A bit of a strange issue from Apex this month with two very short stories and three regular sized stories, plus the regular assortment of poetry and nonfiction. Plus a reprint that I will not be looking at. It makes for a packed table of contents, but you won't see me complaining. Anyway, with so much to look at let's jump right in!
Stories:
"Requiem, for Solo Cello" by Damien Angelica Walters (1170 words)
A story about a woman who is transformed by a male cellist to be his instrument, to play his song. The woman, believing him a great musician, allows this to happen, realizes too late that he is a fraud, that he does not have the talent she thought at first. And though he is unable to get her to sound the way he wants, after he leaves her behind she finds her own music, her own worth and power, and leaves, escapes from him and out into the world with a vision and a music that can't be contained. It's a great story, with music and emotions twirling together. It seems to be about not letting yourself be turned into an instrument for another, and especially for women not to give up their own dreams and skills of men. At least, that's the most common story, because so much of music is dominated by men because women were not allowed the same authority. Are still not, really, but t here is a call that it needs to change, that women need to forge ahead, forward, unrepentant and sure of themselves. To hear their own songs.
"Heirloom Pieces" by Lisa L. Hannett (4600 words)
A woman must face the end of her life as she gives her body away to her ill daughter in this story. The woman, Cat, knows what is coming, but there is some question as to whether or not she really wants it. I mean, obviously she doesn't, because it means dying. The law requires she to undergo the operation that will give her body most of Cat's body, though, and allow her to live a normal life at the cost of Cat's. For all that it is required, Cat also loves her daughter. I didn't get the sense, though, that she wanted to go. She wasn't expecting to have to make that sacrifice. Like many things with being a parent, she had hoped it would go well. And it hadn't. There was risk, and she was unlucky. She still goes through with it, still makes sure to do the best she can, but there is still an unfairness to it, a tragedy about what she has to do. I wanted there to be a better way, because it seems so unfair. It's a well constructed story, and Cat has a nice voice, a bit unreasonable, a bit cutting, but real and human. What happens to her is no less tragic because she can be angry, mean, perhaps slightly shallow. She still deserves to live. It's a rather unsettling story, and done well with a great deal of complexity.
"Foreknowledge" by Mary E. Lowd (4100 words)
Another story about children and loss, this one is about the old idea of what happens when you sort-of know how you and everyone else is going to die. In this case, a young couple is having a child and finds out that it will die of SIDS. Not that it means it will die from it, but that it will cause its death. The lack of knowing exactly when and exactly how haunt the mother, the main character, who can't really move on from the knowledge that her daughter could die at any moment, It causes strife with her marriage, and it does come to pass that it kills her daughter before the age of one. It's not exactly a happy story that way. I really felt for the characters, though, for the pain that the mother goes through and Chad's more practical nature. And I liked how they choose to go forward, how they turn to adopting a child who also seems like will die very early. Because they have experience with it they are ready to do what they can, to love the child for however much time there is. It was a nice ending, and not really the one I was expecting.
"Inhale" by Rhoads Brazos (950 words)
An interesting look at the world stuck in reverse. Literally. Everything goes backwards in time, without choice because backwards is without the mystery of forward. It's all been done and then is undone, drawn back to the source of all things and it's an interesting story for it. Really the part that I found most fascinating was the ending. The thought that this is all something of an inhalation of some deity. And that is rather neat, because on the one hand the story seems to be saying that the inhalation is purposeful and that it's because we've done something wrong. Which is all right but not as interesting as if it's just the natural function of the god, that time is their breath and so long as they blow out it goes but when t hey breath back in it all comes back. Not exactly a do-over but a sort of cosmic cycle, like it's not even up to them that it happens, that it's just part of their breath. But that reading isn't exactly well supported by the text. In any event, it's a short story and an interesting one with some great lines and an ending that left me with lots to think about.
"The Best Little Cleaning Robot in All of Faerie" by Susan Jane Bigelow (4700 words)
This story is all about voice and action. It's sort of a bizarro sci-fantasy. It is weird and it is rather hilarious, the story of a cleaning robot, a fae, and a sergeant from a space ship all traveling through the Faery Realm to defeat the Nightmare Duke and save the rest of the crew from certain death. It's a frantic story, action after action, things having a sort of cartoonish logic that just sort of works. It is charming, with the cleaning robot Ms. Clean and Sgt. Ndala acting as Team Science while the fae, Hob, acts as Team Magic. He's normally annoyed because Ndala and Ms. Clean don't really follow the rules of his land. But rules are made to be broken. And in the end this is a fun story, full of energy and violence and swearing and cleaning and it might not really provoke all that much deep thought but with some of the other stories in this issue it comes as a much needed break. It's weird and charming and worth a look.
Poetry:
"Werewolf's Aubade" by Leslie J. Anderson
This is a sweet little poem about (I hope) the transformative power of love. The speaker of the poem was a wolf and then meets a man who believes in them and that belief changes the wolf (who was probably not actually a wolf) into more of a person. Or at least comforts them. Of course, it could be that this is actually a werewolf and the guy is just being kind of full of himself and his own authority and she's going to bite out his collarbone anyway. That's possible too. The lines are short and leave a lot of open space on the screen, allowing for the possibility that there's a lot going on that's not being said. But really it just seems like a sweet poem about these two people being in love. I think. I hope.
