Advent Calendar: 24th Wormhole

Last but not least some more new weird.
Hope you folks have the time to read and relax a lot over the festive days!

Advent Calendar: 23rd Wormhole

End of year or end of time? In any case you'll need a survival guide!

Advent Calendar: 22nd Wormhole

Or.. let's get weird... very weird, indeed.

Advent Calendar: 21st Wormhole

Let's get political!

Advent Calendar: 20th Wormhole

Jakob keeps on gushing and gushing and gushing about this book! Time to find out if you wil too...

Advent Calendar: 19th Wormhole

2019 was big on good literary horror with a touch of weird - here is one of the bests!

Advent Calendar: 18th Wormhole

We are yet another day closer to the festive season and if you still haven't got a present for that fantasy freak in your family or if  you will really need a solid universe to escape to, this one's for you!

Advent Calendar: 17th Wormhole

Simon's enthusiasm for this RPG-collection is so catchy that he just might convert even bona fide non-gamers with the 17th wormhole!

Advent Calendar: 16th Wormhole

The 16th wormhole hosts a book of schemes and cabals, and Sarah is wholly intrigued...

Advent Calendar: 15th Wormhole

A little prick of the needle is waiting behind our 15h wormhole ...

Advent Calendar: 14th Wormhole

Today, Marc is recommending an sf classic - and finds himself surprised in the end ...

Advent Calendar - 13th Wormhole

Behind our 13th wormhole, somehting angry is waiting, something sentient - and smart ...

Shortly interrupting the advent craze...

...to remind you that we're meeting tomorrow evening for the last book club discussion of the year!

Meeting starts at 7.30 at the Otherland Bookshop as usual and the book of the evening is The Silver Wind by Nina Allan, which, incidentally, Jakob had reviewed in our last newsletter.
It is composed of several loosely connected but highly incoherent short stories and novellas revolving marginally around the topics time and time travel and centering on the same set of characters. With The Silver Wind, we're ending the year on a book that is not really like any of the others we have been reading - namely more of a romance that focuses on interpersonal relationships rather than speculative content and we will see how that discussion goes! Tomorrow 7.30 pm at the Otherland! There are snacks and drinks you don't have to pay for, we're happy for every contribution, though. You don't need to sign up to join us, but please read the book if you want to discuss it.

Upcoming Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club discussions are:
December 13 - Silver Wind by Nina Allan
January 10 - Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
January 24 -  Combined and Uneven Apocalypse by Evan Calder Williams
February 14 - Neuromancer by William Gibson
March 13 - Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield

Advent Calendar - 12th Wormhole

Behind our 12th wormhole, we are awaited - quite unexpetantly - by lush and verdant vegetation and the seeting jungle of hell ...

Advent Calendar - 11th Wormhole

Behind today's advent wormhole, you'll find THE gaming classic - just as you knew it and at the same time, as you never encountered it before ...

Advent Calendar: 10th Wormhole

Our tenth wormhole leads into the bitter cold, into the mouth of the Wolf and the Whale ... (meanwhile, on our German website, Caro is recommending a German YA classic).

Advent Calendar: 9th Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website!

Advent Calendar - Eighth Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! It's two great modern Horror authors today, with Inci recommending Paul Tremblay in German and Jakob singing John Langan's praise in English!

Advent Calendar - Seventh Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! Today, Marc is recommending the same book in both languages ...

Advent Calendar: Sixth Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! The sixth wormhole leads to sends us to the catnet ...

Advent Calendar: Fifth Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! Our fifth wormhole over here on the English blog leads to Nigeria - and from there, much, much further ...

Advent Calendar: Fourth Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website!

Advent Calendar: Third Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website!

Advent Calendar: Second Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! Let's go for another double-feature where we the same book (or rather, series of books) is waiting behind our wormhole in both languages ...

Advent Calendar: First Wormhole

From the 1st until the 24th of December, we'll present you a reading tip from our holidays newsletter on this blog - and another reading tip, in German, on our website! Our first advent wormhole actually leads to the same book in both cases ...

Horror-ing on Friday

Hey Folks!
This one is to remind you that this Friday, November 22, - tomorrow evening - the Otherland horror special book club will take The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein under the microscope!

"In close to 25 years of writing Klein has only two books and a handful of scattered tales to his credit, and yet his achievement towers gigantically over that of his more prolific contemporaries."

gushes S.T. Joshi, scholar with an expertise on weird fiction.
Unfortunately it was and still is rather hard to find Klein's scattered writings mentioned by Joshi. His short story entitled "The Events at Poroth Farm" (those who have read The Ceremonies will rightly guess that this is the short story that our current book club book is based on) is in my humble opinion his absolute masterpiece and alas, can only be found in a handful of horror anthologies. His short story collection, Dark Gods, on the other hand, seems to have disappeared from the book market all together and can only be encountered at some antiquarian bookshops, with a good portion of luck, that is.
Thanks to PS Publishing The Ceremonies,

Jo Walton: Lent

Jo Walton needs little introduction for fantasy and sf readers - which is surprising, given how far most of her works stray from our usual comfort zone ... Lent is no exception. Set in Florence towards the end of the 15th century, it tells the story of the last years in the life of Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican monk, reformer and for a short time, de-facto ruler of Florence. I must confess that I wasn't familiar with this historical figure before reading Lent. While Lent is obviously thouroughly researched (Walton provides an afterword in which she details where and why she strayed from the historical facts), it features at least some of the things we'd expect to see in a fantasy novel, and even some strong sfnal elements. There's actual demons from hell, subtle magic and elements of time travel, alternate history or both, depending on how you look at it.

