Comments | xf_book_club: Story 169: "In My Secret Life" by David Hearne

amyhit in xf_book_club

Story 169: "In My Secret Life" by David Hearne

Jul 28, 2011 19:00

I was originally considering something fluffy after last week's horror and gloom, but then this fic lured me in with its spare, eerie tone and the unique way it makes use of several important loose threads the series left us with ( Read more... )

conspiracy, post series, short, gen, pg

Comments 7

estella_c July 30 2011, 22:21:03 UTC

Excellent choice! (Probably.) I love David Hearne. I used to post on his journal when he ran a bookstore, and then he disappeared. Anyone know anything about him now?

One of the (three, four, five?) good guys.

amyhit July 30 2011, 23:07:28 UTC

One of the (three, four, five?) good guys.

Hey, I never even thought of it before you mentioned this, but in light of our recent discussion about Khyber's opus, it does seem kind of appropriate to at least post something by a guy just now. Not that one guy's fanfic replaces another guy's fanfic - not like all guy's fanfic is the same, or...um.

"Hooray for guys writing fanfic! More of that, please," is what I'm saying.

As to Hearne: Man, was he ever prolific. He was a vignette writing whiz.

1/2 - style, concept, and character voice amyhit August 5 2011, 02:56:56 UTC

Writing style seems as good a place to start as any, I guess. The style of the writing in IMSL it much plainer than the vignettes I usually favor. There are places I feel the exact phrasing of a sentence is a bland or stilted, especially at the start of the fic, before the plot begins to thicken. However, by the time I get to the last word, I'm left feeling the fic's style works with the underlying dynamics of the story. The writing is nearly denotative, observing and describing what is, rather than evoking any specific feelings about what is happening, and I think that reinforces William's character, both as a child who has not yet developed complex inner systems of understanding, and as someone who must choose what role he will play in coming events. The power of the fic comes from the possibility that he might choose wrong, and the unaffected tone of the writing reinforces my belief in that possibility ( ... )

2/2 - okay wait, what? amyhit August 5 2011, 02:57:55 UTC

The one thing that has me confused about this fic is the part where CSM tells William:

"You also have two fathers and two mothers. One bloodline is made from power and secrets. The other..."

The ghost struggled to find a word which pleased him. Then he shrugged and said, "The other side is based on love -- a very overrated concept, if you ask me."

"I didn't."

The ghost stopped smiling. "Be smart, boy. Choose the winning side. Otherwise...you're just another dead human." What I can't figure out is, what is CSM trying to convince William of here? Originally I thought he was trying to convince William to join the colonists rather than the resistance. After all, that's the side I'm used to CSM being on. Yet Mulder and Scully must be the "bloodline made from power and secrets" he's speaking of, right? For one thing, the Van de Kamps are not William's bloodline at all. Yet an important part of the fic is that Mulder and Scully are out there somewhere, and that they love William, so it doesn't make sense for CSM to tell William the ( ... )

estella_c August 5 2011, 14:31:58 UTC

amyhit, I meant to comment earlier. It's a shame everyone seems to be elsewhere. I blame the weather. Or possibly the House of Representatives ( ... )

amyhit August 6 2011, 22:20:25 UTC

I liked it better than that other William ghost story, which seemed a bit dulled by vague symbolism.Ah, right, Silver Bells and Cockle Shells. I really like SB&CS, but I find it ultimately insubstantial. There's a lot of intriguing ideas in it, but none of those ideas really attach to anything in the bigger picture. It was very intriguing for such a tiny fic, but I felt like contemplation was the whole point. Whereas IMSL has its root closely and directly in the broader XF story, which is something I find extremely valuable, considering how few fic really develop William's character in a way that's to my liking. To me IMSL feels so possible, and very connected to the XF universe. I've always loved the idea of William reconvening with Mulder and Scully at some point, to fight in the resistance, and I think I've always hung onto that possibility as my own personal canon, even though I've also always figured CC would never actually write it that way. IMSL makes me realize exactly how much I want this for the characters and for the story ( ... )

wendelah1 August 9 2011, 00:35:08 UTC

I like this story a lot. It reminds me just a bit of, yes, "Silver Bells and Cockle Shells," because of the ghosts, I suppose, but also of a longer story which was recced here a little over three years ago but never discussed, probably because people were too preoccupied with the second movie. I should have put this place on hiatus for the entire month of August in 2008. From the looks of the comments, or should I say lack of them, maybe we should go on hiatus again until September this year? Well, let's see if "Certitude" brings anyone out to play ( ... )