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Contents |
Fiction |
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Interviews |
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Editorial |
Guidelines |
Reviews |
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ReviewsBreathmoss and other ExhalationsSecret LifeDark Animus Issue 7 / Borderlands Issue 4The Atrocity ArchivesJourney
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Breathmoss and Other Exhalations : Ian R. MacLeod
Anyone familiar with the work of Ian R. MacLeod will know of the sheer variety of his work, and the lush, rich style of prose they contain. The challenge of this collection is in combining seven of his richer, longer works. Each story is a superbly crafted piece substantial enough to stand by itself; works which grab the reader’s attention when they appear in Asimov’s or The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. When works of this calibre and length are collected in Breathmoss, the effect is mildly disorienting. Without shorter pieces to break up the collection, this reader found himself immersed in seven lush and unique worlds in a very short time; each story left me wanting more, and I took this craving into the next world. In short, this book should be read in the comfort of your home - where you can get up between stories, stretch your legs and take some deep breaths before plunging into the next story - and not on long-distance bus trips. “Breathmoss” tells the story of the coming of age of Jalila, as she becomes a woman on the planet Habara. MacLeod has created a vibrant, living, breathing matriarchal Islamic culture. As the plot develops, we are shown more of the culture and are given an opportunity to see life through the eyes of a teenager as she makes important life choices. “The Chop Girl”, in addition to being yet another rich and complex story, is also incredibly difficult to categorise. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, this somewhat unsettling tale has only the slightest element of overt fantasy while at the same time having a fantastic vein running right through the story. During World War II, the “chop girl” was, to superstitious airmen, the girl whom dating meant certain death (“the chop”) on the next mission — a passive black widow, so to speak. MacLeod takes us into the mind and life of a woman whose briefest touch or slightest glance meant fatal misfortune. MacLeod combines fantasy and science fiction in “New Light on the Drake Equation” when he shows the reader a near future where the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has been all-but abandoned by a world that has given up waiting for proof. A lone scientist and alcoholic, Tom Kelly, spends his nights searching the sky from a mountain in France while dealing with ghosts from the past. MacLeod gives this story amazing depth of character, great attention to detail and spins the narrative with some very effective flashbacks. Breathmoss and Other Exhalations rounds off with “The Summer Isles”, an alternate history story written the way they should be. While the consequences of the Allies losing World War II have been explored at great length in sf, MacLeod takes the reader through the consequences of Britain losing World War I, her armies coming home in defeat and the rising inflation due to reparations paid to Germany. In conditions ripe for the rise of a popular dictator, England produces John Arthur, the man ready to get things back in order and the trains running on time. Who cares if many of the trains are taking “undesirables” — homosexuals, Jews and gypsies — to internment camps off the coast of Scotland? Against this backdrop MacLeod tells the story through Geoffrey Brook, historian, homosexual and old acquaintance of John Arthur. While paralleling history in some regards, MacLeod also puts a very English slant on his history.
Breathmoss and Other Exhalations is challenging in its strength and diversity. Ian R. MacLeod is one of the most masterful and unique writers in the genre today, bringing a great depth in his work, strong characterization and a refreshingly different voice, all of which has been captured in this collection.
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Secret Life : Jeff VanderMeer
One of these gems is “Ghost Dancing with Manco Tupac”, a story within a story. A journalist sits at the death-bed of the last descendant of the Incas as he tells him about a Conquistador who came to South America to find gold. The Conquistador employs a local to guide him to the ruins of an Incan city. The guide disapproves of the Conquistador’s past and ambitions, while berating himself for taking him to a place so special to his own culture. But when they finally reach the city, each of them has a very different spiritual experience as an enchanting magic realism enters the story. This story, replete with beautiful imagery, will be hard to forget. Another of my favourites is “Greensleeves”, a story that shows how reality can spoil the beauty of the world of literature. It is the story of a librarian who decides to do whatever she can to help an oddly alluring stranger find his frog in the library. Her library is full of weird things, including portraits that talk and mad people who believe they are various literary characters. Her mission to capture the frog leads her to a greater understanding of the strange and enclosed world in which she has been living, while opening her eyes to another world altogether. This story was very plot-driven and had a very satisfying conclusion, unlike many other stories in this collection which left me frustrated at the lack of explanation for their concepts or lack of any kind of climax. Amidst the gems such as those mentioned, there are stories like “The Sea, Mendeho, and Moonlight”. This story asks the worn-out question, ‘How much control will we allow others to have over us before it consumes our individuality?’ It is a story that lacks any passion and is too short to justify the effort required to get into such a complex - albeit interesting - setting, a world where most natural things have been synthesised into something that can be controlled. Then there is “Learning To Leave The Flesh”, a tale set in a time where literacy has decayed to the point that no-one’s attention span can last longer than the time taken to read one sentence. It begins with a dwarf woman pushing a thorn into a man’s hand at a bookshop, an action for which there is no explanation. After this incident he starts to see dwarves everywhere. The man’s job is to write perfect sentences: he is given a job to write a sentence about a dwarf male who had died. He finds out this dwarf was a circus-worker, a welder and also a male prostitute. Although the story maintained my interest, the conclusion proved it to be a random collection of weird ideas that simply give the illusion of something interesting when strung together.
