Ramblings on Writing
Reviews, Rants, and Observations on SF/F/H

I am a thirty-something speculative fiction writer. More importantly to this blog, I am a reader of science fiction, horror, and science fiction. Recently it came to my attention that there are very few places reviewing short stories in the genres that I love. I also had the epiphany that I had not been reading enough of these stories. So, an idea was born to address both of these issues.

So, starting in September 2012, this silly little blog of mine that has more or less been gathering dust will be dedicated to looking at and reviewing short form works published both in print magazines and in on-line formats.

Reviews will be posted at least once a month, hopefully more, and stories will be selected completely at my whim. However, if you have read something amazing, thought-provoking, or interesting, please feel free to drop me a recommendation.

Because a big part of the point of this exercise is to improve my own writing by looking at people doing it successfully, I will only be selecting stories to look at from professional or semi-professional markets.

Please note, however, because a big part of the point of this exercise is to improve my own writing by looking at people doing it successfully, I will only be selecting stories to look at from professional or semi-professional markets.

I intend to write honest, and hopefully interesting, reviews to let people know more about the wide variety of fantastic (both in subject and quality) stories out there. There will be no personal attacks on authors and no excoriating hatchet jobs. There is nothing to be learned from reviewing truly bad work and nothing to be gained by being mean. I will not do it and, should I be so lucky as to get readers and commentators, I would ask that they not do so either. Be respectful and everyone gets to have a more interesting conversation.

What I will do is to give my honest and reasoned reactions to stories and try to determine why or why not particular elements worked. I will try to acknowledge my personal biases and to become more open-minded about those things that are not in the realm of my personal preference.

Also, because this is my blog and I can, there may be occasional entries on my own writing process, things I find interesting, or whatever else I feel inclined to add. This may all crash and burn spectacularly, but it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun in the meantime.

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STORY REVIEW: "(To See the Other) Whole Against the Sky"

Clarkesworld Issue 74, November 2012
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/tobler_11_12/
"(To See the Other) Whole Against the Sky" by E. Catherine Tobler

I want to say two things before I even start this review. First, thank you to Robert Collyer for recommending "(To See the Other) Whole Against the Sky." Second, read this story. It's beautiful.

"(To See the Other) Whole Against the Sky" is a quiet story of exploration. The central idea is that loners are hired to watch cargo ship travelling immense distances. There are no space battles, no grand adventures, and no new planets or aliens introduced.

So, you might ask, what is it exploring? The answer is the human condition, mind, and heart. It follows one character's journey into deep space but more compelling is the internal monologue of the protagonist.

Every ship caretaker is assigned a partner on another ship heading in an opposite direction. They check each other's numbers and generally keep on another company. What Tobler does with this is a brilliant parallel because they two in the story develop a deeper relationship over time just as they are being pulled further and further apart. It's very sad, but also moving.

It is also complicated by a growing feeling of unreliability in the narrator such that by the end of the story I was unsure if there ever had been another person or if he was simply a figment of her deep longing to be able to connect to someone. Ironic given it is her loner nature that made her perfect for the job in the first place.

As a note, I don't believe we ever get names or genders for either party but to me the narrator was female. This is part of the effectiveness of the story. There is just enough character to make the narrator sympathetic but not enough that her details hinder the reader from putting themselves in her place. The fact is that the story taps into an inherent desire to not be alone that seems to exist in most if not every person. This is accomplished deftly through beautiful, lyrical prose and deft metaphor.

Which is not to say the story is flawless. There is a mention of aliens that to me felt like a diversion. Yes, it sets up a nice parallel of the human race as a whole seeking not to be alone in the universe and the protagonist's desire to not be alone in her own heart. However, since the micro-struggle is so strong the verbiage and space used to set up the concept actually saps more energy and attention from the narrative than it pays back.

Also, as I alluded to earlier, if you are a reader that likes to know exactly what happened this is not the story for you. The reality of the narrative is fluid, more felt than understood. In this regard it is very similar to stories done by authors like Kelly Link.

Still, for me, I felt this was amazingly successful for tapping into an emotional response as much as telling a tale. Highly recommended.


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