A Week of Stories

After a week of a Story A Day, I've had some ups and downs. So, here's my week in review

Barnes, John, The Little White Nerves Went Last (Analog, Mar 2006)

What I liked about this was the realistic flashback to a characters childhood. The context before the flashback was kind of confusing, but the flashback cleared up a few things, and the flashback really needed the surrounding story. It's hard to tell a story with a five year old protagonist, but this one worked.

Catesby, Robin, The Happy Jumping Woman (Polyphony 5)

My life is so different than the protagonists (she's a young woman in a sweat shop (okay, I worked in a tech suppot sweat shop)) that I had a little difficulty getting to know her, but I believed her.

Cheyney, Sutton, Battlefield (Thunder Child, Jan 2006)

This 840 piece almost didn't coun't. I went along with it fine until I spotted typos. It reminded me of a piece that I wrote last summer.

Frederick, Carl, The Skeekit-Woogle Test (Analog, Mar 2006)

My pick of the wek, if that really meant anything, and even though I had a little trouble with the ending, I loved the story so much I have to remember to participate in Anlab.

Lanham, Carole, The Reading Lessons (Son and Foe 1.1)

What impressed me was the amount of the world I was able to build in my mind wihtout being told. My image of this story taking place in the early 20th century American South is probably way off base, but it worked. There was enough tension to keep me going. Even though most of the story is flashback, it's a deathbed flashback, so any close call could be the thing that sends the protagonist to the opening scene.

Lovett, Richard A, Dinosaur Blood (Analog Jan/Feb 2006)

This is why I read Analog. Good setup. I can hear the critique group complaining that opening a story with so much preview of the story is deadly, but I suppose that when you have name recognition at a market, you can afford to have a "bad beginning." Actually, I loved the opening. It had a cynical projection of the future that I appreciated.

Melton, Henry, Wildlife (Analog Mar 2006)

I wasn't impressed on first reading, but if I sit down and think about it, it had a pretty cool message. The alien life forms we may expect to meet are more frighteningly familiar than we'd suspect. Perhaps the story was too subtle for me. Perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read that story at that time.

There it is. Other folks talk about reading 50 novels a year, which is doable if I allow myself to count my old friends, novels that I have read already. I'm sticking with the short stories. If Jay Lake is right, I'll read plenty of really short novels by the end of the year.