Some Abyss-Gazing this Friday?

"Gaze into the abyss all day and the abyss will gaze into you."
Normal Head is an institution surrounded by an experimental forest, where so called foresight strategists are civil futurists are being taken to recover from this abyss gaze. New patient Adam Dearden witnesses the disappearing of a fellow patient leaving nothing but a pile of insects and  sets off to uncover the incident... It will not be the only thing he uncovers...
This month's discussion on the refreshingly short Normal by Warren Ellis starts this Friday, November 8, at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
As always there will be snacks and drinks that are free, contributions are welcome. You don't need to sign up to join in, please just read the book and come over.

James S.A. Corey are in Berlin and They Want to Meet You!

After having had the pleasure to have Ty Franck as a guest a couple of years ago we’re now hugely excited to present to you the full duo James S.A. Corey!!!

So take down your Expanse-novels from the shelf and mark your calendars : Tuesday, November 5th, at 7.00 pm Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, aka James SA Corey, will be at the DTK Wasserturm (Kopischstr. 7, 10965 Berlin)!

Book Recommendations October/November 2019

We’re hugely excited to bring to you (drum rolls)… James S.A. Corey!!! Yes, a couple of years ago we had the pleasure to have Ty Franck as our guest and this time we even get to have the full duo here! So mark your calendars: Tuesday, November 5th, at 7.00 pm the authors of the Expanse-Series, Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, will be at the DTK Wasserturm (Kopischstr. 7, 10965 Berlin) - brought to you by the Otherland Bookshop!
On the following Thursday, November 7th, it is role-playing time at the shop again! And the next day, Friday November 8th, we’ll be discussing graphic novelist Warren Ellis’ suspiciously short futuristic book “Normal”.
There are two book clubs this month and the latter is for horror fans! On November 22nd we’re meeting to talk about T.E.D. Klein’s “The Ceremonies” - an almost forgotten horror classic and hell of an unsettling cosmic horror-gothic novel merger.
Admissions to the book clubs and the role playing evening are free but contributions are very welcome. If you want to come role playing, it would be great if you dropped Jakob a line at “service@otherland.de” and if you want to join the book clubs, it would be equally superb that you read the book if you’re coming to discuss it.
See you around!

Final Girls Berlin Halloween Bash

The Final Girls Berlin strike again!
No plans on the scariest night of the year? Too many good showings on Halloween and you don't know what to choose? Why not join me at the Final Girls Berlin Bash! It will be fun, promise!
See their  announcement on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1190604014470547/

Summer is (thankfully) over and it‘s time to celebrate Halloween with the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival! Watch a selection of 2019‘s best horror shorts made by women followed by a 5th anniversary screening of THE BABADOOK (2014), Jennifer Kent‘s incredibly creepy film about a single mother, her troubled young son, and a most sinister creature. There will also be a costume contest, so let your imagination fly and come in costume for a chance to win a prize!

20:00 – Final Girls Filmfest – Best of Shorts 2019!

Call Girl (5:50)
Directed by Jill Gevargizian, US, 2014
In one man's attempt to exploit his date night via video-chat, he ends up sharing something far more disturbing.

Asian Girls (6:33)
Written and directed by Hyun Lee, Australia, 2017
Chan is a Chinese factory worker who lives alone. Every night, she suffers from horrific nightmares involving the woman in the apartment next door, a Japanese office worker.

Clash of the Gods of Death

by Clarence Haynes

True believers, please know that Otherland’s third Mythic Fiction Book Club discussion will be this Friday, October 25th, 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop. As per usual, we’ll have snacks, drinks and stimulating analysis.

We’ll be focusing on the recently released 2019 novel Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The book, an odyssey of sorts set in jazz age Mexico, follows the tribulations of Casiopea Tun, who unknowingly releases from a chest Hun-Kamé, the Mayan deity of death who was vanquished by his power-hungry brother Vucub-Kamé. With mortal and god physically linked, the injured deity informs Casiopea that they will be going to the city of Mérida, beginning a quest in which Hun-Kamé seeks to become whole again and regain power.

Moreno-Garcia spoke on her blog about the cultural origins of the underworld realm of Xibalba, where Hun-Kamé and his brother rule: http://www.silviamoreno-garcia.com/blog/welcome-to-xibalba/ She also discusses the role of owls in her work, inspired by the depiction of the birds in the ancient Mayan mythological text the Popol Vuh: http://www.silviamoreno-garcia.com/blog/the-owls/ (For more information on the Popol Vuh, please feel free to visit https://www.britannica.com/topic/Popol-Vuh and https://www.ancient.eu/Popol_Vuh/) 

Nate Crowley Back at the Otherland

Hooray, Nate is back!
We first got to know him last year, when we read The Death and Life of Schneider Wreck for our book club. Later in the year he and his family came to visit the Otherland for a reading and a visit to the Berlin Aquarium. Meanwhile we call him a friend of the House Otherland and are thrilled that he is visiting us again yet for another reading!
Nate will be here this Wednesday, October 16th at 8 pm and meet with his Berlin fan-base, reading from previously unpublished material (very exciting!) and answering all you ever wanted to know about him.
So grab your Schneider's and pop in, we're up for a fun and relaxed evening of reading and chatting and nice writing!

