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ladybusinessThis month, I unwittingly read three stories published by Luna Station Quarterly; a magazine I don't think I've ever read before. I'll definitely be investigating what they put out in the future because I really enjoyed all three stories.
The first story was "10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" by Elizabeth R Moore. This is the first story I've read by Elizabeth, who I know from Twitter, and I really enjoyed it.
"10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" is a very me story. It's a quiet story, written in a list format. As the list progresses, the emotional impact and significance of the items increases; although Moore also carefully inserts lighter items along the way to keep the story varied & prevent it from becoming unilaterally heavy. My Short Business posts pretty heavily demonstrate that I am very into both this kind of story structure & this form of emotional progression.
The story also deals with a large magical family; the kind of sprawling, interesting family you'd quite happily read a novel about. I'm a big fan of magical families. And I think one of the signs of a certain type of good short story can be that you'd love to see more, even though the story is satisfying on its own. And I certainly could read more about the Glasbläsers who all have fascinating stories & relationships, presented here in tantalising miniature form.
I also really like that this story brings magic down to earth. Moore's story grounds magic by focusing on common or garden practical applications of magic, and by basing its magic system in the act of acquiring and selecting magic rather than just having its characters be magic. I love stories that ground magic in reality (as paradoxical as that might sound), stories that limit magic without making those limits rebound on the characters, and stories that position magic as a craft which requires some kind of participation. I think "10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" has all of that going on.
There's tons more to explore about this story from its obvious feminism to the clever ways it lets the reader in on the secrets the family keep from one another, and the varied emotional impact that has throughout the story (oh, one of those moments really got to me). But it's been a long time since I wrote about a piece of writing by someone I know on the Internet, and I'm starting to feel shy. So, I'll just end this by saying I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Moore's stories because a cheesy joke is an A+ way to diffuse emotional weirdness.
The second story I read was "Call Center Blues" by Carrie Cuin which starts off as a light-hearted, SFF riff on a complaint to a call centre. However, it packs a real punch at the end which changes the reader's whole perception of the story. It's quite a jolly, knowing story at the start, and that will appeal to anyone who has worked in customer service, but I found the whole package quite sad after I knew how the story ended. That's not a complaint, just a note that this story might unsettle readers more than they expect at the outset. If you like stories about robot rights then this is one for you.
The final Luna Station Quarterly story I read was "All The Souls Like Candle Flames" by Vanessa Fogg. You know, of course, that I love Vanessa Fogg's stories - I feel like I've been very clear on that - and I feel the same way about "All The Souls Like Candle Flames". This is a lush story, about loss, family, tradition & folklore set by, on & under the sea and I was all about it. I particularly liked the quest section of the story where Mikki, the heroine, journeys into the sea witch's world to search for the souls of drowned sailors and everything gets full on fantastical.
I'm also a big fan of the way Fogg opens the story with the framing device of a stranger being told about the charms in the village as this allows the story to draw the reader in & form an instant connection with the story. And it also gives the story a very classic, portentous feel like the reader is sitting quietly listening to a fabled storyteller in a hall or a cave; devoting their entire energy to listening to the story. This has the effect of centering the reader & allowing them to really take the time and space to focus on this story.
What short fiction have you been reading recently?
The first story was "10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" by Elizabeth R Moore. This is the first story I've read by Elizabeth, who I know from Twitter, and I really enjoyed it.
"10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" is a very me story. It's a quiet story, written in a list format. As the list progresses, the emotional impact and significance of the items increases; although Moore also carefully inserts lighter items along the way to keep the story varied & prevent it from becoming unilaterally heavy. My Short Business posts pretty heavily demonstrate that I am very into both this kind of story structure & this form of emotional progression.
The story also deals with a large magical family; the kind of sprawling, interesting family you'd quite happily read a novel about. I'm a big fan of magical families. And I think one of the signs of a certain type of good short story can be that you'd love to see more, even though the story is satisfying on its own. And I certainly could read more about the Glasbläsers who all have fascinating stories & relationships, presented here in tantalising miniature form.
I also really like that this story brings magic down to earth. Moore's story grounds magic by focusing on common or garden practical applications of magic, and by basing its magic system in the act of acquiring and selecting magic rather than just having its characters be magic. I love stories that ground magic in reality (as paradoxical as that might sound), stories that limit magic without making those limits rebound on the characters, and stories that position magic as a craft which requires some kind of participation. I think "10 Spells The Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order Of Secrecy" has all of that going on.
There's tons more to explore about this story from its obvious feminism to the clever ways it lets the reader in on the secrets the family keep from one another, and the varied emotional impact that has throughout the story (oh, one of those moments really got to me). But it's been a long time since I wrote about a piece of writing by someone I know on the Internet, and I'm starting to feel shy. So, I'll just end this by saying I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Moore's stories because a cheesy joke is an A+ way to diffuse emotional weirdness.
The second story I read was "Call Center Blues" by Carrie Cuin which starts off as a light-hearted, SFF riff on a complaint to a call centre. However, it packs a real punch at the end which changes the reader's whole perception of the story. It's quite a jolly, knowing story at the start, and that will appeal to anyone who has worked in customer service, but I found the whole package quite sad after I knew how the story ended. That's not a complaint, just a note that this story might unsettle readers more than they expect at the outset. If you like stories about robot rights then this is one for you.
The final Luna Station Quarterly story I read was "All The Souls Like Candle Flames" by Vanessa Fogg. You know, of course, that I love Vanessa Fogg's stories - I feel like I've been very clear on that - and I feel the same way about "All The Souls Like Candle Flames". This is a lush story, about loss, family, tradition & folklore set by, on & under the sea and I was all about it. I particularly liked the quest section of the story where Mikki, the heroine, journeys into the sea witch's world to search for the souls of drowned sailors and everything gets full on fantastical.
I'm also a big fan of the way Fogg opens the story with the framing device of a stranger being told about the charms in the village as this allows the story to draw the reader in & form an instant connection with the story. And it also gives the story a very classic, portentous feel like the reader is sitting quietly listening to a fabled storyteller in a hall or a cave; devoting their entire energy to listening to the story. This has the effect of centering the reader & allowing them to really take the time and space to focus on this story.
What short fiction have you been reading recently?
