Jan/Feb 2012
When I read F&SF I begin by reading the Short Stories first and then Novelettes and the Novellas.
The Short Stories
The first journey into this
issue began for me on page 43 with Alexander Jablokov's "The Comfort of Strangers" It is a good thing I like "weird"
because this story, easily, is weirdest of the bunch. But unfortunately, it's not much of a story,
I'm afraid. The plot is very shallow, almost
non-existent; it has no theme, unless the sexual proclivities of various alien species
can be considered thematic – but I somehow doubt it.
This story saves itself
because it is imaginative and playfully written, and written well. It is a shame that Mr. Jablokov did not
provide the same consideration to the story at large. However, this aside, I must congratulate Mr.
Jablokov on his remarkable and spectacular imagination!
Next, I jumped to page 79. Ken Liu's "Maxwell's
Demon"
I'm a great fan of Ken
Liu. I
just hope this isn't about somebody's mother...
Thank goodness, it's
not. Now here is a story! Literally, this is a ghost-in-the-machine
story. It has an intriguing beginning; here
we follow a Japanese American from imprisonment in the USA right into the heart of the conflict on Okinawa , WWII. Graphic
and horribly real, Liu takes us where few writers dare tread. A theme of home and belonging runs strong and
true through this piece. The science
aspect of plot tends to peter out toward the end, as too does the spectral side
of the story. However, Liu recovers
nicely allowing for the natural entropy between the main character and her real
home. When the door is opened, you may
be forced to shed an unexpected patriotic tear to the fact that we Americans
are not defined by the ground we walk on, but by the people we are. It is wonderful piece, even though the nuances
of Maxwell's (very real) thought experiment maybe lost on some readers. This is a great story.
I leap forward now to "Scrap Dragon" by Naomi
Kritzer, page 101.
Immediately, this story had
me thinking of the actor Fred Savage - but not the young Fred Savage from the “Princess
Bride” (where this story begins), but the Fred Savage with the giant mole on his
cheek from the Austin Power movie, Goldmember. “Moleeee.”
I found this story to be
rather weak, and found myself flipping to the end to figure out how many more
pages to go (not a good sign). This
story is not terrible but it seems out of place after reading the two earlier
stories. The second voice (the Fred
Savage voice) is annoying and distracting; also, it is incongruent -- sometimes
child-like and sometimes adult-like. The
story is a little clumsy too, there are two scrapbooks, and so the reader is
left to wonder why the first was introduced to begin with. There are also a number of extraneous characters
that jumble the story, taking it nowhere.
All this being said, the plot is
solid, if not predictable.
On I go, on to page 140 -- "In the Trenches" by Michael
Alexander.
And Wow! What a great story it is.
Here we have entwined themes
of companionship, love, death, fear, hate, the joy of life -- regardless of
death or suffering. This story salutes
that peculiar human ability to recognize our own weaknesses, and love them for
what they are. This is a powerful story
set in the trenches of WWI. It is well crafted
and well written. This story is sure to
keeping you thinking days after you’ve read it.
My prediction: this story will win awards. What awards I don’t know, but I feel it will
live on in Anthologies for years to come.
Then, I jumped all the way
to page 188, the shortest story of the bunch, Lewis Shiner's "Canto MCML"
I finished it in just a few
minutes. Hmmm... got to be a misprint --
there must be some pages missing. It
took me a few minutes to figure it out but then I looked at the title again. Oh, now I get it. But a story, a title does not make. After
all, this is supposed to be a magazine of short stories not a cryptogram. I offer the staff of F&SF this: just
because something is clever does not make readable or enjoyable.
I pause now to explain a few things. No doubt, you've realized that I do not retell these stories or even provide much of an overview, as some bloggers/critics do. As far as I'm concerned that is the author’s job -- and it’s your job to pick up the magazine and read the story for yourself! Don’t trust anybody, especially me. Subjectivity is the beast that both author and reader must ride together. A third party, i.e. me, can’t do it for either.
I pause now to explain a few things. No doubt, you've realized that I do not retell these stories or even provide much of an overview, as some bloggers/critics do. As far as I'm concerned that is the author’s job -- and it’s your job to pick up the magazine and read the story for yourself! Don’t trust anybody, especially me. Subjectivity is the beast that both author and reader must ride together. A third party, i.e. me, can’t do it for either.