"Second Mouth" by John Phillip Johnson and Salvatore B Lombard
This is a creepy little poem about a person with a second mouth, one on their throat that spews abuse. It's a nice commentary on how some people are, the voice for the things they aren't really saying but are actually saying. The way of visualizing that voice, that biting and hurtful voice, is great, as is the way that the speaker doesn't seem aware of what they're doing. That having that sort of abuse in them is so intrinsic and internalized that they wouldn't be able to see the mouth even in a mirror. This is a short poem, really giving that one image and letting it linger. It's well done and provides a rather dark look at how we communicate.
"what we eat when" by Michelle Muenzler
Another rather creepy story, this one of some force, most likely supernatural and demonic, that has invaded the home of a couple and killed them (or is still killing them) in grisly fashion. The imagery evokes the rot and decay that comes with the creature or creatures, the way it spoils everything that it comes near. And the scene at the end, the way it took care of the protections the couple had managed, is chilling in its detail. It's definitely a dark poem, with lines moving around the page like the creatures are seeking, restless. It hits with solid force, and made me glance over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone in the room.
Nonfiction:
"Supposedly True (but Probably Not, and That's OK) Weird Tales" by Ed Grabianowski
These are just some fun stories sort of like the Believe It or Not things that I used to watch (minus Dean Cain, more's the pity). They are some neat stories and fodder for speculation for what really happened during those events. Mormon Bigfoot is probably my favorite of the anecdotes. Quite fun, and some light fare to wrap up a good issue.
Short(ish) Reviews of Speculative Short Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction. Word counts are approximate. Opinions are my own. (also, probably SPOILERS ABOUND!)
Friday, February 6, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Quick Sips - Strange Horizons February 2
Today I'm checking out Strange Horizons, which I keep on wondering if I should tackle every two weeks or every month like I do Tor.com or Terraform but because there's at least two things to look at every week I'm going to keep doing it every week. Plus, having a shorter place gives me a little bit of a breather. Anyway, that has nothing to do with reviews. Onward!
Story:
"The Ticket Taker of Cenote Zací" by Benjamin Parzybok (6771 words)
The story about a young poet who takes a job selling tickets to a small, magical pool, this one got me right in the feels. The setting is great, with Eduardo working at a small tourist spot and slowly coming to realize that something is going on when people go in that don't come out. Only no one but he remembers the people. Even if the person was with someone else they are forgotten. And this feeds Eduardo's creativity. He writes and he writes amazing works and meanwhile the mystery of pool deepens and eventually costs Eduardo something very precious indeed. I loved this story. Eduardo is fun and irreverent and the tourist spot is something that everyone can recognize. And yet there are darker things at work, and Eduardo is the only one to notice. And then the story takes an even more tragic turn and I just wanted it to end well so badly. So badly, and so the ending kind of killed me. I'm here and just sort of staring and it was great and powerful and really, this is one to read. I'm not sure really, though, what it might be saying to have him be prolific when the disappearances happen. Like he's somehow complicit with the creatures that are stealing people. Like it keeps him from questioning things too much, and though he wants to do something about it he doesn't because things are going so well for him. Only that happiness cannot last because of his role in everything and of course he would fall victim to it, too. But wow, it's something. A great story.
Poem:
"He Never Offered" by Cid V. Brunet
A rather surreal poem about a person waiting for a bus and seeing the world around them, the ugliness and the ragged edges. It's the end of the world, but less of the apocalyptic kind and more of the moral death kind, a sea of things dying and trying to live but getting it all wrong. It has an uneven stanza length and the imagery is slippery, disjointed a bit. There is a lot of chaos here, a tornado like those described in the poem. It all works and gets across the feel I think it's going for, but this one was a bit hard to parse for me. I like it, but I'm left wondered at certain part what it means. It does seem to be making a statement about the way of things, that person waiting for the bus and standing in the middle of a chaotic storm. Interesting work.
Story:
"The Ticket Taker of Cenote Zací" by Benjamin Parzybok (6771 words)
The story about a young poet who takes a job selling tickets to a small, magical pool, this one got me right in the feels. The setting is great, with Eduardo working at a small tourist spot and slowly coming to realize that something is going on when people go in that don't come out. Only no one but he remembers the people. Even if the person was with someone else they are forgotten. And this feeds Eduardo's creativity. He writes and he writes amazing works and meanwhile the mystery of pool deepens and eventually costs Eduardo something very precious indeed. I loved this story. Eduardo is fun and irreverent and the tourist spot is something that everyone can recognize. And yet there are darker things at work, and Eduardo is the only one to notice. And then the story takes an even more tragic turn and I just wanted it to end well so badly. So badly, and so the ending kind of killed me. I'm here and just sort of staring and it was great and powerful and really, this is one to read. I'm not sure really, though, what it might be saying to have him be prolific when the disappearances happen. Like he's somehow complicit with the creatures that are stealing people. Like it keeps him from questioning things too much, and though he wants to do something about it he doesn't because things are going so well for him. Only that happiness cannot last because of his role in everything and of course he would fall victim to it, too. But wow, it's something. A great story.
