Unvarnished Reviews

Everything I’ve read this week is from the antho The New Weird (Powell’s | Amazon). A couple of them were novellette-length (gasp!), but they’ll get the same quick, off-the-cuff treatment that any other piece gets.

I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a crop of stories this much!

M. John Harrison, “The Luck in the Head” – This is the second Harrison story I’ve read, and unfortunately I think I’ve fallen into the camp of those who really admire his prose but who finish his stories feeling, “WTF?” The novelette length didn’t help, either, but that’s a personal thing with me. 3 out of 5.

Clive Barker, “In the Hills, the Cities” – Oddly enough, this story must’ve been about two or three thousand words longer than Harrison’s story. But it took about 1/5 of the time to read. I did think it was a touch too long, with a little too much time spent on the interactions between the two main characters relative to the payoff at the end. Still, 5 out of 5.

Michael Moorcock, “Crossing Into Cambodia” – This is a nice an homage to Isaac Babel as I’ve ever read. A great blend of literary iconography: a Babel-like protagonist caught up in a Moorcock world. 5 out of 5!

Simon D. Ings, “The Braining of Mother Lamprey” – I have to give this 5 out of 5. I actually thought there were a couple of characters too many and I got mired in some of the details, but I’ll be damned–I never got lost. This is definitely one to re-read, if nothing else, for the tutorial on world-building in a short-story.

Kathe Koja, “The Neglected Garden” – There’s nothing like a fantasy/horror story that could, with a little imagination (and not a very “nice” imagination, at that), take place in your own back yard! 5 out of 5!

February Scorecard

I make no excuses, except to say that I did have the Andromeda Strain in my lungs for the better part of two weeks during the shortest month of the year.

Rejections:
Submissions:
Acceptances:
Publications:
Circulating:
1
1 (resub)
0
0
3

Unvarnished Reviews

This past week, I polished off the rest of The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet in between bouts of the plague. In general, I’d say the last part of the collection just burned! Here’re the off-the-cuff reviews of the fiction…

James Sallis, “Two Stories” – Two nicely written flash pieces, combined. One really worked for me, the other one not so much. 3 out of 5.

Karen Russell, “Help Wanted” – A great series of interrelated vignettes forming a greater whole of story/commentary. 5 out of 5.

Sarah Micklem, “‘Eft’ or ‘Epic'” – Very clever use of a narrative substitute. 4 out of 5.

John Kessel, “The Red Phone” – A textbook example of a good idea, wrapped around with great storytelling. 4 out of 5.

Deborah Roggie, “The Mushroom Duchess” – Started a bit slow for me, and the focus of the story shifted. Once I got over that, it was a really decent tale. 4 out of 5.

Seana Graham, “The Pirate’s True Love” – A quintessential empowerment story! 5 out of 5.

John Brown, “Bright Waters” – A longer piece, but with the most solid storytelling I’ve read in awhile! 5 out of 5.

Who Needs People, Anyway?

I never got around to seeing Lars and the Real Girl when it was out. I’ll have to catch the DVD. I heard whisperings about this documentary, shot in the UK, called Guys and Dolls. Apparently, these folks are the real deal…

You’d think my first inclination would be to laugh my ass off, and that my second would be to pity some of these folks. Somehow, I managed to suspend all of that, at least through the first half of the video.

Insult to Injury, Part 2

Did I mention the absolutely craptastic haircut I allowed myself to get? That’s what I get for being near-exhaustion by the time I got to the barber’s. I’m only about 98% over whatever particular Andromeda Strain I’ve suffered for the past week. That last 2% is a doozy, let me tell you.

Literary, Sort of

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don’t act like a know it all. You’re open to learning you’re wrong.

You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You’re naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises.

Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they’re not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!)

You excel in: Higher education

You get along best with: The Comma

3,003rd Rock from the Sun?

A Second Earth in Our Solar System (?)

NASA’s Alan Stern said these planets are so far away from the sun that we haven t seen them yet:

Our old view, that the Solar System had nine planets will be supplanted by a view that there are hundreds if not thousands of planets in our Solar System. It could be that there are objects of Earth-mass in the Oort cloud a band of debris surrounding our planetary system but they would be frozen at these distances. They would look like a frozen Earth.

So all we need to do is haul one of those babies into our orbit, defrost it, and start populating. Earth 2, here I come!