Strange Horizons Reader CommentsJanuary to March, 2001
About the editorial on sports, check out Greg Egan's story "Border Guards" for a description of quantum football, a truly alien sport that occurs in the story's background.
Wan Kong Yew <wan_kong_yew@yahoo.com> Just two quick notes from us to you: 1. We've just added a search function to our archives -- please stop by and try it out! Let us know how it works for you! Is it helpful? Any suggestions for improvements? 2. We'd also like to encourage y'all to use this area to chat amongst yourselves, as well as to give feedback to us. We're going to be renaming this section to try to indicate that a little more clearly; please do feel free to talk at your pleasure, about the magazine, about spec fic, etc. This space is for you, as well as for us. :-)
Mary Anne Mohanraj <editor@strangehorizons.com> Joe Murphy's Calcium Efflux is innovative, darkly humorous, and extrememly intelligent. His characters are pure quirk but very credible. He's a mature and stimulating talent, one I'd like to read more of soon. E. August
Elizabeth August <firstaugustprincess@hotmail.com> I enjoy the site hugely, of course. "Underground" is wonderful. Ms. Guzman has painted a wonderful, sort of mid-apocalypse view of the city, and caught its old essence with details but then twisted it deftly into a much darker, scarier place. The idea of California secession is a great one, with light potential but handled seriously, and well for being a California in-joke. Craft and Bird are beautifully drawn, in spare unromantic language which allows all of the emotion to ring very honestly through. A great piece. I'll keep looking for her stuff. Thanks!
Kate Bachus <maenad1138@yahoo.com> Hey gang, Smashing site - easy and fast to download, great navigation and content. A big thank-you for the quality of the stories, too. I just read The Fallen and the Muse of the Street by Tim Pratt and it gave me quite a laugh. Unexpected characterization and refreshingly original ending! I just love understatement. Cheers,
Aleta <swiftkick@powerup.com.au> Ahhh...."Icarus" really spoke to my heart. It gloriuosly describes my own attempts at flying. Thank you Wendy.
Elaine <wicsham@ckhnet.com> I am a sixty-seven year poet and your poem touched me. It brought back that feeling of eating food on a not quite clean counter in a diner and swivelling off the stool, the taste of could-be-better coffee in your mouth and all the stars and stripes waving infinite possibilities. It was a walk down memory lane here on the edge of this blood soaked desert I now call home. Thanks.
norma harari <normah@netvision.net.il> Just re-read the review of "O Brother Where Art Thou" after finally getting a chance to see the film. Loved the film, and really appreciated the review (thanks for not giving away the wonderful, magical ending!). The comment about magic realism was excellent. That's how movies _should_ be. Maybe more films like this can be made, and fewer sequels to bad franchise/action/guns-and-bombs movies. And if it brings back an interest in old-time music, I'd no longer be "a man of constant sorrow," to quote Ulysses and the Soggybottom Boys.
Michael Jasper <mjasper@gateway.net> A very readable article by D.K. Latta re "The Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War" - it's good to see this epic resurfacing after all those years. Ah, the memories.
Derek Paterson <DerekPaterson@CompuServe.com> I am very interested in poetry and have read and wrote my own from time to time. But never have I heard such an awesome poem in my life. It was so real. So true. It felt like I was there. Or have been there before. Because, it hit me like day shaw voo. I just wanted to say thank you for inviting me in.....
Tammy <loving_kind_goddess@yahoo.com> I'm new to the site and had the pleasure to read Spontaneous Generation. I enjoyed the writing and the story a great deal and look forward to other works. Thanks.
David Perry <heinnidan1@aol.com> Interesting piece about sports. My favorite scene in a novel involves the kite-flyers in Maureen McHugh's _China Mountain Zhang_. Bets are placed on the flyers, who exhibit beauty and grace in the face of debilitating danger. Flyers are a sort of celebrity, just like athletes today. And the image of humans in kites is just way cool.
Michael Jasper <mjasper@gateway.net> "Last Call" reads not like a story about jazz, but as jazz. DeNiro, you got Louis' light and Bird's rage all in one piece/peace. I hate you and love you for it. Thanks for the superb story.
Barth Anderson <bander5731@aol.com> "Plastic That Comes Alive" is top-notch general-audience scientific writing - accurate, detailed, and fascinating. It's great to see Strange Horizons publishing stuff like that. Best of all, it gave references for further reading (something I would have really liked from last week's "Nonverbal Communication").
Amy Swift "The Fen-Queen's Bride" is a marvelous story! Thank you for giving us something so rich and lovely to read (and for giving the outspoken bitches among us a heroine we can truly appreciate!)
Teresa Roberts "Last Call in Temperance" by Alan DeNiro is stunning. Nebula worthy, certainly. I, for one, intend to nominate it.
Lyda Morehouse <l_morehouse@hotmail.com> Thanks for Kira Berman's article on museums. I am a firm believer in celebrating our country's places of wonder. The author's ideas of bringing the "magic" back is a good one, and her cause is much appreciated.
Sam Duwe <sammydu1@aol.com> A Winter's Tale was wonderful, sweet and melancholy, and fun all at once. Quiet. Peaceful. I could see the snow, taste it on my tongue. Wow!
