written by Frank Dutkiewicz
Summer is almost done and we have just started with the beginning of Daily SF’s lazy day offerings. So what did we think of them? I’m glad you asked”
Debbie’s petunias are dying and her girlfriend Sharon is leaving her, and it’s all the aliens fault in “The Time of Their Visitation” by Lisa Nohealani Morton (debut 6/1 and reviewed by Frank D). Three horned aliens have come to Earth to observe humanity. Debbie is one of the ten percent who can see them. Their entry into our society has changed the way people have thought about their lives and many, like Debbie, resent them for it.
“The Time” is a story about human relationships with voyeuristic aliens as a backdrop. Although harmless, the aliens are getting blamed for every small incident in the world. The reader enters the tale while Sharon is in the middle of moving out. Debbie’s life is falling apart around her and the aliens appear to be enjoying her misfortune.
“The Time” is an examination on how we are quick to blame external events for our own problems. This realization comes to Debbie early into the piece as she observes others attributing the aliens for their own misfortunes. I found this story sweet but too much like other breakup tales. The aliens made it unique but the author wanted to make them a minor subplot so not to take away her real intent for the piece. She succeeded.
In “The Princess and the Monster” by Ryan Creel (debut 6/4 and reviewed by Anonymous) a dragon is pursuing its prey. During the pursuit it flies here and it flies there, generally causing mayhem and fear amongst the humans who see it. It eventually finds the elf it seeks and the story ends with jokey finish.
This didn’t work for me on many levels. It was quite a brief story, yet full of jarring usages of a writing style most writers avoid. I found an overuse of conjunctions, particularly with the word ‘And.’ There were several sentences that repeated the same words and phrases, giving the prose an echo effect. A good example being a comparison of the dragons pupils to knives that was repeated. Of course all of this may have been done for a reason (there are no right or wrongs) but to me it felt like the whole thing needed a final edit.
I liked some of the descriptions of the dragon, but ultimately the whole story was based on withholding information from the reader. The dragon knows why it hunts the elf. The reason forms the punchline (or do I mean twist?) of the story, yet this is kept from the reader although it would be foremost in the dragon’s mind. The reader is led to believe it hunts the elf for other reasons. The end of the story felt like a joke–one I have come across before and one that made me feel I’d wasted my time reading the story–and so I felt the ending weakened the story as a whole. Two rocket dragons.
“An Open Letter in Defense of Our Alien Overlords” by Katherine Heath Shaeffer (debut 6/5 and reviewed by James Hanzelka) is written as a letter to the editor that outlines the subjugation of Earth by an alien force. The author outlines the good that has come from the occupation, like forced peace and improved environment. He goes on to show how even the alien action of using numbers implanted by genetic tagging serves a higher purpose. But recent changes in the alien force signal changes, but what kind of changes? Will there be renewed hostilities, or is it a signal of something else?
This was an interesting way to cover some standard themes. The author has updated the technology quite well, the biological tagging and violence activated machines were among my favorites. This is a fun romp through a potential future and the author makes the most of a novel take on the subject. Nice story, somewhat reminiscent of the old “War of the Worlds”.
“Metal and Flesh” by Steven R. Stewart (debut 6/6 and reviewed by James Hanzelka).
Sato is human; Kuro-4 is a robot. They are huddled together in the damaged module trying to repair each other so they can survive. Sato needs Kuro-4 to get supplies because the environmental suits have been lost. Kuro-4 needs Sato to provide a reason for someone to come to their aid, because no one would try to save a machine. Mars is forty-four days from Earth. Can they both survive that long?
This is a nicely woven survival tale that is really about what it means to be human. Touching on some of the same themes so common in the work of Phillip K. Dick, this story is very engaging. That alone was enough to endear this story to me, but the author deftly handled the story making it most memorable. Nice little story that you won’t be sorry you took the time to read.
Five angels gather for breakfast to discuss business and slaves in “Angel Plantation” by Tina Connolly (debut 6/7 and reviewed by Frank D). The newest member, Angel Jerome, has a fraction of the organslaves his colleagues have. The other plantation owners wonder aloud if he is deserving a spot at their table. Jerome shares their opinion.
