July reading
Stories:
**** "The Devonshire Arms" by Alex Dally MacFarlane
**** "The Spires of Denon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
*** "Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley
**** "The Spiral Briar" by Sean McMullen
*** "'A Wild and Wicked Youth'" by Ellen Kushner
*** "The Avenger of Love" by Jack Skillingstead
*** "The Brave Little Toaster" by Thomas M. Disch
**** "Andreanna" by S. L. Gilbow
*** "Stratosphere" by Henry Garfield
**** "Sea Wrack" by Edward Jesby
**** "The Price of Silence" by Deborah J. Ross
**** "One Bright Star to Guide Them" by John C. Wright
**** "Dead Flowers" by Grant Tracey
** "Beyond Pandora" by Robert J. Martin
**** "Thieves of Silence" by Holly Phillips
Quick Takes:
"The Devonshire Arms" by Alex Dally MacFarlane (Clarkesworld) atmospheric story featuring a veritable tarot pack of archetypal beings who congregate in a quaint pub, mostly unnoticed by its mortal clientele.
"The Spires of Denon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's) cool imagery and nice character twists in a very readable novella.
"The Brave Little Toaster" by Thomas M. Disch (F&SF reprint): charmingly done, a natural for what seems to be a Disch tribute issue of the mag, but (all considered) not really my thing. Lost my (almost) willing suspension of disbelief by using a DC car battery. Did I like until then, Well...
"The Spiral Briar" by Sean McMullen (F&SF): Yes, you can invade Faeire with a steam-powered vessel. Tech manual and thoughtfully worked characters provided.
"One Bright Star to Guide Them" by John. C. Wright (F&SF): a warm tribute to Narnia (with just enough Tolkien blended in to keep it from reading like fan fic). I may like this story more than I like Narnia itself.
"Thieves of Silence" by Holly Phillips (Beneath Ceaseless Skies): engaging tale of intrigue and witchcraft in an interesting Arctic setting.
My ratings:
***** excellent: memorable, satisfying, a pleasure to read
**** very good: well written, good read, perhaps with small flaws or not quite aligned with my personal taste
*** good: readable, engaging, but with some problems or just not memorable or exciting for me
** sub-par: a rough read, either amateurish or just uninteresting to me
* huh? someone published this?
My ratings are part objective appraisal of the writing, part unapologetic personal preference (certain subjects and subgenres just don't appeal to me as much as others)
**** "The Devonshire Arms" by Alex Dally MacFarlane
**** "The Spires of Denon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
*** "Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley
**** "The Spiral Briar" by Sean McMullen
*** "'A Wild and Wicked Youth'" by Ellen Kushner
*** "The Avenger of Love" by Jack Skillingstead
*** "The Brave Little Toaster" by Thomas M. Disch
**** "Andreanna" by S. L. Gilbow
*** "Stratosphere" by Henry Garfield
**** "Sea Wrack" by Edward Jesby
**** "The Price of Silence" by Deborah J. Ross
**** "One Bright Star to Guide Them" by John C. Wright
**** "Dead Flowers" by Grant Tracey
** "Beyond Pandora" by Robert J. Martin
**** "Thieves of Silence" by Holly Phillips
Quick Takes:
"The Devonshire Arms" by Alex Dally MacFarlane (Clarkesworld) atmospheric story featuring a veritable tarot pack of archetypal beings who congregate in a quaint pub, mostly unnoticed by its mortal clientele.
"The Spires of Denon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's) cool imagery and nice character twists in a very readable novella.
"The Brave Little Toaster" by Thomas M. Disch (F&SF reprint): charmingly done, a natural for what seems to be a Disch tribute issue of the mag, but (all considered) not really my thing. Lost my (almost) willing suspension of disbelief by using a DC car battery. Did I like until then, Well...
"The Spiral Briar" by Sean McMullen (F&SF): Yes, you can invade Faeire with a steam-powered vessel. Tech manual and thoughtfully worked characters provided.
"One Bright Star to Guide Them" by John. C. Wright (F&SF): a warm tribute to Narnia (with just enough Tolkien blended in to keep it from reading like fan fic). I may like this story more than I like Narnia itself.
"Thieves of Silence" by Holly Phillips (Beneath Ceaseless Skies): engaging tale of intrigue and witchcraft in an interesting Arctic setting.
My ratings:
***** excellent: memorable, satisfying, a pleasure to read
**** very good: well written, good read, perhaps with small flaws or not quite aligned with my personal taste
*** good: readable, engaging, but with some problems or just not memorable or exciting for me
** sub-par: a rough read, either amateurish or just uninteresting to me
* huh? someone published this?
My ratings are part objective appraisal of the writing, part unapologetic personal preference (certain subjects and subgenres just don't appeal to me as much as others)
I haven't heard of most of these. The Spiral Briar, in particular, looks interesting. I'm a sucker for grown-up fairy tales.
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