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.