The angels in “Angel Plantation” are not like the corporeal beings we all know. The slaves they own are clones of themselves. Where others have work gangs approaching a 100, Jerome keeps only 7. He sees them as extensions of himself, and not tools to further his own wealth.
“Angel Plantation” has a moral that runs back a two centuries and a dilemma we may see in our distant future. It examines what the definition of property is, and touches on the possibility on whether we own our own genetic material. It is a brief tale with many questions we may be faced with yet.
An idealist loses her wings in “Fairy Tales” by Eliza Victoria (debut 6/8 and reviewed by Frank D). The Diwata are a lost race. Their world is gone, destroyed by greedy humans. Their magic is powerless without their world and what few that are left, live among humanity. Pauline is a college freelance writer who has been documenting the history of the Diwata people. She has become an expert of their blight. She meets a Diwata noble in the library of the university. Their friendship blossoms, yet they remain too different to become close.
“Fairy Tales” is a complicated tale. What begins as a lone Diwata’s personal tragedy becomes a far larger and grimmer epic. The story is about Pauline’s obsession about a winged fairy-like race. The Diwata that are left are choosing to lose their wings. Some because of injury, others to fit in. The tale follows Pauline and her gradual infatuation with the Diwata and with a lost princess. The wings of the Diwata are their identity, and when the lose them, they lose their future.
“Fairy Tales” is aptly named. It speaks of a naà ¯ve girl’s hope and of the world a race has lost. It has flashbacks that aren’t written as flashbacks. The tactic turns the story into a disguised mystery, setting up a clever final scene. The story is not for people who gravitate to Daily SF‘s short and sharp fiction, but it is a tale for the ones who appreciate personal struggles. The ending is a promise of a greater tale but is nevertheless satisfying.
A better path develops for a distraught man in “Double Exposure” by Lou Antonelli (debut 6/11 and reviewed by Frank D). Jake is about to end it all. He has been trying to keep his high maintenance wife happy for decades and has needed to embezzle to satisfy her spending habits. Now, on the verge of indictment and abandoned by his spouse, he buys a gun. Before he pulls the trigger, he spies a Kodak one-day photo hut. Curious, he pulls up to the window. They are holding pictures of him and his last girlfriend from 30 years before. The package is a lot thicker than it should be.
“Double Exposure” is listed as an Alternative History story but I would classify it as a Magical Realism tale. It is set as a second chance tale, a look into a life that should have been. The author is inspired by his memories of the old photo huts (I remember them) and of their disappearance. A cool idea (photos of another life), one that I could imagine would make for a great anthology.
A disabled man is looking forward to his day of rebirth in “Deathday” by Jonas David (debut 6/12 and reviewed by Frank D). In the future, mankind has found a way to make a better life for everybody. A new mechanical body to replace the withering biological one all were born into. The transfer of consciousness is called your Deathday. The process has proven to be failsafe. Once the transfer is made, the new body oversees the old and dead one into the ground. It is a time of celebration and all your friends are there when you emerge from your changing room. So strange how the ones who have made the step find the celebration necessary, but distasteful.
“Deathday” follows along with a debilitated young man named Cobalt. His Deathday is near and a day behind his closest friends own day of rebirth. He is looking forward to the perfect body he has already seen but rumors of a legendary error plague him. Tales of a transfer that went wrong and of a still alive biological half and a wandering mechanical disturb all who have heard it. When he attends his best friend’s Deathday, her reaction to him when she emerges from the changing room strikes him as odd. Those around him assure him that she will be fine. He hopes so but wonders how he will react when he opens his new eyes for the first time.
“Deathday” is a futuristic tale that mirrors our own views of the afterlife. Excitement yet anxiety lie under the surface of Cobalt’s psyche. Evidence that it will be better is all around him. He had no reason to fear his day of rebirth, but his friend Thallium now makes him concerned. I found the tale a bit on the slow side, making the tale read longer than its actual length. I wondered why the author chose to focus on relationships that seemed to have little to do with the development of the plot. Like the protagonist, it all became clear in the final scene. I find that part to be dynamite and well worth the price of admission. Loved the great final act and parting last line.
