Short Story Sunday 17: John Moore and Harry Turtledove

This is an exciting installment of Short Story Sunday. Well, maybe not for you, but it is for me. This marks the first collection that I’ve reviewed in its entirety (except for all of the non-fiction articles). I hope to review many more science fiction and fantasy stories and I hope you stick around and get inspired to read a few of your own.

For a long time I completely ignored short fiction, but in recent years it’s become an important part of my life. Due to an increasingly busier schedule and new responsibilities, I’ve got less time to read novels. I was sad about that at first (and I still kind of am) but I decided to view this as an opportunity to explore another part of literature I didn’t pay much attention to before. Like everything else, not all of the short stories I read are good. Some, even with their short length, aren’t even worth my time. Still, I’ve read plenty of good-to-great stories to remind me of how satisfying short fiction can be. Below are just a couple of good examples.

Short Story Sunday 16: “The Blabber” by Vernor Vinge

This is our first Short Story Sunday edition where I write about only a single story. I’ve tried to avoid that as I’d prefer to showcase more than a single author by post (special editions notwithstanding) and more than a single story. Variety is nice and so are posts that are longer than just two hundred words. This post is different because the story being reviewed is quite long. It’s a novella, really. Still, it’s science fiction, it’s short, and it’s really quite good.

“The Blabber” by Vernor Vinge

Read in New Destinies Volume VI/Winter 1988 (1988), edited by Jim Baen

Originally published in Threats … and Other Promises (1988), editor unknown (but might also be Jim Baen)

“The Blabber” is part of Vinge’s Zones of Thought series which include a trilogy of novels that begin with the award winning A Fire Upon the Deep. Not only is that an excellent title, but it’s said to be an excellent read. I wouldn’t know as my copy remains unread. I’ll get around to it one day and likely sooner now that I’ve read this novella which takes place just after the events of the first book.

Short Story Sunday 15: Catherynne M. Valente and Rick Cook

No introduction this post, we're heading straight into the reviews.

“How to Become a Mars Overlord” by Catherynne M. Valente

Read in Year’s Best SF 16 (2011), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

Originally published in Lightspeed issue 3 (2010), edited by John Joseph Adams.

“How to Become a Mars Overlord” is written as a seminar intended on providing guidance to people interested in conquering the prized planet, Mars. Valente is more interesting in recreating a sense of wonder and yearning for the red planet than she is in telling a story. All of her examples of Mars overlords are pastiche or echoes of pulp stories featuring the titular planet. If they’re not recognizable as a creation of another author, then they’re created by Valente with that same spirit in mind. The whole thing is very inventive and full of energy but it’s done in a style that doesn’t work for me.  

Short Story Sunday 04: Terry Bisson, Spider Robinson, and David Drake

This week I’m reviewing three short stories from three different collections. Two of them will be familiar to regular readers but I’ve added a new collection to the rotation: The Tank Lords by David Drake. Half of this book is made up of short stories and the other half is a small novels. I’ll be reviewing the novel on its own but the stories will continue to be a part of Short Story Sunday. Let’s get to it.

“About It” by Terry Bisson

Read in Year’s Best SF 16 (2011), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

Originally published in F&SF (Sept/Oct 2010), edited by Gordon Van Gelder

Terry Bisson was unknown to me before I read this story (regular readers might have noticed a trend) and I’m sorry to say that “About It” is a poor introduction. The story is told by a janitor who works in a laboratory and brings home a Sasquatch. There ol’ Bigfoot sits around, enjoys nature and the companionship of a few neighbourhood kids. He likes watching TV with the janitor. What at first appears to be a nice retirement from the lab out in the suburbs turns out to be nothing more than a waiting room for the afterlife. The Sasquatch inexplicably fades to nothing and dies, leaving me confused and a little sad . . . but the feeling quickly faded after I closed the book and put it down.

Short Story Sunday 02: Robert A. Heinlein Edition

Here we are with the second installment of Short Story Sunday. Is it too early to write a special post? Nah! This time around we’re focusing on Robert A. Heinlein. Like Joe Haldeman in our first post, I’ve been aware of Heinlein and his work for several years now and I’ve even bought one of his book (Starship Troopers) but I haven’t read it yet. It’s pretty shameful, I know. What’s less shameful is that I’ve started to read some of his short stories and he’s known for writing good short length sci-fi stories. I can attest to that, it’s true. I’ve only sampled a small handful of them so far but I’ve enjoyed every single one of them in one way or another. Let’s dive in.

“The Long Watch” by Robert A. Heinlein

Read in New Destinies Volume VI/Winter 1988 (1988), edited by Jim Baen

Originally published as “Rebellion on the Moon” in American Legion Magazine (1949), I could not find the name of the magazine’s editor

After realizing that his superior officer is planning a coup d’état, Lieutenant Dahlquist sets out to delay Colonel Towers’ overthrow of the Earth government long enough for reinforcements to arrive. As commander of a lunar base, Towers plans on using nuclear weapons located on the base to intimidate the Earth government. Dahlquist, who specializes in nuclear weapons, finds himself in a position to be able to prevent Towers’ plan. He locks himself up in the bomb bunker and so begins his long watch.