I see a story in three parts: Theme, Plot, and
Mechanics. These three devices make up
the whole. Primarily, I look for themes
and their relevancy to my life. After
all, at its essence, a story is conveyance of conceptual ideas and feelings
directed at me, the reader. Without a
theme, I often wonder why I’m taking time to read something to begin with. The theme is an offering, a gift, if you
like.
The Plot, I see as bars of a cage, a cage that holds
and contains the themes. If I don't see
a theme --- then I see only an empty cage.
Many would argue that the Plot and the Mechanics are one in the
same. I disagree. All stories can have only one direction – one
in which Point A leads to Point Z. The
bars of the cage then are already defined – it’s up to the Mechanics now to
push the story along.
As to a story’s mechanics, I do not look just at grammar,
but also those movements or vehicles that shift the story about the bars of the
cage -- scene snapshots, so placed, that help drive action and characters into
convergent points.
A well conceived Plot is a sturdy cage, within which,
the Mechanics flow easily. In such a
place, excellent themes abound and thrive, altogether making for a damn good
story!
The Novelettes
With that said, time to get
down to the Novelettes. I return to the
beginning of the magazine: "Small
Towns" by Felicity Shoulders, on page 5.
This is a delightful story;
told well, with an engaging plot. Themes
of home, loss, sense of place, and acceptance are crystal clear. The story's ending is a little weak, but it
is enough. I thoroughly enjoyed this
story.
Next, I tackled "The Secret of the City of Gold
There is a time and place
for everything. Today, in the early part
of the 21st Century, a story this careless and this reckless makes itself
particularly unwelcome, sorry to be so harsh.
One only need compare "The
Secret of the City of Gold
Thankfully, with that
former horror behind me, I move to page 116, the cover story, "Umbrella Men" by John
McDaid.
Wow! Beautiful story. I loved the premise and promise this story
offers. "Umbrella Men" is cut from the fabric of classic Science
Fiction and Fantasy. This is an excellent story that is both enthralling and
timely. There are a few muddy parts
however. The Sci-fi writing seminar is
one. This scene is distracting, and seems
unnecessary, it adds nothing to the story (and McDaid does seem to acknowledge
it in a footnote at the end). Also, McDaid
has an affinity for pronouns, and uses them liberally. With three generations of characters: grandfather,
son, and grandson. I think, like me, non-Spanish
readers will have the same difficulties I did following the dialogue. But,
other than my few weak criticisms, this is a wonderful story which I highly
recommend.
Next, page 164, "Alien Land
The first few pages of this
story have a casual and throwaway tone. Initially,
I wanted to dislike this story, but could not.
I found myself smiling the whole way through, imagining a cross between
"Coneheads" and the “Twilight Zone."
This story is a rare gem,
charming and thought provoking with relevant themes regarding our current
housing crisis and idiotic national policy to immigration.
One failing in many Sci-fi
short stories are their endings -- authors fail to wrap things up completely,
bringing the story full circle, so to speak.
Not so, in "Alien Land
Now, "Mindbender” by Albert E. Cowdrey, page 204. I’m not sure what to make of this story. It certainly didn’t grab me, that’s for sure. In fact, I’m not even sure there is a Sci-fi
or Fantasy angle to this story at all.
Perhaps because mind-control and mind-reading stories have been done to
death, and this story, unfortunately, adds to the cairn.
Cowdrey, always readable
and articulate, builds a very readable and enjoyable story here, but there is
no climatic impact at the end, not to say that is how a story should end, but a
story should give something to the reader in return for his time, if not, then
its just a whole lot of words. Unfortunately,
this story is just that. But even so, I
did not dislike this story.
Now to the last of the
pack: “The Color Least Used by Nature” by Ted Kosmatka.
Wow! This is a hauntingly elegant story, delicate
and very complex. Ted Kosmatka is quite the
poet, and this story is beautifully written.
However, there is little or no fantastic element to this story. A theme of escape ties the story together,
from the “Walking Trees” the protagonist uses to build his boats, to his death
at the end of the story. I have to
admit, I like this story, but I’m not sure I understood its nuances completely
– but that does not mean that you won’t.
Enjoy!
My Pick Five:
- “In
the Trenches” by Michael
Alexander
- “
- “Maxwell's
Demon” by Ken Liu
- “Umbrella
Men” by John G. McDaid
- "Small
Towns" by Felicity
Shoulders
I apologize to those of you
whose feelings I’ve hurt, and to those I’ve praised -- in the immortal words of
Han Solo, “don’t get cocky, kid!”
I'd just like to add my
thanks Gordon Van Gelder and the staff of F&SF for the free magazine, and
the opportunity to blog about it.
A
