August 26th, 2007 admin
The Bird Shaman’s Girl was the longest piece in this issue. Like The Diamond Shadow, it is helped greatly by the sense of it being a single facet of a universe. In this story, the universe which involves a race of aliens known as the Hefn invading Earth.
The story centers on Pam Pruitt, a human Liason Officer for Child Oversight working for the Hefn, and Lexi, a young child actress who was pulled out of an abusive Ephremite family and made one of Pam’s cases. The Ephremite Church sounds vaguely like a mix between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Catholic Church, but I say that without being an expert on any of the aforementioned groups.
Pam and Lexi developed a strong bond; when Lexi turns up missing, Pam jumps into action, desperately trying to track down the missing girl. Due to some deus ex machina, she quickly determines who is holding her and where.
The story would make an unsatisfying mystery if it were presented as such. Instead, the focus of the story are the ‘deus ex machina’ moments, and the meaning behind them. The story really pulls itself toward this end through the inclusion of Humphrey, Pam’s Hefn boss. His idiosyncratic behavior adds some humor to the story, but the reverence (or fear) the other characters seem to show to him and his race does much to imply the power his people wield.
Overall, I enjoyed this piece quite a bit, my only complaint being that I wish it were longer. On the plus side, the author blurb at the start of the story mentioned that Ms. Moffett is working on a new Hefn novel of which “this story forms a part.” I will be on the lookout for it.
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Posted in Fiction, November2007, October2007, Review | No Comments »
August 26th, 2007 admin
The Recreation Room, by Albert E. Cowdrey was an interesting piece that reads like a first hand account of a survivor of hurricane Katrina. The fantasy elements are minimal; they could almost be taken as coincidence. The piece reads like a character study of Jim Guest, the protagonist.
I have not read any fictional accounts of hurricane Katrina; in that respect, this was a very interesting story. The story has a very ‘true’ feel to it; that might not count for much coming from someone only familiar with the incident through the news, but it is meant very much as a compliment.
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August 23rd, 2007 admin
This piece brought a smile to my face. It was an interesting read; less a story than a ‘what-if’ scenario. The scenario is ‘What if, in an instant, everyone on Earth became enlightened?’ Enlightened is a loaded word, but I believe it to be the best one. Everyone is suddenly unselfish, loving of self and neighbor, and far more understanding.
The narrative is told through the perspective of Greg Stoll, a senior A/V supervisor for NASA. We read about the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters and politics in the organization and the state.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it is another piece that I have problems calling a ’story;’ there really isn’t much conflict. While reading, I had assumed that only some people would be enlightened, or there would be aliens, or at the least social strife coming from the sudden change, but none of these really occurred. This really shouldn’t be taken as a negative, I just thought it was odd.
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Posted in Fiction, November2007, October2007, Review | No Comments »
August 23rd, 2007 admin
Just saw this link on BoingBoing. Galaxiki is a collaborative fictional galaxy. A randomly generated galaxy to serve as a canvas for story creation? How cool is that? I haven’t yet created an account, but I have done a little exploring, and I like what I see. The site gives lots of crunchy data on each solar system and planet.
You can buy a system for a donation of at least $6, but it is free to explore and work with the community solar systems.
When I was younger, (about 8 years ago, I believe) I was a big fan of Last Unicorn Games’ Star Trek RPG. I don’t believe I ever played a campaign longer than a few games, but I had a wonderful time crafting settings and scenarios. I probably still have some of my solar systems sitting around. I might have to dig ‘em out and see if I can find any analogs to these randomly generated systems.
Posted in Gaming, Review, Wierdness | No Comments »
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