some more Twilight commentary

These are old, but since this might be my Twilight Review Week, I wanted to point out another couple.

First off is Cat Rambo guest blogging at Jeff VanderMeer's Ecstatic Days. I read this when it was first posted, three months before I read the book. Rambo's post is good, but the 100+ comments are just as interesting. Rambo does spoil the series, so avert your eyes if that's a problem. Check out Cat Rambo's commentary on Twilight.

She has the usual “oh I am so ugly because it has somehow escaped me that I actually have a body type that fits inside American beauty norms” thing going. Interactions with female friends are kept to a superficial minimum because we all know women can’t do the friendship thing with each other. That might be too empowering a message. So would Bella being able to save herself. But in everything she does, every faintly brave action, Edward is her motivation, the center of the universe for her.

Then, and a recent post from VanderMeer himself pointed out Meghan McCarron's thoughts on "some things Twilight says are awesome but they are not awesome at all".

Here is #3 from McCarron's list of 8.

3. Your boyfriend, who does not sleep, stands outside your window every night without your knowledge. He also breaks into your house without warning. He also follows you whenever you leave town in case you "get" into "trouble." (Hint: this will be less awesome when he is your ex-boyfriend.)

Rambo and McCarron are both quite awesome and got their points across far more succinctly than I did.

Asimov's: March (?) 2008

The March 2008 issue of Asimov’s arrived yesterday afternoon. March? Really. I know this isn’t new to long time subscribers, but I don’t know what I think about issues being mailed out quite so far in advance of the month in which it is supposed be for.

I should really start reading my Asimov’s, but now I’m even farther behind. But! I may crack open this one first because there is a story by Elizabeth Bear: “Shoggoths in Bloom”.

Also in the issue is Cat Rambo’s first sale to Asimov’s.

And why won't they update the website to get the current issue up? They're two behind now. *grumble*

underwhelm me again

After I read the excellent A Letter Never Sent I have come across a handful of underwhelming stories. Starting with a Cat Rambo story, which was decent (I rather enjoyed the manticore dropping the refrain "gnaw your bones" to frighten people), I’ve read six stories. Brazos, by Jerome Steuart, was surprisingly good. It deals with a man talking to the father of a River God down in Texas. The River God wants to marry the man’s daughter, but the father has read all the myths and knows that it generally does not end well. Strange Horizons has fairly consistently published quality stories and Brazos, while not one of the best, is solid. Sadly, the Heliotrope stories all disappointed. Honey Mouth had some potential, but On the Air and American Gothic...very disappointing. I really want Heliotrope to be a solid market for stories which publishes fiction which astounds and makes me sit up and notice. But, taking the first two issues into account...so far it isn't. Transtexting Pose from Clarkesworld...anyone know what that was about? Made no sense at all! The Cat Rambo was okay, but overall, I’m underwhelmed with this grouping.

I'll Gnaw Your Bones, the Manticore Said - Cat Rambo (Clarkesworld: July 2007)
Honey Mouth - Samantha Henderson (Heliotrope #1)
On the Air - Edward Morris (Heliotrope #1)
American Gothic - Michael Colangelo (Heliotrope #1)
Brazos - Jerome Steuart (Strange Horizons: July 2, 2007)
Transtexting Pose - Daniel Speegle (Clarkesworld: July 2007)

Bottom line: the only story I had any sort of appreciation for was I'll Gnaw Your Bones.