Bøger af S P Somtow

After the phenomenal success of Dinosaur Symphony, World Fantasy Award winning author S.P. Somtow has brought the surprising world of dinosaurs in classical ballet to life!When Billy brings his pet velociraptor to his sister's ballet class, he thinks all that prancing about is just plain silly. "Even my pet dinosaur could do better!" Soon, under the tutelage of the strict Madame Ciporilli, the dinosaur and his friends learn start learning the positions, movements, and gestures ... and it isn't long before they figure out it's a disciplined art not just for girls, but for dinosaurs and boys, too! Finally, the plots of the world's most famous ballets are explained and every dinosaur gets to be a ballerina!Told with playful poetry and hilarious illustrations, S.P. Somtow's book is a companion piece to the much-praised "Dinosaur Symphony."

The decadence of Imperial Rome comes to life in S.P. Somtow's Literary Titan Award-winning novel about one of ancient history's wildest characters.

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.

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."

S.P. Somtow's classic sequel to The Iliad returns to print. Firmly rooted in modern archaeological discoveries about Bronze Age cultures, "The Shattered Horse" paints a vivid picture of a decaying golden age seen through the eyes of the survivors of Trojan War . at the center of the story, Prince Astyanax, heir to the Trojan kingdom, marked for death as a child by the Greek conquerors, escaping perhaps by divine intervention . doomed, perhaps, to repeat history. An astonishing panoply of mythic characters come to life in this book, called by Gene Wolfe "in the true sense, a work of genius."

Caravaggio Times Two is a special edition chapbook produced for the World Premiere of Lux in Tenebris, a meditation about the life and works of the great 16th-Century painter, created by Jacopo Gianninoto and brought to life by an extraordinary team of dancers, actors and musicians. The chapbook pairs the cycle of poems composed by S.P. Somtow as the texts for the production with the novelette Chiaroscuro, written in 1991 as part of Somtow's Vampire Junction sequence, which is published as an independent story for the first time. It was originally woven into the novel Valentine, the middle volume of the iconic trilogy often cited as the "precursor of splatterpunk." The edition is illustrated throughout with Caravaggio's paintings, chosen to create a continuous arc of the artist's life.

Captured by pirates and sold to a Roman aristocrat as a sex slave, Sporus attracted the attention of no less a personage than the Emperor Nero, ruler of the known world. Would-be poet, patron of the arts, aesthete, and brutal autocrat, the Divine Nero saw in the boy a startling resemblance to the Empress Poppaea - and made him an empress as well. Suetonius, Tacitus, and other Roman historians have given tantalizing glimpses into the incredible life story of the boy who became twice an empress to two emperors, and was condemned to die in the arena by a third. In this meticulously researched trilogy, World Fantasy Award winning author lays bare the darkest secrets of Imperial Rome - its triumphs and its nadirs, its beauty and its cruelty. If Gore Vidal had written Quo Vadis this could well have been the result. Through this chaos, a contorted mirror of our contemporary world, this figure of Sporus moves, all too knowing yet all too innocent, providing a worm's eye view of one of the wildest periods in ancient history.Imperatrix, the second volume of the tale, takes us into the heart of the Imperial palace with all its intrigue, depravity, and splendor."Somtow's pen knows no boundaries. From outrageous sex scandals to fascinating detail-rich elements of history that draw you right into the machinations of Ancient Rome ..." - from Proof Positive"This is compulsive reading and all the more remarkable for being broadly speaking a true story. All the key players in this story are genuine and the story follows real events in their lives. The book feels very well researched but the research is used to fuel the story rather than slow it down. Somtow's writing has rarely been more compulsive than this. It's a fast, and incredibly easy read despite the complexities of the politics woven into the narrative." - Marc Lyth in Marc's World of Books