Elise packs for a move in “British Colonial” by Amanda Clark (debut 6/13 and reviewed by Frank D). They are about to leave Beijing, heading back the West, but her dà ©cor controlling husband is missing. He always had a taste for a more Western style of decorations, forcing her to leave many of her enchanted Asian prizes behind.
“British Colonial” is the tale of a resentful woman. She is less concerned about the whereabouts of her husband than she is about the things she is leaving behind. The wonderful paintings and etched carvings in the furniture stir to life with her touch, but her husband never liked them, much to his eventual dismay.
“British Colonial” is one brief but dark tale. The ending shouldn’t have been such a surprise but the author’s heavy descriptive writing makes it easy to miss. A thick but delightful tale.
Your deepest desires can be achieved with “The Magician of Words” by Ruth Nestvold (debut 6/14 and reviewed by Frank D). The magician plies his trade in an alley of filled with former lives, if you can find him, and have the courage to let him know what you really desire, the sky will be the limit for you.
I wasn’t sure if this tale was metaphorical or not. I am afraid its greater meaning was lost on me.
The future in “The Pretty Woman Without Mercy” by Steven Mathes (debut 6/15 and reviewed by Frank D) is bleak and hopeless. Those who no longer age are not welcome in a world too crowded. Knight flees civilization and to the wilderness, where technology is no longer welcome. The scared man stumbles on a house that is yet to be demolished and begs the woman inside for help. She will give him one night’s stay in return for his DNA.
“The Pretty Woman Without Mercy” is a story with a titles that does not fit. The world in which Knight lives is what is harsh. Her offer for shelter is no small offer. The fact that she has two dogs and a gun is what I would consider wise on her part. Knight is a man who is prepared to die. Those who flee to the wilderness can expect no less, but the Earth is not what it used to be. Although wild life is beginning to reclaim to Earth, it may already be too late for them. The sky is already empty of birds and the trees all look sick. The pretty woman may have the answer for the planet and Knight both.
“The Pretty Woman” had a few issues for me. A protagonist with a name I had to get used too, an incomplete premise, and a mismatched title. It took a good portion of it for me to get grounded. It did, however, have a very sweet ending.
The protagonist is off to meet her boyfriend’s parents in the fairy world in “Faerie Food” by Kat Otis (debut 6/18 and reviewed by Frank D). There is one hard lesson they give all human visitors, don’t eat the food. It is a rule she intends to not break, but temptation is a hard thing to resist.
“Faerie Food” is a classic story of “the grass is greener on the other side’. The faerie world is gorgeous beyond belief. She feels out of place and unworthy of her half-human boyfriend, Maelon. And worse, the food smells exquisite. Odder still is Maelon’s human father, at home among these stunning beings while happily consuming their food and drink, with a knowing look in his eye.
This tale serves as an excellent metaphor for those who are in fear of meeting a loved one’s family. Too often many fear we won’t measure up to a standard we could never hope to match, when the truth is we already are an equal. An excellently executed work of flash fiction.
A single father mourns for his lost wife in “Ryan’s World” by Paul Ebbs (debut 6/19 and reviewed by Frank D). The colonists are poor on Ryan’s world. Transport land but paying for the things that will heal and benefit the farmer’s lives, are beyond their means to purchase. He is pooling his money so when the same illness afflicts his son, he will be able to save him when he couldn’t his wife.
The majority of “Ryan’s World” is a sad and depressing tale. The protagonist is racked with guilt. He allowed his wife to pass so he could save their son when the time came. Now every Sunday after church, he alone visits her grave.
I have more I would like to say about this tale but a twist at the end prevents me from revealing more. I can say it changed the sad tone of the tale, drastically. Whether you approve or not I cannot say but I will admit it left my feelings conflicted.
