SH Comments
Reged: Feb 16 2004
Posts: 1056
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This thread is for comments about Iron Ankles, by David J. Schwartz.
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Lodestone
New user
Reged: Jul 21 2004
Posts: 13
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That rare thing - an uplifting story! There’s a tendency, especially among we in the fantasy and sci-fi community, to think that everything has to be desperately dark, don’t you think? We crave the most perverse of emotions, and ramble on like there’s no hope for anyone.
At first I feared that this story was heading that way: a neatly comic beginning, aye, very nice, but then it started to ramble on somewhat in recounting Wilma’s depressing downward spiral. I didn’t know where the story was going - the author, of course, did. On reaching the end we realise that you have to have the sadness before the uplift can take place (it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall the major lift!). Only when we realise the cause of Wilma’s sadness does the writers use of depression (which might otherwise seem a cliché) appear justified.
It’s nice to have a story feel liberating.
In other news: it’s an odd prose style he uses, don’t you think? It’s beautifully simple and smooth to read (Orwell would approve), but there’s a quirkiness to it that I can’t seem to put my finger on.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I don't think I've read anything in a while that so successfully and utterly compelled me to keep reading. Extremely well-written.
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Dawn B
Regular reader
Reged: Mar 31 2004
Posts: 32
Loc: Bay Area, California
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I really enjoyed this story, but felt that the end came too suddenly and too quickly and too easily. But it was a well told story that captured my attention throughout.
Dawn
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Lodestone
New user
Reged: Jul 21 2004
Posts: 13
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Hmm, now that the rose-tinted afterglow has come off, I fear you may be right about the speed of the ending.
Isn't it astonishing how many people read this threads, and how few comment? Are you all really that interested in poor wee us?
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Very impressive story! I'd vote for this as one of the best stories I've read all year. It is simply told, (and delightfully quirky, yes!) but it very effectively left me asking myself what fears am I wearing iron anklets to protect myself from facing, and how else do I stop myself from braving the world and living. Very few stories can affect me personally like that. So I thought the ending was just right!
S
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Patrick Samphire
Unregistered
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I've but up a review of this story here: http://www.journalscape.com/sfreviews/2004-08-23-17:01
Like the rest of you, I liked this story a lot. Another hit from Strange Horizons, I'd say.
Patrick
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