This year, I don't have to grade while trying to squeeze in a post a day. I don't have schoolwork. I don't have deadlines to meet and papers to write* And so I've been diligently reading the posts of everyone who signed up to do this.
And...Oh My Goshiness of All Goshinesses, Y'all.
I'm overwhelmed - first, by the sheer commitment to this madness of writing every day and next, by the things that are being written. This year especially, so much of what I'm reading is making me think about my own stances / views / preoccupations (see my last post) and keeping me honest (see zugenia's post for the day)!
(In a related aside: You should go order stuff from Jumbo Jibbles' store. If you do it in the next half hour, you can use that fantabulous 40% off discount she's running right now.)
And for all that - this is a very public thank you, just four days in. We're a little over a sixth of the way there. Woot!
*Because, you know, I've taken time off school for the moment.
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Writing everyday is making me mentally sift through things that I want to talk about on the blog. This is good because it keeps me from ranting endlessly. But it is also frustrating because sometimes, I mentally find the perfect way to say what I want but can't get to a writing device on time and so that phrasing evaporates. (Aight, just because I'm not in school doesn't mean I'm free, etc. My hours are otherwise filled with things that need doing.)
And one of these things I managed today (see, segue!) was to finish reading Stupefying Stories December 2012.
I'm wary of doing a full-fledged review (S.B. just did one of a different book on her blog).
I enjoyed the read - although several of the stories tread a predictable path - humans exploiting other worlds, invasion of the body-snatchers, hope in a post-apocalyptic world, that sort of thing.
On the whole, however, the writing of the eleven stories is engaging.
Jon David's "We Talk Like Gods" is delightful.
And despite its rushed ending, I also loved Mark Wolf's "Tiny, Tiny Hungers".
Both, Shaun Duke's "In the Shadows of the Empire of Coal" and Joel V. Kela's "The Gods of Sand and Stone" have some pretty evocative imagery.
A. A. Leil's HoPE does interesting things with narrative voice - although, again, the idea in general put me in the mind of Justina Robson's, "Natural History".
The one story that I absolutely loved, however was Lou Antonelli's "The Relic" with its little tongue-in-cheek commentary about decontextualization of history.
I'm undecided on how I feel about only two of the stories having female protagonists ("MoonBubble" by Eric Cline and "Avocado, Rutabaga, Aubergine" by M. Benardo).
But in all, you should pay a Dollar ninety-nine and get the kindle version of the book and read it.
-----
Oh Deary, Deary Me. It's past midnight and my carriage has turned into a pumpkin, apparently.
Well, time for some pie, then.
And...Oh My Goshiness of All Goshinesses, Y'all.
I'm overwhelmed - first, by the sheer commitment to this madness of writing every day and next, by the things that are being written. This year especially, so much of what I'm reading is making me think about my own stances / views / preoccupations (see my last post) and keeping me honest (see zugenia's post for the day)!
(In a related aside: You should go order stuff from Jumbo Jibbles' store. If you do it in the next half hour, you can use that fantabulous 40% off discount she's running right now.)
And for all that - this is a very public thank you, just four days in. We're a little over a sixth of the way there. Woot!
*Because, you know, I've taken time off school for the moment.
--------------------------------
Writing everyday is making me mentally sift through things that I want to talk about on the blog. This is good because it keeps me from ranting endlessly. But it is also frustrating because sometimes, I mentally find the perfect way to say what I want but can't get to a writing device on time and so that phrasing evaporates. (Aight, just because I'm not in school doesn't mean I'm free, etc. My hours are otherwise filled with things that need doing.)
And one of these things I managed today (see, segue!) was to finish reading Stupefying Stories December 2012.
I'm wary of doing a full-fledged review (S.B. just did one of a different book on her blog).
I enjoyed the read - although several of the stories tread a predictable path - humans exploiting other worlds, invasion of the body-snatchers, hope in a post-apocalyptic world, that sort of thing.
On the whole, however, the writing of the eleven stories is engaging.
Jon David's "We Talk Like Gods" is delightful.
And despite its rushed ending, I also loved Mark Wolf's "Tiny, Tiny Hungers".
Both, Shaun Duke's "In the Shadows of the Empire of Coal" and Joel V. Kela's "The Gods of Sand and Stone" have some pretty evocative imagery.
A. A. Leil's HoPE does interesting things with narrative voice - although, again, the idea in general put me in the mind of Justina Robson's, "Natural History".
The one story that I absolutely loved, however was Lou Antonelli's "The Relic" with its little tongue-in-cheek commentary about decontextualization of history.
I'm undecided on how I feel about only two of the stories having female protagonists ("MoonBubble" by Eric Cline and "Avocado, Rutabaga, Aubergine" by M. Benardo).
But in all, you should pay a Dollar ninety-nine and get the kindle version of the book and read it.
-----
Oh Deary, Deary Me. It's past midnight and my carriage has turned into a pumpkin, apparently.
Well, time for some pie, then.
5 comments:
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed our stories.
As for "I'm undecided on how I feel about only two of the stories having female protagonists" -- truth to tell, it doesn't enter into our thinking. We just try to put together stories that seem to complement each other, and equally often this results in an issue in which only two of the stories have male protagonists.
Again, thanks for the kind words!
Bruce,
The pleasure was mine!
About the female protagonist thing, I figured that it wasn't a conscious thing.
That came up for me because I'm mainly curious about the way female protagonists in genre fiction (specifically SF/F) are written and the way in which they stand alongside male protagonists in comparable / similar themed stories.
(This, after the "They Were Giants" anthology debate from a couple of years ago).
Ooh, also, while I have your attention, I'd have liked to see a short (one/two-line?) write up of the writers / authors. Any chance of that happening in future editions?
> I'd have liked to see a short (one/two-line?) write up of the writers / authors.
It's definitely something we plan to add. We just haven't done it yet, purely for lack of time.
We're still evolving.
As for the way female protagonists are written and portrayed... Oh, that's a can of worms. Are we talking about the way female protagonists are written by male writers, by female writers, by female writers writing under male pseudonyms, by male writers writing under female pseudonyms, by white American lesbians writing under Third World person-of-color pseudonyms, by gay men writing under androgynous pseudonyms, or by...
Sorry, I'm getting dizzy.
I will say that after my stint on the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award jury, and after reading slightly more than 100 newly released novels last year, I am really tired of the "Buffy/Ripley" stereotype. You know, the gorgeous woman with the body of a lingerie model, usually depicted holding a BFG, who can kick the asses of men twice her size all day long without chipping a nail and still have the energy to have porn star sex until the break of the next day.
Talk about your unhealthy, unrealistic stereotypes. "Space Warrior Ninja Barbie."
Dizzying can of worms is correct. Yikes.
The fantastic thing about SF/F is the possibilities that are opened up to re-imagine *everything* - more's the reason Super Ninja Barbie Babes get problematic and irritating and old and annoying, I feel your pain.
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