A convicted sorcerer confesses his crimes to His Imperial Majesty in “Dark Roads for the Eternal Ruler” by Eric James Stone (debut 6/20 and reviewed Frank D). The former right hand man to the prince has decade old offenses had come to light, leaving the future ruler no choice but to convict him. The sorcerer reveals his atrocities to his country’s new emperor. His crimes were made on the prince’s behalf so he could become the ruler, and now he has one last gift to give.
“Dark Roads” is written as a letter. The protagonist expresses joy at the prince’s ascension to power but regrets that he couldn’t be a part of them. His crimes were hidden by an amnesia spell that had expired, and now more will soon be revealed, inflicting the emperor with shame. His letter serves as a confession and a last act of loyalty.
This story has a very clever outcome. Kudos to Mr Stone.
A dairymaid plots her rise to power in “Peas, Plots, and Peril” by Melissa Mead (debut 6/21 and reviewed by Frank D). The protagonist is a clever and opportunistic cold soul. Through guile, rumors, and false identities; she manages a coup that is the stuff of fairy tales.
“Peas” is an intentionally vague tale. It took me a second read for me to discover that I was reading a tale of the ascension of an evil character in a popular fairy tale. Fascinating, but I found myself wishing for more details.
A mysterious boogeyman plagues people in their homes in “The Midnight Knock Again” by Patricia Russo (debut 6/22 and reviewed by Frank D). The first thing parents teach their children is to never answer the “knock’ on the door. It happens at odd times, is distinct from normal knocks, and will change you, or take you, if you answer the door. The “knock’ never comes to the happy in society. Great pains are taken to watch over the depressed and solemn to keep them from making a mistake they will regret. The few that have opened the door have a shell shocked expression that never leaves them. Legends of what is behind the knock vary but only the most down and out would want to answer it ” or the hopelessly curious.
“Midnight Knock” is a creepy tale. The author uses the greater part of the tale to tell about the mysterious knocks and of what happens to those who answer it. The long campfire-ish tale narrative approach works to establish the ominous feel of the knockers. The second half of the story follows along with the protagonist. Some bad fortune has brought the knocks to his door. His curiosity gets the best of him. What he finds is not what he expects.
The “victims’ of the knockers all share a type of amnesia after an encounter. Why this would be is never explained satisfactory. What the story does moralize is a boogeyman may not be so frightening if you’re willing to face it, and most boogeymen live in the dark regions and doubts within us. Although long, “Midnight Knock” is a story that seizes you. I found myself curious to find out what lay behind the knock and satisfied when I found out what it was. I don’t understand why the protagonist had to suffer from amnesia. It turned his adventure into doubt of its reality. What was satisfying was a protagonist willing to find out for the benefit of us all. I found the story to be a nice and enlightening tale.
The protagonist buys a vacuum for her mother in “Taking Care of Ma” by Lee Hallison (debut 6/25 and reviewed by Frank D). The vacuum cleaner is a self-reliant, AI unit, but Ma doesn’t want something else doing the cleaning and attaches a handle to the machine. Her daughter is frustrated by her mother’s resistance to technology but the salesman has assured her that the unit will adjust to her mother’s extrinsic behavior.
“Taking Care” is a cute story with a very cute ending that made me smile.
“The Watchmaker’s Gift” by Rich Matrunick (debut 6/26 and reviewed by Frank D). An old woman brings roadkill back to life with the golden gears of clockworks. The protagonist is a turtle she saved before. Along with restored life, intelligence is granted to the animals saved. The gears must be wound. Mortality is in the form of spent springs and lives lost.
“The Watchmaker’s Gift” is a different type of Frankenstein tale. The woman in this tale resurrects the animals for reasons that aren’t as noble as the protagonist believed. The story ends up being a tale of companionship. I hesitate summarizing anymore so as not to ruin the outcome of the piece.
Monsters make a plea in “The Dream of the Night-Shift Power Worker” by Edoardo Albert (debut 6/27 and reviewed by Frank D). They say the world has become dull, in need of pizzazz and a little excitement. They can give it to mankind (and they won’t bother you at all). All you need to do is turn out the lights.
