RIP Lucius Shepard

According to SF Signal, author Lucius Shepard has died at the age of 66. 

I did not know Shepard personally, but he was one hell of a writer.  He was a writer of novels, short fiction, and non fiction, and all of it was excellent. 

Sad news. 

Depending on one's perspective, he may be best known for his Dragon Griaule stories.  I can't say that I have exhaustively read Shepard's work, but everything that I had encountered was compelling work. 

The Best of Lucius Shepard
Softspoken
The Golden
Two Trains Running
A Handbook of American Prayer

Griaule

That Dragon Griaule collection from Lucius Shepard that I've been dreaming about for years?


You can order it now. 

Lucius Shepard news from SubPress

To prove that if I come up with an awesome idea, someone else with the means of doing something about the idea will also come up with it: If I was ever put in the position of editing an anthology or collection, I wanted to edit a collection of Lucius Shepard’s Dragon Griaule stories. Shepard is an absolute master and it was a shame that there wasn’t a place to get all of the Dragon Griaule stories in one place.


So, it should come as no surprise that the good people at Subterranean Press will publish just that very collection that I’ve been thinking about for more than a year.


Even though I’m not getting paid for it, good on them and good for us to get all the Dragon Griaule stories in one collection. MUST BUY.

Not five minutes ago I set pen to paper on three different contracts for projects with Lucius Shepard. They include:

– A collection gathering all of his Dragon Griaule stories and novellas, including “The Skull,” a novella original to the volume.
– A collection which will feature four uncollected novellas, including one, “Repairman” written especially for the book.
– A Dragon Griaule novel, titled Beautiful Blood, on which Lucius is already working.

We’ll announce more details and post ordering info as appropriate.

The Taborin Scale

My review of the new Lucius Shepard novella The Taborin Scale is up at the Sacramento Book Review.

If you're so inclined...

Thoughts on 2008 World Fantasy Award Nominees: Novellas

"The Mermaids" - Robert Edric [PS Publishing]
"Illyria" - Elizabeth Hand [PS Publishing]
"The Master Miller's Tale" - Ian R. MacLeod [F&SF May 2007]
"Cold Snap" - Kim Newman [The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club,]
"Stars Seen through Stone" - Lucius Shepard [F&SF July 2007]

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm just not going to be able to read Ian MacLeod's story "The Master Miller's Tale" before the World Fantasy Awards. It will be available in The Year's Best Fantasy 2008, but that comes out next year (explain that one). If I thought at all about it when I stopped by Uncle Hugo's last weekend, I could have grabbed the back issue of F&SF and read the story. Alas, I didn't and this weekend is out, and the following weekend is World Fantasy. So, no review of the story. I'll trust that it doesn't suck and if it happens to win, I'll track it down. Stiff competition in this category, though.

So, "Cold Snap". It isn't that I passively ignore the Diogenes Club, I actively dislike it. Even though this in no way impacts me as a person, I actively hope a Diogenes Club story is not nominated for a Hugo, Nebula, or World Fantasy Award next year. Simply because then I can pretend it doesn't exist. I feel some weird obligation to read the story when it is nominated. Anyway. Here's what I previously said about "Cold Snap."

The story benefits from not having read the previous stories in The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club. “Cold Snap” is the last story in the collection and I am quite positive that had I attempted to read the rest of them that the book would have been tossed across the room long before I got to “Cold Snap”.

Without really talking about the story, since I’m really disinterested in discussing the Diogenes Club at any length, I semi-enjoyed “Cold Snap”. The over-description of flamboyant clothing was not there, and getting into some of the secret societies was interesting, as was the threat of the Cold demon that was about to freeze the planet. There is just something about the story, and the larger world of the Diogenes Club that simply falls flat for me as a reader. I’m not sure what, except that I certainly was not going to start from the front of the book and read any of the other stories. I’m pretty much done with the Diogenes Club until the next major award nomination (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy), and may that nomination not be soon. I am content with that decision.

Still content. Basically, the story was light on the aspects of the Diogenes Club which really turn me off and I've been down on these story since last year's World Fantasy Awards, but "Cold Snap" didn't suck like I expected. Still a bit of a chore, though.

Before this nomination I had never heard of Robert Edric or his novella "The Mermaids". It's a solid story and I would definitely read more Edric if given the chance. Here's what I had to say when I reviewed the story.

