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ladybusiness2020-11-16 06:48 pm
bookgazing) wrote in ladybusiness2020-11-16 06:48 pm
Short Business: Robots, Cocktails, and Giant Gnats
The first full week of furlough has come and gone, and I have five short reviews of five short stories to show for it. Check me out reaching my small, self-imposed goal! Here's what I read this week:
Monday
Continuing my deep dive into Marissa Lingen's work, I read "The Swarm of Giant Gnats I Sent After Kent, My Assistant Manager" and am happy to report that it is hilarious from the very first paragraph:
I love fantasy that mixes humour and regular office situations, and am sad that this seems to have fallen slightly out of favour with publishing in the past few years (I am thoroughly aware of Tom Holt's work, but please throw all other recs at me). So, this story's kick-off was perfect for me, and it just gets better from there. The narrator, Sarah, summons giant gnats to deal with the odious Kent, but gets a shock when the gnats stick around after the job is done. Turns out, they enjoyed inflicting small scale revenge on Kent, and are keen for more of the same kind of satisfying work. And just like that, Sarah gets some fascinating new roommates, and some serious justice.
If you've been reading my short fiction reviews for a while you probably know that I generally hate revenge stories, and yet this story worked so hard for me. So, what's different about this tale of revenge? Well, it's something that's common to Lingen's work; her awareness of the tradition she is writing in, and her constant decision to write stories that take subtle new pathways. Lingen doesn't so much 'subvert' as she does 're-invent'; bringing priorities to her stories that really make the reader question the way other stories have been written, or even the way they, the reader, have previously viewed the world. "The Swarm of Giant Gnats I Sent After Kent, My Assistant Manager" is engaged with the idea that people who use magic for revenge often go overboard; even when the people they're taking out are the worst. It takes a light, humorous touch to addressing this issue, so as not to undermine the satisfaction of the low-key revenge the story offers, but the important thing is that awareness is there.
Anyway, yes, a very fun story that is also smart and satisfying. Highly recommended.
Tuesday
In contrast, I found "Do You Play County?" by Brian Kirk a little underwhelming; even a little hollow. I think part of my reaction has to do with the fact that the female narrator is simply a conduit for the story about the guy she is sleeping with; she's a window for us to look through and nothing more. But mainly, I just didn't think this story performed overall. I could absolutely see what it was going for: a vignette about a boy in a troubled relationship with a controlling father; a story which resists being conclusive in any way; a story that is more about the journey than the destination. It just didn't have the substance to capture me, and take me on any kind of aesthetic, emotional, or narrative journey. It's bare bones in many ways, which can be an interesting and affecting choice, but "Do You Play County?" doesn't commit to making 'simple' a style, or a method of evoking feeling.
This story isn't SFF by the way. While I think my short fiction interests are going to remain firmly welded to SFF for now, I'm trying to branch out into contemporary short stories as well; especially now I'm reading, and enjoying, more contemporary novels. Again, if you have recs please drop them in the comments.
Wednesday
If you want to read more short fiction, but don't feel like you've got the time (or, perhaps, at the moment, the concentration) to read some of the longer stories that get rec'd around a lot I solidly suggest you try dipping into the stories at Flash Fiction Online. It's a pretty varied publication so there's a good chance of finding something you'll like. And flash fiction has the advantage of being a satisfying form that doesn't require quite as much concentration to read as some other short fiction. While doing these posts where I try to read five stories in a week, I find breaking up my reading with some flash fiction really invaluable to fitting short fiction into my day and keeping my motivation for the project going.
"Ghost Collecting" by Sheila Massie, published by Flash Fiction Online, is a great piece of flash fiction for people who like stories about ghosts, but don't really like scary stuff. The narrator, a ghost collector, tries to convince a young woman to warm to the ghost that inhabits her rocking chair. It's a sweet story, which ends on a heart-warming note. And I enjoyed the idea that in Massie's fictional world there are people who are sensitive to ghosts, and who collect them to offer them company and a safe space. Soft ghost stories are my jam.
Thursday
"Poise and Grace" by Kyle Richardson is another piece of flash fiction from the same publication. I thought this story about a female robot called Dint was so lovely, and I hope all the robot story fans out there will give it a go.
Dint has finally completed the airship her departed father commissioned her to build. However, it seems that somewhere along the way their calculations have gone astray. Dint should have to report to the registry for termination as soon as the project is completed, but Dint has completed the airship one day before it's due. What she does with that day is, without the presence of a task or her father, entirely up to her.
