Stories 123-124
Two more from The August 2008 issue of "Realms of Fantasy" magazine (which leaves one story to go):
Story 123: "Light of a Thousand Suns" by James Van Pelt. This story is supposed to be controversial -- the blurb on the table of contents for the issue tells you so. And I guess it is (although I can't tell you why without giving away the major plot point). But I also think something is sacrificed in terms of character (the main character is just not interesting to me). What should be mysterious about this story also somehow doesn't click. Shame, because it's an interesting concept.
Story 124: "Somebody Desperately Needed To Be Neil Gaiman" by Way Jeng. Adorable little story. It's a fantasy about Neil Gaiman. NO, not that kind of fantasy. It's not a hero-worship story; rather it addresses where ideas come from, and what happens when you run out of things to read to your daughter.
Story 123: "Light of a Thousand Suns" by James Van Pelt. This story is supposed to be controversial -- the blurb on the table of contents for the issue tells you so. And I guess it is (although I can't tell you why without giving away the major plot point). But I also think something is sacrificed in terms of character (the main character is just not interesting to me). What should be mysterious about this story also somehow doesn't click. Shame, because it's an interesting concept.
Story 124: "Somebody Desperately Needed To Be Neil Gaiman" by Way Jeng. Adorable little story. It's a fantasy about Neil Gaiman. NO, not that kind of fantasy. It's not a hero-worship story; rather it addresses where ideas come from, and what happens when you run out of things to read to your daughter.