The Mermaids is, at its core, a simple story of disbelief in the face of the fantastic. It’s more, though. The heartbreak of the attack on a fifteen year old girl who, despite the discomfort of the magistrate, is no Lolita (though, even Lolita too was a victim). Sarah Carr is simply a young girl who saw something and believed what she saw. For that, for daring to tell the truth about what she saw, for daring to see the fantastic, the trial with unknown stakes proceeds. So, in a sense, The Mermaids is about truth, about belief, about the fear of small towns and sensitivity about how they are seen by the world, and not at all about mermaids. Despite the title.

Moving on to Lucius Shepard. Given that "Stars Seen Through Stone" has been nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula this year, and that I first read the story as part of The Best of Lucius Shepard anthology, I'll just do what I've been doing and repost part of what I said then.

The story was originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction and later in The Best of Lucius Shepard collection (forthcoming in August 2008). Like many other Lucius Shepard stories “Stars Seen Through Stone” is not an overtly SFF story. His fiction takes place in the real world, but a real world where sometimes something unexpected and unreal can occur. This is actually addressed early on in the story when the narrator mentions that the world contains all sorts of weirdness, but it is only the most extreme that anyone notices at all. “Stars Seen Through Stone” is set in 1970’s (sort of) Pennsylvania in a town called Black William (great name, by the way). Vernon is a small time, but moderately respected independent music producer and he signs a talented, if creepy, singer. There is an early incident with some odd ghost lights at the town library, but after that early incident the story follows Vernon developing his creepy singer, but comes back to the history of the town and the history of those odd lights. It is a quietly fascinating and compelling story, one that doesn’t necessarily jump out as being the story readers bang down the doors of their friends house to talk about, but it is also a really good story and one definitely worth the recognition of the various award nominations it has received.

While I will never be surprised by a Lucius Shepard win for any major award (or minor award), but I think the class of the field is another of The Inferior 4 + 1 (along with Shepard), Elizabeth Hand. "Illyria" is an outstanding story. I had never read Hand's work before, but this is a damn fine story. From my review of the story.

Outside of a slightly stilted too descriptive opening, Illyria rings with the earnest sense of youth that powered Dead Poets Society. The comparison may not be fully appropriate as we are comparing a novella to a feature length film, but this is a certain air to the movie, which if the film ever hit you, is clear and understandable and relatable. Illyria has that same special “something”.

This is all vague and incomplete, but writing about Illyria is difficult. I could tell you that the story is about Madeline Tierney, a young woman in love with her cousin Rogan, a scion (Madeline) of a once famous theatre family which has since abandoned the theatre as if it were unclean. I could tell you that the story is about the relationship between Madeline and Rogan as they grow, about the influence of the their and Madeline’s Aunt Kate. I could tell you all this, and more, but it would not serve to get across the quiet grace of Illyria, the still-small voice that gets under the skin and whispers to the reader.

So, there you have it. If I was on the jury for this award, and I had any say or sway, I'd give the World Fantasy Award to Elizabeth Hand. Without having read the MacLeod, the only nominee I'd be disappointed to see win is Kim Newman's "Cold Snap". But, seriously, if not Hand, then it should be Lucius Shepard. The man can flat out write.

Previous Thoughts:
Short Story

Dagger Key: "Limbo"

Just a few quick thoughts on the Lucius Shepard story "Limbo".

"Limbo" opens up with criminal Michael Shellane on the run from his former criminal associates. Early on in the story the word "assassins" is used, so Shellane needs to get away. He tries the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and rather than crossing to Canada takes another road and hides out at a lake cabin. There he meets a scared and partially emotionally broken (but beautiful, of course) woman named Grace.

Given the title of the story and the hints of supernatural things going on with the lake and a mysterious "dark house" and the weird behavior of Grace the reader starts to wonder if Shellane is already dead or in purgatory. Mentioning the wondering is no spoiler, but does frame the story. What is going on here?

There are questions of love and death and purgatory rolling around the first two thirds of the story and this is the best part of the story, the parts with Shellane and Grace and the lake and the wondering.

It is only when Shepard gets a bit more concrete and explores the mystery of the Dark House that he loses me as a reader. Perhaps I was simply disinterested in the Dark House, but the story Shepard initially told with Shellane and Grace takes a very weird turn and the tone of the story dramatically changes. The story gets darker, and weirder. It is not that Shepard told a whimsical story but the Dark House stuff didn't fit the first parts of the story.

"Limbo" does not completely satisfy, but it is a mostly strong story and like any Lucius Shepard story, it is worth reading. Even a Shepard story which does not fire on all cylinders is still a good story.

