Re: Sandra Plays For the Cast Iron Man

Sandra is playing piano at the last piano bar after the end of the world. Radok asks her for an unwelcome encore. As their argument grows heated, we discover steam and big honking rivets in “Sandra Plays For the Cast Iron Man” by Tom Crosshill. There punk also in its heart that longs for music […]

Re: A Whispering Voice

In a mix of rhymes, assonance, and chants, “A Whispering Voice,” by Elizabeth Creith is a prose poem about what Goldilocks did after she escaped the three bears. The first line dares you to keep reading, especially out loud. Goldilocks stalks the forest walks in ragged socks, regretting the courage that made her so bold […]

Re: Elegy for a Young Elk

It’s easy to talk about things you don’t like. In fact, it’s so fun you can get totally caught up in hacking a story to pieces. But even though it took me two tries to properly read “Elegy for a Young Elk,” by Hannu Rajaniemi, I liked it so much, I’m having trouble explaining why.

Re: A Serpent in the Gears

As “A Serpent in the Gears,” by Margaret Ronald opens, Charles has served as a valet to Colonel Dieterich for twenty years. Now they are sailing on the airship Regina through the Sterling Pass to the secretive land of Aaris. No one aboard is what they seem to be, and Charles is no exception. Even […]

Re: Jack and the Hot Doughnut Stalk

In the course of checking out my story on Spaceports and Spidersilks, I had fun reading the other stories. I particularly enjoyed “Jack and the Hot Doughnut Stalk,” by Scottie Watkins.

Re: Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra

“Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra,” by Verdana Singh introduces us to Somadeva, who collected many stories into the Kathāsaritsāgara, or Ocean of Stream of Stories. I like these sort of nested stories, with layers upon narrative layers, like the Arabian Nights, or the Saragossa Manuscript. Somadeva tells us that he collected the Kathāsaritsāgara to divert […]

The Tale of Titanosaur’s Tail

Bibliography entry #1, “The Tale of Titanosaur’s Tail” is now available at Spaceports and Spidersilk. It comes with a cute picture of a dinosaur toy and everything. Since I don’t have dinosaurs in my yard, I will settle for this Downy woodpecker. Titanosaur’s tale was written for my inner six-year old. If you have one […]

Re: Recalculating

Unlike Stross’s “Palimpsest,” I can understand why “Recalculating,” by Tina Connolly uses second person. Like “Directions,” the story is told by a GPS system, giving such directions as: Show them your spinach and the guard will let you in.

Re: The Leafsmith in Love

One of the great things about attending writing workshops is they give you hope. When you meet other writers, the hope feeds off each other. As you help each other write better, the hope grows stronger. When you meet other alumnae, the hope bubbles like crazy. And one of the ways the hope pays off […]

Re: Pelos

We just can’t resist bringing the gods down to earth this days. For example, in “Pelos” by Aaron Bilodeau, a goofy young god comes on a little strong to a savvy modern girl. That shower of gold thing just doesn’t work anymore, you know? Times have changed.