Poem:
"He Never Offered" by Cid V. Brunet
A rather surreal poem about a person waiting for a bus and seeing the world around them, the ugliness and the ragged edges. It's the end of the world, but less of the apocalyptic kind and more of the moral death kind, a sea of things dying and trying to live but getting it all wrong. It has an uneven stanza length and the imagery is slippery, disjointed a bit. There is a lot of chaos here, a tornado like those described in the poem. It all works and gets across the feel I think it's going for, but this one was a bit hard to parse for me. I like it, but I'm left wondered at certain part what it means. It does seem to be making a statement about the way of things, that person waiting for the bus and standing in the middle of a chaotic storm. Interesting work.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #101
Things are a bit back to normal at Clarkesworld following the anniversary issue #100. Issue #101 is more the usual size with four original stories and a number of nonfiction pieces. The stories are back to being rather short, none of them long enough to be novelettes this time. As always, I'm quite grateful that Clarkesworld includes word counts for all their works, so that I can see that ahead of time. But let's get started!
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| Art by Atilgan Asikuzun |
Stories:
"The Last Surviving Gondola Widow" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (5917 words)
An alt-history set in a Chicago devastated by an attack in the War of Southern Aggression, I liked the strange world-building that went on, with a woman with magical abilities putting her skills to use for the Pinkertons. The idea of an attack by southern woman flying deadly machines is an interesting one, and I liked the choice of Chicago, especially when at the time it was incredibly important nationally. And I also liked that this story explored a bit the ramifications, some of the effects such an attack would have, with a second reconstruction and with the main character a bit conflicted knowing what her own actions as a Pinkerton led to for the women she helped track down, women who had flown the deadly machines. And when the main character is shown that the current First Lady of Illinois is actually one of those same women, she has to act to protect her city and state from an unknown threat. I liked the conflict in the main character, and the visuals were interesting and strong. I wanted a little more about what the last of the Widows was actually trying to do, because it seemed to me that more was going on there than it seemed, but what is there is solid work. And as I grew up near Chicago, the location of the story made me like it a little more.
"Indelible" by Gwendolyn Clare (2475 words)
This is a story about loss and intolerance and being stuck between how you were born and what you want to be. It's a strange, resonant story about a woman who lost her younger sister, a sister who was part an alien race that was strictly controlled and oppressed by humanity. Refuges, the aliens came to Earth hoping for understanding, and instead found cruelty and containment. The main character, a human, wants to find the kin of her sister, the ones that gave her the ability to change form. But no one is willing to help her, no one except for her alien friend. It's an interesting look at how she doesn't want to be human. Or at least not fully human. And yet how culture isn't something you can exactly choose. She cannot just choose to be another thing because it would be easier. There seems to be an idea that she's not quite succeeding because she keeping herself apart. She's appropriating parts of the alien culture, the tattoos, but it's obvious that she doesn't really belong. As she learns more about them, though, she makes the decision to actually change, to become of them, by melding herself with them genetically. It seems to say that a person can decide to change cultures, at least sort of. As long as one does it for the right reasons, in the right way. As long as they are willing to let something of themselves go. It's a good story, short but strong.
"The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill" by Kelly Robson (5318 words)
Definitely the most disturbing of the stories here this month, this one features a woman being taken as a host by an alien bacteria after she is raped and murdered along a notorious highway. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it all. I mean, the descriptions are very uncomfortable, very confronting. The way that no one really will help this woman, how she is seen as beneath notice. It's obvious that her home life is messed up, and that the whole situation has left her rather powerless. As she becomes with the aliens, a host for them. They help her as far as they help themselves, but they aren't up front about what they are trying to do. It's a strange story, and not really what I would have expected to find here. That said, the writing is impacting and doesn't hold back from anything. It shows the horror and the violence and all of that without flinching. As a reader, I flinch. But it is important to see that this is happening to people, and the main character's end seems to be her trying to salvage some control back, to salvage her death, to not allow the aliens to erase that and try to make everything better. Because there is no better. Not when this sort of thing is still going on.
"Meshed" by Rich Larson (4344 words)
And then there was a story about basketball. Not really just about basketball, but about control and about hope and about family. But even with the rather complex story it's still nowhere near as disturbing as the last story. Which is nice for balance. Here a kind of sleazy agent tries to sign a young man to play basketball for his company but runs into a problem when the prospective baller doesn't want to be meshed, which would hook him up with implants to monitor him and let him share his experiences with others. Except in his country it was used in warfare first, and could be used to override free will and make soldiers do anything. Like they were drones. So it definitely makes sense that the kid doesn't want to be meshed, but it will make the company money and so the agent goes for the hard sell. Again this is about privilege and this time it's about making money having more importance than free will. It's about giving up something important in order to get what you want, or what you think you want. It's a nice story, and a difficult situation, and it's all handled quite well.