Dagger Key: "Emerald Street Expansions", and two others

I've previously read two of the stories in Dagger Key, "Stars Seen Through Stone" and "Dead Money". Here's what I said about each:

"Stars Seen Through Stone":

The story was originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction and later in The Best of Lucius Shepard collection (forthcoming in August 2008). Like many other Lucius Shepard stories “Stars Seen Through Stone” is not an overtly SFF story. His fiction takes place in the real world, but a real world where sometimes something unexpected and unreal can occur. This is actually addressed early on in the story when the narrator mentions that the world contains all sorts of weirdness, but it is only the most extreme that anyone notices at all. “Stars Seen Through Stone” is set in 1970’s (sort of) Pennsylvania in a town called Black William (great name, by the way). Vernon is a small time, but moderately respected independent music producer and he signs a talented, if creepy, singer. There is an early incident with some odd ghost lights at the town library, but after that early incident the story follows Vernon developing his creepy singer, but comes back to the history of the town and the history of those odd lights. It is a quietly fascinating and compelling story, one that doesn’t necessarily jump out as being the story readers bang down the doors of their friends house to talk about, but it is also a really good story and one definitely worth the recognition of the various award nominations it has received.

"Dead Money":

The gambling story! Woo! "Dead Money" opens as a gambling story, but any Lucius Shepard story isn't just one thing. There is gambling, but also zombies, voodoo, more violence, some sort of criminal underworld, and a damn fine story with a wicked ending.

Now, the main reason I have this post up is that I've also read, just recently, "Emerald Street Expansions" and I have no idea what so ever how to write about it. Sure, I cheapened out on "Dead Money" back when I reviewed Shepard's Best of collection, but that was just a quick overview (still a great story, by the way, go find it and read "Dead Money") but "Emerald Street Expansions" is a bit of a mind fuck.

The protagonist is bored with his life so he accepts some sort procedure which is intended to bring out the personality / consciousness of some other person. To spice up his life. Things don't go the way he expects and the 15th Century French Poet he is given meets up with a host of other people who knew said poet back in the day. This is before the story just gets weird. There is an assault on the home of the woman who did the procedure where the narrator is attacked by all sorts of kitchen appliances which he himself designed to be lethal and that's when I sat back and wondered if "Emerald Street Expansions" would be better read if under the power of hallucinogenic drugs. I'm sure it would be a trip. If I actually took anything stronger than Sprite or Ibuprofen. Alas, I don't, so I'm left trying to figure out the story on my own.

Honestly, "Emerald Street Expansions" is as solidly written as one would hope for or expect from Lucius Shepard but I really can't recommend it. The narrator / protagonist is just about as unlikeable a character as possible to build a story around. If anything, I wanted bad things to happen to him to perhaps end the story sooner. This is besides the fact that I struggled to really figure out what the hell was going on and what Shepard was trying to communicate. Surely I missed something.

Surely.

Either way, I'm ready for the next story and I'm ready to stop trying to figure this one out.

The Best of Lucius Shepard

The Best of Lucius Shepard is a career spanning collection of short stories from award winning author Lucius Shepard. Unlike the recent Dreamsongs collection from George R. R. Martin, The Best of Lucius Shepard is not so much a retrospective of Shepard’s career, but rather a true “Best of” collection. Each and every story in this collection is outstanding and high quality, even the couple which I could not fully engage with. There is no doubt that when reading a Lucius Shepard story you are reading a carefully crafted, thoughtful, deliberate, and beautiful piece of fiction. The Best of Lucius Shepard collects stories and one poem.

Even the most action filled stories from Lucius Shepard have meditative quality to them. A story like “Hands Up! Who Wants to Die”, which features a robbery, a bludgeoning, and several other acts of violence, still remains a story which undulates its way through the reader. The stories are quiet, yet dangerous. Shepard unfolds the plot, reveals surprises and character at the appropriate time without rushing anything. Shepard casts a spell. These are Science Fiction and Fantasy stories because in each story there is something, oftentimes one thing that is in no way possible in the real world. The stories themselves, however, feel real. The stories, as fashioned by Lucius Shepard, have a feeling of authenticity, as if Shepard is not simply spinning together lies, but rather telling us something that actually happened.

The first half of these stories are set in either South America or Vietnam. This brings a vastly different perspective to the fiction, one that allows a feeling of an alien landscape to most American readers yet one that we can recognize is a natural setting. Even more impressive is the fact that the settings feel authentic. I keep using that word, but it is the most appropriate term: Lucius Shepard brings authenticity to his fiction. I don’t know if he has been to Vietnam or South America (I think he has), but he brings Vietnam and South America to the reader.