The tale is more of a bad sales pitch then it is a story.
A man must pass a religious loyalty checkpoint in “Sacred Artifacts” by Greg Leunig (debut 6/28 and reviewed by Frank D). In a future fundamentalist America, individuals must prove their commitment to Christianity by stepping on the religious icons of other religions. Those who fail the test are dealt with immediately. The Atheist protagonist contemplates standing for his principles as his parents did.
“Sacred Artifacts” is set in a very dark America. Intolerance for other faiths transforms the nation into a fascist state. The tale is of one man’s resolve.
“Answer Man” by A. J. Barr (debut 6/29 and reviewed by Frank D). Mikey Holder has the solution to your problem. His fee is 100 grand and his answer will come at any time. His clients must be willing to accept his call no matter the hour, but satisfaction is guaranteed. The solutions to other people’s problems come to him while he is in the throes of ecstasy, which makes it difficult for him to maintain a relationship when he has to suddenly jump up to make a call.
“Answer Man” is a collaborative work. A story of an extrinsic man with an old talent, it took me until the end to be able to grasp its point. The tale starts off when Mikey abruptly ends an intimate moment to call a client. The solution to the problem his client desperately needed was so simplistically genius it made me laugh. The story takes a turn and Mikey’s life becomes complicated when he meets his soul mate on a flight. Mikey wants to treat his new love like a lady, and not like the inspirational spark that has cheapen every other girl in his life.
“Answer Man” is an odd love story. I can sympathize with his problem (actually, jealous would be a more accurate emotional reaction for me) but I could not understand what the problem was. The premise being that his solution solving had become dry when he met his love. Why? A problem existed for the protagonist when I really saw no reason why it should.
Strong writing, interesting characters, but if you’re looking for a simple solution for the complicated “Answer Man”, you best look elsewhere.
Not Just Rockets And Robots ” indeed
I have a few friends that don’t like reading on a computer screen. I also know of a few writers who will only submit to print publications. So a 21st century novel idea of a publisher sending a daily story via email is something that would never be their cup of tea. Too bad for them, or is it?
There were plenty of reasons for aspiring authors ” and fans of ” speculative fiction to attend this year’s Worldcon in Chicago. At the time of this writing, the con had yet to open, but if you were there hopefully you had a chance to attend Daily Science Fiction’s launch of their first print publication, Not Just Rockets and Robots ” a collection of their first year of stories is now available for your bookshelf.
I haven’t purchased the book but have read enough of those stories to give it an enthusiastic recommendation. I am curious to know if the collection was set in chronological order or not. The collective work of the Alphabet Quartet would have been nice if it were assembled together or not. Regardless how it was done, if you know of a fan of fantasy and/or science fiction, Not Just Rockets and Robots may be the perfect gift for them this Christmas.
Michele Barasso and Jonathan Laden are the editors of Daily Science Fiction. Sept 1st marks their second full year of publication. They wanted to make speculative fiction as easily available to its readers as possible. As Mr Laden said in an interview earlier this year to Write 1 Sub 1, “Daily Science Fiction was our way to change the publishing industry. As quotable people have said, “First be the change you want to see from the world”‘.
Thank you for the review!
The protagonist in ‘Dark Roads for the Eternal Ruler’ is a female. That makes a big difference to me in a ‘behind every great man’ kind of thing. The author is male, so I don’t know if he really meant it that way, but it adds another layer I found important (forgetting the women) because the clever ending seemed like too much joke/pastiche to me without it.
Otherwise, nice reviews. I enjoyed and thank you 🙂
Hmm. I won’t pick on any one story in particular, but one of these was in the top ten “Worst Stories on DSF”. Extremely amateurish, and the author’s notes are actually laughable, reading more like a highly complimentary review.
DSF’s offerings have gotten so lame that I more often than not delete them after a paragraph or two.
Sometimes I scroll down to the bios, and if I see the word “Clarion” it more often than not means the story is pretentious, twee, and above all boring.