Nonfiction:
"What in the World Do They Want, Anyway? The Myth of the Friendly Alien" by Mark Cole
An interesting look at the reasons why aliens want to visit Earth, taking a look at mostly early SF movies and novels. It's a fascinating thing to look at, because it is something that writers have to figure out in order for their to be aliens on Earth. Like Vulcans stopping over because humans had stumbled upon warp technology and sort of wanting to watch to make sure we didn't do some bad things. There's a lot here to read and like and I personally do think that it's a sign of how people view the world and humanity as a whole. I can see a lot of stories where aliens would show up to stop humans because we're a threat, those that focus on how humanity is special in some way, or just wanting to exploit things. Obviously it all depends on how much a victim the writer wants humanity to be, and ultimately how optimistic the story is. But it's a neat read and worth looking at.
"Another Word: YA is the New Black" by Dawn Metcalf
This one looks at what it means to write YA, which is sort of a weird proposition because it seems to be a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I personally have some trouble figuring out what the difference between YA fiction and adult fiction with YA protagonists is. And I like both. But I like the definition that YA is defined by limits, because that is what defines the worlds of young adults. They are limited by adults, they aren't truly full people yet because they don't have full rights. And that's pretty messed up. And it's an interesting thing to write about. They struggle against limitations and sometimes come out the better for it. Sometimes they even change things and help to make things more fair. It might be something of a fantasy, but what else is SFF than imagining that things are possible? So this is another nice piece that is definitely worth the time to sit down and read. For me, who reads a bit of YA, it provokes a lot of thought and has some useful definitions. For everyone else, mileage may vary. But I liked it.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online February 2015
The beginning of the month is always packed full of issues coming out, but I believe that Flash Fiction Online is one of the few to come out on the first itself, regardless of where that days falls. Which means it's one of my first stops each month. This month, as usual, there are three stories. So let's get started...
Stories:
"Dreamtime" by Phillis A. Duncan (504 words)
A rather surreal story swirling around the life of an aboriginal Australian who dreams in music and stars. Very short, it paints a moving picture of walkabouts and dreamtime and what they might mean to the man experiencing them. And, more than that, the story links this walkabout to the ultimate sort of walkabout, eventually traversing the cosmos and reforming, somehow bringing with the spirit and the music that brings the narrator away from civilization and into the unknown. It's a lyrical story, and one that seems largely concerned with the yearning impulse to belong somewhere, to find comfort in otherness. I'm not sure I entirely "get" it, but it sounds nice and it does seem to have a strong message of getting out and letting some things go unexplained and unmeasured. To keep the magic and possibility in things. A fun read.
"Duplicate" by Crystal Lynn Hilbert (963 words)
A cute and rather wry story about a mad scientist whose unwitting creation, the duplicate of a woman, turns out to be more perfect than he thought. Caught in the middle of a trial over what she is, over what kind of life she counts as, the duplicate plays dumb and innocent and allows the world to think that the scientist failed when he created her. But in reality something else happened, and the new woman seems to truly be a duplicate. Or something approaching it. And together with the original the pair live something like a happily ever after. I'm not entirely sure about the implications at the end, except that there are some nice lines and a sense of the mad scientist getting what he deserved. It doesn't say too much about the original's or the duplicate's role in everything though. Was this what they had planned all along? It doesn't seem that way, given what they say to each other, but I was a little curious to see what differences between the versions existed. As it is, it's a nice story that leaves itself open to interpretation.
"Gold Dress, No Eyes" by Alexis A. Hunter (816 words)
The most haunting of the stories, this one is more a scene and the lingering memories of the collected violence. A woman, a musician, is dead, murdered on a cruise through space by an enemy attack. Her eyes have been removed. But more than that is the story of her life, love, and loss. The artifacts from her tragic love of a female soldier who was killed in battle, who was supposed to be along for this trip, for this vacation. Emotional and gut-punchy, this story lingers on all the small details that make the emotions real, the way the items are worn and personal. There is so much detail that the story fills itself in, and the reader is left with the wounds, with the signs of loss and the feeling of violence. There's an awful lot to like about the story, from the care given to each image to the graceful brutality of its execution. Strong work.
Stories:
"Dreamtime" by Phillis A. Duncan (504 words)
A rather surreal story swirling around the life of an aboriginal Australian who dreams in music and stars. Very short, it paints a moving picture of walkabouts and dreamtime and what they might mean to the man experiencing them. And, more than that, the story links this walkabout to the ultimate sort of walkabout, eventually traversing the cosmos and reforming, somehow bringing with the spirit and the music that brings the narrator away from civilization and into the unknown. It's a lyrical story, and one that seems largely concerned with the yearning impulse to belong somewhere, to find comfort in otherness. I'm not sure I entirely "get" it, but it sounds nice and it does seem to have a strong message of getting out and letting some things go unexplained and unmeasured. To keep the magic and possibility in things. A fun read.
"Duplicate" by Crystal Lynn Hilbert (963 words)
A cute and rather wry story about a mad scientist whose unwitting creation, the duplicate of a woman, turns out to be more perfect than he thought. Caught in the middle of a trial over what she is, over what kind of life she counts as, the duplicate plays dumb and innocent and allows the world to think that the scientist failed when he created her. But in reality something else happened, and the new woman seems to truly be a duplicate. Or something approaching it. And together with the original the pair live something like a happily ever after. I'm not entirely sure about the implications at the end, except that there are some nice lines and a sense of the mad scientist getting what he deserved. It doesn't say too much about the original's or the duplicate's role in everything though. Was this what they had planned all along? It doesn't seem that way, given what they say to each other, but I was a little curious to see what differences between the versions existed. As it is, it's a nice story that leaves itself open to interpretation.
