Carbide-Tipped Pens in Kirkus and Library Journal
Carbide-Tipped Pens, which releases from TOR today, has been doing very well in the online review venues. Kirkus called it “A science fiction anthology that strikes a balance between radical scientific ideas and grounded human emotion…Hard-core sci-fi fans will gobble this up, and readers newer to the genre should give it a chance, too.”
Library Journal describes the book as “A pleasing sampling of stories, all showing the range found even within a subgenre like hard SF.”
My contribution to this anthology is called “Recollection”. It explores what Bureau24 describes as “a plausible problem: what if medical science cures geriatric dementia, but can do nothing to recover the lost memories?” Bureau24 counts the story as one of the strongest in the anthology, which is interesting because it’s actually the second one I wrote for Eric and Ben. My first attempt (a character-driven military story which is still awaiting final revision) went too far afield of the anthology’s stated purpose. Eric kindly allowed me to send in a second submission. With only a few days before the deadline and no idea of where the story was going, I sat down and began writing the tale of a man who was permanently barred from recalling the people who love him.
It’s only the second time one of my own stories has made me cry.
From what I’ve heard, the other contributions to this anthology are emotionally powerful and technologically intriguing. It’s a very strong author lineup, I’m looking forward to reading their work over a cup of warm cocoa this holiday season.
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cross-posted from nancyfulda.com
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