Ive seen it listed as horror and given the subject matter and circumstance that the character Joe Bonham finds himself in, I can understand why.
The Short Story Thread
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Ive seen it listed as horror and given the subject matter and circumstance that the character Joe Bonham finds himself in, I can understand why.
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I can see that. There were passages where I was physically repulsed by the story.
Danny McG
Lid closed, monkey dead.
I couldn't sleep after I watched the film
I couldn't help but feel bad for poor Joe Bonham.
Dalton Trumbo is remembered primarily for Johny Got His Gun and the fact that in the late 1940's he was blacklisted in Hollywood . He had to work under different name for some years until Kirk Douglas and Spartacus.
J-Sun
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I thought about posting this on the "What did you blog about today" thread, but maybe it would go better here. Every Friday (in theory, and in practice so far, if only barely) I discuss a story by someone who's going to have a birthday in the coming week. This week it was "Birthday Reviews: Kuttner, Smith, Weinbaum." The stories are "The Proud Robot," "QRM - Interplanetary," and "Parasite Planet" and - short reviews, shorter - all are recommended. (I only cover stories I like for the birthday reviews because who wants a bad review on your birthday whether you're actually around for it or not?)
J-Sun
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Just for fun (at least, I hope it's fun) I'll take it a step further this time (short reviews, not shorter). This is reprinted from my blog:
This week brings an overload of birthdays and an overload of great stories with a singing bug, morally challenging alien dinosaurs, a universe created in a lab, and a society exploiting Time with the help of Mongol hordes on Harleys. And, unlike last week’s, none are in series and all are brand-spankin’ new (well, okay, not older than thirty-five years).
Carol Emshwiller (1921-04-12–2019-02-02)
“Moon Songs” (The Start of the End of It All, 1990)
Whenever I rave about Carol Emshwiller, her story “Pelt” usually leads the parade but this time I thought I’d focus on a different story. She has dozens of brilliant tales but the one I’m going to talk about now is “Moon Songs,” in which the narrator looks back on the interrelations between the person he was at the time, his sister, the world, and art and beauty. Oh, and the ugly, crippled bug they found which sang the middle of what seemed like a beautiful song when it was pricked. The narrator, at the time of the main story, was a physically unimpressive and weak-willed young boy in the thrall of his older and beautiful, but awkward and unpopular, sister. She wanted to be popular or famous or something remarkable and the boy got increasingly disturbed as she became increasingly infatuated with the mite and used and abused it to pretend its abilities were her own. The climax is powerful and the denouement disorienting.
As with essentially all Emshwiller stories I’ve read, the characters are complex and compelling, especially internally. The prose seems natural but is carefully controlled, avoiding plainness or the faux arts. The observations are profound and connect with me despite not being anything I’d observe on my own. I think that’s what I like best about Emshwiller: she’s an unpretentious artist who quietly communicates her visions in a way that even one who’s ordinarily interested in other things can’t fail to notice.
James Patrick Kelly (1951-04-11)
“Think Like a Dinosaur” (Asimov’s, June 1995)
By 2069, the alien Hanen (nicknamed “dinosaurs”) have arrived and allow humans access to the technology they operate which gives us the stars: matter transmission and wormhole beams, basically. However, we’re on a sort of probation and need to behave according to the dinos’ sense of ethics which involves balancing the equations: no creating armies of yourself with the scanners to take over the universe or anything. This would seem like a simple task but it’s not, even under ordinary circumstances. Michael Burr assists the dinos by helping humans make the transition and is guiding Kamala Shastri through the process which will take her to Gend where she can learn to grow artificial eyes for the blind. When something goes wrong, he finds that it’s even more complex and difficult than he’d ever imagined.
This tale references Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations” but knowing that one isn’t required to get the vast majority of the powerful effect of this and, if you’re a fan of that era of SF, it might even be helpful if you don’t compare them too much. Taken by itself, this tale is perfectly structured, with a brief frame in the present surrounding the bulk of the story set at Kamala’s departure. Both human characters are given the foreground and made deftly, economically real but the three aliens are also sharply sketched individuals. The science and fiction is perfectly blended to satisfy wiring diagram and literary readers alike. The narrative is initially interesting and ratchets up rapidly and convincingly into something jaw-droppingly, pulse-poundingly bizarre and emotionally and intellectually engaging.