"Gold Dress, No Eyes" by Alexis A. Hunter (816 words)
The most haunting of the stories, this one is more a scene and the lingering memories of the collected violence. A woman, a musician, is dead, murdered on a cruise through space by an enemy attack. Her eyes have been removed. But more than that is the story of her life, love, and loss. The artifacts from her tragic love of a female soldier who was killed in battle, who was supposed to be along for this trip, for this vacation. Emotional and gut-punchy, this story lingers on all the small details that make the emotions real, the way the items are worn and personal. There is so much detail that the story fills itself in, and the reader is left with the wounds, with the signs of loss and the feeling of violence. There's an awful lot to like about the story, from the care given to each image to the graceful brutality of its execution. Strong work.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Quick Sips - Uncanny #2 (February Stuff)
And here is the second part of the Uncanny #2 review that started last month. For those wanting to catch up, check that out here. Anyway, this second half is more full of stories but lighter on poetry and non-fiction. Still well worth checking out, though, so if you haven't picked up your very own copy, maybe go do that.
Stories:
"Pockets" by Amal El-Mohtar (3216 words)
A story about a woman who finds that she can pull things from her pockets. Any pockets, and really just about any thing. It's an interesting idea, and when she gets a friend to help her scientifically analyze what's going on, it opens up all sorts of weird questions about where the items are coming from and what she's supposed to do with them. And then she finds a person whose pockets only take things in and together they find a way to get rid of all the things that have been coming out of the one set of pockets...by putting them into the other set. Of course, then the question is where do they go from there. And through is the idea of connection, and of art, and of creation itself. I got the idea that part of what the story was about was finding artifacts (like this story) after the owner has let them go or lost them (or, I guess, sold and published them). It's about how a person can find them, and pass them on again. It's about finding meaning in those items, about connecting through those items, and ultimately about letting them go again, comforted by the idea that they are for whoever finds them, and for whoever finds them after that. For me it's a story about stories, about how these words can be personal to every person, can hit each person differently, and never really lose their power. The message the main character receives in the end wasn't for her specifically, but it was for her because she found it. Interesting stuff.
"Anyone with a Care for Their Image" by Richard Bowes (1322 words)
I actually read this before the story that appeared in Farrago's Wainscot in January, but as the review is coming out now I can say that it's set in the same world, in the Big Arena series, but earlier in the chronology. Here a social media persona finds himself in danger as tensions flare into something big and he makes some mistakes in how he covers the events unfolding around him. This is a story about how certain people, despite being "in the middle of things" are essentially cut off from humanity. They are trend setter and followed by a great many people, but they are also so far removed from the people that follow them that they don't really understand the realities of the world. Especially the inequalities and hardships that they are insulated from. And even when they are reminded, they have a way of getting away, of having the chance to rebrand themselves again and again and survive to plague people once more. They survive because despite the hardships, things don't really change all that much. Their wealth and influence and privilege allows them to try and sell a new snake oil. I'm not sure that I liked this story as much as "Time is a Twisting Snake" but they definitely fit together thematically.
"Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained" by Sunny Moraine (3737 words)
This was my favorite story of the issue. Part of me just can't help loving how stubborn the main character is, how justifiably hurt and angry she is at her situation. It strikes me as so human, as so real. Because dealing with the loss of a limb sounds like it would be terrible, and there is that sense that the world does value what is whole in a way to erase the wounds, to tell a person to get over it and move on so that the world doesn't have to recognize or react to that loss. That the world can basically sit back and say, "yes yes, but you're better now, so get over it." And there is a power in saying no, in forcing people to deal with the scars, with the reality of what happened. To make people see it and be confronted. Because to erase it back to the way it was would not really erase the trauma. It would not make things whole again. It would be to lie for the sake of the world's comfort, and really, fuck that. So I love the story, and I love how the main character becomes more comfortable with what happened but refuses to erase it, refuses to fall for the trap of letting the world pretend it never happened. It's a powerful story about how survivors are not at fault for being uncomfortable, or being hurt. That they own their own bodies, their own choices. And the story is just lovely and powerfully written and good.
Poetry:
"archival testimony fragments / minersong" by R.B. Lemberg
This is a nice, disjointed poem, about a living ship trapped underground and calling out to miners that are working the surface of its now-dead world. It's an interesting mix of voices, mostly the ship's but with the voices from above, as well, the training instructions from the company that owns the planet and the voice of one of the miners who hears the voice calling out and decides to try and respond. In some ways this read to me as a poem about the power of history and workers. Because the ship is seeking to empower the miners, is seeking to join forces with them. At least, I got a bit of the sense that the company was exploiting them both and that the ship wanted to help the miners escape, if that meant it could also escape. To end the circle of exploitation and allow people to escape the captivity beneath the surface. Or I could be way off. But it was a good read with a unique style.
