The Homeless Moon
The Homeless Moon (2008)
Written by: Michael J. DeLuca, Jason S. Ridler, Scott H. Andrews, Erin Hoffman, Justin Howe
Genre: Short Stories
Pages: 43 (Chapbook)
This review is absurdly late. I received the chapbook a year ago, and had every intention of reading it right away. But because of the layout of my office and because of the PILES of books that litter the floor, this chapbook got lost in the shuffle. I was able to dig it out when I learned of the second chapbook the Homeless Moon writers produced for 2009, because it jogged my memory that I hadn't read the first.
This is a rather odd review for me to write. For starters, if you click on the title of the chapbook, you'll find out rather quickly that you can read this chapbook for free as a PDF. Or, if you must have a print copy (and if they have any LEFT from 2008), you can pay for the shipping and they'll send you one.
So that's one reason this is, in short, an odd review. The other, more important reason this is an ODD REVIEW is that I know every single one of these writers. All of them were my classmates at the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 2005, and one of them was my roommate!
Consider that a warning of sorts in terms of how objective I'll be. I've read their work before, so there's a tendency to want to compare their stories to what I've read before, especially if I've critiqued the story in the chapbook. However, I'll give my honest opinion, but my official rating is going to be odd. Since all of my ratings are essentially based on my purchasing of the material, well, you can see how the current ratings don't apply.
The premise: I didn't recognize a discernible theme holding the stories of this first chapbook together. The only connecting factor is that the writers attended Odyssey 2005, and have formed a kind of group. Is it a critique group? I don't know, to be honest. But they call their online blog "The Homeless Moon" and decided to put together a chapbook to showcase their fiction. This chapbook they handed out at ReaderCon 2008. There are three stories I'd label as fantasy, one I'd label as science fiction, and one that simply defies genre of all kinds. So really, there's no premise to this: it's just a batch of short fiction. :)
Review style: I will review each story individually, though I reserve the right to use the term "review" loosely. Will there be spoilers? I'll speak in generalities the best I can, focus more on the technique and the ideas driving the story rather than any specifics.
"Construction-Paper Moon"
by Michael J. DeLuca
I've read this story once before, in a critique setting. It was tempting, once I realized I had the same story, to go back to the version I critiqued to see what had changed, what hadn't, and to see what I said about the whole thing. I resisted, because frankly, that just wouldn't be fair.
This story centers on a girl, Petra, and her father. They live in a future where the moon has been knocked out of orbit, which means Petra has never looked up in the sky to see the moon we see today.
There are a lot of beautiful things in this story. For starters, I love that DeLuca wrote something that's both science-fiction and character-driven. It's the kind of SF I really enjoy reading, and his prose is just lovely in so many places, as are his uses of figurative language. One of my favorites:
The moon waxed and waned. Like a relationship between people. You could think you understood a person, but even knowing them all your life, you might only see a part of them, just a sliver. Someday, when you meet them head-on, you might discover they weren't who you thought. And you'd have to come to terms with it. Because by then, you'd know they were never going away. Even though you'd only seen their light side. (p. 7-8)
It's a lovely, simple story. For my part, I wanted a little more out of the ending, but I think in terms of resolution, the reader gets what they need. Emotionally, you're satisfied. Both POV characters reach a resolution, a kind of change, that enables them to move forward from this moment. In that respect, the story is complete. It's not my fault I'm selfish and I want more. :)
"Impracticable Dreams"
by Jason S. Ridler
One thing I've come to appreciate in a Ridler story is his distinct voice. It's a voice that's direct and it doesn't shy away from descriptions or scenes that might make some readers uncomfortable. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Ridler's a lewd writer or anything of that sort, but there's a punchy sort of energy to his writing that keeps your attention, and let's face it, not many writers have stories that feature their characters vomiting into top hats.