Only about 10% of the stories ever published actually qualify as SF. The rest are fantasy.
Jon–you’re entitled to your opinion, but just thought I’d point one thing out. Daily Science Fiction uses “science fiction” in a broader way than the one you’re using. One which seems to be more in line with its roots where there wasn’t a delineation between it and fantasy. If you look at the About section on Daily Science Fiction, it says:
“”Science Fiction” means,to us,everything found in the science fiction section of a bookstore, or at a science fiction convention, or amongst the winners of the Hugo awards given by the World Science Fiction Society. This includes the genres of science fiction (or sci-fi), fantasy, slipstream, alternative history, and even stories with lighter speculative elements. We hope you enjoy the broad range that SF has to offer. ”
So, since it’s explicitly listed in their goal to publish fantasy stories, you can complain about their intent to have a mixture of subgenres if you like, but it is what they have set out to do from the beginning.
Here here, Jon. DSF wobbles my mind. I’m about one victimized female protagonist away from unsubscribing. Seriously, in the last few months they’ve turned my inbox into a battered women’s shelter.
Oh, and Frank, my 11-year-old self called–he read Fool’s Gold and wants his D&D premise back.
-L
Yes, I understand Fantasy is a big part of DSF. Just didn’t expect it to be 90% of it. Either way, lame is lame, regardless of genre, and DSF’s offerings seem to have actually declined in quality. Some of the authors seemed to have been published simply because they had some previous success in major markets and not on the merits of their work.
And McCoobery is correct. There are a disproportionate number of stories involving females being treated badly in relationships.
Maybe they should change the name to Lifetime Network Science Fiction.
To be fair, there have been some absolute gems of every genre in DSF. Stories that are beautifully written, hit all the right notes, reach me on an emotional level, and deserve to be in a Best Science Fiction of the Year anthology right alongside the top authors in the field.
They just seem to be less frequent lately.
There might be one story every two months that takes my breath away. 2,3 or 4 that I truly enjoy. Maybe another dozen that are competently written but uninspired or simply leave no impression. And then there are quite a few that are overly didactic, poorly written, trite, pretentious, or some combination thereof. Far too many like this for my tastes.
Of course, this is all just one reader’s opinion.
I have, however, been deeply involved in this genre for nearly 4 decades, so I do have quite a frame of reference built up for comparison.
>>Oh, and Frank, my 11-year-old self called,he read Foolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Gold and wants his D&D premise back.
Dear 11-year-old L. McCoobery:
Criticism of stories, of reviews, or other creative work, whether the criticism is negative or positive, is welcome. But take care that you don’t resort to insulting people. Being 11 years old is no excuse.
Edit: Just to be clear, I don’t think the criticism was unacceptable, but the way it was said was borderline. I’d rather commentary here be a frank discussion of merits and flaws of stories–the “my 11-year old self called” part of the comment seemed to verging more toward trying to be cleverly insulting than frank discussion. It’s fair to criticize a story for seeming too much like a child’s D&D campaign, but it was just the way it was said that made me respond.
Carry on, folks!
>>Maybe another dozen that are competently written but uninspired or simply leave no impression. And then there are quite a few that are overly didactic, poorly written, trite, pretentious, or some combination thereof.
You’re entitled to your opinion, no arguments there. I often say similar things about the Hugo nominated stories. I’m not sure if I just have such different tastes than the voting masses, or if the voting masses are voting based on criteria other than story quality. I understand being frustrated with perceived lack of quality at a venue. I don’t know if you’re a writer or not, but I’ve felt that feeling even more so since I became a writer “You published THAT crap and you won’t publish my stories?”
LOL, no offense taken, L.
I appreciate all the comments we receieve.
To Jon and L: I have noticed that the tone of DSF has been slightly darker compared to a year ago, but I don’t equate dark with bad. In fact, I find it a relief when not every tale has to have a happy ending. One thing I admire about Daily SF is they don’t stick to a common style or theme. You really have no idea what the days story will be about when you open the email in the morning.