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| Art by Julie Dillon |
Stories:
"Pockets" by Amal El-Mohtar (3216 words)
A story about a woman who finds that she can pull things from her pockets. Any pockets, and really just about any thing. It's an interesting idea, and when she gets a friend to help her scientifically analyze what's going on, it opens up all sorts of weird questions about where the items are coming from and what she's supposed to do with them. And then she finds a person whose pockets only take things in and together they find a way to get rid of all the things that have been coming out of the one set of pockets...by putting them into the other set. Of course, then the question is where do they go from there. And through is the idea of connection, and of art, and of creation itself. I got the idea that part of what the story was about was finding artifacts (like this story) after the owner has let them go or lost them (or, I guess, sold and published them). It's about how a person can find them, and pass them on again. It's about finding meaning in those items, about connecting through those items, and ultimately about letting them go again, comforted by the idea that they are for whoever finds them, and for whoever finds them after that. For me it's a story about stories, about how these words can be personal to every person, can hit each person differently, and never really lose their power. The message the main character receives in the end wasn't for her specifically, but it was for her because she found it. Interesting stuff.
"Anyone with a Care for Their Image" by Richard Bowes (1322 words)
I actually read this before the story that appeared in Farrago's Wainscot in January, but as the review is coming out now I can say that it's set in the same world, in the Big Arena series, but earlier in the chronology. Here a social media persona finds himself in danger as tensions flare into something big and he makes some mistakes in how he covers the events unfolding around him. This is a story about how certain people, despite being "in the middle of things" are essentially cut off from humanity. They are trend setter and followed by a great many people, but they are also so far removed from the people that follow them that they don't really understand the realities of the world. Especially the inequalities and hardships that they are insulated from. And even when they are reminded, they have a way of getting away, of having the chance to rebrand themselves again and again and survive to plague people once more. They survive because despite the hardships, things don't really change all that much. Their wealth and influence and privilege allows them to try and sell a new snake oil. I'm not sure that I liked this story as much as "Time is a Twisting Snake" but they definitely fit together thematically.
"Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained" by Sunny Moraine (3737 words)
This was my favorite story of the issue. Part of me just can't help loving how stubborn the main character is, how justifiably hurt and angry she is at her situation. It strikes me as so human, as so real. Because dealing with the loss of a limb sounds like it would be terrible, and there is that sense that the world does value what is whole in a way to erase the wounds, to tell a person to get over it and move on so that the world doesn't have to recognize or react to that loss. That the world can basically sit back and say, "yes yes, but you're better now, so get over it." And there is a power in saying no, in forcing people to deal with the scars, with the reality of what happened. To make people see it and be confronted. Because to erase it back to the way it was would not really erase the trauma. It would not make things whole again. It would be to lie for the sake of the world's comfort, and really, fuck that. So I love the story, and I love how the main character becomes more comfortable with what happened but refuses to erase it, refuses to fall for the trap of letting the world pretend it never happened. It's a powerful story about how survivors are not at fault for being uncomfortable, or being hurt. That they own their own bodies, their own choices. And the story is just lovely and powerfully written and good.
Poetry:
"archival testimony fragments / minersong" by R.B. Lemberg
This is a nice, disjointed poem, about a living ship trapped underground and calling out to miners that are working the surface of its now-dead world. It's an interesting mix of voices, mostly the ship's but with the voices from above, as well, the training instructions from the company that owns the planet and the voice of one of the miners who hears the voice calling out and decides to try and respond. In some ways this read to me as a poem about the power of history and workers. Because the ship is seeking to empower the miners, is seeking to join forces with them. At least, I got a bit of the sense that the company was exploiting them both and that the ship wanted to help the miners escape, if that meant it could also escape. To end the circle of exploitation and allow people to escape the captivity beneath the surface. Or I could be way off. But it was a good read with a unique style.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Quick Thoughts - My Review Policy
So I thought, because I've been thinking about this recently, that I should try to put down kind of what my policy is for approaching the stories I review. Obviously I have a bit of freedom in what I read and what I review. One of the reasons I love writing The Monthly Round is that it allows me to gush about the stories that I really liked and ignore everything else. I get to be entirely positive and point people in the direction of stories that, by and large, I loved. And part of that is that I take only nine stories from the entire month to review there.
...and, well, there's a lot more stories out every month. This month I've reviewed for this blog 61 stories (including 1 reprint and 3 excerpts from non-English novels) plus 12 poems and some nonfiction. And I did not like everything. But here, because I have seen that people want entire issues reviewed, I decided that I would write something up for each story and poem, regardless of whether or not I liked it. It is so difficult for me to write negative reviews, though. At least for short fiction and poetry. Because when it's on Goodreads and a novel and there are like 100 other reviews, I don't mind putting my (perhaps negative) review up, because it's balanced with other (more positive) reviews. I don't feel that I'm picking on anyone.
As a writer, I dread negative reviews. I crave people saying good things about my stories, but I really don't like when people say they didn't care for my work. So when I review I try to follow the idea kind of like I'm in a workshop. Be courteous, explain my issues, and make sure to say what I did like about the story. Even when the story hits all the things that make me angry. Even when I don't want to say anything nice. Because...I don't know, because I don't want to be mean to anyone. Especially someone I don't know. If I don't like a story, I will try to find a way to diplomatically say that. And then I will probably move on to talk about stories I did like. Because that's more fun.
