Wave IX
A tribute to the fictitious magazine Wave IX from J.G. Ballard’s 1961 short story “Studio 5, The Stars.” In the fictitious version of the magazine Ballard predicts the rise of machine generated poetry; and in this real-world version of Wave IX the current debacle over machine generated works is satirized, battled against, and disregarded with human generated works, tributes to Ballard, works inspired by the story, and more. Wave IX features a multigenerational cast of writers and artists from all over the world.
Featuring stories, poetry, and art from: Eugen Bacon, F.J. Bergmann, Michael Butterworth, Jacques Garnier, Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Carter Kaplan, Jardine Libaire, Jonathan Nevair, Charles Platt, Aaron Sheppard, & Mark Soden Jr.
The Martians
In this groundbreaking 1922 decopunk novella—the first science fiction by a Czech woman—the brilliant Martian inventor Astor constructs an experimental astral-telegraphy device and enters a deep trance to save Earth. Only love can activate the lamp that must revive him—but Astor’s partner Iva is torn between her ambitions for him, the attentions of his duplicitous friend Lerk, and the aristocratically seductive Igo Phenomén, who demonstrates a chilling power over nature. As these cosmic secrets unfold, The Martians weaves a captivating tale of idealism, betrayal, science, and the supernatural. Born from automatic writing, this visionary work challenges conventional notions of early speculative fiction through its unique blend of romance, mysticism, and technological wonder.
“The Martians is this author’s most literary work, briskly written and extraordinarily imaginative.”
-Ivan Adamovič, Czech SF scholar and editor
“THE MARTIANS is a welcome addition to the growing corpus of SF in translation. Procházková’s imaginative, early-20th century take on what Martians might be like–from their own perspective–enriches our understanding of the period’s own theories about the red planet. In addition, the author’s position as the first female Czech science fiction writer offers us a unique window on how feminist and socialist ideas informed the literature of the age. Martian “canals,” electromagnetism, telepathy, and vampirism swirl together here in an intriguing mix of early sf and gothic horror.”
Rachel S. Cordasco, sfintranslation.com
“Pre-World War II interplanetary story by Czech writer—a unique voice from Central Europe worth reading.”
Ambassador Jaroslav Olsa, Jr., diplomat and SF editor
