The Infinite Library and Other Stories
by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
Woods in the Books is a beautiful little children’s bookshop in Tiong Bahru. It’s on Yong Siak Street, on the same row as Strangelets and BooksActually. They are currently one of the few places where you can still get copies of my book “Here be Dragons” so please check them out.
The landmark 10th volume of the venerable Philippine Speculative Fiction series was launched last 7 May in Manila. Unfortunately I missed this due to life and work commitments.
Congratulations to Dean, Nikki and everyone that made it happen!
PSF 10 contains my alternate history piece “Mene, Thecel, Phares” which is essentially a re-imagining of the Jose Rizal mythos in the vein of Philip K Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle”. This is one of my favorite works. If you get a chance to read my story I would love to ask you readers two very important questions: “If Nations are indeed imagined communities, who does the imagining?” and “What really makes people live and die for their country, unique personal circumstances or some greater force? If so was it really their choice to go down the path they did?”
Here’s a short excerpt:
“That sounds… interesting, if a bit to fantastical for my taste. I am curious as to why you wrote them as Scientific Romances,” the old man asked. “Surely your message would have been more effective as proper, realist fiction?”
“Scientific Romances are as marginalized as my people.” Joseph answered. “Realism is neurotically obsessed with itself. It offers no norms, nothing to reach for. I wanted to get in touch with the masses, the common people who dream about better futures. Scientific Romances are all about possibility, roads that move forward, not those that loop around in navel-gazing eternities.”
“Yet all fiction is permutation. There is always change.”
“Right now all I want is for us to be treated as equals and have proper representation in the Cortes. The masses want revolution and blood. I need a third novel to correct this notion. Violence is never the answer.”
“There is a time and place for everything, even fighting,” the professor insisted. “Your people are already taking your words and shaping their future with their own hands. Why would you change that?”
“What does it matter? I am a dead man, regardless. My two little books have caused great controversy and my life now imitates my art. I am sure to end up like Rizal and face a firing squad. Although, if Benomar’s Hermandad ever found me out, they wouldn’t waste a bullet on an Indio — they would simply break my neck.”
“So stay here,” the professor urged. “Write your other novel. Stay here and at least stay alive. Anyway, the ones who write eventually control the world.”
Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 10 is now available on Flipside Books, Weightless Books, Amazon, ITunes, Google Play and Kobo.
Lontar No. 6 (Founding Editor Jason Erik Lundberg; Poetry Editor Kristine Ong Muslim and Comics Editor Adan Jimenez; published by Epigram) became available in print (from Kinokuniya and directly from Epigram Books) from last 27 April, while the DRM-free ebook is available from Weightless Books.
It features works from Ken Liu, Eka Kurniawan, J Y Yang, Jennifer Anne Champion, Ng Yi-Sheng, comics from Budjette Tan, Alex Arellano & Kajo Baldisimo, as well as some amazing speculative poetry from Jonel Abellanosa, Ang Si Min, Russ Hoe, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Christina Sng, Sokunthary Svay, Krishna Udayasankar, Brendan Walsh and Marco Yan.
Also part of this volume is my Filipino space-opera/family drama “Brother to Space, Sister to Time” which inspired the cover illustration by Sarah and Schooling.
Check out my Pinterest board for this story.
Lontar is the only publication that specializes in Speculative Fiction from and about Southeast Asia. It has published work from some of the finest writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Poetry. Please consider a subscription (from Weightless, link above) or supporting them on Patreon.
“A relatively new publication, LONTAR nonetheless publishes high-quality works by award-winning authors. Diverse and under-represented characters and settings are a mainstay of LONTAR‘s fiction, opening the genre to fresh themes and voices, and introducing readers to the rich culture and atmosphere of Southeast Asia.” —Tangent Online
The Infinite Library and Other Stories 