Speculative Fiction Book Club

On Friday October 11th we'll be discussing Hannu Rajaniemi's Summerland, an exciting 1938 spy-fiction in which Britain rules over the realms of death and yes, you can buy tickets to stick around some more time after death - that is if you can afford to.

Meeting starts 7.30 pm at the bookstore as always. And there are snacks and drinks that are, as always, free and contributions are welcome. You don't need to sign up to join in, please just read the book.


Upcoming OSFBC meetings:

Quick Announcement - Mythic Fiction Book Club

by Clarence Haynes

Otherland’s third Mythic Fiction Book Club discussion will be on Friday, October 25th, 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop.

We’ll be focusing on the recently released 2019 novel Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The book follows the tribulations of Casiopea Tun who, while enduring a harsh coexistence with oppressive relatives in the Mexican town of Uukumil, unknowingly releases from a chest Hun Kamé, the Mayan god of death. With the two immediately linked, the injured deity informs Casiopea that they will be going to the city of Mérida so he can become physically whole once again and retrieve his jade. As per usual, we’ll have snacks, drinks and stimulating analysis. 

Please also know that a blog entry will be available a few days before the meeting with discussion questions as well as links to provide more context for the mythological aspects of the novel. Stay tuned true believers. Thanks for reading.

Book Recommendations September 2019

After last year’s insane autumn, we may well be facing yet further, highly vibrant months at the Otherland! First the best of this month: Right in time before the dreaded Brexit, NATE CROWLEY is coming back to the Otherland for another fun reading! We immensely enjoyed reading the aquatic Zombie-Klassenkampf novel The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack, and got to know and love the hilarious The 100 Best Video Games that Never Existed. So I’m both excited and curious what Nate has in store for us this time. We will find out on Wednesday, October 16, at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore!
Moreover, we have our usual routine: First, on Thursday, October 10th, it’s role playing evening - this meeting will be dedicated to the memory of Greg Stafford, creator of RuneQuest, Glorantha and the King Arthur Pendragon rpg, who died this time last year. The next day, October 11th, it’s Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club-time again! We’ll be discussing Hannu Rajaniemi’s otherworldly spy story Summerland. The Mythic Fiction Book Club discussion, where we’ll talk about Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s also otherworldly story with the gorgeous cover Gods of Jade and Shadow is on Friday, October 25th. All events start at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Book Shop, there are snacks and drinks you don’t have to pay for, but we’re always happy about contributions. If you want to take part in the role playing event please make sure to drop Jakob and Simon a line under (service@otherland.de). If you want to join the book club discussions, we’d like to ask you read the book we’ll be talking about in advance! There is more to come for November, see you then!

Last Chance to See ... the Future

The Otherland supports the Global Climate strike on September 20th – we will be at the protest (starting at Brandenburg Gate at 12) and our shop will go dark on the day. On Friday evening we would like to invite all of our striking friends to join us for after-rally drinks and music at the store.

Lovecraft Country at the Otherland Book Club

Dear Otherlanders! I unterstand there has been some confusion about the next book we're reading, so here's the deal: we were originally going to read Hannu Rajaniemi's Summerland - a short alternative history gig in which Britain becomes great again. But due to organizational reasons it has been postponed to next month and the book of next month, Matt Ruff's Lovecraft Country will be discussed  this Friday instead. This was decided as early as July, but I failed to announce it extensively here on the blog, sorry for that.

Lovecraft Country is a delightful book that will engross you immediately! It is set in a fictional US with some supernatural/horror elements as well as some bitterly real elements from US history. Book clubber Henry was telling me that it is being serialized for HBO with Jordan Peele directing, yippie!

Meeting is Friday September 13, 7.30 pm at the bookstore as always. You don't need to sign up to join in, please just read the book.

Upcoming OBC meetings are as follows:

Release Event: Cthulhu goes to the Wicked City!

Berlin in the 1920s, a city of the arts, of theatre, of opera, of entertainment and all kinds of pleasures, but also of the working masses. Everybody who is anybody gets together here, the young go wild, it's the age of Jazz, and all the great German authors, scholars and scientists shake hands here. All the while, no one suspects the horrors lurking beneath this shrill and noisy veneer ...

Do You Believe in Vampires?

...because a young Stephen King believed he can make you!

