Lee's Wee Weekly Rec
You know those books that sit on your TBR shelf for so long you stop seeing them? TANGLE XY was one of those for me. And you know that feeling -- part chagrin, part delight -- when you finally read it and think, “What took me so long?” That’s how I felt, right before I finished the book and looked up all blinky and sad: “It’s over? No more?” Made me want to unread the book and go again. But, failing that, friends, I figured I sneak over to your TBR shelf and slip TANGLE XY in between that book you keep not reading even though your should and that other book you don’t want to start because you know if you do you’ll finish it too fast and never again have the pleasure of reading it for the first time.
There are a number of solid stories in this anthology, edited by Nicole Kimberling, but the two novellas that anchor the book are really stellar. Erin MacKay’s “Crossing the Distance” is an adventure story with a twist: the adventure takes place between the minds of two men, linked since birth and compelled by politics to use their skills in ways that threaten them most fundamentally. What I loved most about this story was the voice of Aev, a naïf from the hinterland whose sensitivity and frailty are deceptive. His partner, Trest, is brasher, brighter, but freighted with false consciousness about the purpose intended for him and Aev by those in power. MacKay’s brisk pacing and high-stakes plot are memorable.
“Feral Machines” is one of the most unusual tales of space colonization I’ve ever read. Ginn Hale spins a taut and absorbing story about Andrew, one of only two survivors of a years-long attempt to establish a human settlement on a tropical planet (the other survivor has gone rogue). The plot spills forward from Andrew’s decision to purchase three “synthetics” to help him maintain his embattled home. I absolutely loved Hale’s synthetics, from their horrifying origins to their sympathetic humanity. The novella’s ending induced that breathless rush of inevitability that I recall from reading as a child and adolescent -- it’s a rare talent like Hale’s that can induce that combination of disbelief-suspension and emotional investment in my crusty mature-reader self.
Oh, and there are pictures (not in the book, but on the Blind Eye Books website)! Check out illustrations by Maegen Peeples and Dawn Kimberling for “Crossing the Distance.” Then have a look at “Feral Machines” illustrations by Dawn Kimberling and Paul Kearsley. They’re the last four images in the Tangle gallery.
(In case you’re wondering, this wee review is something I intend to do regularly and is based on feedback from kind readers from last month when I asked about ways to invigorate this journal. Thanks for reading!)
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In other news, I recently finished a novella of my own. It's called "Askari" and is set in the Kenya I knew in the 1980s. According to one of my beta readers, it has a reggae / hi-life kind of rhythm to it, which tickled me. The story is about an American anthropologist whose encounter with a local activist challenges him to rethink his ideas about Africa, himself, and a life worth living. Oh, and they shag.
This was a tough piece to write. More than once, I've found that writing about a time or place I experienced firsthand requires more research than other kinds of settings and "Askari" was no exception. Still, I was able to keep to a pretty satisfying writing schedule, drafting an average of 975 words a day over 18 days between January 1 and February 3. "Askari" will appear as the "Smoke" entry in Torquere's Color Box line, and naturally I'll let you know when to look for that!
Cheers,
Lee xx