Strange Horizons ForumJanuary to March, 2002
Very nice, well written review of Aegypt, Jed. I'll pass it along to John. Best, Bob Kruger ElectricStory.com
Bob Kruger <rpk@electricstory.com> Two Quarter King, by daniel bishop, is very good. having been a fan of Elvis all my life, i can feel the story, and it would be something i can relate to. keep up the good work Dan. i like all your stories. have not read a bad one yet. pat.
pat sherman <psherman@orwell.net> Maureen, thanks for your enthusiasm! The anthology is still in the works, largely due to my tight schedule, but be assured that we'll announce it far and wide when it's ready.
Mary Anne Mohanraj <editor@strangehorizons.com> I just read Two Quarter King by Daniel Bishop, and I think it is one of his best pieces yet! Keep up the good work, and when is the anthology coming out? I know that I'd buy one!
Maureen Grun <silk_and_jasmine@yahoo.ca> Thanks for the congratulations and the praise, Terry! We're pretty pleased. (For those who haven't heard, Strange Horizons now officially qualifies as a pro fiction magazine by SFWA standards.) Alas, SFWA considers only fiction publications when determining eligibility for membership; see their FAQ for information on why they don't count nonfiction credits.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> Congrats on getting SFWA Pro status, Mary Anne, Jed, and your co-conspirators! Does this mean that my interview with Mark Ferrari would be a qualifying work? (I'm pretty ignorant of SFWA rules. I'm mainly just curious--I hadn't thought, before, whether it has to be fiction or not.) Anyway, this is rather like gilding the lily, IMO, since SH is such a pro-looking and high-quality SF magazine. Terry
Terry Hickman <three_outside@yahoo.com> Very nice site! Great!
Mike <support@theposters.net> Michael Belfiore's "Sea Change" is a wonderful story. The weirdness of the surreal plotline is nicely balanced with the poignance of the main character. If only we all had the courage to crawl out of our cave.
Harry LeBlanc <hleblanc@bitstream.net> I've just been reading some of Strange Horizons' recent poetry - all are very good, but the poem that really stood out for me was Carnaval Perpetuel by Sandra Kasturi. The narrative voice of the poem, and its subtle ironies, made this a wonderful poem. There's something about it which reminds me of Tennyson's Ulysses, one of my favourite poems.
Tim Jones <tim.jones@vuw.ac.nz> Really enjoyed J. G. Stinson's article on human reaction and adaption to alien cultures in the novels of C. J. Cherryh. The article provided a great refresher for those of us who already love her early work and a nice introduction for readers who haven't read these particular books.
Nancy Proctor <nproctor@mindspring.com> I just read A Constellation of Windows. Nice work! Not a hint of wasted space in those concise little paragraphs. I can particularly relate to Enoch in his desire to see what's going on in all those private spaces. Every time I walk by a lit window at night, with some small glimpse of living room or kitchen, I get that little compulsion to press my nose against the glass. In a world where most neighbors are strangers, I'm sure this is a common curiousity.
William Denhart <lunarloki@aol.com> I greatly enjoyed "Sea Change"; it's a touching piece of surrealism. I liked the quirky illustration, too.
Tim Pratt <timpratt@sff.net> Thanks muchly for the review of the Watts book, Starfish. I stumbled across that one when it first came out and can add my enthusastic recommendation (also for Maelstrom). I generally don't like hard sf, but these mange to be accessible as well as scientific. Good books.
Hannah Bowen <hbowen@knox.edu> I liked the weirdness of Michael Belfiore's "Sea Change." It had a nice Kafka feel to it, and I loved how it ended. Nicely done! And the illo was perfect.
Michael Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> Great story!
Raymond Allen <Ray@RayandAnja.com> I've just read "Transubstantiation" and "Little Gods" I loved them both. Especially "Trans." That was quite a twist on the healing blood of Christ. On Marcus, the gift became a punishment. "Little Gods" was wonderful, especially for those of us who have lost a loved one so suddenly. It was comforting in its own way.
Lori D. Brooks <rebajean@prodigy.net> As a D&D GM, I really enjoyed the article on the physics of the planet and its moon. I also liked the article on the music of LOTR and HP, but I must say that I felt that the single note piece that was used as the theme of the ad campaign felt like a central theme to me, and I felt that it was haunting and aching, and just the right tone for HP. GMA
GuildMaster Arrataz The last couple of times I stopped in, I was trying to catch up on the fiction. It was definitely an error to ignore the articles. "The Polynesian Voyagers" is an interesting article on a topic I needed to know more about for a story of my own. I think I have a new list of books to look up at the library. And as an occasional artist, I also found the interview with Mark Ferrari fascinating - I do wish he'd told us a bit more about how he does get that effect with pencils, though!
Lenora Rose <lenorarose@shaw.ca> Charles' story is wonderfully witty and creative. Its a fascinating concept with a fitting denouement (sp?). Toni
Toni Runyon Little Gods was a delightful, lovely story. thank you.