There ain't no such thing as a horror book club who hasn't read Stephen King (need to shake off last book club's effects immediately, yuck). SO we are on our way to become an official horror book club, when tomorrow August 23rd, at 7.30 pm at the bookshop, we will for the first time read the King's 'salem's Lot from 1975, I think his second published novel after Carrie.
He once said "Give them to me young and they're mine forever" and so it is... Most people from my generation and background would agree. He shaped above all our sense of justice, he got us hooked on reading and had a huge impact on the way we perceive literature and horror's place in it. King means a lot to me -he is one of the two authors that I started reading books with, the second one is Agatha Christie. So you can guess that I'm thrilled about our upcoming session.
Even though 'salem's Lot, the story of a writer who returns to the small town of his childhood only to witness its gradual decay in the hands of a nasty vampire, is quite far from being the perfect book, it does an original and good job in placing decadent central European-nobility-horrors in lower middleclass US suburbia of the 70s AND features one of my favorite book characters of all time: Father Callahan (you might rather know him as the charismatic vampire hunter in the "Dark Tower" books).
So bring garlic and thyme and be there tomorrow evening for our next OBC horror special, and maybe think of your favorite character or scene in this veeeery long book. See you tomorrow at the Otherland!

Book Recommendations Summer 2019

The last newsletter in June predicted a quiet summer, and it was in fact a quiet summer at the Otherland to the extent that we could even afford to skip the July edition/or make a joint Newsletter Summer-Edition -which is finally ready!
So what’s coming up in September? If you’re one of the people who think that Tobias Meißner is by far not enough present at the Otherland, then here’s something for you to look forward to: On Thursday September 12, at 8 pm our favorite Berlin sf/fantasy/horror author will be at your favorite Berlin bookshop for a reading of his latest: Evil Miss Universe- this event is in German!
Our usual routine remains uninterrupted: First Thursday of the month (September 5.) role-playing evening and second Friday of the month (September 13.) Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club, where we will talk about Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country. This Friday, August 23rd, we'll take a look into the world of vampiric horror with Stephen King's Salem's Lot! Both events take place at the bookshop, start at 7.30 pm, admission, snacks and drinks are free for both and contributions are always welcome. It would be super if you could drop Jakob a mail in case you want to come to role-play and it would be equally great that you read the book we are discussing at the book club if you want to show up.
Also: The Hugos are being handed out in August and we have people at the WorldCon in Ireland who will tell us at the Gatherland on September 19 all about how it was! Exciting!
Enjoy our summer recommendations!

Spectacularity this weekend!

Otherlanders b-ware and don't forget the Final Girls Berlin, Women in SciFi Spectacular Festival this weekend!
On my last "Final Girls Berlin" experience I was impressed by and immensely enjoyed the shorts selection, so I won't be missing those this time either!
There will be a small group of Otherland book clubbers there on Saturday, so please join us! Hope to see you there, in Ladenkino!

SATURDAY AUGUST 17

18:00 – Shorts Program 1: Otherworldly (89 mins)
The short films in this program are set in alternative realities. From the aftermaths of an ecological disaster to dealing with new types of moral dilemmas, these uncanny shorts will offer a glimpse into worlds both familiar and strange.

20:00 – ANOTHER EARTH (92 mins)
Directed by Mike Cahill, US, 2011
Starring Brit Marling, William Mapother

In this award-winning philosophical sci-fi film, a young woman (Brit Marling, The OA) who is filled with guilt and regret, learns about a parallel Earth, “Earth 2”, and wants nothing more than to leave her reality and go there.

22:00 – CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME (76 mins)
Directed by Madeleine Olnek, US, 2011
Starring Lisa Haas, Susan Ziegler, Jackie Monahan

Zoinx, a space alien, meets Jane, a timid clerk, and sparks fly. Zoinx is being tracked down by government agents, but that won‘t stop the new couple‘s love from blossoming.

0:00 – Shorts Program 2: Midnight (89 mins)
We‘ve assembled an eclectic mix of funny, bizarre, and downright unclassifiable sci fi shorts in this midnight program.


SUNDAY AUGUST 18

Next OBC-Meeting

So, the book we're discussing at our next meeting (August 9th, 7.30pm at the Otherland) is Robert Heinlein's Hugo and Prometheus winning, Locus nominated The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966).

Algis Budrys praised "Heinlein's expertise for dirt-level politics, snappy dialogue and a sense of an actual living society"! Leigh Kimmel characterized the novel as a departure from what had previously been associated with science fiction! Andrew Kaufman described it as Heinlein's crowning achievement!

Inci's own humble opinion:

Loki: On Tricksters and Gods

by Clarence Haynes

Otherland’s second Mythic Fiction Book Club discussion is this Friday, July 26th, 19.30 at the Otherland Bookshop. We’ll be focusing on the 2014 novelThe Gospel of Loki by well-known British author Joanne M. Harris. Gospel of Loki is part of the author’s "Rune" series of releases, with a titular character known by many as the trickster god of Norse mythology. Harris chronicles various tales spun from traditional myth all via Loki’s perspective, who wholly owns his status as a shapeshifting deity of mischief and deceit, albeit feeling misunderstood at times by his godly cohorts. 

For more background details about Harris’ take on Loki, folks can visit her website: http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/books/the-gospel-of-loki/

OBC this Friday!