The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule: Shepard opens this collection with what could rightly be considered a representational story of what readers will find in the collection. In 1853 Meric Cattanay proposes to the people of Carbonates Valley that he can help them rid themselves of their dragon problem by quite literally painting the dragon to death, slowly poisoning the dragon with the lead paint. The 21 page story takes a leisurely pace over the course of the fifty years required to poison the dragon Griaule to death. This is a representational story because we (readers) get a sense of how Shepard tells a story: with deliberate pace and beautiful description.

Salvador: With "Salvador" Shepard brings the reader the first mind-trip of a story. "Salvador" is the first overtly South American story in the collection and also introduces readers to Shepard's blend of American military and the fear of the jungle which will crop up again and again in various forms in this collection. "Salvador" is a scary drug addled Special Forces mission with something which is unclear whether it is a drug trip or something scarier and supernatural out in the jungle. If "The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule" was the opening quiet story, "Salvador" takes that quiet and cranks it up into quiet danger with brief flashes of muffled explosion. I continue to mention "quiet" because there is nothing flashy about Lucius Shepard's solid work. This is a great story to continue the collection and a stronger, more interesting and exciting story than "Dragon Griaule".

A Spanish Lesson: Where "Salvador" was a military focus, "A Spanish Lesson" takes the early Shepard story another direction. "A Spanish Lesson" introduces the Shepard reader to some counter culture (for deeper counter culture go read his collection Two Trains Running), and keeps the South American setting with a drifter finding an alternative community and then finding some deeper almost supernatural weirdness when the community gains two newer members. Like most Shepard stories, this one does not end where anyone might expect it to, and yet when we reach the end, it feels right.

The Jaguar Hunter: Staying in South America a man is forced to hunt a rare and sacred jaguar because of his greedy wife, and this begins a supernatural quest for the jaguar while the man tries to juggle his wife's greed with his own desire to not kill the jaguar. Thus far in the collection each unrelated story has built off the power of the previous story and has each been better than the previous story.

R&R: American soldiers take their leave in South America, and rather than find peace, they find anything but. This story is filled with danger, violence, sex, prophecy, and beauty. In a sense, this describes any Lucius Shepard story, but "R&R" just works. Broken down to a base description, a story does not sound like much. It is not simply the sum of basic parts, but rather the way Lucius Shepard tells the story which makes nearly every story in the collection something special.

The Arcevoalo: Here is the first time I was disappointed with a Shepard story. This was not quite what I had hoped for, though I'm not sure what I expected. Some alien (?) creature awakens with a task it does not understand and has to fulfill it. Simply put, "The Arcevoalo" is not a satisfying story, not a story which makes a whole lot of sense, and when finished I simply wondered what exactly I just read, rather than thinking about the nature of the story. Disappointing.

Shades: "Shades" is the first story in this collection to turn to Vietnam, though not in an active war setting. Rather, "Shades" is a post Vietnam story where a former soldier turned reporter returns to Vietnam because the ghost, the shade, of a former soldier, a man he once knew, has revealed itself in country. It is a story less about war and more about what war does and how soldiers and civilians respond to it. Good stuff here and a nice recovery frm "The Arcevoalo."

Delta Sly Honey: Now we get deeper into Vietnam, back into a war setting during the war itself. It's a story that works with radio broadcasts on a base and a spooky company (or something) named Delta Sly Honey. When Shepard is truly on his game there is no describing exactly why the story works, only an acknowledgment that the goods were indeed delivered. Consider this that acknowledgment.

Life of Buddha: Something of an oddity to this set, "Life of Buddha" is set in America with Americans but features a quiet (really) protagonist who says little and does less and acts like a fat buddha watching over people, getting his nightly fix, and very rarely dispensing advice, though sometimes. "Life of Buddha" is a weird little story, but still a decent read. I'm not sure what to make of it.

White Trains: My confession is this: I didn’t read “White Trains”. This is the one poem in the collection and I tend not to enjoy poetry that tells a story rather than evokes a feeling, and I have no idea how to write about poetry. With that said, “White Trains” is perhaps four pages out of nearly 600, and the rest of the collection is more than worth the price of admission.

Jack's Decline: "Jack's Decline" assumes Jack the Ripper lived out a life of quiet (there's that word again) captivity, but meets his end when the Nazis arrive on the scene. There's more to it than that, and Jack's bloodlust never ceases, but this was a story I didn't expect. After skipping the poem it was nice to get some nasty darkness from Shepard.

