The 2024 Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Rover”) Award finalists have been posted. The award, sponsored by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, goes to the best science fiction book published in Finland in the previous year.
Jennifer Egan: Piparkakkutalo (The Candy House. Translated into Finnish by Helene Bützow; Tammi)
Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone: Tällä tavalla hävitään aikasota (This Is How You Lose the Time War, Finnish Kaisa Ranta; Hertta)
Fríða Ísberg: Merkintä (Marking. Translated into Finnish by Tapio Koivukari ; WSOY)
Mia Myllymäki: Huomistarhuri(Tomorrow’s Gardener; Gummerus)
Hervé Le Tellier: Poikkeama (L’anomalie/ Translated into Finnish by Lotta Toivanen; WSOY)
The nominees were selected by a jury composed of journalist Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and Finnish translator and critic Kaisa Ranta.
The announcement adds that Kaisa Ranta, translator of This Is How You Lose the Time War, did not take part in the discussions which considered the nomination of that book, and she will not participate in the selection of the final winner.
The winner of the 2022 Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Rover”) Award was announced May 11. The award, sponsored by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, goes to the best science fiction book published in Finland in the previous year which the judges have determined to be —.
Kazuo Ishiguro:Klara ja aurinko (Klara and the Sun; Translated into Finnish by Helene Bützow.) (Tammi)
Klara is one of the Artificial Friends peddled as companions for children and young people to support the development of their social skills in a competitive world.
The award citation says of Ishiguro’s novel —
…Beneath the elaborate, subtle narrative lurks tragic, at times laconically cruel tones. The creepiness of the surrounding society emerges from small cues and fragments of knowledge that the reader must be able to extract from the observations of a very different creature. In all its humanity, Klara is an object, an asset in the world of the book; at the same time, the obsession with success drives the human characters in the novel to treat each other in an instrumental manner, including their own children.
Ishiguro captures the reader with certainty and also manages to surprise. The levels of the novel support each other from small linguistic solutions to the plot. The ensemble plays together like a symphony orchestra and forms a more distinctive world that is disturbingly reminiscent of our own than the number of pages. Every detail is considered, no sentence is in vain or in the wrong place. Helene Bützow’s nuanced translation completes the reading experience.
The Helsinki Science Fiction Society has been presenting the “Star Rover” award since 1986. This year’s winner was selected by a jury composed of journalist Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Kaisa Ranta.
The 2022 Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Rover”) Award finalists have been posted. The award, sponsored by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, goes to the best science fiction book published in Finland in the previous year.
Anne-Maija Aalto:Mistä valo pääsee sisään (Otava)
Kazuo Ishiguro:Klara ja aurinko (Klara and the Sun; Translated into Finnish by Helene Bützow.)(Tammi)
N. K. Jemisin:Viides vuodenaika (The Fifth Season; Translated into Finnish by Mika Kivimäki.)(Jalava)
Marc-Uwe Kling:QualityLand (QualityLand; Translated into Finnish by Sanna van Leeuwen.) (Like)
Yoko Ogawa:Muistipoliisi (Hisoyaka na Kessho; The Memory Police; Translated into Finnish by Markus Juslin.)(Tammi)
The nominees were selected by a jury composed of journalist Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Kaisa Ranta. The winner will be announced in April-May.
Margaret Rogerson. Photo by Alice Stallcup Photography
The Helsinki Science Fiction Society has announced the winner of the 2021 Tähtifantasia Award, given for the best fantasy book published in Finnish during the previous year.
Margaret Rogerson: Kirjojen tytär [Sorcery of Thorns]; Translated into Finnish by Mika Kivimäki. Published by Karisto.
From the citation, via Google Translate:
The events of Margaret Rogerson’s novel The Daughter of Books (Sorcery of Thorns, 2019) take place in an alternative 19th century. Elisabeth Scrivener, 16, has grown up in the Great Library, where she has been raised to be a book keeper. The library contains demonological books with their own consciousness. A loose spell book is dangerous and can turn into a demon, or malefic. Elisabeth manages to destroy the runaway malefic, but ends up being wrongly charged with the murder of a senior librarian.
Inexperienced but tenacious, Elisabeth has to fight a network of intrigues that threatens the whole world. As his allies, he gets an enigmatic young wizard, Nathaniel Thorn, and his demon servant Silas.