Have you been able to make use of the unusually long gap between our last meeting and the next to finish the, well... unusually long and equally amazing and perplexing "Gardens of the Moon"? The book is actually Canadian author Erik Stevenson's debut and has a massively massive fanbase all around the world. As to me, I have finished it last week and I'm still processing... and processing some more my mixed feelings about which we'll surely be talking about when we meet this Friday July 12th, at 7.30 pm as usual at the Otherland Bookshop.
 

Event: The Women* in Sci Fi Spectacular August 17th and 18th

Hey Otherlanders, mark your calendars!

Final Girls Berlin and David DMP Moore have “crossed the streams” to create ONE ultimate showcase of women in Sci Fi film: “The Women in Sci Fi Spectacular”! So come with us across the galaxy for this spectacular two day event!!

Saturday August 17th and Sunday August 18th

The event will include indie features, a galaxy’s worth of sci fi shorts, classic sci fi trailer shows, and MUCH MORE!

We will be screening:

- Lizzie Borden's dystopian cult film BORN IN FLAMES

- Madeleine Olnek's hilarious CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME

- Mike Cahill's philosophical mind-bender ANOTHER EARTH

- Jennifer Phang's moving futuristic drama ADVANTAGEOUS

- and a wide selection of thought-provoking, creative sci fi shorts!!!


Final Girls Berlin Film events showcase films that are directed, written, and/or produced by women and non-binary filmmakers. We are committed to creating space for female voices and visions, whether monstrous, heroic or some messy combination of the two.
http://www.finalgirlsberlin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/2194836200765727/

b-ware! Ladenkino
Gärtnerstraße 19, 10245 Berlin

Book Recommendations June 2019

A little less people around, a little more peace and quiet, a little bit of travelling, a lot more hot weather, a little less smoking and a lot more water drinking and reading. That, for me, is what the summer is all about and I am glad it has finally arrived in Berlin. Plus, with so many book club sessions coming up there is no shortage on books I plan to read either, to say the least. The summer schedule is set, so unless there are suddenly a bunch of international authors who spontaneously decide to visit us, it will keep on being a quiet summer with lots of reading, book club or not, and here are some recommendations from our selection for you to enjoy.

But first, check out the summer plan for the book club:
July 12 - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
July 26 - The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris (MYTHIC FICTION BC)
August 9 - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
August 23 - Salem's Lot by Stephen King (HORROR SPECIAL)
September 13 - Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi

The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month (or any other given Friday for the horror, mythic fiction or theory sessions) at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.

A Feast for Berlin Role Players

This Saturday, June 14th, is Free RPG-Day again and the Otherland is in on it!
That means you can feast on adventures, quickstarters, dices, t-shirts and cards of games such as The Witcher, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Starfinder, Mythic D6, all FOR FREE, all in English and while supplies last. Don't forget to drop by!

Book Club Reminder

That whipping star, that whipping star...
Frank Herbert's 1970 SF-novel featuring an agent of the infamous Bureau of Sabotage, a psychopath woman who plots a rather nonsensical plan to bring about the end of the world and an alien species who invented so-called jumpdoors that allow instant travel, is a very very interesting book, to say the least.
Meeting starts Friday, June 7th at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop as always. There will be snacks and drinks as always too.
See you there!

The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always (not this month for some reason) on the second Friday of the month at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.

Upcoming OBC meetings are as follows:
June 7 -  Whipping Star by Frank Herbert
July 12 - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
July 26 - The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris (MYTHIC FICTION BC)
August 9 - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
August 23 - Salem's Lot - Stephen King (HORROR SPECIAL)

Horror, Horror and Even More Horror

Looking for a new apartment in Berlin, my life right now is pretty much a psychological horror movie itself, but that does not prevent me from craving for more, more, more horror, especially in the form of written fiction - or a real life haunted house I can move into, if I must!
And speaking of haunted houses, I am especially excited that it is time for the horror book club again where we will discuss Michael McDowell's The Elementals, a haunted house-Southern Gothic merger. Meeting is on Friday, May 24th, at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop as usual.
I must say it is a pity there are so few other books available from McDowell; apparently he has co-written Beetlejuice as well as Nightmare Before Christmas and an intriguing book series titled "Blackwater", which is, unfortunately, out of stock... Hope Valancourt takes notice!

On a further note; the votings for the horror books have been somewhat monopolistic with the only source of suggestions being me. And having decided to go by classic horror tropes (we will discuss haunted houses and terrible places on our next meeting), I prepared a short list sorted by tropes that you can expand according to your own taste and which can serve as a basis for our votings. I bet there are many more good books out there, so please help me improve it in terms of books as well as categories! (List has been edited)

Book Recommendations May 2019

Folks, there is so much going on right now in our private lives (side jobs, vacations, flat hunts, sick children…) that it was a slog to prepare the newsletter for May, but done at last! A little late and a little paltrier than usual, but here we are.
So as you know we had Cory Doctorow here and that was awesome. We have one more international event coming our way, and that one is with Brandon Sanderson on Tuesday May 14th (reading starts at 7 pm at Lettrétage - Mehringdamm 61). Since presumably it will be packed and we strongly suspect that Lettrétage will be bursting at the seams, Brandon and Heyne-Verlag decided to make a little signing at the bookstore before the event, so everybody interested gets the chance to meet him. If you have not had the opportunity to get a reservation or you cannot come in the evening, you can drop by the shop in the afternoon, where Brandon Sanderson and his marker will be waiting for you from 3.30 pm on.
Next Otherland Book Club session deals with horror again; we will be talking about Michael McDowell’s The Elementals, a haunted house-southern gothic merger that will not only scare you, but will often will make you smile and ponder. Meeting is Friday May 24th, begins as usual at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop. There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, contributions are welcome. You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.
Enjoy our recommendations for May!

