Project Pawai was released way back in 1995 by Newday Publishing.
It was the first Filipino novel of it’s kind to be published for an unknown genre during that time called Pinoy Cyberpunk.
However, before anything else, I would like to thank a group of bloggers who of all things, noticed the book and gave such wonderful comments in a very short blog they contributed for it.
Therefore, the first part of this blog (which happens to be my first blog ever!) would be dedicated to a response to Indi’s blog from the "Elephant still Missing” blogspot of the Murakami Detox Support Group.
Her feedback regarding Project Pawai has and will always be appreciated. My apologies for taking 8 years to answer back as I also have neglected Pinoy Cyberpunk and novel writing for a very long time.
Also, amusing as it sounds, I have this aversion to the Internet and would only go online when needed to do so.
These days however require me to log-in almost daily to do content and other activities online. This would give me a chance to sort of make-up for the lost years of Pinoy Cyberpunk, and the development of novel writing for this particular genre.
So, what happened in the last 17 years
since Project Pawai came out? Well, whenever I get the chance to visit the bookstore, I often make it a point to drop by the Filipiniana section, and I’ve been trying to scour the Internet for any other published Philippine novels that could be classified as Pinoy Cyberpunk or Technopunk at least. I’m still looking. Nothing yet like or along the lines of Project Pawai.
When I wrote the book (past tense), I was a young man (more past tense), with a super crush on this really cute (blonde) American singer who happened to be a whizkid herself. But, that was 20 years ago and technology has changed a lot since then. I mean, I was working with a 64K Apple (with no hard disk) and a couple of floppy drives. I was able to hack up an environmental monitor, a talking AI program using BASIC and of course Project Pawai.
The thing is, Filipinos today are more computer literate than ever. We have more authors now, both online as well as those with locally published works. Graphic novels/comics yes, lots of Pinoy Cyberpunk and techno/sci-fi/fantasy ideas, but novels…I’m dismayed.
We have a lot of talented people in the field of computers and literature, but it’s been 17 years since Project Pawai. Have I been quiet too long?
Anyway, I hope that with the help of this blog, we can address the development of this very much- neglected genre of Philippine literature, which is quite puzzling considering all the computers and gadgets surrounding us.
I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this blog and I would love to hear from you. Your feedback is very important. It’s time for me to start (as Indi would say) “howling” once again for Pinoy Cyberpunk, and as far as Project Pawai is concerned, move forward in a positive direction.
After all, I was the one who started the ball rolling, only, I don’t think it did! Hahaha…
Very well written, hope to see more updates! Good luck with your venture.
ReplyDeleteOh, hey, cool! This is something old to dig around for then. I'm not aware of specific Filipino cyberpunk novels recently, but on the short fiction end of things, you might want to check out the Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies (ebooks should be available through Flipreads and Amazon), which have a few SF stories and a few that you could call cyberpunk. (disclaimer: I did have two pieces in the anthologies)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Phil Corpuz
Ray,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Keep in touch Bro.
Phil,
Thank you so much for the comments.
Yes, I'll make it a point to check out the anthologies.
Looking forward to hearing from you again.
Joey
Hello Joey,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure my last comment appeared properly. Where can I buy a copy of your book? I want to read it and add it to an article on Filipino Science Fiction that I maintain on my blog - https://victorfernandorocampo.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/a-short-and-incomplete-history-of-philippine-science-fiction/
Thanks,
Victor
Hello Victor,
DeleteSo so sorry for my late late response. Would you believe I've been so busy for the last 7 months working on the CounterStrike Pinoy game mod that I totally forgot I had a book blog. Pls. try to call up New Day Publishing tel. nos. 928 80 46 and 927 59 82 (hope it's still the same. If not, let me know). I really don't know if you can call it Sci-Fi cause it's really more of a techno-thriller/teen adventure set in the 1980's.It's not expensive anymore (it's old) probably around 60 or 70 bucks or maybe cheaper. Hope it helps your article. Anyway, if you have the time, I'de appreciate if you could drop by You tube and check out our very own Filipino Counter-Strike (finally) @ http://youtu.be/EtSwTIqoA8k or just type CounterStrike Pinoy no si bala si mod in YouTube. Sorry about the plugging but who knows, you might find it interesting. Just let me know if there;s anything else I can do to help.
Joey