Richardson quickly expresses Dint's spirit and passion for life as he shows her respond, and revel, in nature. Dint's pleasure in nature sits as a subtle contrast to her previous life building a machine, and also works to quickly humanise this robot character. Adding in a few quick asides that make it clear her father might not have approved of her running around getting dirty is another fast way to make the reader empathise with Dint as we see her freed from the project and able to make her own, small choices.
Seeing the joy Dint takes in her freedom makes discovering, at the end of the story, that Dint has been the architect of her own freedom all along, all the sweeter. This is especially true as we find out her father, who previously sounded strict and primarily interested in keeping Dint clean, has been behind her all this time and has seen her as a person who deserves safeguarding in his absence. I wish Dint the best of luck as she flies off to new adventures.
Friday
"A Selection of Drinks From The Courts of the Five Silver Moons and Seven Red Stars" by Mari Ness is a list story about cocktails - what's not to like? I really enjoyed the lush descriptions of each drink, and the dark but alluring magic some of the drinks could wrap around the people who consume them. It was like getting a close up look at the kind of detailed world building that I'm sure goes into a lot of fantasy stories; where authors know the full menu of a feast down to the last ingredient.
Like many list stories, "A Selection of Drinks From The Courts of the Five Silver Moons and Seven Red Stars" tells a wider story through hints contained in the list it details. Readers learn some of the details of what happened to the old queen of the Court of Five Moons, and how the queen of the Court of Seven Red Stars might have been involved. Personally, while I could see what some of the allusions suggested about the old queen's demise, I didn't think the hints at past court intrigues came together to provide the reader with a fully satisfying picture of what had happened. I had a broad idea of what had happened by the end of the story, but not a specific fix on what had gone down. At the same time, I wonder whether this is a glitch, or whether the author intended to write a story which holds a little distance between itself and the reader. Fairy courts are otherworldly, mysterious and inapproachable after all.
Either way, I thought the story did provide the reader with a good overview of the flavor of the court and the world which is clearly dramatic, cut-throat, and a dangerous, but attractive, world for mortals. And it was a very fascinating world, and an attractively imagined story full of intriguing description. I just wanted to feel a bit more of a connection with the characters behind the story.
Monday
Continuing my deep dive into Marissa Lingen's work, I read "The Swarm of Giant Gnats I Sent After Kent, My Assistant Manager" and am happy to report that it is hilarious from the very first paragraph:
You want to be careful when using curses and general ill-wishing spells against people in a workplace environment, because of HR. HR is never there when someone has his hand on your ass when you’re stocking shelves, Kent, they think it’s a he-said-she-said when someone talks about how your tits will help with your promotion, Kent, but the minute you send a two-headed razor-hoofed demon goat after someone, you’ve got an appointment with HR and you’re the problem somehow.
I love fantasy that mixes humour and regular office situations, and am sad that this seems to have fallen slightly out of favour with publishing in the past few years (I am thoroughly aware of Tom Holt's work, but please throw all other recs at me). So, this story's kick-off was perfect for me, and it just gets better from there. The narrator, Sarah, summons giant gnats to deal with the odious Kent, but gets a shock when the gnats stick around after the job is done. Turns out, they enjoyed inflicting small scale revenge on Kent, and are keen for more of the same kind of satisfying work. And just like that, Sarah gets some fascinating new roommates, and some serious justice.
If you've been reading my short fiction reviews for a while you probably know that I generally hate revenge stories, and yet this story worked so hard for me. So, what's different about this tale of revenge? Well, it's something that's common to Lingen's work; her awareness of the tradition she is writing in, and her constant decision to write stories that take subtle new pathways. Lingen doesn't so much 'subvert' as she does 're-invent'; bringing priorities to her stories that really make the reader question the way other stories have been written, or even the way they, the reader, have previously viewed the world. "The Swarm of Giant Gnats I Sent After Kent, My Assistant Manager" is engaged with the idea that people who use magic for revenge often go overboard; even when the people they're taking out are the worst. It takes a light, humorous touch to addressing this issue, so as not to undermine the satisfaction of the low-key revenge the story offers, but the important thing is that awareness is there.
Anyway, yes, a very fun story that is also smart and satisfying. Highly recommended.