Cory was here...

Next Regular OBC Meeting

Next Friday, May 10th, the Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club is meeting to discuss Octavia Butler's Kindred; the story of Dana, a black woman who time-travels between 1976 and the slavery-infested 1815 to prevent one of her ancestors from dying. It is also one of the few books that we have read whose impact has reached beyond the community of speculative fiction. There are still copies left at the store, grab them!

The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.

Upcoming OBC meetings are as follows:
May 10 - Kindred by Octavia Butler
May 24 - The Elementals by Michael McDowell (HORROR)
June 7 -  Whipping Star by Frank Herbert
July 12 - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Hope to see you there!

Folklore Meets the Fantastic in MYTHIC FICTION

by Clarence Haynes

We’re thrilled to announce that Otherland’s first Mythic Fiction Book Club discussion is this Friday, April 26th, 19.30 at the Otherland Bookshop. We’ll be focusing on the novel Circe by Madeline Miller, a 2018 release which chronicles the life of the nymph widely known from Homer’s The Odyssey for her role as a witch with powers of transmutation.
Miller talked about the book last year on National Public Radio in the U.S.; the short interview is here.

Myths are ancient narratives hailing from a wide variety of cultures, presenting fantastic, nonscientific, often allegorical stories that have provided explanations to communities past about who we are and what surrounds us, including the origins of the world and nature’s inherent routines. Myths are also concerned with the stories of various deities—those divine beings who cultivate worship and act as a mirror to humanity—as well as the feats of extraordinary mortals.
In the Western world, the continuing influence of mythology can be seen in contemporary literary offerings that include psychodynamic nonfiction, novels, comics, TV series and films. (I have found myself particularly interested in modern, more progressive interpretations of Greek and Roman myth.)

A Terrific Evening!

Elizabeth Hand has called him a "literary cult waiting to happen", City Magazine said he is Sweden's new horror king and I had previously claimed he is the man who ruins things for his readers (because he writes them so scarily!).

But Mats Strandberg who visited us for a chatter evening on Tuesday, is above all a genuinely nice and fun guy who might just well be one of the biggest horror fans I have encountered. And when you meet those great horror fans, what you do is sit down with them and pick their brains (which is what we did)! It was an awesome evening where Mats told us about his literary work and we talked about horror movies, books, Stephen King, Twin Peaks, Swedish crime,...

Guess Who Else Is Back?

Great news: On May 8th, 8.00 pm Cory will be back at the Otherland for a small meet&greet!
Can't wait, he was such a pleasant guest last time he was here in November...
By the way; his newest short story collection Radicalized is now available in harcover at the Otherland; Marc has reviewed it for the last newsletter.
See you folks there!

Book Recommendations April 2019

Something big is coming! The superstar of contemporary fantasy! Brandon Sanderson...is...coming!! It was hard for us too to believe, but on May 14th, at 7.00 pm he will be here in Berlin, in the beautiful Lettrétage (Mehringdamm 61, 10961 Berlin) chatting with you Otherlanders! IMPORTANT: Admission is free, but there is a little problem ...when announcing the event on our website, we asked people to make reservations. And they did - in fact, they did it so fast that all the seats are already booked out. That doesn't mean that we won't admit anyone else in, of course - but it means that a lot of people may have to stand ...
The doors open at 6.30 for everyone who has already made a reservation; at 6.45, we'll admit all the others - as many as we can - in.
We are deeply sorry, because you, our newsletter reader's, should have had the chance to make a reservation first; we promise that we will manage things more carefully next time.

Before that, on April 26th at 7.30 pm, we’ll meet for the inaugural discussion of the Otherland Mythic Fiction Book Club, where we’ll talk about Madeline Miller’s goodreads Reader’s Choice Award-winning Circe!
The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month (additional book club sessions, like the Mythic Fiction Book Club, on any given Friday) at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.
Upcoming OBC meetings are as follows:
April 26 - Circe by Madeline Miller (MYTHIC FICTION)
May 10 - Kindred by Octavia Butler
May 24 - The Elementals by Michael McDowell (HORROR)
June 7 -  Whipping Star by Frank Herbert
July 12 - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Enjoy our recommendations for April!

Upcoming Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club Discussions

We have two book club discussions this month and the first is next week already: we'll meet Friday April 12th, at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop to discuss Ali Shaw's The Trees.
What would the world be like if the trees took over; growing incontrollably and abundantly, destroying buildings, roads and even people along the way? And how would the survivors get organized? What is nature up to? All questions Shaw tackles in this post-arbocalyptic (term coined by Arne Beutell) fantasy novel.
The second meeting will be the debut discussion of the Otherland Mythic Fiction Book Club on April 26th, first book is Circe by Madeline Miller.