The daughter of the books is an immersive adventure fantasy with an emotional connection to the personal characters. The narration is carried by a witty humorous dialogue, a natural romantic spark, an interesting world building and a non-stop pace.
Rogerson’s Gas Lantern Fantasy is a novel for young adults with no upper age limit. It is shamelessly entertaining and draws on the tradition of adventure books, but is a modern work aimed at today’s reader.
The daughter of the books talks about the struggle between good and evil and the importance of selflessness and unyieldingness. People who seem to have little in common can find each other. As important as the struggle for justice is overcoming one’s own prejudices.
The author has created a fresh combination of ingredients found to be good. Rogerson describes interestingly what price people are willing to pay for magic and what is ultimately important in life. Mika Kivimäki’s Finnish translation is of uniform quality.
The award has been presented for 15 years. Previously, only fantasy books translated into Finnish were considered but this year for the first time novels originally written in Finnish also were eligible, and the winner is one of those works.
The award jury is composed of critics Jukka Halme, and Aleksi Kuutio, Risingshadow.net representative Osmo Määttä, and book blogger Niina Tolonen.
The Helsinki Science Fiction Society has chosen the nominees for the 2020 Tähtifantasia Award, given for the best fantasy book published in Finnish during the previous year.
The award jury is composed of critics Jukka Halme, Aleksi Kuutio of Risingshadow.net, and Niina Tolonen, a book blogger.
Dino Buzzati: Noiduttu takki ja muita kertomuksia [a collection of stories published in Italian] (Basam Books, Translated into Finnish by Leena Rantanen)
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Vesitanssija [The Water Dancer] (Tammi, Translated into Finnish by Einari Aaltonen)
Heikki Kännö: Runoilija (Sammakko)
Margaret Rogerson: Kirjojen tytär [Sorcery of Thorns](Karisto, translated into Finnish by Mika Kivimäki)
M. G. Soikkeli: Neljän miekan tanssi (Vaskikirjat)
The Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Rover”) Award winner was posted on April 14. Sponsored by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, the award goes to the best science fiction book published in Finland in the previous year, which the judges have determined to be —
Emmi Itäranta: Kuunpäivän kirjeet (Teos)
The award citation says Itäranta’s novel —
tells of a future in which humanity has moved to live in nearby space. The author’s strong vision of the solar system shows us where we are heading and what kind of communities humanity that has left the Earth’s crust could build. At the same time, it asks if we change as our daily lives and places of residence change and what price is paid for the change. What sins do we collectively carry with us into the distance of time and place?
The Helsinki Science Fiction Society has been presenting the “Star Rover” award since 1986. This year’s winner was selected by a jury composed of journalist Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Kaisa Ranta.
The Helsinki Science Fiction Society has chosen the nominees for the 2020 Tähtifantasia Award, given for the best fantasy book published in Finnish during the previous year. This year, for the first time, Finnish works are also included in addition to fantasy books translated into Finnish.
The award jury is composed of critics Jukka Halme and Aleksi Kuutio, and Osmo Määttä of Risingshadow.net.
Katri Alatalo: Ikuisesti, siskoni (Gummerus)
Neil Gaiman: Pohjoisen mytologia [Norse Mythology] (Like, translated to Finnish by Jouko Ruokosenmäki)
Karoliina Heinola: Hitonhauta ja muita puolielävien kohtaloita (Aarni)
Juhani Karila: Pienen hauen pyydystys (Siltala)
V. E. Schwab: Magian syvempi sävy [A Darker Shade of Magic] (Karisto, translated to Finnish by Mika Kivimäki)
The Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Rover”) Award finalists have
been posted. The award, sponsored by the Helsinki Science Fiction
Society, goes to the best science fiction book
published in Finland in the previous year.
The nominees were selected by a jury composed of journalist Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Kaisa Ranta.
Naomi Alderman:Voima (The Power, translated into Finnish by Marianna Kurtto, Gummerus)
Margaret Atwood:Testamentit (The Testaments, translated into Finnish by Hilkka Pekkanen, Otava)
Agustina Bazterrica:Rotukarja (Cadáver exquisito, translated into Finnish by Einari Aaltonen, Like)
Peter Høeg:Sinun silmiesi kautta (Gennem dine øjne, translated into Finnish by Sanna Manninen, Tammi)