Tuesday
In contrast, I found "Do You Play County?" by Brian Kirk a little underwhelming; even a little hollow. I think part of my reaction has to do with the fact that the female narrator is simply a conduit for the story about the guy she is sleeping with; she's a window for us to look through and nothing more. But mainly, I just didn't think this story performed overall. I could absolutely see what it was going for: a vignette about a boy in a troubled relationship with a controlling father; a story which resists being conclusive in any way; a story that is more about the journey than the destination. It just didn't have the substance to capture me, and take me on any kind of aesthetic, emotional, or narrative journey. It's bare bones in many ways, which can be an interesting and affecting choice, but "Do You Play County?" doesn't commit to making 'simple' a style, or a method of evoking feeling.
This story isn't SFF by the way. While I think my short fiction interests are going to remain firmly welded to SFF for now, I'm trying to branch out into contemporary short stories as well; especially now I'm reading, and enjoying, more contemporary novels. Again, if you have recs please drop them in the comments.
Wednesday
If you want to read more short fiction, but don't feel like you've got the time (or, perhaps, at the moment, the concentration) to read some of the longer stories that get rec'd around a lot I solidly suggest you try dipping into the stories at Flash Fiction Online. It's a pretty varied publication so there's a good chance of finding something you'll like. And flash fiction has the advantage of being a satisfying form that doesn't require quite as much concentration to read as some other short fiction. While doing these posts where I try to read five stories in a week, I find breaking up my reading with some flash fiction really invaluable to fitting short fiction into my day and keeping my motivation for the project going.
"Ghost Collecting" by Sheila Massie, published by Flash Fiction Online, is a great piece of flash fiction for people who like stories about ghosts, but don't really like scary stuff. The narrator, a ghost collector, tries to convince a young woman to warm to the ghost that inhabits her rocking chair. It's a sweet story, which ends on a heart-warming note. And I enjoyed the idea that in Massie's fictional world there are people who are sensitive to ghosts, and who collect them to offer them company and a safe space. Soft ghost stories are my jam.
Thursday
"Poise and Grace" by Kyle Richardson is another piece of flash fiction from the same publication. I thought this story about a female robot called Dint was so lovely, and I hope all the robot story fans out there will give it a go.
Dint has finally completed the airship her departed father commissioned her to build. However, it seems that somewhere along the way their calculations have gone astray. Dint should have to report to the registry for termination as soon as the project is completed, but Dint has completed the airship one day before it's due. What she does with that day is, without the presence of a task or her father, entirely up to her.
Richardson quickly expresses Dint's spirit and passion for life as he shows her respond, and revel, in nature. Dint's pleasure in nature sits as a subtle contrast to her previous life building a machine, and also works to quickly humanise this robot character. Adding in a few quick asides that make it clear her father might not have approved of her running around getting dirty is another fast way to make the reader empathise with Dint as we see her freed from the project and able to make her own, small choices.
Seeing the joy Dint takes in her freedom makes discovering, at the end of the story, that Dint has been the architect of her own freedom all along, all the sweeter. This is especially true as we find out her father, who previously sounded strict and primarily interested in keeping Dint clean, has been behind her all this time and has seen her as a person who deserves safeguarding in his absence. I wish Dint the best of luck as she flies off to new adventures.
Friday
"A Selection of Drinks From The Courts of the Five Silver Moons and Seven Red Stars" by Mari Ness is a list story about cocktails - what's not to like? I really enjoyed the lush descriptions of each drink, and the dark but alluring magic some of the drinks could wrap around the people who consume them. It was like getting a close up look at the kind of detailed world building that I'm sure goes into a lot of fantasy stories; where authors know the full menu of a feast down to the last ingredient.
Like many list stories, "A Selection of Drinks From The Courts of the Five Silver Moons and Seven Red Stars" tells a wider story through hints contained in the list it details. Readers learn some of the details of what happened to the old queen of the Court of Five Moons, and how the queen of the Court of Seven Red Stars might have been involved. Personally, while I could see what some of the allusions suggested about the old queen's demise, I didn't think the hints at past court intrigues came together to provide the reader with a fully satisfying picture of what had happened. I had a broad idea of what had happened by the end of the story, but not a specific fix on what had gone down. At the same time, I wonder whether this is a glitch, or whether the author intended to write a story which holds a little distance between itself and the reader. Fairy courts are otherworldly, mysterious and inapproachable after all.
Either way, I thought the story did provide the reader with a good overview of the flavor of the court and the world which is clearly dramatic, cut-throat, and a dangerous, but attractive, world for mortals. And it was a very fascinating world, and an attractively imagined story full of intriguing description. I just wanted to feel a bit more of a connection with the characters behind the story.