This story features a stand-up comic in a fat-suit who's just about to get his big break. The problem is, the trick to his act is all tied to a top hat, a hat that swallows everything you throw into it. And through some form or fashion, Rusty, our main character, has been throwing himself into the hat, and it's eating him alive.
It's an interesting story. I liked the setting of the theater quite a bit, and I enjoyed the psychology of the main character Rusty. However, I found myself confused on certain plot-points, like why he'd prefer to stick with the theater and write new material than make it big with new material (it didn't make sense to me because he didn't have any new material to write). Then there's the specifics of how the hat worked, but I think this is one of those stories that would be clearer in my mind after a second reading. The thing with Ridler's prose is that it's easy to read quickly, which means you might miss something. Still, it's an enjoyable story, and if Ridler ever wrote a sequel to it, I'd be curious to see what became of Rusty and his new act. I suspect he doesn't have much longer, but who knows? Maybe there's more rules to that magical hat than I originally grasped.
"Colonized"
by Scott H. Andrews
This is the story that defies genre categorization. There's a few reasons for this: the first is that it's obviously an experiment in style. "Colonization" is written in dialogue only, and not just any dialogue, but newscaster-speech. There's the hosts, the reporters, the interviews, the commentators--all that reveal a slice of life without resorting to a single word of narrative prose.
The second reason is that, and maybe this is only obvious to those of us who know the author resides in Virginia, this piece is a reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings. And if it's not, I'd be shocked. The fact the major news-story is ABOUT a mass-shooting at a university is one major clue, only instead of VA, it takes place in China. The rest of the story is not only telling the reader about the shooting, but it's also speculating on why the shooter acted the way he did and what it might mean for the larger society.
In truth, it not only defies genre categorization, but in some ways, it defies review. After reading it, I can't say I was given a complete story so much as I was given a very distinct commentary on the events of VA Tech. I mentioned before this story is a slice of life, and it's true: it's a slice of life as viewed through the media. The fact it takes place in China instead of the US is more of a way to provide a kind of objectivity as well as a bite of satire. It's interesting, but as a work of fiction, it doesn't tell a story so much as hold a mirror to real life, and what it reflects is incomplete. The story provides no more answers to its horror than the media did for the VA Tech shootings, and maybe that's the point.
But whatever the point, and as well-executed as this piece is, it definitely sticks out from the rest of the stories, which--while not united by a theme--are united by genre and a certain kind of imagination. I don't mean that to sound that harsh, it's just that in any collection, you want stories to stand out for being phenomenal, not because they don't "fit" in with the rest of the collection. Different isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't necessarily have to be jarring. I personally wish Andrews had chosen another piece for this collection, because I've read better by him, and I know he's improved since.
Edit 7/13/09: since posting this review, I've been corrected on my interpretation of the story. I thought the story took place in China, but it's actually an alternate North America which has been settled by the Chinese rather than the Europeans. This makes the story obviously alt-history as well as SF, so my initial assessment in that regard is wrong. And while I've been fascinating by the discussion this story has produced, I stand by my personal assessment that it's not my favorite by Mr. Andrews, but that doesn't make the story any less interesting or worth discussing. If you jump to the comments, you'll find some fascinating background from the author himself as well as an interesting analysis from psychox, which can be found here. /edit
"The Recurrence of Orpheus"
by Erin Hoffman
There's one thing I can always count on in Hoffman's work: the prose is beautiful. When combined with a solid story or character, the impact is really powerful. But sometimes, the prose can disguise a story's flaws or limitations, and I think "The Recurrence of Orpheus" is one of those stories.
Not flawed, but limited.
Here's the thing: if I wasn't already familiar with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, I would've been completely dissatisfied with this piece and wondered what the point of it was. Don't get me wrong, I would've enjoyed the prose, but I would've kept asking questions like WHY the Four Makers couldn't look back. Fortunately, I already knew due to my familiarity with the Orpheus myth, but if I hadn't, I would've had serious issues.