Upcoming meetings are as follows:

It‘s the X-Men, after all

Not quite a review of Sam J. Miller‘s Blackfish City

Blackfish City looked like THE thing to me – a book about climate change and gentrification, endorsed by Ann Leckie and Daryl Gregory, compared to Kim Stanley Robinson‘s work … I thought I was bound to love this but when I finished reading it, I did not only feel let down, but also slightly angry.
So I won‘t pretend this is a review. It is an opinion piece that is probably of more interest to people who have already read Blackfish City then to those who haven‘t, and it is very much about what I wanted to book to be. I‘d like to ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies: I‘ve read this book about three months ago and initially decided not to review it; but since my anger keeps coming back to haunt me, it must be vented out.

From here on, beware of SPOILERS.

Don‘t let them get organized!

A review of Josiah Bancroft‘s Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel 2)

I know, I know, I‘m one book behind on this series, but this is actually quite a feat, since usually, I only read the first book in a series, ever. Not so with the Books of Babel, the first of which, Senlin Ascends, is one of the most engaging adventure stories I‘ve ever read. The main reason for that was certainly the journey of its protagonist from naive school-teacher to mastermind on a mission; it is actually a kind of „Walter White becomes Heisenberg“ arc, only that Senlin manages to remain a more or less decent human being (something he worries about a lot). Add to this the series of beautifully bizarre places Senlin visits, their even more bizarre social rules and norms and the tentative exploration of matters of exploitation, class struggle and the subtle workings of power, and you get a very pleasant surprise for an occasionally jaded fantasy reader like me.

Otherland - Miscellaneous

Alas, the impact of the B-word has reached our book club, as it may have come to your attention: the next title for the Speculative Fiction Book Club, The Trees by Ali Shaw, is not stockable right now, because our supplier England is unfortunately not supplying at the moment. We are working on a solution though, so please hang on. We will be able to stock more English books eventually, we just need some time, certainty and stability.

On a completely different note:
Finding fresh impulses, new ways of addressing more people with varying interests is definitely one of the best outcomes of the lively discussions we have on book club evenings. As if reading and exchanging views on geekish books was not awesome enough, discovering new momentum to constantly expand our once small project is all the more exciting and makes me super happy!
So it is with immense joy that I present you the youngest offspring of the Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club:
The Otherland Mythic Fiction Book Club.

Honestly, I didn't even know it is a thing, until book clubbing editor Clarence Haynes brought it to my attention; mythic fiction is literature inspired by myths and legends. Reason enough to open up a new branch, sink into this wide wide field and start up on Friday April 26 with this year's highly praised Circe by Madeline Miller.

Here is an overview of all upcoming OBC discussions:

Next OBC Discussion

The Otherland Book Club is unstoppable!!!

After an evening full of sensual horror with Carmen Maria Machado's work and a very ensqualming Dying Earth-discussion on Women's Day, we'll next meet on Friday, March 15, for the Speculative Theory Book Club!

We'll be talking about Samuel R. Delany's "About 5750 Words" (published in Jewel Hinged Jaw) and Steven Brust's "Truth as a Vehicle for Enhancing Fiction, Fiction as a Vehicle for Discovering Truth" (published here).

As usual we start at 7.30 pm at the Bookstore, there will be free snacks and drinks (contributions are welcome), no sign up needed but please read the essays!

Book Recommendations March 2019

We hope the new book arrangement in the shop - namely the fusing of the English fantasy and science fiction sections - has not confused you too much, but it was time for a change!
Other than that, everything goes on as usual: Today role-playing evening, tomorrow the Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club (discussing Jack Vance’s Tales of the Dying Earth) and next Friday the Speculative Theory Book Club (discussing Samuel R. Delany’s “About 5750 Words” and Steven Brust’s “Truth as a Vehicle for Enhancing Fiction, Fiction as a Vehicle for Discovering Truth”). There’s no admission fee for any of the events, they all start at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore, there’s free snacks and drinks as usual, contributions are welcome. You don’t need to sign up for the book clubs (but please read the book/the articles), you do need to sign up for the role playing evening though (just drop Jakob a mail). Please check our website for readings in German.
Enjoy our newsletter recommendations!

Dying Earth at the Otherland Book Club

"He knew lore of all ages, secrets of fire and light, gravity and countergravity, the knowledge of superphysic numeration, metathasm, corolopsis."

Only a week from today is the day I have been waiting for so long: Next Friday, March 8, 7.30 pm we are finally discussing Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth and I am all excited!

There are few things as uplifting as diving into Vance's gallant, grotesque, comical, absurd world and no one has ever been able to write so richly, so polished, craftily and cunningly...
Tales of Dying Earth did not only create a separate sub-genre and heavily inspire the works of collosal names such as Gene Wolfe, George R. R. Martin, Dan Simmons, Gary Gygax and many more; it is also my favorite book ever. So I will not stop gushing about it.
The warmth, humor, cruelty, heroism, cowardice, humanity in these books never fail to make me happy and to me Vance is the best; he is unique, funny, stylish and he should have had a much greater impact on fantasy and current literature. This is the one book I would take on a deserted island with me.