It is true DSF was rather heavy on fantasy this month, but I believe the only way you can you make the claim that 90% of what they publish is fantasy is if group everything that doesn’t fit the classic definition of science fiction into a generic fantasy box.
I think the fact a lot of the speculative stories today center around female charcaters and the themes are grim is more of a reflection of todays society. During the heart of the cold war, Military science fiction (Jerry Pournelle, David Drake, Heinlein, Asimov, Gordon Dickison…god, to many to list) dominated speculative fiction. Would Ender’s Game do as well if it debut today? I wonder.
Today, dark and sinister antagonist are the chosen villians – when a story requires one. Often, it is a society that is stacked against the common man. A woman protagonist are more common because they so naturally fill a niche of a character who has been supressed, but I think in a lot of the stories at DSF, gender is interchangeably anyway.
Case in point J Chant’s Flint’s Folly
http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/science-fiction/j-chant/flints-folly
The two main character’s are male and female but you could switch their genders and it wouldn’t have changed the story on bit. With a few changes, I think this tale could have been set up and written as a high fantasy(although, I confess, that may have been hard to do). It wouldn’t have matter because the story would have been still great.
>Oh, and Frank, my 11-year-old self called,he read Foolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Gold and wants his D&D premise back.
Shame on your 11 year old shelf for not writing it and publishing it first.
Frank, I agree with much of what you’re saying. But my issue isn’t with the stories being overly “dark” of late. My go-to SF fix is Iain (M.) Banks–doesn’t get much darker. My issue is with how transparent and heavy-handed all this female-as-eternal-victim stuff is. It comes across as a sort of juvenile catharsis or something…like they’re trying to immortalize their phallus-induced grief in a thousand word fantasy yarn, without any concern for plot, character, concept, depth, ingenuity, etc. It’s just bad.
In the loosest sense of the word, I’m a writer. And when I read a story published in a pro-paying market, I should be floored every time. I should read it and go, “Damn, that was cool beyond friggin’ words and I hope I can one day write something as beyond friggin’ cool as that.” I have yet to experience this with DSF. The same can be said for Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons and a slew of other pro-paying markets. Then I check out the perpetual mind-numbing praise-orgy on DSF’s facebook page and I’m left throwing my arms in the air and threatening to call it quits.
So I can’t help but wonder: Have the SF, Fantasy and Horror genres evolved into something I simply can’t recognize as “good stuff” given the limitations, whatever they may be, of my personal critical lens? Or does everyone else suck, and I alone rule?
Hi L. I felt the same way about the Facebook page for awhile – that is, I would like to see serious discussion of the stories and that’s what I hoped to find. I realized, after listening to a Writing Excuses podcast discussing negative reviews, that’s not really a good place for it. The authors stop by there on a regular basis, probably checking to see if the story is read and etc. There needs to be some distance, I think, so an author can decide if they’re prepared for/want to see a critical review of an already published work. The Facebook page doesn’t offer that. It lends itself to short ‘I liked’ or ‘this wasn’t for me’ commentary.
I’m not wowed by every DSF story, or possibly even the majority of them. But I wasn’t floored by every story I read in my paper Fantasy and Science Fiction sub back in the day either (nor Asmiov’s, nor Weird Tales, nor Hitchcock’s etc.) I think that’s an over-the-top expectation for short stories (and probably one my husband holds in common with you which is why he doesn’t read them.)
And 4 out of 5 (ish) of the DSF stories are flash. Which for me means there are going to be more of them I don’t like. The longer stories are almost always my favorites, and I particularly dislike joke/twist endings, or anything close.
So… that doesn’t mean it’s not serving a market. The sub gives me something I don’t get elsewhere. I love having a story in my in-box every morning, and they don’t all have to be good for me to want that. And considering the price, I’m a very happy camper.
Now if you know of a place that will supply me with a free daily story guaranteed to floor me every time (or even almost every time), please let me know.
All that said, I would much love to see an in-depth critical discussion somewhere. If you started a blog of such, or something of that nature, I’d come read it, and probably participate in discussion.