Instead of serious issues, I had just plain issues, and those related to the OTHER myths that Hoffman pulled from to create this story. Again, I want to stress how much I enjoyed the prose, and I did love the premise of the moon being kidnapped. The beginning scene with Alexander is just lovely and chilling. However from that point I found myself a little left out.
The irony is this: Hoffman and I had this very discussion about another book, Greg van Eekhout's Norse Code. Part of my problem with the book was my lack of knowledge of Norse myth, so I couldn't fully appreciate everything the author does in his novel. Hoffman, who is VERY familiar with the myth, loved it because she already knew the characters and the events that were going to happen, so she knew what to look forward to.
It's not Hoffman's fault that my last intellectual dip into mythology was back in high school (over ten years ago), but I wonder just how limited the audience is for this story. I'm not saying a reader can't appreciate it or even enjoy it unless they're as familiar with the myths and tropes as Hoffman is (some readers will love the writing so much they won't care), but it is a curious question. Every piece of fiction has a target audience, so the question becomes just HOW limited is your audience, and how available is a specific piece of fiction to someone who isn't in that target? There's nothing wrong with writing for a specific audience in terms of content (in terms of style, if you don't enjoy the prose, I don't know what's wrong with you), but I always balk at limiting my non-existent readership too much (not that a writer should pander to the ignorant either: there's a fine line, and that's the problem). But that's a choice every writer has to make with every story, every book, and while I certainly enjoyed the prose, overall, this is not my favorite story by Hoffman, because I was aware, while reading, that I wasn't getting the bulk of it, and that's a shame.
"Welcome to Foreign Lands"
by Justin Howe
Aside from reminding me a little bit of the spice worms in Dune, I enjoyed the story as a whole. Howe's story of the Earth's Core, Protocosmo, had some lovely, if sometimes perplexing, world-building. The kite details were fascinating, and the dachshund amused me to no end, for personal reasons. :) What perplexed me were the details of the wrangling of Infeci, though I suspect this is another story that would've benefited from a second-reading. I understand the Infeci are used as food and medicine to the people of Protocosmo, but my interpretation of the story made me wonder if the people of Protocosmo weren't trying to intentionally exterminate the Infeci?
That question aside, one I suspect may be answered with a second reading, the only other thing I wanted from the story was--oddly enough--a better sense of placement in the story. In other words, while the descriptions were lovely, I had a hard time actually visualizing what was happening and where. The blame for that may be on me for that, and again, it may be something solved with a second read, but I had a little trouble.
My Rating
No Rating: this was free for me, and it's free for you too, because you can download it from the website as a PDF. Just go here to download not just this first chapbook, but the second too! In terms of summarizing, I can objectively and safely say that the writing in each of the stories is very strong, and each story is unique to its author. Critiques for the chapbook as a whole include wishing there was a unified theme (I was kind of hoping all of the stories would relate to the moon, but at least two did), and I also noticed a number of formatting errors, where lines weren't indented correctly, and I recall noticing a number of typos as well. But you know what? The chapbook is free, so who am I to complain? The stories are enjoyable, though not all of them sat well with me. I love the DeLuca the best, and that story alone is worth reading the chapbook. If you're a mythology buff, I dare you not to fall in love with Hoffman's story as well. The Homeless Moon writers are definitely making their mark on genre fiction (it's not a huge mark, not yet, but wait, one day!), so getting a chance to sample their work for free is more than worth it. The chapbook is only 43 pages, and doesn't take that much time to read at all. So read it. And enjoy.
Cover Commentary: I like it! The insect-machine-like THING shining its light in the grass reminds me of the machines the aliens used in War of the Worlds (the Tom Cruise one), but in a good way. One thing that concerns me though: the lack of cover art attribution. Did one of the Homeless Moon writers draw this, or did they get it from another source? If it's another source, I want to know where.
Next up The Homeless Moon: Imaginary Places chapbook, which is this year's contribution.