Jack McDevitt (1935-04-14)
“Act of God” (Microcosms, 2004)
I couldn’t let Jack McDevitt’s birthday go by without wishing him happy birthday because I’ve enjoyed so many of his novels so much (including The Hercules Text, Eternity Road, and the Alex Benedict novels) but didn’t have a whole lot of stories to choose from because I’ve never been able to get one of his collections (they aren’t exactly available in affordable mass market paperbacks). Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot to choose from to find good ones.
In this tale, the reader hears one half of a dialog between a distraught scientist and a skeptical friend as the former tells the latter about how he came to be involved in a scientific experiment to create a Little Bang which produced a universe in another dimension. He then relates all the (bad) things that happened to his coworkers and what he thinks is the reason. This is an economical (and somewhat funny) story which is a fine addition to the “scientist/god bottle-universe” subgenre.
Bruce Sterling (1954-04-14) & Lewis Shiner
“Mozart in Mirrorshades” (Omni, September 1985)
I wonder if there is, ironically, an alternate history where, instead of a boring old The Difference Engine with William Gibson and its ensuing dull steampunk, we got an expanded version of this and, I dunno, “powderpunk” or something took over instead. Because, this, ladies and social justice warriors, is how you make your critiques of imperialism! You do it with humor, verve, excitement, and sneaky nuance within your strong satire!
In “Realtime,” people have figured out how to go back in time and drain resources from the past, forking them up so that the wrecked world goes spinning off on its own alternate timeline and Realtime gets all the benefits. So Rice is in charge of the 18th century job where we see Mozart and Thomas Jefferson being exploited. But this story doesn’t forget to have a self-sufficient plot as Rice gets lost in an extended debauch with Marie Antoinette, a soft-hearted co-worker starts a local insurrection which threatens the project, Mozart schemes to get a Green Card (taken to Realtime) where he wants to be a pop star, and all hell breaks loose. This brings on the Gray Card Army (alternate crossovers) such as one of Genghis Khan’s generals riding a Harley, who does things like jamming a machine pistol into Mozart’s nose and saying, “I put my gun on rock and roll, there nothing left of you but ears, man.” Not to mention stray notes thrown off like sparks from a dragging muffler such as “a six year old Napoleon munching Dubble Bubble in Corsica.” But, while a secondary character in a lot of ways, Mozart in his mirrorshades is an indelible, brilliant image and he also provides some of the nuance to the tale. Great stuff.
This week brings an overload of birthdays and an overload of great stories with a singing bug, morally challenging alien dinosaurs, a universe created in a lab, and a society exploiting Time with the help of Mongol hordes on Harleys. And, unlike last week’s, none are in series and all are brand-spankin’ new (well, okay, not older than thirty-five years).
Carol Emshwiller (1921-04-12–2019-02-02)
“Moon Songs” (The Start of the End of It All, 1990)
Whenever I rave about Carol Emshwiller, her story “Pelt” usually leads the parade but this time I thought I’d focus on a different story. She has dozens of brilliant tales but the one I’m going to talk about now is “Moon Songs,” in which the narrator looks back on the interrelations between the person he was at the time, his sister, the world, and art and beauty. Oh, and the ugly, crippled bug they found which sang the middle of what seemed like a beautiful song when it was pricked. The narrator, at the time of the main story, was a physically unimpressive and weak-willed young boy in the thrall of his older and beautiful, but awkward and unpopular, sister. She wanted to be popular or famous or something remarkable and the boy got increasingly disturbed as she became increasingly infatuated with the mite and used and abused it to pretend its abilities were her own. The climax is powerful and the denouement disorienting.
