Introducing Cat’s Whirld

Cat's Whirld - Rodolfo MartínezHere’s something that I wish I had known about for the translation panel at Archipelacon (and yes, I know I still owe you all a reading list).

Cat’s Whirld is a novel by Rodolfo Martínez, who is a major figure in Spanish science fiction. It is a fusion of cyberpunk and space opera, being centered on a conflict between several galactic powers, but set on a space station and featuring an AI as a major enemy. The book was published in 1995 and won the Ignotus Award for Best Novel the following year. Of course that was in Spanish. Now, at last, we have an English translation by Steve Redwood. The book is due for publication on August 3rd. I have an ARC and am looking forward to finding time to read it. (I have a Hugo deadline looming over me.)

It is great seeing so much Spanish SF&F being translated. This sort of thing makes Eurocons very worthwhile. And while I’m on the subject I should note that Barcelona has added Rosa Montero to their highly impressive guest list. Ms. Montero is a very successful mainstream author in Spain, and her science fiction novel, Tears in Rain, is also available in English.