Starting with...

OBC Reminder

Don't forget that the Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club Horror Special session is taking place tomorrow evening, 7.30 pm!
We're reading Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties, which consists of eight short stories some of which are eerie or unnerving and some touching and sad... But all of them are cleverly structured and beautifully written!
The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club Horror Special takes place every three months on a Friday at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookshop.
There will be drinks and snacks, you don't need to sign up to join in, but please read the book!

Guess who's back?

Is the photo a big enough clue?
Whether you recognized them or not - if you're a fan, you're more than welcome to drop by the Otherland this Wednesday, February 20,  between 6 - 7 pm, because our dear friends Caitlin Sweet und Peter Watts will be there for a very short meet&greet and signing!

Book Recommendations February 2019

Winter was once coming, then decided otherwise and went somewhere else instead… All the better for Berlinale fans, because it is so much more pleasant to wait in endless movie lines when it is not below zero. Yes, the spring is almost here and the Otherland has a pretty full spring programm, which is unfortunately exclusively in German (please see our website for the full schedule). But don’t get discouraged; there will surely be enough time for international events! Until then, you can keep reading for and joining the Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club, which is in English. Here are the titles and dates for the next few months:

February 8th - Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
February 22nd - Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (horror special)
March 8th - Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
March 15th - Otherland Speculative Theory Book Club:
“About 5750 Words” by Samuel R. Delany (published in The Jewel-Hinged Jaw)
and
“Truth as a Vehicle for Enhancing Fiction, Fiction as a Vehicle for Discovering Truth” by Steven Brust (published here).
April 12th - The Trees by Ali Shaw

The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore. The additional sessions on horror and theory also take place on a Friday. There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, but contributions are welcome. You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.

Here are our recommendations for February:

OBC on Catflaps and Labour-Saving Devices

Book Club time is almost here again!
Next Friday, February 8, 2019, we'll meet to discuss Douglas Adams' silly little detective novel about the man who has "a depressingly accurate knack for making wild assumptions": Dirk Gently.

Well, good thing that's the only thing depressing about this book!
See you on Friday!

Upcoming OBC discussion dates and titles are as follows:

February 8       Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
March 8           Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
April 12           The Trees by Ali Shaw

Next Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club HORROR SPECIAL:

February 22     Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

SPECULATIVE THEORY BOOK CLUB meeting:

March 15         "About 5750 Words" by Samuel R. Delany (published in Jewel-Hinged Jaw:
                      Notes on the Language of Scence Fiction)
                      and
                     "Truth as a Vehicle for Enhancing Fiction, Fiction as a Vehicle for Discovering
                      Truth" by Steven Brust (published here)

The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore. The additional sessions on horror and theory also take place on a Friday.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, but contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but we appreciate it greatly that you do read the book if you're coming.

The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival

Otherlanders!

Courtesy of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival

If you have some time on your hands this weekend, why not visit The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival that showcases horror cinema that's directed, written, and/or produced by women*?

The 2019 edition will take place on January 31-Feb 3rd at b-ware! Ladenkino.

This year's opening night feature is Christina Choe's Sundance hit NANCY, a psychological thriller starring Steve Buscemi and Andrea Riseborough.

Two other features in the program are the dark Mexican fairy tale TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID directed by Issa Lopez and the seldom seen 70s arthouse cult film MESSIAH OF EVIL directed by William Huyck & Gloria Katz.

Expect an array of horror shorts covering themes like obsessions, midnight camp, twisted love stories, and much much more! In addition, there will be talks on reproductive horror, intersectionality, gender and body horror, and a psychoanalytical investigation of hysteria and demonic possession by specialists from Canada and England as well as a horror-themed self defense workshop.

See all you scream queens and final girls there!

Book Recommendations of January 2019

New year, same shit all over again? Not in the Otherland. - and even if 2018 were to repeat itself, it would be great, because last year was awesome! Still we really hope to be able to greet many more authors from the SF/F/H realm and have a great time! Let’s see what this year will bring…
On January 25th, we’ll be having a book release party at the Otherland: contributing authors and artists of AndersWelt will be presenting this short story collection slash artbook! The reading is in German; it starts at 7 pm, and admission is free, as always.
You will find in this newsletter not only reviews of recommended books, but also little passages on what we’re looking forward to in the year 2019, enjoy!

Next Otherland Book Club Meeting

Our first meeting in 2019 will take place this Friday already and we'll be discussing Annalee Newitz's snazzy little book about anti-monopolist drug pirates and AI love, Autonomous.
It has been nominated for both the Nebula and Locus Awards for Best Novel last year and has already catapulted to number 4 of our best-seller list.
Meeting takes place on Friday January 11, at 7.30 pm at the Otherland as always.



The Otherland Speculative Fiction Book Club meetings are always on the second Friday of the month at 7.30 pm at the Otherland Bookstore.
There's always snacks and drinks that you don't have to pay for, but contributions are welcome.
You never need to sign up to join us, but please do read the book if you're coming.