Online čitanka: Aliette de Bodard

Aliette de Bodard mnogi smatraju jednom od mladih nada SF scene, dok će mnogi reći da je ona tu fazu već odavno prošla i da je već etablirana kao punokrvna spisateljica. U svakom slučaju, najbolje stvari ove Francuskinje vijetnamskih korijena tek očekujemo.

Aliete de Bodard je zanimljiva osoba. Rođena je u SAD-u, odrasla u Parizu, a piše na engleskom jeziku, iako joj je francuski materinji. Iako je matematičarka i programer (prepoznavanjem uzoraka), tehički elementi nisu znatnije utjecali na njeno pisanje, u kojem je više pažnje posvećivala kulturi, politici i religiji. Godine 2009. je osvojila nagradu John W. Campbell za najboljeg novog pisca, a njena priča The Shipmaker (koju smo spomenuli već nekoliko puta) dobila je nagradu BSFA za najbolju priču u 2010.

Ove godine je nominirana za Huga i Nebulu, s pričom The Jaguar House, in Shadow, smještenom u svijet Xuya, u koji je smješten i The Shipmaker¹. U ovom alternativnom svijetu, Kina je otkrila Ameriku prije Zapada i ostala otvorenija prema svijetu, dok je njena suradnja s carstvima Srednje i Južne Amerike itekako djelovala na širenje država zapadne Europe.

The mind wanders, when one takes teonanacatl.

If she allowed herself to think, she’d smell bleach, mingling with the faint, rank smell of blood; she’d see the grooves of the cell, smeared with what might be blood or faeces.

She’d remember–the pain insinuating itself into the marrow of her bones, until it, too, becomes a dull thing, a matter of habit–she’d remember dragging herself upwards when dawn filters through the slit-windows: too tired and wan to offer her blood to Tonatiuh the sun, whispering a prayer that ends up sounding more and more like an apology.

The god, of course, will insist that she live until the end, for life and blood are too precious to be wasted–no matter how broken or useless she’s become, wasting away in the darkness.

Here’s the thing: she’s not sure how long she can last.

The Lost Xuyan Bride je također smještena u isti svijet, ali u današnje vrijeme (2005. godinu). Riječ je o klasičnoj detektivskoj priči i potrazi za nestalom mladenkom, koja nas vodi kroz kineski zapad Amerike u aztečku Srednju Ameriku. Priča je 2007. bila nominiranaza nagradu BSFA.

“They say you are the one to see if I want to track down a missing person,” the woman said, pulling to her the only chair in my office. She wore silk, embroidered with a qi’lin unicorn–a rank reserved to the highest businessmen of Fenliu.

I saw her long, lacquered nails and the impeccable yellow of her skin, the way she moved, sinuous and yet in perfect control–and I came to a conclusion. “I don’t take clients from your background,” I said.

“Indeed?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Too much trouble, Mr. Brooks?” She’d switched from Xuyan to English on the last sentence. She was good. Likely she also spoke Nahuatl, the language of Greater Mexica. A true businesswoman, who would be at ease anywhere in North America.

“Yes,” I said. “How odd that it’s the richest that cause the most difficulties.”

I sljedeća priča je vezana uz Azteke, iako nema veze sa Xuyom. Memories in Bronze, Feathers, and Blood je čisti steampunk.

It’s early in the morning, and Nezahual is sweeping the courtyard of his workshop when the dapper man comes in.
From our perches in the pine tree, we watch Nezahual. His heart is weak and small, feebly beating in his chest, and sweat wells up in the pores of his skin. Today, we guess, is a bad day for him.
The dapper man, by contrast, moves with the arrogant stride of unbroken soldiers—his gestures sure, casual—and he has a pistol hidden under his clothes, steel that shines in our wide-spectrum sight.

          We tense—wondering how much of a threat he is to Nezahual. His manner is brash; but he doesn’t seem aggressive.

          “I’m looking for Nezahual of the Jaguar Knights.” The dapper man’s voice is contemptuous; he believes Nezahual to be a sweeper, someone of no importance in the household.

          What he doesn’t know is that there’s no household, just Nezahual and us: his children, his flock of copper and bronze.

Xaotix

Mirko Karas je zamjenik glavne urednice NOSF-a, pisac u pokušaju, obožavatelj svih sportova na vodi u bilo kojem agregatnom stanju i potpredsjednik društva SFera. Ne piše blog, ne voli Twitter, a Facebook još manje.

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1. The Shipmaker opisuje događaje koji se događaju negdje krajem 21 i u 22 stoljeću, a Jaguar House je smještena u 1986.[↩]