Lady Laura Jayne Hawke <LadyHawke_30@yahoo.com> Thanks for "Last Call". What a melancholy masterpiece. The language and story pays homage to jazz itself.
Chris Barzak <Czakbar@hotmail.com> I just finished "The Fen-Queen's Bride" and think it is a mighty fine piece of writing. I enjoyed the imagery of the story, along with the interesting twist- breaking away from "traditional" fairy tale type.
Pauli McGwin <timpauli@airdial.net> Nora Mulligan's "A Winter's Tale" was a joy and delight to read this morning. Today I awoke to sunshine for the first time in--I don't know how long. In the midst of my "I'm so sick of winter" blahs, this story shifted my perspective and made me appreciate the finer things once again.
Pauli McGwin <timpauli@airdial.net> I love Nora Mulligan's story. As perfect as... a snowflake!
bibi rose <byblis@aol.com> What a lovely story Ms Mulligan has written -- the imagery is spectacular and moving. Thank you!
Polo <polo92198@yahoo.com> Thanks for "A Winter's Tale" by Nora Mulligan. It struck a chord in me, having felt as rushed as her two characters, wishing for a break from the daily grind (just this morning my wife and I were hoping for an ice storm so work would be canceled! Unfortunately, ice turns to rain too easily here in NC). And the description of the snow falling and the hush it makes made me ALMOST want to go back to the long cold winters of the midwest...
Michael Jasper <mjasper@gateway.net> (We recently received the following note. The author wishes to remain anonymous.--DH.) ========= David, I agree fully with your first listing, _Dune_. It was the first book I read growing up that truly smacked me in the face with "wow"s and "that's the coolest idea I've ever seen"s. To this day I reread it over and over. I don't generally read books more than twice. His other dune books were just not nearly as powerful nor as well written. I still find it hard to believe that publisher after publisher turned him down saying that it wouldn't ever sell a copy. Whoever said that marketing agencies know what people really want? The only other book on your list that I've ever read was _The Lathe of Heaven._ It wasn't easy to find. It moved me and had me captured the whole time, but it wasn't one of her best pieces in my opinion. Maybe folklore isn't your strong suit, but her use of it in _The Left Hand of Darkness_ made the difference between a neat story and one that followed through with the neat ideas and give them power. It's one thing to write about encountering androgynous people, it's another to explore how that affects both the individuals and the society, from history forward. She interwove the folklore in a timely fashion to give significance to what the characters faced internally and externally. It really makes people think about what we take for granted and who we are. The search for self-identity and the search for a place in society are integral to that book. Yes, _Lathe_ covers her ideas in a much more succinct manner than most of her literature, but it didn't have the continuity. It lacks a finesse in its abrupt nature. I also felt like she had meant to say something else and never found it. I'd like to add a book (series?) to your list, even though it might not be your style. Then again, maybe you were never introduced to it. It's called _Cyteen_ by C.J. Cherryh. She explores everything from how humans feel about cloning (written long before Molly the sheep existed) to how the basic human psyche works and more. It's highly psychological (which many people don't like), and made me ask about what lies in our future. Politics and how cloning affects politics is as much at issue as war and acceptance. I think hers was probably the first in-depth look at how cloning might affect us from many people's different perspectives. As a sidebar...if you like language and how it affects our thinking and acting you might enjoy Cherryh's latest books. The titles I remember right now are _Invader_ and _Inheritor,_ but I can't remember if either of them is the first book. (The first is the most powerful and gives a much better insight that the later ones. They get more into politics and outmanuevering each other.) I hope I didn't ramble.
Anonymous I thoroughly enjoyed Kira Berman's article about museum displays. I have seen a lot of changes in museums in the past 4 decades, and I am excited about the new trend (if it really materializes) to include cultural and historical information with natural-history exhibits. As both a scientist and poet, I have often wished that the two disciplines could be brought together more often.
David Kopaska-Merkel <dragontea@earthlink.net> Kudos for Eileen's "Alternate Waldrops!" The bit about the mediaWaldrop hanging with Joel Coen got me thinking about the movie version of "A Dozen Tough Jobs," with Brian Dennehy as Creon, and John Goodman in the title role. That was a great movie, and the real inspiration for "O Brother, Where Art Thou."
Bill Humphries <bill@whump.com> We can make arrangements and allowances for people whose ISPs won't let them paste a complete story into an email; if you find yourself in that position, drop a note to the appropriate editors (for example, fiction@strangehorizons.com goes to the fiction editors) and inquire about options.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> Just wanted to say thanks for the special Waldrop issue. He's grossly under-recognized, which is a mystery to me. To quote Candas Jane Dorsey's recent NYRSF piece, he writes "remarkably _American_ short fiction." Actually, Dorsey's entire article ("A Truly American Dreamer," The New York Review of Science Fiction, November 2000, Number 147) makes excellent supplemental reading to the essays Strange Horizons has reprinted.