As with essentially all Emshwiller stories I’ve read, the characters are complex and compelling, especially internally. The prose seems natural but is carefully controlled, avoiding plainness or the faux arts. The observations are profound and connect with me despite not being anything I’d observe on my own. I think that’s what I like best about Emshwiller: she’s an unpretentious artist who quietly communicates her visions in a way that even one who’s ordinarily interested in other things can’t fail to notice.
James Patrick Kelly (1951-04-11)
“Think Like a Dinosaur” (Asimov’s, June 1995)
By 2069, the alien Hanen (nicknamed “dinosaurs”) have arrived and allow humans access to the technology they operate which gives us the stars: matter transmission and wormhole beams, basically. However, we’re on a sort of probation and need to behave according to the dinos’ sense of ethics which involves balancing the equations: no creating armies of yourself with the scanners to take over the universe or anything. This would seem like a simple task but it’s not, even under ordinary circumstances. Michael Burr assists the dinos by helping humans make the transition and is guiding Kamala Shastri through the process which will take her to Gend where she can learn to grow artificial eyes for the blind. When something goes wrong, he finds that it’s even more complex and difficult than he’d ever imagined.
This tale references Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations” but knowing that one isn’t required to get the vast majority of the powerful effect of this and, if you’re a fan of that era of SF, it might even be helpful if you don’t compare them too much. Taken by itself, this tale is perfectly structured, with a brief frame in the present surrounding the bulk of the story set at Kamala’s departure. Both human characters are given the foreground and made deftly, economically real but the three aliens are also sharply sketched individuals. The science and fiction is perfectly blended to satisfy wiring diagram and literary readers alike. The narrative is initially interesting and ratchets up rapidly and convincingly into something jaw-droppingly, pulse-poundingly bizarre and emotionally and intellectually engaging.
Jack McDevitt (1935-04-14)
“Act of God” (Microcosms, 2004)
I couldn’t let Jack McDevitt’s birthday go by without wishing him happy birthday because I’ve enjoyed so many of his novels so much (including The Hercules Text, Eternity Road, and the Alex Benedict novels) but didn’t have a whole lot of stories to choose from because I’ve never been able to get one of his collections (they aren’t exactly available in affordable mass market paperbacks). Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot to choose from to find good ones.
In this tale, the reader hears one half of a dialog between a distraught scientist and a skeptical friend as the former tells the latter about how he came to be involved in a scientific experiment to create a Little Bang which produced a universe in another dimension. He then relates all the (bad) things that happened to his coworkers and what he thinks is the reason. This is an economical (and somewhat funny) story which is a fine addition to the “scientist/god bottle-universe” subgenre.
Bruce Sterling (1954-04-14) & Lewis Shiner
“Mozart in Mirrorshades” (Omni, September 1985)
I wonder if there is, ironically, an alternate history where, instead of a boring old The Difference Engine with William Gibson and its ensuing dull steampunk, we got an expanded version of this and, I dunno, “powderpunk” or something took over instead. Because, this, ladies and social justice warriors, is how you make your critiques of imperialism! You do it with humor, verve, excitement, and sneaky nuance within your strong satire!
In “Realtime,” people have figured out how to go back in time and drain resources from the past, forking them up so that the wrecked world goes spinning off on its own alternate timeline and Realtime gets all the benefits. So Rice is in charge of the 18th century job where we see Mozart and Thomas Jefferson being exploited. But this story doesn’t forget to have a self-sufficient plot as Rice gets lost in an extended debauch with Marie Antoinette, a soft-hearted co-worker starts a local insurrection which threatens the project, Mozart schemes to get a Green Card (taken to Realtime) where he wants to be a pop star, and all hell breaks loose. This brings on the Gray Card Army (alternate crossovers) such as one of Genghis Khan’s generals riding a Harley, who does things like jamming a machine pistol into Mozart’s nose and saying, “I put my gun on rock and roll, there nothing left of you but ears, man.” Not to mention stray notes thrown off like sparks from a dragging muffler such as “a six year old Napoleon munching Dubble Bubble in Corsica.” But, while a secondary character in a lot of ways, Mozart in his mirrorshades is an indelible, brilliant image and he also provides some of the nuance to the tale. Great stuff.
