The first 5K of my 2013 running season came with the snow-delayed Mrs. Robinson’s Romp, a Trail Nerds event referencing both a series of cougar sightings in Kansas and of course that Mrs. Robinson.
After a rough start in last month’s muddy, hilly Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run 10 mile event I was dearly looking forward to a good run to boost my bruised ego and kick start my bruised body.
I got that today.
A really nice cover by artist Matt Tkocz is the highlight of a disappointing issue from Lightspeed, which I review for Short Fiction Friday over at SF Signal.
This is the first issue of the magazine that I’ve struggled with since I began reading it late last year. There were a couple of stories that I rated highly because they are structurally sound and well-told, but the subject matter was not something I connected with. However the majority of the stories, particularly the science fiction offerings, were either disappointing in their execution or were painful to drag myself through.
If you are interested in my struggles to be objective in the midst of my own personal pain, please join me for this week’s Short Fiction Friday review.
Last night my friend Dominique and I had the pleasure of joining with a small but enthusiastic group of fans in an intimate setting for a discussion with the self-publishing phenomenon that is Hugh Howey. You may recall that Hugh Howey’s book Wool was my favorite read of 2012 and it is a book that has a firm hold on a top spot on my favorite reads of all time list. I can hear you saying, “Yes, that’s nice. You got to meet an author. But why should I keep reading this post? What’s in it for me?”
I am so glad that you asked.
Well, in addition to my scintillating conversation, you have the chance to win your own autographed copy of the newly released trade paperback of Wool.
But wait, there’s more.
I suspect many readers are like me and have some interest in the future of the industry that supplies us our drug of choice: books. Hugh Howey has set some interesting precedents that we may be looking back on as game-changers for authors and publishers in the not too distant future. Most importantly, Hugh Howey is one helluva nice guy and it would be my pleasure to share my experience in meeting him with you.
Episode nine of The Human Division returns readers to the crew of the Clarke, in particular everyone’s favorite lieutenant, Harry Wilson, and the chief diplomat Ambassador Ode Abumwe. Only four more episodes remain and it is beginning to feel like there is a lot of story left to be told, leaving me curious as to how John Scalzi will use these remaining episodes to tie previous events together while bringing us the climactic reveal.
For the second time the crew of the Clarke is treated to visitors from Earth, this time to allow Earth’s representatives to witness a negotiation between the Colonial Union and the alien race known as the Burfinor. The purpose of the observation is to demonstrate transparency in the dealings between the CU and Earth.
Nothing ever comes simple for the crew of the Clarke and once again Harry Wilson will be called upon to perform duties outside of his purview in order to keep everything from coming apart…if he can.
Hereafter be spoilers!
In the morning, you’re no longer quite sure who you are.
This is the story of the intersection of the lives of two women on a space station named Longevity. In the far distant future the dominant culture is Galactic, represented as the more ‘civilized’ world-view. Longevity is an independent station of Asian influence that acts as a tourist spot throughout the Galaxy. Quy is a young Asian woman who is called in on her day off to return to the family restaurant to help her uncle negotiate a business deal with an important Galactic visitor. Agnes is the wife of this businessman and it is apparent from the very beginning of her story that something is desperately wrong. In Bodard’s future people make use of an Immerser, a piece of Galactic tech with various intensity settings that allows the user to overlay an Avatar while also instructing the user how to act and react while feeding the brain cultural signifiers. Quy and her sister are not fond of the immerser and the way in which it homogenizes interactions and reduces culture to something simplistic for tourists to navigate. Anges appears to have become increasingly dependent on her immerser for her day-to-day existence and she is only dimly aware that something is being lost, perhaps irreparably. As “Immersion” unfolds the reader is presented with a very intimate story that carries within it a larger context of cultural identity and an examination of the effects of colonization. Aliette de Bodard’s story places the reader into a fully-realized world that seems both exotic and familiar. Without resorting to judgment “Immersion” makes a case for embracing and maintaining cultural identity in the face of ever-growing globalization.
What follows is a more detailed and spoiler-filled discussion of the story. “Immersion” is not an overly long short story and is well worth reading. Please click over here and take a few minutes to enjoy Aliette de Bodard’s story and then come back and take the jump.