Christopher Rowe <cvrowe@kih.net> I would very much like to send two of my short stories to Strange Horizons. The problem is that you want them pasted in the body of an email. Since AOL does not allow most than 32k characters that becomes impossible. It's even more impossible since you will not accept attachments. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
richard e gill <dickegill@aol.com> My top five SF books must include "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank, The Amber series by Roger Zelazney, and I'm currently leaning towards the "Wheel of Time" books by Robert Jordan. All of these meet the requirements, and Alas Babylon was the first real WWIII novel that I am aware of.
Jim Foster <jrfoster@tallynet.com> Michael Jasper's "Crossing the Camp" is a powerful statement of the human spirit. More stories of this caliber would be welcome.
Ralan Conley <writer@ralan.com> Really enjoyed Crossing the Camp. Being new to science fiction, I was surprised at the need I felt to read the next line and see what happens. Good work!
Carolyn <ckdj517@aol.com> Stuart - Thanks for the comments. I hadn't heard of Manning before - I'll keep an eye out for it. There were a number of PKDick novels I considered including on my list; _High Castle_ and _The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch_ were the closest runners-up. _Driftglass_ is indeed outstanding, but 'best short story collections' would be a whole 'nother list. DH
David Horwich <articles@strangehorizons.com> David, re the "Top 5" SF novels of all time: Certainly concur with your inclusion of Dick, Delany and Herbert, though personally I'd plump for Dick's "Man in a High Castle" or "Ubik". My favourite Delany work is not a novel but his "Driftglass" short story collection, ironically. Reading it for the first time at the age of 17, its effect on my then-linear mind was profound. Le Guin's book I'd have to replace with Gibson's and Sterling's "The Difference Engine". For sheer craft, this novel's hard to beat; the evocation -- by Americans -- of my country's capital city two century turns ago is most impressive. Even more so is the wondrous alternativity then applied to it. My fifth book would be "The Man Who Awoke", by Laurence Manning. First published in the 1930s (before the author's premature demise), this tale of time travel via suspended animation exudes the very essence of sci-fi magic.
Stuart Cormie <stuart.cormie@orange.net> :-) M
Mary Anne Mohanraj <editor@strangehorizons.com> Hey, y'all :) I just wanted to put in a comment on the Guy Gavriel Kay multi-book extravaganza review, which I enjoyed a lot. (And found mostly right on target, particularly with regards to female characterizations -- I don't usually get attached to female characters in fantasty books, and I *sure* don't in Kay.) Chris, you really, really need to read "Al-Rassan". It's his best. It will also make you want to go and get a new degree, in medieval Spanish history. About the Fionavar Tapestry -- I read them when I was in late high school, I guess, so older than Mary Anne and younger than Chris. I have to admit to being blown away. Though I recognize the problems with characterization (Loren, Arthur, every single one of the women) and sticking-too-much-in, I think on sheer writing skills Kay absolutely vaults to the top of the class. And the three major death scenes (even if Paul comes back) - for Paul, Kevin, and Diarmuid - blew me away. The Paul-on-the-tree scenes have all of Kay's talent encapsulated. He is really, really good at compression of tragedy (actually, just at compression -- he has this ability to spend three paragraphs on a minor character and make you *know* him.) It's 4:30 in the morning. Do I sound like it? Yes I do. Catherine
Catherine Osborne <cathrine@sccs.swarthmore.edu> I rather like the new poem, "Passing Through." The depth of the ideas conveyed makes it almost like a short story, condensed down to a few lines.
R Michael Harman <rmharman@earthling.net> Good picks, David -- I can't dispute some of them, because I haven't read the Aldiss or the Delany yet. Lists like this are good incentive to try new authors. An author you didn't mention who is definitely in my top five is Vernor Vinge. A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky are both extremely good reads and whichever I've read most recently is generally in my top five list.
Will Quale I very much enjoyed the article "Habitrails and Asteroids: Topology from the Inside" by Bryan Clair. I especially liked the sentence, "This contrast is crucial, so let's illustrate it with rodents." The next time someone tells me that something is "crucial," I will ask, "Can we illustrate that--with rodents?"
Larry Hosken Thanks for the interview with Pamela Dean, her book TamLin has always been one of my favourites.. I have at least 2 copies, one signed by Ms. Dean. I have enjoyed most of the stories you've published especially the War of the Lights and The Fallen and the Muse of the Street.
Lee Taylor <leestaylor@zdnetonebox.com> Habitrails and Asteroids: Topology from the Inside By Bryan Clair. An excellent article! I am pleased to see you having such a thought provoking article gracing your pages Mary Anne! Well done!
captnemo Cecelia Tan's story made me cry.. maybe with a little sadness, maybe with a little joy.
Carson Zullinger <carsonz@dca.net> Ward Kelly's poem, "If the Dead Must Speak," was beautifully written. It kept just the right amount of tension going so that you weren't thinking about the ending. Nicely done.
Kurt Newton <knewton01@snet.net> Brevity is the soul of fiction. Enough said. Bravo, Jed!
Michael Kelly <mikelly@axxent.ca> October to December, 2001, Comments July to September, 2001, Comments April to June, 2001, Comments September to December, 2000, Comments
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