Beast of the Heartland: Shepard does boxing with an aging, nearly blind fighter taking one of his last fights in the hopes of earning enough money and exposure to get some television fights and be able to retire with some money. Like all the Shepard stories, this isn't about what you think it may be about.

Radiant Green Star: When we finished with the South America stories and the Vietnam stories what we are left with are the simply fantastical stories. "Radiant Green Star" seems like a story simply about circus and revenge, but, again, the revenge is not whatever may be the expected revenge, and the circus isn't even what it seems. If the poem was a breather, Shepard is picking up steam here, moving through and ripping off story after story, getting stronger again.

Only Partly Here: The 9/11 story. I'm not sure there is a better quick description of it. Well, there is, but that short description would reveal too much. This is a romance, a story of a man working cleaning the rubble of the towers and a woman obsessed with knowing more without being engaged by emotion. Powerful, sad, beautiful.

Jailwise: The prison story. Yes, I am reduced to describing stories in three words or less. But, like any good Lucius Shepard story (and this is a good Lucius Shepard story) there is a supernatural jail that makes no logical sense and Tommy Penhaligon finds himself transfered to a prison where he doesn't know the rules and there is no explanation even though there is expectation. There is a meditative quality to much of Shepard's fiction and this is quite evident here. This is a very strong story.

Hands Up! Who Wants to Die?: Ahh, I can't describe this in three words. As I mentioned in the second pargraph, there is a robbery, bludgeoning, several other acts of violence, and a story that just works its way to a conclusion in no discernible way. For three fourths of the story there is no sense that this is in any way a science fiction story. By the end there is only the barest hint of SF because what happened might not have actually happened. Doesn't matter. What matters is the journey, not the conclusion. This is a hell of a journey.

Dead Money: The gambling story! Woo! "Dead Money" opens as a gambling story, but any Lucius Shepard story isn't just one thing. There is gambling, but also zombies, voodoo, more violence, some sort of criminal underworld, and a damn fine story with a wicked ending.

Stars Seen Through Stone: Nominated for both a Hugo and a Nebula award for Best Novella, "Stars Seen Through Stone" may be the story that brings new readers into this collection. While it is a very good story, it would not mark as one of the best of the collection...and this is not meant to disparage the story but rather to stress just how strong the rest of the collection is. I will copy what I have previously written about the story.

The story was originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction and later in The Best of Lucius Shepard collection (forthcoming in August 2008). Like many other Lucius Shepard stories “Stars Seen Through Stone” is not an overtly SFF story. His fiction takes place in the real world, but a real world where sometimes something unexpected and unreal can occur. This is actually addressed early on in the story when the narrator mentions that the world contains all sorts of weirdness, but it is only the most extreme that anyone notices at all. “Stars Seen Through Stone” is set in 1970’s (sort of) Pennsylvania in a town called Black William (great name, by the way). Vernon is a small time, but moderately respected independent music producer and he signs a talented, if creepy, singer. There is an early incident with some odd ghost lights at the town library, but after that early incident the story follows Vernon developing his creepy singer, but comes back to the history of the town and the history of those odd lights. It is a quietly fascinating and compelling story, one that doesn’t necessarily jump out as being the story readers bang down the doors of their friends house to talk about, but it is also a really good story and one definitely worth the recoginition of the various award nominations it has received.

Several stories in this collection are available to read online for free. I mention this because getting the chance to experience some of these stories should only whet ones appetite for more. My base conclusion is that The Best of Lucius Shepard is likely to be the single best short story collection published in 2008 and one that will surely deserve a spot in any reader's collection. There are some damn fine stories here and this fiction is not to be missed. The jacket copy states that The Best of Lucius Shepard "is destined to be recognized as a true classic of the field".

Damn right.

This review is for the trade hardcover edition of The Best of Lucius Shepard. The limited edition includes a bonus trade paperback volume titled Skull City and Other Lost Tales and features 10 additional stories not included in The Best of Lucius Shepard.

The Free Shepard Stories:
"Stars Seen Through Stone"
"Jailwise"
"The Jaguar Hunter"

Reading copy provided courtesy of Subterranean Press.