At twelve years old, Little Frog has a richly fantastic and sustaining innerlife. It is 1963, his parents have disappeared, and he lives with his maiden aunts, known affectionately as the Three Fates, on the family estate in Bangkok. But, fed by a stream ofbooks and accompanied by his pet chameleon, Little Frogrefuses to accept thathe is Thai, eats English food, speaks only English, and answers to the name of Justin.Into Justin's eclectically fashioned, whirlingfantasy world steps Virgil, a black American boy, and together they embark on a glorious spree of magic and growing up - in which sex, adult confusions, comedy, farce, politics and the voices of East and West are fused into a voyage of astonishing discovery."Fragrant and very funny ... like childhood, one finds that Jasmine Nights is hard to leave behind" - The Guardian"Charming, elegant and funny ... a novel like no other and a joy to read" - Cosmopolitan"A vibrant coming of age novel" - Sunday Times"A funny and memorable book, light-heartedly taking on big themes" - Daily Telegraph

THE POETRY YOUR TEACHER WOULDN'T LET YOU READ Somtow flogs a dead horse to life in this astonishing collection of sonnets. Horror and humor, pathos and putridity, the sublime, the subliminal, and the sublimated all blend together in this tour-de-force of madcap invention. Exposing the human condition in all its grittiness and unwitting comedy, this book is the first collection of S.P. Somtow's poetry since the pretentious outpourings of his adolescent years. "There's life in this art form," he says, "plenty of life, as long as you're willing to dive headlong into the maëlstorm of our insane twenty-first century existence." His subject matter comes from the tabloids: serial killers, sex scandals, mass murderers, and hate crimes. Distilled into the severe discipline of the sonnet form, these tawdry subjects find a new resonance, and new relevance, and we recognize in ourselves a continuity with our own past.... "Be scared, my friends. Be very, very scared. This book will take you from the paths you've known, To sights unseen, dark corners never bared, To deeds undared, halls never braved alone. Forget the world of Spenser's airy Faerie Shakespeare's bisexual angst, or Petrarch's passion; This poet's cream's decidedly non-dairy, His skewed perspective somewhat not the fashion. To this poetic banquet do I bring Inquiring minds that have inquired too much: Of Court TV and Tabloids do I sing, Of killers, perverts, hypocrites, and such, For in life's drama, they too play their part. Inhuman horror hides a human heart."

In the sequel to Riverrun, young Theo Etchison is drawn into Strang's terrifying dimension and begins a bizarre odyssey across an inverted land. "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 There is a twisted mirror-America somewhere past the boundaries of our dimension-where the Darkling conjurers do battle with dreams for possession of the ultimate prize - the world of men On a journey across the Arizona desert, the Etchison family ceased to exist - only to be returned to their fragile reality through the courage of young Theo Etchison, Truthsayer. Now the tides of the universe have shifted - reshaping and distorting a mortal world coveted by the warring dragon - children of the Darkling King Strang. And once again, Theo is drawn into Strang's terrifying dimension - to play King's fool on a bizarre odyssey across an inverted land... and to rescue his own brother, seduced by the demon forces of darkness, from the hell that has claimed him.

"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 TimesAn 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..

"The finest new series of the nineties so far ... some of the finest writing the genre has produced...." - 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 "the makings of a classic!" - Edward Bryant "S.P Somtow doesn't write like anyone else - his is a fresh voice, as engaging as it is unique...." - Dean Koontz 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. But is the Riverrun Trilogy about dragons, vampires, fabulous castles, interplanetary warfare, fabulous quests and fantastical kingdoms? Or is it about the millions of worlds inside Theo's mind? Who is the transvestite Navajo shaman who sometimes appears in the form of a raven? Why has the president of the United States turned into a vampire? Why has the king gone mad, and where is the source of the river that flows through all worlds?

S.P. Somtow has assembled a collection of essays, poems, and fiction, and tells all about his first published poem from 1967, which earned a lengthy shelf life when it was used as the epigraph for a best-selling autobiography by Shirley MacLaine, to his first professional fiction sale in 1977, to stories that won major awards like the World Fantasy Award. Here, also, are some of his acerbic commentaries from Thai and U.S. magazines, which rarely shied away from controversial subjects. S.P. Somtow's fiftieth book celebrates a lifetime of achievement as the internationally acclaimed author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry "the most wellknown expatriate Thai in the world" - International Herald Tribune

In one volume at last - all of world fantasy award winning author S.P. Somtow's vampire stories - from the sci-fi Vampire of Mallworld to the courtroom drama of Vanilla Blood, to stories about Timmy Valentine, some of which were not incorporated into the three volumes of the Timmy Valentine Trilogy. Includes the International Horror Guild Award winning story Brimstone and Salt, which describes what really might have happened in Gomorrah, the Los Angeles fairy tale The Ugliest Duckling, in which a vampire searches for human connection during the era of AIDS, Red as Jade, a standalone Timmy Valentine story set in the mafia-run jade markets of the Golden Triangle, and many more.