Although some stories left me disappointed, Secret Life is definitely worth a read for its wealth of odd concepts and VanderMeer’s love of experimentation with style. When VanderMeer finds the perfect blend of intellectual play and well-considered plot, his stories will be sheer magic.
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Dark Animus Issue 7 / Borderlands Issue 4
Two other publications recently producing delayed issues in the past couple of months include Dark Animus and Borderlands. The former graced my letterbox recently after close to a year between issues, while Borderlands managed to bookend 2004 with issues in January and December. James R. Cain's labour of ghastly, forbidden love, Dark Animus, has consistently published high quality horror stories since its inception in 2002, and Issue 7 is no different in this regard. Of the 7 stories offered, the most impressive is “A Helping Hand” by Robert Hood. Hood cleverly weaves a tale that is simply creepy from start to finish. Other noteworthy stories include Paul Melniczek's “That Magical Day”, a solid story about a town where not everything is right - let down I feel by an incredibly unimaginative title; and Paul Haine's “Doof Doof Doof”, which I'll deal with a little later. Tim Curran's “The Snake Man” has some fine moments of horror, though I find carny stories generally old hat. “Bloodbath” by Lee Clarke Zumpe, the ubiquitous vampire story, is well written yet contributes nothing to the genre, suffering from character stereotypes; while Terry Gates-Grimwood's “Soul Money” is a good idea needing work on characterisation. The clunker of the issue is Troy Milne's “Harlequin”, a well crafted and descriptive piece that unfortunately suffers from an almost complete lack of comprehensible plot. A complete victory for style over substance. Dark Animus also publishes poetry, of which Nancy Purnell's “Regret” is the best piece this issue. Borderlands rose from the ashes of the late lamented Eidolon in April 2003 and is published by a collective in Perth, Western Australia. Some disappointments are harder to deal with than others: when your AFL team comes second last; when your fellow citizens vote in a psychotic conservative government; when you can't find your favourite whisky at the local bottleshop. Another disappointment is when one of Australia's best genre magazines releases a sub-standard issue. The most recent issue of Borderlands is their weakest to date, lacking the consistent quality of fiction that has previously graced their pages. The best piece by far is a non-fiction article, “Body Parts”, by Chris Lawson. As an editor who has been commissioning the occasional piece from Lawson over the last 5 years, “Body Parts” is one of his best pieces, and certainly better than anything he has ever written for me. This article describes the history of anatomical discovery and future implications of ownership of body parts, in straightforward language often lacking in other articles written today. Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, Chris Lawson is one of the best writers Australia has produced in the last few years, and “Body Parts” is worth the price of the issue. Fictionwise, the stand-out stories were Stephen Dedman's “Coup de Grace” and Tess Williams' “How Green Was Their Love”. Dedman's story deals with a near-future Catholic Church being challenged to comment on prosthetic penises, while having a dig at one of his regular bugbears, the NRA. A well written and entertaining story, it unfortunately lacks the impact of Dedman's better stories. “How Green Was Their Love” is a stylistic science fiction story of human relationships and the combination of plant and human DNA. A great idea, competently crafted with some intriguing characters. Sadly much of the rest of the contents have little to recommend them. Grant Watson's Bad Film Diaries column is spot-on and informative yet lacking the astute wit that has made previous columns such brilliant reading. Watson is more than a contender, however, and can be expected to bounce back with a vengeance in future columns. The weakest stories in this issue are Gary Kemble's “The House” (unimaginatively titled tale of poor characterisation); Greg Guerin's “Deviation Road” (insubstantial horror tale); Cathy Cupitt's “Solid Rock (see below); and Scot Snow's “A Small Dark Love” (unexciting sexual fantasy). Interestingly, both Dark Animus and Borderlands published “modern fairy stories” involving the Three Little Pigs and other old favourites. Paul Haines “Doof Doof Doof” is clearly the cleverest of the two, a well written and characterised tale from the point of view of the Big Bad Wolf, who spends his days and nights in the basement of an apartment block fantasising about Little Red Riding Hood. In contrast, Cathy Cupitt's “Solid Rock” is told from the point of view of the Troll under the bridge, and unimaginatively casts the Three Little Pigs as police officers attempting to clean up the town, arresting Tinkerbell for dealing in fairy dust, among other cheap gags. Haine's story is driven by solid characterisation, producing a well crafted tale of lust and desperation that just happens to occur in a fairy story situation, while Cupitt's tries to hide its lack of substance with humour.