Thoughts on Nebula Nominees 2008: Novellas

"Kiosk" - Bruce Sterling (F&SF, Jan07)
"Memorare" - Gene Wolfe (F&SF, Apr07)
"Awakening" - Judith Berman (Black Gate 10, Spr07)
"Stars Seen Through Stone" - Lucius Shepard (F&SF, Jul07)
"The Helper and His Hero" - Matt Hughes (F&SF, Feb07 & Mar07)
"The Fountain of Age" - Nancy Kress (Asimov's, Jul07)


Let’s start with Bruce Sterling, shall we? “Kiosk” is set in some future Russia with a man running a small fabricator, a tool which can make a variety of cheap products. The novella unfolds with some of the political and economic situations of the neighborhood being revealed and the man gets a larger fabricator which can make better products, though uniformly black and featureless and indestructible. Perhaps this was the Soviet ideal? I don’t know. What I do know is that I struggled through “Kiosk” and there was no joy in mudville. There doesn’t have to be joy, but there is no life, no vibrancy to “Kiosk”. At least, there was no vibrancy which engaged me, as a reader.

“Fountain of Age” by Nancy Kress is an interesting story. It deals with gypsies, future technology which can restrict aging (D-Treatment), family, and the goal of an aging man to find a woman he used to know. The odd thing is that I swear I’ve read a different version of this story. Certain characters appeared in each story, there was D-Treatment (same treatment), and a good deal of similarity...but it wasn’t the same story. I’d remember that much. So...did Nancy Kress write the other story, too? Or is this a spin-off of somebody else’s story? Either way, “Fountain of Age” was a bit of a treat. Fascinating story, I’d like more in this milieu, and I’d like to read more from Nancy Kress.

I wanted to dislike Gene Wolfe’s “Memorare”. I disliked his second and third New Sun books so much that the very name Gene Wolfe is enough to make me avoid a story or a novel, but this was nominated for the Nebula and it is available to read for free, so one doesn’t look a gift story in the mouth. “Memorare” is a love story in deep space. Windy is a television producer investigating the practice of burial tombs in the orbit of Jupiter. Kit is his girlfriend who, after a time, joins Windy and brings along a friend in need of a place to stay. Complications arise, as complications are wont to do. The more I read of the story, the more I was impressed with the emotion Wolfe was building. I can’t quite name the emotion, but it is there and it builds. Vague, huh? This is why I don’t write about short fiction on a regular basis. Anyway, the story. An impressive job describing the locations, the actual detail is probably not as vivid as it feels, but there is a definite sense of place to the story. I could picture it. Wolfe does this remarkably well. It’s well worth reading and feels like a more thoughtful science fiction, but that isn’t quite right either, because it would suggest that Bruce Sterling or Nancy Kress aren’t thoughtful writers, and that’s not true.

Judith Berman’s “Awakening” opens with a woman waking up in / on a pile of corpses and finding her way out of wherever it is she is. Interesting opening, but what follows is that I stop caring almost instantly, and after I stop caring I struggle to finish the rest of the story. “Awakening” should be a scary story, but it isn’t. I was very disappointed with “Awakening”.

I find myself having read “The Helper and His Hero” by Matt Hughes and not having a single thing to say about it. So, I’ll say this. I can see why other writers like the story. The story seems technically proficient and well crafted, but it was an utter chore / bore to read. I’d rather go read Gene Wolfe’s New Sun books. This is not a compliment.

Finally, this brings us to “Stars Seen Through Stone”, by Lucius Shepard. The story was originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction and later in The Best of Lucius Shepard collection (forthcoming in August 2008). Like many other Lucius Shepard stories “Stars Seen Through Stone” is not an overtly SFF story. His fiction takes place in the real world, but a real world where sometimes something unexpected and unreal can occur. This is actually addressed early on in the story when the narrator mentions that the world contains all sorts of weirdness, but it is only the most extreme that anyone notices at all. “Stars Seen Through Stone” is set in 1970’s (sort of) Pennsylvania in a town called Black William (great name, by the way). Vernon is a small time, but moderately respected independent music producer and he signs a talented, if creepy, singer. There is an early incident with some odd ghost lights at the town library, but after that early incident the story follows Vernon developing his creepy singer, but comes back to the history of the town and the history of those odd lights. It is a quietly fascinating and compelling story, one that doesn’t necessarily jump out as being the story readers bang down the doors of their friends house to talk about, but it is also a really good story and one definitely worth the recoginition of the various award nominations it has received.



