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| Art by Artur Zima |
Short(ish) Reviews of Speculative Short Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction. Word counts are approximate. Opinions are my own. (also, probably SPOILERS ABOUND!)
Showing posts with label L S Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label L S Johnson. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2019
Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #282
Friday, November 17, 2017
The Monthly Round - October 2017
The Monthly Round turns 3 today over at Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together. Go check it out. For those just interested in knowing my favorite short SFF reads of the month, the list is below. Cheers!
Tasting Flight - October 2017
“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny)
“Barbara in the Frame” by Emmalia Harrington (Fiyah)
“To Us May Grace Be Given” by L.S. Johnson (GigaNotoSaurus)
“My Struggle” by Lavie Tidhar (Apex)
“Claire Weinraub’s Top Five Sea Monster Stories (For Allie)” by Evan Berkow (Flash Fiction Online)
“The Whalebone Parrot” by Darcie Little Badger (The Dark)
Tasting Flight - October 2017
“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny)
“Barbara in the Frame” by Emmalia Harrington (Fiyah)
“To Us May Grace Be Given” by L.S. Johnson (GigaNotoSaurus)
“My Struggle” by Lavie Tidhar (Apex)
“Claire Weinraub’s Top Five Sea Monster Stories (For Allie)” by Evan Berkow (Flash Fiction Online)
“The Whalebone Parrot” by Darcie Little Badger (The Dark)
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Quick Sips - GigaNotoSaurus October 2017
October’s GigaNotoSaurus brings a sort of paranormal Western longer novelette, with a whiff of ash and the taste of blood and coming violence. It’s a storm of a story, sweeping through the life of the main character and leaving nothing untouched. It’s a piece that explores the vast frontier that the American West used to represent, the potential or at least the hope of renewal and forgiveness. And yet it was all built on murder, and exploitation, and blood, and the story paints this place as incredibly dark, perilous, and toxic. It’s a wonderful take on the setting and genre, though, and before I give to much away, let’s get to the review!
Friday, July 10, 2015
Quick Sips - Crossed Genres #31 Novelette
The theme for this month's Crossed Genres is Novelette. Which isn't really a theme as it is a style. A length. But hey, it's all good, as the stories still live up to the quality that people expect from the publication. All three are interest, two of them science fictional and one a contemporary fantasy/magic realism piece (gah, I dislike genre differentiating). All meet the word requirements for novelette, but all are also rather contemplative stories. Though there is a bit of death and dismemberment, there really isn't too much pressing violence. These stories use the higher word count to draw things out, to slowly build the tension. It's an interesting collection of stories (and three of them when I was only expecting two), so hurrah! To the reviews!
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Quick Sips - Lackington's #6 - Seas
Today I'm looking at the latest from Lackington's. There's even a theme this issue, Seas. And each story does do a nice job of capturing the feel of the sea, even when the sea is not water, as in "Spider Moves the World" and "Excerpt from UNLANGUAGE." Most of the stories use the literal seas, the watery kind, and there's a lot to draw up from the depths. As is usual with the publication, the stories are a bit strange, focusing on form and style perhaps more than plot and action. Not that there's not action. "The Selkie" has quite a bit of tense action, Nazi ships exploding and all. But the stories are a bit more layered than that, some a bit hard to pull apart but all of them beautiful in their own way and worth pouring over. So to the reviews!
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| Art by Tomasz Wieja |
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Quick Sips - Strange Horizons January 5
My second review is of the January 5th Strange Horizons. Once again I can't help but look at the non-fiction as well, because it's a great piece looking at masculinity through the lens of some recent movies and shows. And I will be trying to review whatever poetry I come across. I've always loved poetry, and while it might not be my area of expertise as much as stories, I think I can find something intelligible to say on the subject.
Story:
"Vacui Magia" by L. S. Johnson (3459 words)
About loss and guilt and magic, this story certainly has an edge to it. Told like a guidebook for creating and then destroying a golem-child, it's told in the second person, which is strange enough. But there is a raw hurt to the character that comes through, like the second person narrative is only a way the witch tries to distance herself from the pain of the experience. Because even while it's written as "you" it's really saying "I." It's an effective frame for the story, and an excellent way to get into the witch's head, into her regret and shame and guilt and grief that her mother is dying and that she has no child. I'm always a little wary of stories that focus so much on a woman desperately wanting a child. I can understand the drive, but it normally seems a want placed on her from the outside. Even here it's difficult to separate the witch's desire for a child and the witch's mother's desire that her daughter have a child. And wanting to appease a parent seems a terrible reason to have a child and the witch's motivations seem too muddied by her desire to not hurt her mother to be entirely voluntary. Still, the last line brings things back a bit, brings the witch to a place where she seems more at peace, more content with herself. A good story, overall, and a lot to think about.
