Preorders are now available for Science Critters, a book of adorable Fiber Arts patterns by SF Canada member Paula Johanson! Johanson is an accomplished writer of both science fiction and science non-fiction, but her textile art creations are also a constant source of joy in her social media channels. Now aspiring creators will be able to make their own octopus, nudribanch and other science critters at home!
To pre-order your copy, please visit the book’s publisher, DoubleJoy Books.
This week SF Canada mourns the passing of Lorna Toolis, the head of the famous Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy at the Toronto Public Library. Born in Winnipeg in 1952, Toolis developed a love of science fiction early in life which would blossom into a thirty-year career as one of the most important academics, curators, and community leaders in Canada. Through her efforts the Merril Collection has become a world-class library of speculative fiction; its holdings have grown from 5,000 items when Judith Merril first donated it to the Toronto Public Library 1970 to over 75,000 items today.
Toolis was a founding member of SF Canada, and a guiding light to the larger community of SFF creators and fans. Through her work, her warmth and her wisdom, she touched the lives of many.
In celebration of her life and work, the members of SF Canada have made a $500 donation to the Merril Collection, so that the important work she began can continue.
We encourage all members of the Canadian SF community to Join the Friends of the Merril Collection and support their ongoing mission in the future. Membership will support the maintenance and growth of the collection, events sponsored through its organizers, and the publication of Sol Rising, its annual newszine.
Those who have fond memories of Lorna to share with fellow mourners can visit her digital memorial here. She is survived by her partner Michael Skeet, who also authored an obituary for Locus Magazine at this link.
SF Canada member Noah Chinn is re-releasing Trooper 4, tomorrow August 1, 2021. Originally published in 2012 by Mundania Press, Trooper 4 is just one of the titles Noah is re-releasing. Look for the recent Getting Rid of Gary and upcoming The Plutus Paradox.
It’s the end of the world – but not as we know it.
A woman wakes up in a motel on the outskirts of a remote Oregon city with no memory who she is and a gun at her bedside. As she explores the world around her it seems that civilization has come to a violent end.
That’s bad.
It might also be the most normal thing that happens to her all week.
“Trooper #4 is a genre-bending, existential thrill ride! At least that’s how I’d write the blurb for the front of the DVD. On a more serious note, this really was an enjoyable story that caught me completely off guard… What begins as a yet another end-of-the-world zombie-fest (not quite “zombies” but close enough) takes a mind blowing twist… Chinn’s writing is economical and effective, the pace is fast, and the story is gripping. Trooper #4 has all the elements of a classic action story–compelling hero, evil villain, a world in need of saving–but with enough metaphysical twists and turns to feed every reader’s inner philosopher.” – Kristene Perron (Co-author of the Warpworld series)
“When she wakes in the morning, she has no idea who she is or where she is. She has guns in her motel room, a name tag on her shirt and there’s a cop car on the side of the highway that might have been hers. But why is she here and what happened?…The author does a good job of showing how paranoid people become when threatened by horror they don’t understand and while trying to stay alive. Rules fall by wayside, people take comfort where they can, and even children fight for survival…You won’t fall asleep reading this book.” – LAS SFF Reviews
“Love it. Very original book unlike anything I’ve read in the past. It is horror based on the story, not the gore, which is what I enjoyed the most. The mystery of who [the heroine] was…was different and I was shocked when I found out who she had been the entire time… It left me with gasping… I definitely will continue read more of Noah’s book and hopefully the author will write more of “end of the world” stories in future. This author’s creativity is awesome.” – Zach Sweets
Noah Chinn is an author, and has it on good authority to be a moderately amusing fellow. As a published cartoonist and writer, Noah’s work has appeared in distinguished publications, including Amazing Stories, Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, and Canada’s Globe & Mail.
Though he spends entirely too much time hunched in front of a keyboard, Noah does enjoy having an adventure now and then. He’s biked across several countries and even climbs the odd mountain. He recommends the view from Mt. Fuji—if you have a pair of warm gloves and an oxygen tank.
Noah currently lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife Gillian and their ferret Fia Ferretsworth. As an honest-to-goodness nerd, Noah enjoys video games, photography, roleplaying, and travel.
Learn more about Noah on his website noahchinnbooks.com.
Purchase your copy of Trooper 4 from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers.
SF Canada member D.G. Valdron recently released a two-part alternate history chronicle of a second world war in South America.
Axis of Andes is a stunning alternate history, exploring the baroque and tragic journey of Latin America from independence to the depression, and chronicling a dark history that might have been. A tiny change ends up altering the outcome of an election. Rippling outwards, Fascist movements gain more momentum, local politics unravel in new directions. Dominos cascade as the war spreads steadily, involving country after country in a death struggle.
Deep examinations of the history, societies and economies of each combatant reveal the underlying tensions and stresses, the fault lines and tectonic divides that drive the internal 
politics and international agendas of each combatant. We see scenes of the war and the combatants from their own perspective as the world falls apart around them. Written as both a history and as a series of compelling narratives,
The Axis of Andes is the first part of a two-part Alternate History series which ultimately rewrites the map of South America. Volume One begins the war with the Invasion of Ecuador, the March on Lima, expanding to trench warfare between Peru and Chile, sea battles between Chile and Peru, and a jungle war slowly spreading through the interior.
Reviews for Axis of Andes:
“Valdron’s alternate history is packed with credible variations of actual events which add quirky interest to the fictional trends he extrapolates from the historical infrastructure. … At no time does his fiction seem improbable or unlikely. It all seems to make sense. Internal consistency is one of the great strengths of this book.” – R. Graeme Cameron, Amazing Stories
“It is about the Ecuador-Peru war of 1941, in our timeline a minor conflict in which less than 2,000 people died which went almost unnoticed among the drama of the Second World War. In Valdron’s books however it ignites into a far more bloody affair and South America sees some of the hell that Europe and Asia experienced. … This is a book with an imaginative premise, genuine historical knowledge about areas of the world which we don’t think about as much in the west.” – Gary Oswald, Sea Lion Press
“In a well outlined 1940 South America, Peru, Ecuador and Chile stumble / drift into a war over mostly worthless border territories with a heavy dose of avenging offended national honour layered in. … This first volume ends with things still up in the air: the opposing camps do not have the means to deliver a knockout punch. The follow up should be worth reading.” – Amazon reviewer
D.G. Valdron is a wayward Maritimer, born on the north shore of New Brunswick. His father was a mechanic, his grandfather a carpenter, which provided Valdron with an arsenal of skills, a work ethic, and a practical approach to life. D.G. is currently a lawyer working in the field of aboriginal rights, but has also worked as a mechanic, carpenter, projectionist, cook, waiter, woodcutter ditch-digger, journalist and school teacher.
The Axis of Andes books are available through Amazon.