Does this make sense? I don't really know. I normally think that most stories have something good in them. Some are definitely not worth reading, what with the bounty of better stories. And I guess I will try to be as honest as I can, keeping in mind that these reviews are only my opinion, that I am no one special, that I am not trying to discourage anyone from anything. I'm just looking to give my opinions on stories. That said, if I have a rather negative review, I probably won't try to tag the author on Twitter about it. I'll probably hope that they never look at the review. But I do believe in my reviews.
Of course, if anyone disagrees with me or wants to tell me I'm an idiot, please feel free to shout at me in the comments. I hope people are finding these reviews helpful. Maybe? Anyway, the first month is done and here's to a great many more!
All the best,
Charles Payseur
...and, well, there's a lot more stories out every month. This month I've reviewed for this blog 61 stories (including 1 reprint and 3 excerpts from non-English novels) plus 12 poems and some nonfiction. And I did not like everything. But here, because I have seen that people want entire issues reviewed, I decided that I would write something up for each story and poem, regardless of whether or not I liked it. It is so difficult for me to write negative reviews, though. At least for short fiction and poetry. Because when it's on Goodreads and a novel and there are like 100 other reviews, I don't mind putting my (perhaps negative) review up, because it's balanced with other (more positive) reviews. I don't feel that I'm picking on anyone.
As a writer, I dread negative reviews. I crave people saying good things about my stories, but I really don't like when people say they didn't care for my work. So when I review I try to follow the idea kind of like I'm in a workshop. Be courteous, explain my issues, and make sure to say what I did like about the story. Even when the story hits all the things that make me angry. Even when I don't want to say anything nice. Because...I don't know, because I don't want to be mean to anyone. Especially someone I don't know. If I don't like a story, I will try to find a way to diplomatically say that. And then I will probably move on to talk about stories I did like. Because that's more fun.
Does this make sense? I don't really know. I normally think that most stories have something good in them. Some are definitely not worth reading, what with the bounty of better stories. And I guess I will try to be as honest as I can, keeping in mind that these reviews are only my opinion, that I am no one special, that I am not trying to discourage anyone from anything. I'm just looking to give my opinions on stories. That said, if I have a rather negative review, I probably won't try to tag the author on Twitter about it. I'll probably hope that they never look at the review. But I do believe in my reviews.
Of course, if anyone disagrees with me or wants to tell me I'm an idiot, please feel free to shout at me in the comments. I hope people are finding these reviews helpful. Maybe? Anyway, the first month is done and here's to a great many more!
All the best,
Charles Payseur
Friday, January 30, 2015
Quick Sips - Tor.com January 2015
That is, except for the story by Daniel José Older that I reviewed earlier this month. The rest from Tor.com means four more original stories. They are, by and large, on the longer side, but definitely manageable with only one novelette. Great to be read one at a time or, like me, all at once. So here we go!
Stories:
"A Beautiful Accident" by Peter Orullian (10983 words)
This isn't a terribly long novelette but boy does it seem to feel like it. Not in a bad way, really, but reading about extended torture, both physical and emotional, is just draining, and I did feel a bit drained by the time I got to the end of this. The setting is fascinating, and the culture of the Mal is obviously one that supposed to inspire some revulsion in the reader. A place that tortures all of its citizens, that believes pain unavoidable and so denies the smallest easing of it. I mean, the work is Mal, so it's kind of obvious they're supposed to be "bad." That there is another side to their philosophy is interesting, that there are those among them that believe and who find virtue in that way of life is interesting and a credit to the story. Of course, it doesn't really work to alleviate the problems with the Mal, because if there are ways that people didn't have to suffer and die, then it seems inhumane to take away people's choice in if they want to accept it. And by indoctrinating the children to this, that choice is effectively taken away. So it's a layered story, and well done and well balanced. The relationship between the characters is one of friendship and is well done and refreshing, but I think drawing any conclusions from this story out is fraught. I liked the story over all, though, and for it being a lot about torture means it's done something right.
"And the Burned Moths Remain" by Benjanun Sriduangkaew (6275 words)
Another story dealing with a different sort of torture, though this is much more psychological, as a a woman who betrayed her empire is trapped inside a sort of computer, one that doesn't allow her to die, that captures her every memory and creates more and more instances of her. It's an interesting and rather disturbing idea, because the instances are male and female and while they are all her they are also rather distinct. She fights herself, and she holds onto her guilt at having led to the downfall of her people, despite the fact that her people would have let her be destroyed. Her betrayal, though, led to her world being assimilated by an outside power, a power that now wants the last of her secrets, wants the key to the eternal existence that she is stuck in. The prose is elegant but was a little difficult for me to decipher at times. I think I understood all that was going on but I feel that I missed something near the end. This is another story filled with pain that just feels longer than it really is. But it has some killer lines and a strong central idea, that forgiveness is a stalk of thorns that just keeps on going, that it's not a destination but something to always be striving toward. And that's a strong, resonant idea that works for this story.