Poetry:
"Sythia" by Marinelle G. Ringer
Evoking Greek myths, most strongly that of Theseus in the Labyrinth, this poem at first seemed to me a bit confusing. It's a mix of things that took me a while to piece together. The language is great, and the imagery is amazing. I absolutely love the image of the box bearing the word "love." Really the poem makes me think I'm misremembering all of my Greek mythology, but I kind of like that about it, how it evokes so much that captures the feel of those stories. It makes me want to go back and read them all. I'm sure I would "get" a bit more if I did. But for now I'm content to admire the language, to enjoy the way Theseus is stopped by that box, but how it doesn't stop him. An interesting poem.
Non-fiction:
"Intertitles: Oh, the Cleverness of Me!: Masculinity and the Horror Show" by Genevieve Valentine
One would think it hard for me to follow a piece that talks about a slew of shows and movies that I have never seen. But I know exactly what's' going on, because it's not just going on in the shows that are mentioned. But I love the commentary on the various texts, and the idea that there is a movement, even in movies (gasp!) to show masculinity as not some untarnished idol for everyone to bow down to. The cult of masculinity is something that is strong, that exists and perpetuates itself in so many various ways, that to see it be questioned is refreshing and horrifying, because with all things there is the backlash against it, those that double down, like the critics of the recent Pan. It would be very interesting to see how these masculine ideals are starting to be subverted in things aimed at younger audiences. I'm a huge Adventure Time fan, and see in shows like it (like Avatar as well) a definite challenge of the traditional masculine model. I also read a lot of YA for Teenreads and see how things are dealt with there. In some there is still the "spirit of masculinity" and in others (the ones I like more) that model is not just let stand. As a non-standard man, it's very interesting to see. I can only hope that the subversion continues and gains in strength and that the backlash is not too dangerous.
Story:
"Vacui Magia" by L. S. Johnson (3459 words)
About loss and guilt and magic, this story certainly has an edge to it. Told like a guidebook for creating and then destroying a golem-child, it's told in the second person, which is strange enough. But there is a raw hurt to the character that comes through, like the second person narrative is only a way the witch tries to distance herself from the pain of the experience. Because even while it's written as "you" it's really saying "I." It's an effective frame for the story, and an excellent way to get into the witch's head, into her regret and shame and guilt and grief that her mother is dying and that she has no child. I'm always a little wary of stories that focus so much on a woman desperately wanting a child. I can understand the drive, but it normally seems a want placed on her from the outside. Even here it's difficult to separate the witch's desire for a child and the witch's mother's desire that her daughter have a child. And wanting to appease a parent seems a terrible reason to have a child and the witch's motivations seem too muddied by her desire to not hurt her mother to be entirely voluntary. Still, the last line brings things back a bit, brings the witch to a place where she seems more at peace, more content with herself. A good story, overall, and a lot to think about.
Poetry:
"Sythia" by Marinelle G. Ringer
Evoking Greek myths, most strongly that of Theseus in the Labyrinth, this poem at first seemed to me a bit confusing. It's a mix of things that took me a while to piece together. The language is great, and the imagery is amazing. I absolutely love the image of the box bearing the word "love." Really the poem makes me think I'm misremembering all of my Greek mythology, but I kind of like that about it, how it evokes so much that captures the feel of those stories. It makes me want to go back and read them all. I'm sure I would "get" a bit more if I did. But for now I'm content to admire the language, to enjoy the way Theseus is stopped by that box, but how it doesn't stop him. An interesting poem.
Non-fiction:
"Intertitles: Oh, the Cleverness of Me!: Masculinity and the Horror Show" by Genevieve Valentine
One would think it hard for me to follow a piece that talks about a slew of shows and movies that I have never seen. But I know exactly what's' going on, because it's not just going on in the shows that are mentioned. But I love the commentary on the various texts, and the idea that there is a movement, even in movies (gasp!) to show masculinity as not some untarnished idol for everyone to bow down to. The cult of masculinity is something that is strong, that exists and perpetuates itself in so many various ways, that to see it be questioned is refreshing and horrifying, because with all things there is the backlash against it, those that double down, like the critics of the recent Pan. It would be very interesting to see how these masculine ideals are starting to be subverted in things aimed at younger audiences. I'm a huge Adventure Time fan, and see in shows like it (like Avatar as well) a definite challenge of the traditional masculine model. I also read a lot of YA for Teenreads and see how things are dealt with there. In some there is still the "spirit of masculinity" and in others (the ones I like more) that model is not just let stand. As a non-standard man, it's very interesting to see. I can only hope that the subversion continues and gains in strength and that the backlash is not too dangerous.
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