Posts Tagged ‘Short Fiction Round Table’

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    Short Fiction Round Table – Minus, His Heart by Jedediah Berry
         Minus, His Heart by Jedediah Berry      Minus, His Heart is one of those odd stories that just doesn’t quite seem to make sense upon the first reading.  It has a hallucinatory quality that carries the reader along without ever quite grounding itself.  At its heart, the story is a quest story.  A boy must help a man...
    by dragonwomant at February 17th, 2009 at 02:02 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table – Mario’s Three Lives by Matt Bell
         Mario’s Three Lives by Matt Bell      Mario’s Three Lives is a short short story. Maybe a bit over a thousand words, almost flash fiction. I have to admit I generally don’t like stories that short. The author only has time to get his point across but that is about it. Maybe it is good practice for a writer...
    by Rob at February 1st, 2009 at 01:02 pm
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    Short Fiction Round Table: Chainsaw on Hand by Deborah Coates
         Chainsaw on Hand by Deborah Coates      I am not familiar with the work of Deborah Coates. Fortunately the editors have provided us with a little bit of information on the author. It states among other things Ms. Coates lives in Iowa with two dogs and no cats. I’d say this story could not have been off to a worse start,...
    by Rob at January 31st, 2009 at 02:01 pm
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Ruby Incomparable by Kage Baker
         The Ruby Incomparable by Kage Baker      Kage Baker’s contribution to Best American Fantasy 2008 takes the form as an homage to the classic fairy tale in a story that, in a mildly humorous and slightly didactic tone, recounts the adventures of a willful and inquisitive young woman while simultaneously playing around with...
    by Trinuviel at January 25th, 2009 at 01:01 pm
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford
         The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford This review was due a couple of weeks ago but the end of year article and the holidays kept pushing it back. I only mention this because in waiting so long to write the damn thing Brian Evenson, in the end of year article, expressed in a single line about Jeff Vandermeer’s The Situation what I had been thinking...
    by Brian at January 2nd, 2009 at 04:01 pm
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    Short Fiction Round Table: In the Middle of the Woods by Christian Moody
         In the Middle of the Woods by Christian Moody In the Middle of the Woods is about a family of three: a put upon mother, a tinkering father who makes mechanical creatures out of household items and their son. We stand over the shoulder of the son, not understanding what his father does or why, as we share in the winter of their discontent. They...
    by Brian at December 22nd, 2008 at 03:12 pm
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Revisionist by Miranda Mellis
         The Revisionist by Miranda Mellis The Revisionist by Miranda Mellis is an extract of a novella length work of the same name that appeared in 2007 with Calamari Press. It took me a while to figure out what to say about this story. It appealed to me a lot. It is not a story you move on from quickly after reading it. In my experience these are usually...
    by Rob at December 16th, 2008 at 06:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Seven Deadly Hotels by Bruce Holland Rogers
         The Seven Deadly Hotels by Bruce Holland Rogers The Seven Deadly Hotels by Bruce Holland Rogers is a different story altogether. Reading it I couldn’t escape the suspicion the author must have had one hell of a bad trip to Europe once. The title an obvious play on the seven deadly sins this story has seven repetitions. In each of them an...
    by Rob at December 11th, 2008 at 03:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: How the World Became Quiet by Rachel Swirsky
    How the World Became Quiet by Rahcel Swirsky How the World Became Quiet is a history of how humans managed to wipe themselves out, or at least the story of how humans finally apocalypsed themselves to death. Interestingly enough, according to the author, it took eight apocalypses to finally do the job. It’s told from a very unique perspective, even though it certainly...
    by dragonwomant at December 10th, 2008 at 05:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: Bufo Rex by Erik Amundsen
    Bufo Rex by Erik Amundsen To my shame I must admit I have read work of precisely one author in this anthology, and even that exposure is limited to one story only. So rather than going though the whole lot and see what appealed to me most I decided to trust the VanderMeers’ good taste and pick the top two stories. To my surprise they had one striking feature in...
    by Rob at December 9th, 2008 at 04:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Naming of the Islands by David Hollander
         The Naming of the Islands by David Hollander The Naming of the Islands chronicles the journey of a ship of convicts who have been sent out to sea in lieu of serving prison time. The story is written in the form of a ship’s log. The crew aboard the ship have found themselves in a strange chain of islands, which they name according to what...
    by dragonwomant at December 8th, 2008 at 07:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French by Peter S. Beagle
         The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French by Peter S. Beagle Peter S. Beagle is a name that is widely recognized by fans of fantasy fiction.  He has a tendency to write pieces that are powerful and carry great impact but still carry a tone that can best be characterized as gentle.  His short fiction collections can be difficult to find,...
    by dragonwomant at December 7th, 2008 at 02:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: ‘Story With Advice II: Back from the Dead’ by Rick Moody & ‘Light’ by Kelly Link
         Story With Advice II: Back from the Dead by Rick Moody What if a dead columnist could keep writing his column?  Neat concept.  I enjoyed Story With Advice II: Back from the Dead by Rick Moody. The column from the other side took the form of a “dear Abby”–with questions from the living worried about what they might find when...
    by Maria at December 5th, 2008 at 10:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table: Memoir of a Deer Woman by M. Rickert
    The opening lines immediately alert you that something is very wrong, Her husband comes home, stamps the snow from his shoes, kisses her, and asks how her day was. “Our time together is short,” she says. The married couple remains nameless, but the wife has been diagnosed as “Stage three” and her transformation into a deer acts as a metaphor for her struggle with...
    by Trinalor at December 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
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    Short Fiction Round Table – The Introduction: Best American Fantasy 2008
    This is the start of a new mini-feature at BookSpot Central, the Short Fiction Round Table, where members of the BSC will combine forces and focus on a collection or anthology. The purpose of this feature is to be able to cover more short fiction and this provides an interactive and easy way to get as many people involved as I divvy up one, tow, or three stories to various...
    by Jay Tomio at December 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 am