"Damage" by David Levine (7449 words)
Well that one was a lot more fun than the other two stories, and for one centered around death and loss and hopeless war, that's saying something. But there's something charming about the ship main character, programmed to love an ass of a pilot and yet with a core of morality that doesn't allow it to commit the greatest of crimes, doesn't allow it to kill millions of people in a desperate attempt at revenge. And though the action of the story is frantic and harsh, and though there is a lot of loss and death, this is still a triumphant story. The ship manages to escape, finally, manages to be something other than a tool of war. And that is something to hope for. I liked that this was a war the main character was on the "wrong" side of, though perhaps that was a bit heavy-handed, with no real explanation given as to why the two sides were fighting. But the story is fun with some great action and a nice message, that sometimes doing the right thing means giving up the things you love, and that even when you think yourself unequal to a task, sometimes you have to try anyway. Good stuff.
"The Sound of Useless Wings" by Cecil Castellucci (3308 words)
Another funner story despite some rather sad business, this one follows an alien who finds himself an outcast among his people. Smaller and more open to the unknown, to space and all its mysteries, he is excited when he is chosen to move to a new world, and that hope emboldens him to hope for more, to perhaps hope that he can succeed as a member of his people, to get a mate and sire broods. Fortunately or unfortunately, he is taught that it's not to be, and is betrayed by a brother so that he has no choice but to flee. But in that flight he gains what he had always hoped for. It's a strange story, but one that shows how what we want is something we're not always aware of. And while the main character thinks that his life is over when he loses the dream of having a family, instead he finds that he just needed to look elsewhere, just needed to find himself among the stars that he yearned to see. It's a sweet story, a nice way to finish off the month.
Stories:
"A Beautiful Accident" by Peter Orullian (10983 words)
This isn't a terribly long novelette but boy does it seem to feel like it. Not in a bad way, really, but reading about extended torture, both physical and emotional, is just draining, and I did feel a bit drained by the time I got to the end of this. The setting is fascinating, and the culture of the Mal is obviously one that supposed to inspire some revulsion in the reader. A place that tortures all of its citizens, that believes pain unavoidable and so denies the smallest easing of it. I mean, the work is Mal, so it's kind of obvious they're supposed to be "bad." That there is another side to their philosophy is interesting, that there are those among them that believe and who find virtue in that way of life is interesting and a credit to the story. Of course, it doesn't really work to alleviate the problems with the Mal, because if there are ways that people didn't have to suffer and die, then it seems inhumane to take away people's choice in if they want to accept it. And by indoctrinating the children to this, that choice is effectively taken away. So it's a layered story, and well done and well balanced. The relationship between the characters is one of friendship and is well done and refreshing, but I think drawing any conclusions from this story out is fraught. I liked the story over all, though, and for it being a lot about torture means it's done something right.
"And the Burned Moths Remain" by Benjanun Sriduangkaew (6275 words)
Another story dealing with a different sort of torture, though this is much more psychological, as a a woman who betrayed her empire is trapped inside a sort of computer, one that doesn't allow her to die, that captures her every memory and creates more and more instances of her. It's an interesting and rather disturbing idea, because the instances are male and female and while they are all her they are also rather distinct. She fights herself, and she holds onto her guilt at having led to the downfall of her people, despite the fact that her people would have let her be destroyed. Her betrayal, though, led to her world being assimilated by an outside power, a power that now wants the last of her secrets, wants the key to the eternal existence that she is stuck in. The prose is elegant but was a little difficult for me to decipher at times. I think I understood all that was going on but I feel that I missed something near the end. This is another story filled with pain that just feels longer than it really is. But it has some killer lines and a strong central idea, that forgiveness is a stalk of thorns that just keeps on going, that it's not a destination but something to always be striving toward. And that's a strong, resonant idea that works for this story.
"Damage" by David Levine (7449 words)
Well that one was a lot more fun than the other two stories, and for one centered around death and loss and hopeless war, that's saying something. But there's something charming about the ship main character, programmed to love an ass of a pilot and yet with a core of morality that doesn't allow it to commit the greatest of crimes, doesn't allow it to kill millions of people in a desperate attempt at revenge. And though the action of the story is frantic and harsh, and though there is a lot of loss and death, this is still a triumphant story. The ship manages to escape, finally, manages to be something other than a tool of war. And that is something to hope for. I liked that this was a war the main character was on the "wrong" side of, though perhaps that was a bit heavy-handed, with no real explanation given as to why the two sides were fighting. But the story is fun with some great action and a nice message, that sometimes doing the right thing means giving up the things you love, and that even when you think yourself unequal to a task, sometimes you have to try anyway. Good stuff.
"The Sound of Useless Wings" by Cecil Castellucci (3308 words)
Another funner story despite some rather sad business, this one follows an alien who finds himself an outcast among his people. Smaller and more open to the unknown, to space and all its mysteries, he is excited when he is chosen to move to a new world, and that hope emboldens him to hope for more, to perhaps hope that he can succeed as a member of his people, to get a mate and sire broods. Fortunately or unfortunately, he is taught that it's not to be, and is betrayed by a brother so that he has no choice but to flee. But in that flight he gains what he had always hoped for. It's a strange story, but one that shows how what we want is something we're not always aware of. And while the main character thinks that his life is over when he loses the dream of having a family, instead he finds that he just needed to look elsewhere, just needed to find himself among the stars that he yearned to see. It's a sweet story, a nice way to finish off the month.
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