>>Or does everyone else suck, and I alone rule?
L. McCoobery, I hear what you’re saying. The trouble is that the definition of “suck” and “rule” can vary so drastically from person to person. Presumably you write what you like to read, so by definition, to your own eyes you will rule more than people who write to a different aesthetic than what yuo like.
I agree that I’m not floored by everything I read in professional magazines. Some more than others. One of the things that convinced me to write was that I got sick of paying for issues of magazines where so much crap was being published. F&SF, for instance, has had some really amazing stories. But in almost every issue they have an Albert E. Cowdrey story, and I don’t think a single one of them has appealed to me. So I got annoyed at having 50ish pages of each issue taken up by him.
Likewise, a lot of the Hugo nominees make me scratch my head and wonder what the hell the voters were thinking. It’s just a matter of taste. It seems like the most popular style these days is a purple flowery prose that I don’t care much for. I prefer straightforward writing that sticks to an active story instead of trying to make navelgazing seem interesting.
The only solutions I have to being bored by a lot of stuff that’s published are:
1. I don’t feel obligated to read a story all the way through. I’ll generally read any flash story, since it doesn’t take long anyway, but I’ll often given up on novellas/novelettes if there’s no plot movement.
2. I seek out magazines that publish what I like to read. For me, no other has hit my tastes as consistently as Drabblecast. If your tastes are similar to mine maybe you’ll like them too, or maybe you’ll like something else. I’m sure that there’s a publication out there somewhere you’ll like more consistently, I’m just not sure which.
>>All that said, I would much love to see an in-depth critical discussion somewhere.
I agree. I suppose you could leave more critical comments on the FB page, but unless there’s active participation in the discussion from both sides, it wouldn’t really serve the purpose. I generally don’t go to their FB page because I feel the same way–positive responses are of little interest to me unless there are interesting and specific comments on both sides of the fence.
Might I suggest that, if that’s something that could improve your magazine experience with DSF, that you drop a suggestion to the editors suggesting just that? My favorite publications, Drabblecast, Pseudopod, Podcastle, and Escape Pod, are my favorite in part because they have active forums where critical discussion is encouraged.
In the meantime, feel free to leave critical comments of stories in the review threads for DSF. It’s perhaps not as good of a format as a forum, but if people want to respond to your comments they can, and I at least will read them all.
It’s you, L.
And me.
And the other commenters.
Laura does have a good point about a story every day in the mailbox. And heck, it’s free, so having to wade through half a dozen bad relationship or bang-you-over-the-head-with-a-meat-tenderizer socio-political commentary to get a decent story and the occasional knockout isn’t the worse thing in the world.
But it just seems like the themes and settings I’m seeing here are not the themes and settings I grew up with. That’s understandable, but why then do, say, the two best and most highly praised indie-type SF films of the past few years, Moon and District Nine, remind me of stories written by Haldeman, Niven, Piper, Bova, and Harrison, to name a few, than anything I see in most SF publications? There are some on occasion, and I do see some more… traditional… story-telling in the novel market.
Of course, that’s one nice thing about short stories, both for writers and readers. If it doesn’t quite work, well, you haven’t invested a huge amount of time either.
Then again, there are so many subgenres that there is no fixed and firm “This is what a SF story is.”
Me, I like aliens, drop ships, galactic empires, world-eating nanobots, rugged Space Marines, daring explorers, and crafty rogues in my SF.
I like spaceships travelling to strange new places, meeting ancient and enigmatic cultures, and firing anti-matter missiles at them.
Not everyone does.
For me it’s all about big pictures and big questions. For others, I guess it’s about inner space and small intimacies — which I can appreciate if done well, but seriously, for a while last spring and early summer it seemed like every other story was one “women done wrong”. The father of my baby abandoned me to go to the moon. I erased all traces of my nasty husband and wiped him out of existence. I replaced my abusive lover with someone kind and caring. About a year back was a story about an island in the afterlife where no one ever, ever, thinks about relationships that ended badly.
What was my point. I had one, honest.