If you’ve been paying attention to the goals on the right sidebar, you may have noticed I’ve reached my first – I’ve read (mostly listened to) 101 short stories. What I’m particularly proud of, in this case, is that I’ve read 101 short stories in 101 days, which was something of a sub-goal that I really hoped to reach as part of this one. It feels good to have listened to and rated all these stories, and I can definitely say I’ve enjoyed getting back into science fiction short stories.
Of the ones that I’ve listened to or read this year, the next couple of posts will be short reviews and recommendations (in no particular order). I’ve provided links to the ones at Escape Artists, so hopefully, if one sounds interesting, you can listen to it for yourself.
Next Time, Scales – John Moran (Escape Pod 347)
Next Time, Scales is just the right kind of romance for me, and I’ve only really come across it a couple of times (The Dark Abyss by Bruce Coville is probably my favorite). The two main characters have a tight, lasting, partnership a telepathic bond (always handy), and, in this story, a chance to walk in each other’s shoes (quite literally). Even though (but not in spite of!) one of them is human and the other an alien, this formula works and John Moran really nails the interplay between the two characters.
I suspect some people might not like the romance bit quite as much, but this story has a great little mystery that I think is quite fun in its own right. I’d recommend it to people who are interested in the alien + cop trope with body swapping and want to see it done well.
The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate – Ted Chiang (The Year’s Best Science Fiction 25th anniversary edition)
I enjoy a lot of Ted Chiang’s work, and both times I’ve read his works concerning time travel (this one and The Story Of Your Life), I have really enjoyed them. The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate I liked because it is three separate stories framed by a fourth. Each story illustrates a different consequence of inverted causation, and, in doing so, outlines something of a philosophy of time travel that is really compelling.
I recommend this story to anyone who is looking for true causation in their time travel. I tend to find myself needing to seek this particular flavor of time travel more than others because it seems so rare, and Ted Chiang has pulled it off extremely well more than once in this one story.
A Querulous Flute of Bone – Cat Rambo (Escape Pod 371)
While a bit on the longer side, I still did really like A Querulous Flute of Bone. The combination of alien philosophy, artifact hunting, and the titular flute all made this story something special. In it, the protagonist is out on a search for an artifact that evokes appreciation – not just any appreciation, but appreciation that transcends background and circumstances, that raw emotion of appreciation. Instead, he finds himself falling in love with a young woman and he decides to give up his quest to settle down… …But then his rival shows up, and complicates matters. In all this, Cat Rambo really conveys the emotive content of each phase of the story, especially with the titular flute, which definitely evoked emotion every time it was brought out during the story.
I liked this one a lot, and I would recommend it to anyone who needs to feel in a story rather than simply think. I found it comforting because it asks the reader to also analyze those emotions and, well, wonder about them.
Sweet Little Memory – Antony Mann (Pseudopod 217)
The faire over at Pseudopod is definitely different than Escape Pod, and when I think of the reading of Sweet Little Memory, I’m reminded that it is quite a bit darker (thanks to the reader, Ben Phillips). Even so, I liked this one because it reminded me of my favorite ghost-hunter stories and the best episodes of Supernatural or Millennium. Here, the supernatural entity is not assaulting the physical realm, so much as stunting the emotional growth of the people around it. And the protagonist who tries to abjure it, isn’t exactly appreciated.
This one resonated with me as a horror story because it demonstrates that ghost hunting is not necessarily easy, especially emotionally. I like that aspect of the genre, and I often times have to actively seek it out to find it.
The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees – E. Lily Yu (Escape Pod 343)
Unlike a lot of people, I like wasps, so The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees caught my eye right off the bat. I liked it’s particular take on wasps as able to create very delicate maps in their paper nests and strategize how they might plan their spread across the vast frontier. E. Lily Yu’s metaphor for the integration of a vassal state was also extremely clever and made for a great read.
If you’re not a fan of wasps or bees, I would recommend skipping this one, as it may creep you out. On the other hand, I would recommend this one to almost anyone else as just a good all-around story.