In the case of these magazines it is a case of better late than never. While Dark Animus presents the better value of the two issues reviewed, I fully expect Borderlands to return to its usual excellent form with an exceptional fifth issue, and recommend readers follow the links below to subscribe to two magazines showcasing some of Australia's best genre fiction.
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The Atrocity Archives : Charles Stross
If you have a passion for Lovecraft, knowledge of Alan Turing and his work with computers and an interest in the untold crimes of the Nazi Party, you have been waiting for this book. Charles Stross has in this, his second major novel publication (after The Singlarity Sky in 2003), written a fantastic story. He has taken elements of Lovecraft and the secret works of the Nazis in the Second World War and tied them together using the secret papers of Alan Turing’s work on esoteric mathematical computations to produce this brilliant work. ‘The Laundry’ is the nickname of a secret branch of British Intelligence who deals with paranormal disturbances of the Cthulhu kind. Bob Howard is a computer-geek secret agent who works for The Laundry. He was recruited by force after nearly summoning a Cthulhu type entity using his mathematical formula and a home computer and almost wiping out Birmingham in the process. Bob generally works in the computer administration side of The Laundry but is taken into active service in response to the possible return of a group of Ahnenerbe SS Nazis who fled this dimension at the end of the world. Along the way Bob rescues Mo, who is also not far off making the Turing-Lovecraft connection, and comes across some nasty Germans.
Charles Stross’ wit is punchy and comes across well through Bob's smartarse, insubordinate, geek spook. The solution of that great riddle of how to make an omelette without breaking an egg is also answered early on in the book by Bob's fellow Laundry-approved housemates, Pinky and Brain.
Bob Howard is the kind of secret agent better with a chicken’s foot and a box of matches than a Walther PPK 9mm pistol. When those after you can summon a monster from the depths of Lovecraft, Bob Howard is the man to protect you.
Stross’ depth of knowledge and understanding of the field of computers and Lovecraft is evident in this work. His thorough research has paid off, producing a work that can be considered alternative history worthy of praise and definitely a read.
Action packed, full of wit, great characters and an excellently written, well developed work, this novel shows that Stross is indeed an author to pay attention to over the next few years. I am looking forward to more of his work.
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Journey : Mathew Hudson
Perhaps Hudson was inspired by Roman history when he chose as the pivot of his novel the Selection, a kind of bizarre gladiator-style annual competition conducted in the City. Every year youths from the villages are transported there and forced to fight each other in the Arena complex. Ya, the protagonist, embarks on a journey from which he will most probably never return, since every year most of the Arena’s ‘entertainers’ die. On his long road to the City through the sumptuous jungles he bonds with his travel companions, especially with the only girl, Peta Madisson. The soldiers mistake her for a boy and she must keep her true identity a secret out of fear for her life. Journey is the first book of seven from the promised Flight of Ascension series. This self-published book suffers unfortunately from the illnesses common to self-published fiction. On one hand it is a brave step in giving yourself the chance to publish your work. On the other hand, many self-published authors tend to dismiss editorial involvement, an essential part in the creation of a good book. The editor’s job is to save us from self-indulgence. One of my fellow writers once said: To write a great book you must first kill your most beautiful birds. There are too many beautiful birds in Journey. It is clear that Hudson is in love with the world he has created; his descriptions are meticulous. However, the narrative stumbles, overloaded with constant flights into abundant prose, as though the author had conducted such thorough research that he must spill everything out.
Perhaps Hudson needs to save the profits from this book and invest them in a good editor.
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Golden Gryphon Press, 2004
Golden Gryphon Press, 2004
Dark Animus Issue 7
Golden Gryphon, 2004