My conclusion? This is something of a disappointing category for me. I like “The Fountain of Age”, but I am not sure it is quite as good as either “Memorare” and “Stars Seen Through Stone”. It is difficult to say just how the Nebula votes will vote, but I guess I would be surprised if either Gene Wolfe or Lucius Shepard don’t win. Both are well respected, talented authors. If I had a vote, I would probably give my vote to “Stars Seen Through Stone”. I hold the fiction of Lucius Shepard in very high regard, and this was another excellent story for Shepard. Quietly filled with the fantastic, “Stars Seen Through Stone” is not a bad choice for the Nebula. This is just not at all an overall exciting or very interesting category.


Previous Thoughts
Novelettes
Short Stories

The only category left which I would like to cover is that of the Novels, but I don't think I will be able to get to it. I've only read two of the books (Ragamuffin, and The New Moon's Arms). I would much rather have read at least three of the books before I start writing about the category, and that just isn't likely to happen. It's possible, but not likely. I have The Yiddish Policeman's Union at home from the library, and I'm going to get to it before the Hugo's, but I'm not sure I see it in the next two weeks. I've had Odyssey at home for two months and, I don't know, I just don't really have much interest in it. If it wins I'll get that copy back and read it right away, but nothing about it shouts to me. Or whispers. That leaves the Haldeman. I should read more of his stuff. I was impressed with The Forever War, so why not give more of his fiction a shot. This is a long way to say that I like Ragamuffin and out of the two books I have read, I'd like to see it win.

Preliminary Nebula Ballot: F&SF stories available online

John Joseph Adams provides a link to the 7 stories from Fantasy and Science Fiction nominated for the Nebula. Adams mentions they will only be up a limited time, so it's time to check them out!

We've got fiction from Gene Wolfe, Ted Chiang, and Lucius Shepard, among others.

I'll have to check these out. I've read Ted Chiang's story previously, and Geoff Ryman's story, but the other five are new to me.

Quick Takes: Gardner Dozois, Lucius Shepard, David Brin

The New Space Opera, by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan (editors): The Space Opera I have read, I have loved (Dan Simmons, Peter F. Hamilton...probably others), but I am not sure how much I have really read. This anthology of “New Space Opera”, of the new age of Space Opera being written today, has been lauded, critically acclaimed, and much praised (and yes, I know I said the same thing three different ways...it’s all for effect). So, it was with great anticipation which I opened The New Space Opera. Maybe Space Opera is something that works better in the novel length versus the short story. I’m not sure. What I do know is that there were far more misses in this anthology than hits. Perhaps this is because The New Space Opera is an original anthology of stories written specifically for this volume, rather than being a reprint anthology of the “Best” New Space Opera. Either way, this wasn’t quite the anthology I hoped it would be. To top it off, I had recently finished Fast Forward 1, an unthemed SF anthology from Pyr, and was gripped the entire way through. The New Space Opera left me cold. There were still some stories that worked: “Maelstrom”, by Kage Baker, “The Emperor and the Maula” by Robert Silverberg (and this one should not have worked for me), and “Minla’s Flowers”, by Alastair Reynolds comes to mind. Dan Simmons’ “Muse of Fire” was another well crafted story, but I am beginning to question why the “classics” remembered today (Shakespeare, Homer) are going to be remembered thousands of years from now when all else has been forgotten. It just makes me wonder. Simmons is an intelligent man with ambitious science fiction, but sometimes the intermingling of the “classics” with far future science fiction makes me twitch. Just a little bit. There is some good stuff in this anthology, but overall...it just didn’t work. Not quite a disappointment, but nothing I would really recommend, either.



A Handbook of American Prayer, by Lucius Shepard: What I consider to be Shepard’s greatest novel should probably garner more than just a Quick Take, but a bit too much time has passed between my finishing the book and my writing about it. Here’s the basic story outline: A man is sent to prison for murdering another man. It was self defense, but that doesn’t really matter. He has blood on his hands. In prison this man came up with something called “prayerstyle”, a way of clearly stating and praying one’s wishes and desires. The funky thing is that it works. The prayers, written out as poems, if working towards a specific desire, will generally come true. Outside of prison the man published a volume of prayerstyle and then something amazing happens: it becomes a pop culture phenomenon, and then it gets even bigger than that. A Handbook of American Prayer is a) this man’s journey - physical, spiritual, and psychological, b) a meditation on American pop culture and religion, c) a damn good story, d) all of the above. The first two thirds of the novel, in particular, are excellent. Things feel a bit disjointed near the end, but A Handbook of American Prayer is still a richly satisfying novel.