Teresa Thorne Little Gods: Tim Pratt What a lovely story. It made me cry for happy. (old quote from some movie). thank you
Aline <alinet2@aol.com> I really loved Pratt's Muse Trap. It captures the feeling when your muse just isn't there. It's a wonderful poem for writers.
HC Wright <harmony@carolina.rr.com> I enjoyed Ellen Klages' story Travel Agency, particularly because the fourth form at St. Clare's was where I wanted to be for much of my childhood, but also because of the evocative description of the attic, the child's reaction to it and the subtle tension between the two women. Thanks!
Vandana Singh You would think it had received enough praise, but I adored "Little Gods" - and Muse Trap, as well.
Lenora Rose <lenorarose@shaw.ca> Interesting, the travel story struck me as a story that could use a bit more to it, and left me with only an unpleasant question mark at the end, and a bit of a groan. I get it, of course, but it's too "cute" as is, sort of Reader's Digest material.
Janice Berrington As for my favorite line in the nifty story, "Travel Agency," I liked the following: "Magic rarely happens in a living room, or in a basement, unless it's scary magic, which isn't the kind you want to have surround you at night." So true! It's great to be reminded of what it's like to be a kid again. Sometimes it's too easy to forget. Great story.
Michael Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> Thanks so much for "Travel Agency" by Ellen Klages! I love this one because the character details are dead-on accurate, particularly about the librarian narrator ("I am neither blasé about the importance of my offer, nor alarmed at the hopping." Great line and a great observation.) Klages' base of honest realism sparks some fine magic here. (And I have to add to the gush of praise for Tim Pratt. Another very honest bit of writing.) Well done, SH!
Barth Anderson <bander5731@aol.com> Wow. What an exquisite little gem of a story. I am in awe.
Laurie Wanat <wanat@princeton.edu> I very much enjoyed Tim Pratt's Little Gods. The story was so poignant - I felt so sad that one who knew how to live and appreciate their life had to lose it. I loved the description of the goddess of joy and her retinue. Great visuals. The ending brought tears to my eyes.
Linda Shaw <liblady2002@yahoo.com> "Little Gods" is an absolutely gorgeous, enchanting story.
Susannah Indigo Tim Pratt's story "Little Gods" is lyrical, powerful, and fragrant with imagery like a sensory bouquet -- worthy indeed to be the work of a poet. Congratulations on a true literary achievement, Tim! :-) Vera
Vera Nazarian <vera.nazarian@sff.net> There are a number of great images in Tim Pratt's "Little Gods," like the cheap mask of the boy with the gun in the grocery store, or the final image of the gods on the cliff, but I'd say my favorite image in this effective story about grief and love and redemption would have to be the self-proclaimed King of Grief slithering up the chimney in defeat. For some reason, I really liked that... Great story. Thanks!
Michael Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> I thought that Tim Pratt's "Little Gods" was wonderful. It was meaningful and touching, and beautifully written. Thanks to Tim for writing it and to Strange Horizons for publishing it.
Erin Donahoe <erin@sff.net> Just had to say how much I loved Tim Pratt's "Little Gods". Many thanks to the gods of short fiction writers!
Deb Alvers <debalvers@hotmail.com> I just wanted to thank the fiction editors for publishing "Little Gods" by Tim Pratt. The story is beautiful; sad and gentle, yet uplifting and moving. I am impressed with the sensitivity the author uses in dealing with such a strong emotion. The ending gives me good shivers every time I read it.
Heather Shaw <heathering@yahoo.com> Terry Hickman's interview with Mark Ferrari was fascinating, but the highlight was Mark's fantastic art. I realize he's probably heard this a hundred times before but, it is incredible what he is able to accomplish with Prismacolor pencil crayons. His work is both magical and fantastical. I love it. -Cathy Buburuz
Cathy Buburuz <cathyartist@hotmail.com> See, there's your pitch to the publisher right there: "Baker's Dozen: The Only Complete Uncut Edition of Other Cities!" ;-) Seriously, they've been fun reading, and I look forward to the way each new city makes me re-evaluate what you did in the previous metropoli. Getting them slowly this way allows for a critical savoring that's unusual, and, once again, comparable to Swanwick's "Periodic Table," which I look forward to the same way. Thanks to SH for publishing these.
Charlie Finlay <ccfinlay@excite.com> Wow, thanks, Alan, Mary Anne, & Charlie! I think it's a great idea. While I'm dreaming anyway... maybe a calendar, with a story and accompanying artwork for each month? (There are twelve, after all) ;-> Any artists and/or chapbook/calendar publishers want to make me a proposal... I'm all ears ;-) Ben p.s. Charlie, there's at least one other one already written that Jed made me cut -- quite reasonably, as it wasn't really spec fic at all, and he already let me slip pretty far away from SH's speculative mandate with ones like Bellur and Ponge...
