{"id":9558,"date":"2013-02-22T22:54:59","date_gmt":"2013-02-22T20:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egophobia.ro\/?p=9558"},"modified":"2013-04-10T16:09:13","modified_gmt":"2013-04-10T14:09:13","slug":"romanian-fantasy-literature-michael-haulica-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/?p=9558","title":{"rendered":"Romanian fantasy\u00a0 literature: Michael Haulic\u0103 – “Transfer”"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Millennium Books Publishing House, 2012]<\/strong>
\n(a reader’s guide to fantasy [3])<\/font><\/p>\n

by Oliviu Crâznic
\ntranslation from Romanian by Cristina Baciu [MTTLC student]
\n 
\nclick aici<\/a> pentru versiunea rom\u00e2n\u0103\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nFiction writer (Madia Mangalena<\/i>, Despre sing<\/i>ur\u0103tate \u015fi \u00eengeri<\/i>, A\u015ftept\u00e2nd-o pe Sara<\/i>, Povestiri fantastice<\/i>, Povestea lui Calistrat Had\u00e2mbu<\/i>), critic (Nu sunt guru<\/i>, …nici Torquemada<\/i>), editor, collections coordinator and promoter of fantasy literature in general (including SF, fantasy, horror), Michael Haulic\u0103 stands out through his tireless activism in the field and the indisputable results he has achieved in all respects. Suffice it to mention the prestigious prizes he was awarded with, the numerous writers \u2013 well-established today \u2013 whose debut he has endorsed or the fact that for many years he has ranked among the few native specialised critics to tackle almost every published work in the genre, as well as the SF movement in general.
\n
\nRegardless if we label it modular novel or if we see it as an anthology of novellas and short stories that are interconnected or have a common denominator (the common denominator being the mysterious assassination scene of a blogger \u2013 an aspiring writer), the volume Transfer<\/i> undoubtedly constitutes a whole<\/i> that flows differently<\/i>, in every respect (from plot to style) than each particular. Thus, although each component \u2013 there are four texts: Vremea z\u0103pu\u015felii<\/i>, Glitcherine<\/i>, O huc\u0103 \u00een minunatul Inand<\/i> \u015fi Microtexte<\/i> \u2013 has an individual meaning and development, through an encompassing<\/i> approach, the reader is sure to grasp the vast fresco of a fascinating cyberpunk universe which reveals itself gradually in all its dimensions and purposes. I used \u2018cyberpunk\u2019 and not \u2018post<\/i>cyberpunk\u2019 because in \u2018post<\/i>…\u2019, by definition, the depicted worlds do not lose their optimism completely, as their heroes battle dystopian order or attempt to stop the further deterioration of the society they are a part of. On the contrary, in Michael Haulic\u0103\u2019s work we are confronted with the typical cyberpunk whose intensity is all the more powerful as he is presented to us by new and original stylistic means, a cyberpunk with an individual destiny in a world devoid of hope, but in which beauty is not yet dead as long as we prove ourselves capable to capture it. The Josephine<\/i> bar, the Floare de Cais<\/i> smiles, the glitch<\/i> shows and the dream of becoming a novelist in a degraded and turbulent society, all these are aesthetic and reassuring points of reference designed to counterbalance the troubled and gloomy d\u00e9cor and help achieve a perfect equilibrium. Even the author\u2019s poetic language positions itself artistically against the triviality victoriously dominant in Transfer<\/i>, as \u2018brutal\u2019 words coming from the mouth of characters in those particular situations sometimes sound downright suave<\/i>.<\/p>\n

By nuancing the norms of isolation, alienation and the disintegration of personality in a literary adventure where technology is a corrupt influence on its protagonists, that leads to non-being both physically and spiritually, all the while providing an illusory and fragile \u2013 in the right hands \u2013 refuge from fate, Michael Haulic\u0103 seems to present us with a vivid demonstration of humanity<\/i>\u2019s survival in the most severe conditions our world and society have to offer us, even when nothing can be done to find a new path because no one is looking for it anymore.<\/p>\n

What transpires is not the image of a bunch of self-confident heroes<\/i> dedicating their lives and resources to the purpose of \u00ad\u2018saving the planet\u2019<\/i> (the \u2018post-cyberpunk\u2019 trademark), but the portrayal of resigned anti-heroes<\/i> who are facing the dissolution of the universe they are inhabiting and are preoccupied strictly with their own survival<\/i> (the \u2018cyberpubk\u2019 trademark); this survival, however, depends on more than just physical integrity, the little beauty<\/i> still accessible to them playing an essential part in their lives, despite it being made up only of fragments, memories, details and dreams (the \u2018Michael Haulic\u0103\u2019 trademark). The Gibsons <\/i>(ardent fans of William Gibson, a writer in the genre, utopically<\/i> willing to follow in his footsteps but painfully aware, deep down, of the impossibility of reaching such an ideal), huci <\/i>(hired \u2018prostitutes\u2019 participating in the exchange of human bodies as entertainment and more; here, experiencing life in someone else\u2019s body is a key element of the author\u2019s message), paid samurai, cynical private detectives and femmes fatale built on the pattern of\u00a0 the female protagonists in noir novels confront each other and get caught in a terrible spider web with a central node toward which fate carries them all.<\/p>\n

Transfer <\/i>is one the three volumes that are essential to the native literature published by Romanian SF&F writers in 2012, a mandatory read for science fiction and noir lovers and a recommended read for anyone. On the other two remarkable accomplishments in our literature, we\u2019ll talk perhaps on another occasion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Millennium Books Publishing House, 2012] (a reader’s guide to fantasy [3]) by Oliviu Crâznic translation from Romanian by Cristina Baciu [MTTLC student]   click aici pentru versiunea rom\u00e2n\u0103   Fiction writer (Madia Mangalena, Despre singur\u0103tate \u015fi \u00eengeri, A\u015ftept\u00e2nd-o pe Sara, Povestiri fantastice, Povestea lui Calistrat Had\u00e2mbu), critic (Nu sunt guru, …nici Torquemada), editor, collections coordinator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[890,969,77],"tags":[1158,922,970,1123,981,403,636,312],"class_list":["post-9558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-readers-guide-to-fantasy","category-egophobia37","category-english","tag-a-readers-guide-to-fantasy","tag-cristina-baciu","tag-egophobia-37","tag-english","tag-michael-haulica","tag-mttlc","tag-oliviu-craznic","tag-translation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6DakB-2ua","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9558"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9693,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9558\/revisions\/9693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egophobia.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}