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.

The majestic conclusion of the original Inquestor Series, S.P. Somtow's classic masterpiece of the fall of a galactic empire, returns in a new edition in time for the publication of new novels in the series

In a vast and cruel galactic empire, a boy chosen to be the instrument of the empire's fall must juggle unlimited power and his two loves. From the iconic "Inquestor" series.

The long awaited fifth book in the Inquestor series. Intrigue, color, mystery and spectacle on a galactic scale. "One of SF's formidable talents" PW

"His multicultural viewpoint may yet give us the best SF novel of all time" - AnalogFor twenty thousand years, the godlike Inquestors have held sway over the one million worlds of the Dispersal of Man. S.P. Somtow's limitless imagination has created a universe of breathtaking majesty, amazing beauty, and shattering cruelty. In games of makrugh played in elegant floating palaces, planets are destroyed or saved to preserve the balance of the galaxy. Exotic languages and customs, servocorpses, tachyon bubbles, childsolders with implanted laser-irises, people bins that hold populations of entire planets, delphinoid ships that sail the overcosm, utopias that must be hunted down and destroyed in the name of the High Compassion, thinkhives that connect the galaxy via the space between spaces …All this must end. And end it does, in what Theodore Sturgeon has described as "the greatest magnitude of color and spectacle since Stapledon."For the fortieth anniversary of the publication of the first Inquestor story in Analog, Diplodocus Press is bringing back revised editions of all four of the original Chronicles of the High Inquest - and releasing a fifth volume, Homeworld of the Heart. "he can create a world with less apparent effort than some writers devote to creating a small room … yet these tales are intricately wrought as those handcarved oriental balls within balls"- The Washington Post"his dense, poetic prose is as unique as his name"- Los Angeles Times"One of SF's formidable talents!"-Publishers Weekly

An extraordinary tale of a collaboration between a composing prodigy and a Washington politician, the story of how a Thai schoolboy came to create the entire oevre of an American composer is fabulous in the true sense of the world … a modern mythic journey. A true story … yet one that beggars belief … with cameo appearances by all sorts of members of the Washington "swamp" … and the odd science fiction writer dropping in for a chat.… "It's a story about the human need to want to break boundaries and exceed limitations. It's about dreams and aspirations, and in the end we need to ask questions about the very nature of art and about why we as humans need art in our lives. "It is also the story of two people from vastly divergent cultures, two people who both, perhaps, felt alienated from the people and situations that surrounded them, and who came to share a strangely intimate bond." A never-before-told secret history, this memoir by the first Asian to be awarded the European Cultural Achievement Award is an eye-opener.

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.

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!

Equus Insanus, son of Aquila, has been missing for three years on his quest to bring the vile Time Criminal to justice. His Roman half brother, Lucius, nephew to Caesar, fears him dead - until he begins receiving strange messages from the lost Lacoti warrior.Then Lucius learns that Equus has been captured by the Time Criminal, who plans to use him as the instrument which will destroy their world. Discovering that the secret to Equus's salvation may lie in the pyramids of Giza and in the riddle of the Sphynx, Aquila and Lucius set out for Egypt. They have no idea that the answers they find will lead them across the entire Roman Empire, through space, and ultimately through time itself - for the final confrontation with the Time Criminal and the battle for a man's soul!

Equus Insanus, son of the intrepid Aquila, finds the civilized life of Rome tedious. So he is eager to return to his native land of Terra Novo to assist in the construction of Caesar's latest fancy -- a transprovincial railroad.But on this alternate Earth where the Roman Empire rules America, things seldom go as planned. Soon the project is beset with savage Indian raids and inexplicable disasters...and Equus's father returns from the future with a dire warning: The evil Time Criminal is back and stronger than ever, and even Aquila of the time-trading Dimensional Patrol is powerless to act!Now only Equus Insanus stands between the Time Criminal and the destruction of the universe!