dask
dark and stormy knight
“The Ugly Little Boy“ by Isaac Asimov. One of the good Doctor’s best stories if not his very best. This tale that offers a realistic examination of time travel and the nature of motherhood is a classic and can easily hold its own against the likes of “Vintage Season” and “Flowers For Algernon”, two classics that could slip into a top ten list with nary a rubber neck and I assert here in front of the world wide world that if they could, so could the Asimov. Top-notch science fiction.
hitmouse
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Disappearing Act (1953) by Alfred Bester. The first story in his collection Starburst, which I have not read for years. Very clever, funny, densely written from beginning to end. Bester packs so much into this it is almost poetic.
The story of a special ward in a military hospital where patients are periodically vanishing for increasing periods of time. This is an America at war for no clear reason, where every effort is subsumed into the military campaign. The patients’ ability to vanish and apparently travel through time is seen as something to be exploited for the war effort. The excellent twist is left until the last line. This is a satire with a light touch on a certain mlitary-political mindset. It could have been written more recently than 1953.
The story of a special ward in a military hospital where patients are periodically vanishing for increasing periods of time. This is an America at war for no clear reason, where every effort is subsumed into the military campaign. The patients’ ability to vanish and apparently travel through time is seen as something to be exploited for the war effort. The excellent twist is left until the last line. This is a satire with a light touch on a certain mlitary-political mindset. It could have been written more recently than 1953.
AlexH
Well-Known Member
I very Highly recommend his novels The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination
As its Fredric Brown's birthday today (well kinda, he died in 1972, but had he been immortal he would be 114 today), I thought I'd read one of his most famous short stories.
Has anyone else read and enjoyed The Waveries, his 1945 story from Astounding? I really liked it - it tells of the effects of invasion by an alien waveform, that captures or feeds off electrical charge, and thereby sends humanity back to pre-electrical ways of living. It's nicely done, and while the reality of life without electricity probably wouldn't be as utopian as presented, I tend to sympathise with some of the things Brown has to say and suggest in the story and its gives the reader quite a bit to ponder on. It's been anthologised a heck of a lot and probably is one of the classics of the 'golden age'.
Who else has read this and did you like it? (It's available online, if you don't have it to hand, and don't have a copy of Jan '45 Astounding on your shelf).
Has anyone else read and enjoyed The Waveries, his 1945 story from Astounding? I really liked it - it tells of the effects of invasion by an alien waveform, that captures or feeds off electrical charge, and thereby sends humanity back to pre-electrical ways of living. It's nicely done, and while the reality of life without electricity probably wouldn't be as utopian as presented, I tend to sympathise with some of the things Brown has to say and suggest in the story and its gives the reader quite a bit to ponder on. It's been anthologised a heck of a lot and probably is one of the classics of the 'golden age'.
Who else has read this and did you like it? (It's available online, if you don't have it to hand, and don't have a copy of Jan '45 Astounding on your shelf).
dask
dark and stormy knight
“Bewitched” by Edith Wharton. Great ghost story for Halloween. Not the roller coaster ride of some stories but you won’t be able to leave your seat till it’s over. Only negative, which is pretty much the same for all her stories in this collection, is the ending which left me scratching my head. These sour notes, however, don’t seem to adversely affect the harmony of storytelling leading up to them.
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"With Good Intentions" by A. Bertram Chandler. Young lieutenant Grimes is given command of a shore party on a primitive planet. He proceeds to interfere with the native species in a less than admirable way. A good story that comes to the correct conclusion to my way of thinking.
This was in the Grimes collection The Hard Way Up, which I happened to read in October. It wasn't my favourite in the collection, but they were all enjoyable.
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I read that and it reminded me I have all the Grimes stories so I started to continue with them. Then Analog '83 arrived and Grimes has been put on the back burner yet again.
BigBadBob141
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Just reread "The Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin, great story, it's set in the Thousand Worlds Universe as his Haviland Tuf stories, there was even a so so adaptation of this on TV, but I much prefer the written word.
BigBadBob141
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When it comes to adaptations, like a lot of things in life, am a bit of a fussy b****r!
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