Re: Safeguard

Some topics you need to write about with some restraint, like putting kids into danger to get the reader’s sympathy. Toward the end of “Safeguard,” by Nancy Kress, the story hangs a lantern on what a low device this is, and in general, shows restraint in depicting the children, and letting you feel as you […]

Re: Titanium Mike

I am noticing that I form my opinion about a story very fast, within the first couple paragraphs, and rarely does the rest of the story change that opinion. Titanium Mike Saves the Day,” by David D. Levine turns out to be one of those rare exceptions. I thought the opening paragraphs were stiff. Worse, […]

Re: The Merchant and The Alchemist’s Gate

The story I have to tell is truly a strange one, and were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one’s eye, the marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted… A lovely salute to the storytelling girl in The Orphan’s Tales, and a big claim to make. At […]

2008 Hugo Nominations

The 2008 Hugo Nominations were announced last night. And I called it: Halting State is on the ballot. When I read Rollback, I had a sinking feeling it too would be nominated, but I was afraid to say so out loud. Likewise, seeing The Last Colony listed makes me feel very discouraged: Old Man’s War […]

Re: Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone

As a perpetrator of clunky writing (and I’m sure you can find examples in my recent posts), I wondered if there was some joke when I read the first paragraph of “Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone,” by Terry Bramlett. The music filled the valley as Johnny Nobles coerced the strings on his Gibson. He ended the […]

Re: The Fiddler of Bayou Teche

Come here, cher, and I tell you a story. The opening lines of “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche,” by Delia Sherman establish an intimate narrative voice, so clear you can hear her speaking inside your head. Better yet, read it out loud. Cadence is an albino girl who lives out in the swamp with her […]

Re: Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter

A xerox machine prints photos of the dead killed by Pol Pot until it drives away the people in the building. Right from the beginning I loved the mix of tradition and technology in the ghost story that opens “Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy),” by Geoff Ryman. After that, it says: Then we construct Pol […]

Re: The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs

I’m a sucker for folktales and stories about talking animals. My favorite Nancy Kress story stars a talking dog. So I sat up and listened when the dogs started to talk in “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change,” by Kij Johnson. The title suggests that it’s going […]

Re: Fountain of Age

When I read a story that I don’t like written by someone I admire, it makes feel like there’s something wrong with me. Nancy Kress, for example, is incredibly smart about writing, she gets her science right, she gets her people right–but every now and then I run across a story that rubs me the […]

Evil Monkey Helps Me Understand

You may have noticed that I called this blog “Writing Every Day,” but you could be forgiven for thinking what I really mean is “Reading Every Day.” Now that I’m about halfway through trying to blog every day for a month, I’m starting to wonder exactly I’m doing. While mostly I’ve been sharing my reading […]