Benjamin Rosenbaum <ben@digitaladdiction.com> Alan, you and me both. I wonder if twelve cities are enough to justify a chapbook, though. Perhaps we should twist Ben's arm to make him write more...
Charlie Finlay <ccfinlay@excite.com> That's a great idea, Alan -- maybe someone should drop a line to Gavin at Small Beer Press and suggest it? It seems like it might be in their line... The rights remain with Ben, so it's up to him in the end.
Mary Anne Mohanraj <editor@strangehorizons.com> Two things that have struck me of late in Strange Horizons; first, Madeleine Rose Reardon Dimond's "Carol for Mixed Voices." One of the best signs that a holiday story works is if you read it right after post-holiday burnout--or in the middle of the July--and it still holds water. This novelette succeeds admirably on this account. Also, a quick shout-out to Benjamin Rosenbaum's Other Cities series. The more of these I read, the more I like, and I have a dream that maybe a small press will take a flyer on making a limited edition chapbook of all the cities when they are done, with weird illustrations peppered throughout. I'd pick up a copy in a heartbeat.
Alan DeNiro <alandeniro@aol.com> I think we're all done spiffying up the graphics for now -- hope y'all like 'em. :-) Big thanks to Zak Jarvis for all the work he did for us on them.
Mary Anne Mohanraj <editor@strangehorizons.com> For anyone who wants more of Nick's work, see his Web site. Two items of particular note: (1) He's currently on tour; he'll be reading and signing his new novella in Berkeley and San Francisco in early February. (2) Another story of his, "Impression: Sunrise," appeared earlier this month at Speculon.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> "Time of Day" is a great tale: gripping, breakneck-paced, and with a nice ending that's beautiful or deeply disturbing, depending on how you look at it. This is one of the best pieces of short fiction I've come across in the last year, and I expect to see the name Nick Mamatas again. Soon.
Corey Kellgren <Corey.Kellgren@bestbuy.com> I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed "Identity is a Construct" - I don't think I've enjoyed another story on the site as much in a long time. Funny and provoking. Good work, thanks for publishing it.
Martin McGrath <martinmcgrath@ntlworld.com> Oh yeah, and the graphics look very slick! So glad you fixed them up.
Michael Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> Nick Mamatas' "Time of Day" was quite the treat -- a story that kept me off-balance enough to keep reading, but not so off-the-wall to make me frustrated. His future is scary and already too close to reality (at least to me, and I only have ONE job!). This is one of the better stories I've read so far here. Great stuff!
Michael Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> I've been a fan of Daniel Goss's for some time, and I was happy to stumble onto "Other Moments" here. What a joy. A story written with a snappy style that, though brief, was complex enough to be both terrifying and joyful. Thanks.
Scott Anderson <scottanderson@nyc.rr.com> "Identity Is a Construct (and Other Sentences)" is a wonderful creation. Sharp, stark, complex and satisfying. I'll be looking for more of Douglas Lain's work.
Greg van Eekhout <greg@sff.net> MMMMMMM. "Oracle" by Kendall is quite an exquisite piece. I like my poetry short and poignant, picturesque, and turning words so expertly that I'm on my way to other dimensions, bending my thoughts.
Elizabeth Kirwin <feonathecloud@rcn.com> "Identity is A Construct (and other sentences)" is brilliant and funny and scary and deep. Thanks for publishing it.
Benjamin Rosenbaum <ben@digitaladdiction.com> "A Private Unbinding of Time" by James Allison is an unforgettable tale for me. I enjoyed the way it gradually but inexorably moved toward the conclusion I had increasingly been led to expect, but which was satisfying when it came. Good job, James.
Ray Dangel <radangel@eazy.net> 'The Fiddler' - Excellent piece. Drew me in and left me wanting more. Good rhythm and imagery that lingers - which somehow reminded me of an early Tom Waits song i can't quite remember.
Will Tobin Really enjoyed Daniel Goss' "Other Moments". I was pleasantly surprised! Good writing; he certainly has a future. I now plan to read some of the other "Strange Horizon" works. Looking forward to it!
Ron Barnes <mrbarnes1@cs.com> The Dyson article was good, but I kept finding myself wondering what Dyson had actually said. Some direct quotes would be nice next time.
Marissa Lingen <mris@marissalingen.com> Thanks, Jed, for mentioning Index of Online Fiction in your comment. Your comment has helped increase the traffic to the site. Best wishes and a Happy New Year to you, other SH staff and the readers.
Ahmed A. Khan <moula12@yahoo.com> Just finished reading Daniel Goss's wonderful OTHER MOMENTS. Loved it! Thanks, Strange Horizons, for publishing such interesting, well-writ fiction. And good job, Dan--you really outdid yourself with that one.
Roger Eichorn <kynslock@mediaone.net> October to December, 2001, Comments July to September, 2001, Comments
January to March, 2001, Comments
September to December, 2000, Comments
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