ISSUE #10: Spring 2018
“Upon closer inspection, the bark had a dense, repeating pattern of snake scales and triangles like jagged teeth, crocodiles and scorpions, visible only to one who knew what to search for. Something sharp poked my shoulder. I came face-to-face with two branches, sinuous as snakes. A voice like the wind rustled the leaves. I missed you too, Saha.”
Dean Francis Alfar’s Salamanca (Part 3), Victor Fernando R. Ocampo’s Infinity in a Book, Manish Melwani’s Forbidden History, Cyril Wong’s Bodhisattva, Drewscape’s Rewire, Kevin Martens Wong’s Merlion, Eliza Victoria’s Carpe Noctem, Vida Cruz’s Song of the Mango, Wayne Rée’s Satay, Natalie Wang’s Tiger Wife, Topaz Winters’ Flight, Gabriela Lee’s Offering, Patricia Karunungan’s Agatha, Marylyn Tan & Graeme Ford’s Toader; poems by Kevin Minh Allen, Davian Aw, F. Jordan Carnice, Genevieve DeGuzman, May Chong, Lawdenmarc Decamora, Joses Ho, Judith Huang, Sithuraj Ponraj, Bronwyn Sharman, Lakan Umali and Natalie Wang.
Past Issues
“This latest and last issue of LONTAR contains something for everyone. In its pages, readers will find short stories, poetry and even a gorgeous full-colour comic illustrated by Eisner-nominated artist Drewscape. The bumper issue is a fitting swansong for LONTAR, the world’s only biannual journal of South-east Asian speculative fiction, which was founded in 2012. […] It is rare to find such a diverse array of speculative fiction with a South-east Asian twist. LONTAR will be missed.”
—The Straits Times, about issue #10
“I like to think of myself as tolerably well-read for an American. LONTAR reminds me how what we take for granted about ourselves in the West is actually based on ignorance and vanity. Reading the table of contents in that dusty galactic backwater known as the United States, the editors exposed my provincial prejudices rather painfully; each of the authors was new to me. In reading LONTAR, the greatest pleasure was the discovery that such an imaginative world exists in the universe: a place populated by fiction writers, poets and graphic artists of such a broad range of integuments, interests and talents.”
—Singapore Unbound
“All the writing is surprising and fascinating. As a reader, some knowledge of the region helps, but is not necessary. The great thing about LONTAR is the broad range of speculative fiction showcased here with a guaranteed burst of Southeast Asian culture. […] LONTAR has produced quality, intricate and original work that entertains and distills a yearning in the reader for more.”
—The Review Review
“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
“Learning real things about a region of the world relatively unknown to me is an unexpected bonus of the great stories in LONTAR. With each tale, I was allowed a view through the eyes of someone whose experiences and orientation are so far separated from my own and yet so similar that the journey is wondrous.”
—Weightless Books
“I thought I was going to pick this up and read a story or two and instead I blew off everything else I was doing and read the issue cover to cover. I’d love to be able to pick out a favourite story and talk about it but there wasn’t anything here I didn’t like, there wasn’t anything that didn’t make me think or see the speculative possibilities outside my own small sphere of experience. Oh, the stories, the wonderful stories.”
—Goodreads review, about issue #1
LONTAR 