a quest for the fabled land of China, thought to be somewhere in Terra Novo, off they go. They are hardly prepared for bloodthirsty Aztecs, flying machines, time-traveling aliens, or Bigfoot - and Aquila's problem-solving strategies are unconventional to say the least! Before they know it, their adventures lead them into the hands of the Time Criminal, who is bent on altering all the multiple universes to suit his own evil whims. Somehow they have to stop him...before their world is destroyed!
S.P. Somtow's first novel, "Starship & Haiku, " was awarded the Locus Award and caused a sensation in 1981 with its extraordinary Asian-skewed view of the post nuclear apocalypse. In this novel, only Japan has survived a world-wide holocaust, and Japan's culture has turned inward, exalting its past and its aesthetic of suicide. In this grim world, a young girl makes contact with a renegade member of an alien race ... the whales. Together, they plan a new future for the world's intelligent life. Part savage satire, part poetic evocation of a manga-like universe, S.P. Somtow's novel was the inspiration for Kathy Mar's award-winning song "Starship and Haiku.
In this exotic retelling of the fairy tale of Bluebeard, a New Age thirty-something from California is swept off her feet by an enigmatic Thai millionaire and soon finds herself in Bangkok's brave new world of shamans, shopping malls, and high society serial killers. Originally written as a cliff-hanging series for Bangkok's The Nation newspaper, The Other City of Angels is a roller-coaster roman-a-clef that leapfrogs from genre to genre and culture to culture, turning the western preconception of Bangkok as a city "of temples and prostitutes" on its ear. A darkly comic odyssey populated with wild characters, with intimate glimpses into the eccentric antics of Asia's upper classes.
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