Sky Horizon, by David Brin: Do you remember when you were a teenager and you looked up at that sky wondering if there were aliens up there? If that strange light moving across the night sky was a UFO instead of an airplane because the light didn’t blink like any plane you had seen? When you stayed up late listening to Art Bell on the radio? Conspiracies about life that we’ve never seen, things that the government would rather keep hidden? Sky Horizon taps into all of this, only places it in a high school setting. The math geeks claim to have found a real live alien and are hiding it in their basement. Is it true? High school is filled with crazy rumors, but this school is near a military base, so you never know. Sky Horizon is novella length, but gets into the teenaged angst where a boy does what is right, but certainly not popular. The aliens do come, but mostly this is seen through the eyes of the teenagers. Sky Horizon is also the first volume in Colony High, which only makes sense at the very end. Sky Horizon doesn’t have that weighty thickness of much of Brin’s novel length work. It is a breezy novella in comparison, though still a thought out and considered work (and we’d expect no less from David Brin). It might be considered a bit too light and non-serious (or non-important), but given its length, Sky Horizon is a good story and here’s the important part: I want to know what happens next and I have every intention of reading the next volume of Colony High when it is published...hopefully still by Subterranean Press.

Quick Takes: Lucius Shepard, Roy Morris Jr, Elaine Cunningham

The Golden, by Lucius Shepard: I find it very interesting to see what various authors do with well worn story ideas. Here Lucius Shepard takes on the "Vampire Novel", but Shepard does it in the form of a 19th Century novel with some of the form and restraint found in that era. Set in 186-, The Golden is something of a mystery. We are introduced to Michael Beheim, once a Chief of Detectives in Paris, now a vampire, a member of The Family. The Family has a breeding program which leads to a mortal having such perfect, exquisite blood that the individual is called The Golden. There is a Decanting Ceremony for the clans. Before the Decanting can take place, however, The Golden is murdered and drained of her blood. Beheim is chosen by the Patriarch to investigate the murder. He has three days, otherwise there will be serious repercussions and he must investigate other vampires who will not take kindly to this intrusion. The Golden is a mystery, a romance, a vampire novel, and a well told tale. Shepard seldom disappoints with his fiction and while there is a bit of rigidity in the prose (fitting the style and setting, but rigidity all the same), The Golden is an excellent work of fiction and another example of what else can be done within the vampire subgenre. The Golden is nothing like the contemporary vampire fiction being published today, or even like Stephen King or Richard Matheson's take. If anything, it harks closer to George R. R. Martin's Fevre Dream, but in an entirely different setting. The bottom line is that The Golden is worth the read, as is most of what is published by Golden Gryphon.



Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876, by Roy Morris, Jr: Remember the George Bush / Al Gore Election of 2000 with all the voter fraud, the contested state of Florida, accusations, and overall mess the election was? It's happened before. Same states, different players, potentially worse fraud. Remember, this is not long after the Civil War and the Southern states are only just being admitted back into the Union and the Republicans (the forerunners of the modern Democratic party) have had control for some time now. The Democrats are itching to gain control of their own Southern states and of the Presidency. Both Hayes and Tilden are nobody’s first choice for the nominees, but that's the way it goes. Roy Morris, Jr, takes us through the nominations and how these two men took center stage in the 1876 election. This is probably the largest issue I have with Fraud of the Century. After the introduction where Morris compares the 2000 election to the 1876 election and shows how they were similar Morris takes a step back and spends time introducing the players and their political worlds. It's important, I know, to understand Hayes and Tilden, but it's dry. Very dry. By the time we hit the real Presidential Intrigue, vote theft, disenfranchising, electoral manipulation, and all the other illegality of the election it is difficult to really maintain interest. Morris tells the whole thing in a very dry tone that runs through even the darkest dishonesty on the whole thing. Great subject and puts a historical perspective on 2000, and Morris does speculate on what might have been different with Tilden at the helm (very little), but overall the 250 page book is a bit of a let down due to the dry prose of the narrative.



Dark Journey, by Elaine Cunningham: With Dark Journey we hit the midpoint in the 19 volume New Jedi Order series dealing with the invasion of the galaxy by the Vong. The Vong has hit Coruscant and the evacuation has begun. Anakin Solo is dead, Jacen is captured, and Jaina is on the run. This is a bleak time for the New Republic...and I think the only thing that Cunningham really accomplished here was pointing the characters in the right direction for the second half of the NJO. Underwhelming to say the least. The writing is blah, the story does not move at nearly as quick a pace as previous NJO efforts, and honestly, I can't say that enough happened here to warrant an entire book.