The Dragon and the Stars
Winner of the 2011 Aurora Award for Best Related Work in English
News and photos from the Aurora Awards ceremony, November 20, 2011, here on my blog.
Editors: Derwin Mak and Eric Choi
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: DAW Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756406188
ISBN-13: 978-07564-0618-9
The Dragon and the Stars is the first collection of science fiction and fantasy stories written by ethnic Chinese living outside of China. It features new fiction from Chinese writers in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Dragon and the Stars is available now in bookstores at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com
The Dragon and the Stars won the Aurora Award, Canada's national science fiction award, for Best Related Work in English.
In the news:
Ming Pao Daily News article about The Dragon and the Stars, Tony Pi, and me:
The Dragon and the Stars on Fairchild TV Cantonese News, May 13, 2010
At Academic Conferences:
Derwin Mak's blog entry about the International Symposium on Chinese Canadian and Chinese American Literature in English, Renison University College, University of Waterloo, October 15-17, 2010.
The PowerPoint presentation shown at the Renison College University conference, October-15-17, 2010.
At the Bookstores:
The Dragon and the Stars was the 5th bestselling mass market book of 2010 at Bakka-Phoenix Books, Toronto's famous science fiction bookstore.
Critical praise for The Dragon and the Stars:
Four stories in The Dragon and the Stars received Honorable Mentions in Gardner Dozois's 28th Annual Year's Best Science Fiction:
"The Character of the Hound” by Tony Pi,
"Across the Sea" by Emily Mah,
"The Water Weapon" by Brenda Clough,
"The Son of Heaven" by Eric Choi
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"There are wonders aplenty in this hegemony-challenging volume." |
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"Looking to read something a little different in SF and fantasy? The Dragon and the Stars features eighteen (in Chinese lore, a lucky number) new tales written by English-speaking writers of Chinese ancestry...I would be hard-pressed to select the best story from this collection." |
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"A taste of Chinese culture and fine story telling." |
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"Given the broad mandate of The Dragon and the Stars and the variety of the stories, it is a solid collection that should appeal to a wide range of readers." |
[Download the Dragon and the Stars Flyer (from Eric Choi's website)]
Table of Contents:
Introduction by Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling novelist.
"The Character of the Hound" by Tony Pi (Canada)
During the war between the Southern Song and the Jin Dynasties, a soldier allows a spirit to possess his body so he can solve a murder.
"The Fortunes of Mrs. Yu" by Charles Tan (Philippines)
A Filipino Chinese woman is horrified that each of her fortune cookies has a blank strip of paper inside it.
"Goin Down to Anglotown" by William F. Wu (United States)
In an alternate America that is dominated by Asians, three young Asian men go out for a night of intrigue in exotic "Anglotown".
"The Polar Bear Carries the Mail" by Derwin Mak (Canada)
Chinese investors and a Chinese Canadian pilot try to start a space tourism business in northern Canada. Unfortunately, they have bad feng shui at their spaceport.
"Lips of Ash" by Emery Huang (United States)
During the time of a historical dynasty, a cosmetics artist uses dark magic to help the ambitious mistress of a nobleman.
"The Man on the Moon" by Crystal Gail Shangkuan Koo (Hong Kong)
Yue Lao (月老), the Man on the Moon, hosts a beauty pageant to find a bride.
"Across the Sea" by Emily Mah (United States)
A Tlingowa Native American woman's aunt tells a legend about mysterious visitors who came to America hundreds of years ago.
"Mortal Clay, Stone Heart" by Eugie Foster (United States)
During the reign of the First Emperor, a clay sculptor finds love and tragedy with a soldier.
"Dancers with Red Shoes" by Melissa Yuan-Innes (Canada)
In Montréal, magical red shoes dance by themselves.
"Intelligent Truth" by Shelly Li (United States)
A young Chinese American woman discovers truths about herself and her mother’s intelligent robotic servant.
"Bargains" by Gabriela Lee (Singapore)
A young woman meets a strange shopkeeper in Chinatown. The shopkeeper sells success as a writer – but with a terrible price.
"Threes" by E.L. Chen (Canada)
A Canadian man thinks his dead wife has become a Chinese dragon in Lake Ontario.
"The Son of Heaven" by Eric Choi (Canada)
The Chinese rocket scientist Tsien Hsue-shen (钱学森) is persecuted during the Red Scare in America in the 1950s.
"Shadow City" by Susan Ee (United States)
In a fantasy universe, a gatekeeper must stop people from leaving an evil place called Shadow City.
"The Water Weapon" by Brenda W. Clough (United States)
The British police are suspicious of a talking Chinese dragon and a Chinese princess who appear at the Great Exposition of 1851 in London.
"The Right to Eat Decent Food" by Urania Fung (United States)
Two American English teachers in China will do anything to get decent food during the SARS epidemic.
"Papa and Mama" by Wen Y Phua (Singapore)
A Chinese daughter struggles to remain dutiful to her late parents, who are inconveniently reincarnated as a fish and a bird.
"Běidŏu" by Ken Liu (United States)
In the Ming war against Japan, an ingenious Chinese army officer invents new weapons to defeat the Japanese.
Afterword by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi