Explosive rags!!! Great stories!!!

[sergebroom]

I finished the September 2007 issue of Asimov's a few days ago, but it's only now that I can write about it. The last few days were spent cleaning up the house for the visit of my parents-in-law. In fact, there was more of that yesterday, starting at 6am until late afternoon when it was time to go pick them up at the airport. (I did take a shower before departing. Really. Honest.) My lengthiest task involved applying some product called Restor-a-finish upon the numerous scratches made by our canines to the house's varnished doors over the years. And it worked too because the scratches are gone. ("But wait! There is more!...") I had been warned though not to toss the soaked rags into the garbage can because the heat might cause them to spontaneously burst into flames.

That being said…

I especially enjoyed this issue of Asimov's, especially two of the stories. There was Ted Kosmatka's The Prophet of Florès, an alternate-History where the Theory of Evolution never took hold, and Intelligent Design reigns. There are suggestions that contradictory evidence was suppressed or manipulated. But it's becoming more and more difficult to keep the facts buried, no matter how harsh the ID people are. Recommended, and yes, I'm going to have to go take a look at more of Kosmatka's writing at http://www.tedkosmatka.com.

My favorite though is James Van Pelt's How Music Begins. Two years before, a high-school band and its two teachers disappeared from the Earth and found themselves imprisonned by some unseen aliens they call the Perfectionnist. Why, nobody knows, but the kids have become convinced that, when their performance is perfect, the aliens will send them back home. I was familiar with Van Pelt from the days when I used to read Analog, but this story really did it for me. Time to go peek at http://jimvanpelt.livejournal.com.

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Van Pelt's story is truly wonderful. I really enjoyed it.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I think Van Pelt (*) is one of those writers who have written a lot and yet don't get noticed much because they haven't got a novel out there - maybe because their strength is in the shorter lengths. This lack of visibility is a shame because he is a wonderful writer, as this story finally made me realize. I'd better look into acquiring the couple of story collections I think he has out there.

(*) Yes, he does get a kick out of having the same family name as Peanuts's Lucy.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know him?

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I don't have that honor. I was remembering something about him in the intro to one of his Analog stories.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. I jump too swiftly to conclusions.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Not at all. My earlier comment was written in such a way that it could be interpreted the way you originally did.

[jimvanpelt.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for the nice comments. I had a lot of fun with that story, and when that happens I worry that anyone else will find it interesting.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

You need not have worried. About your collections that are already out there, do you prefer that people buy them thru bookstores, or thru yourself, or is either way fine as long as we buy the books?

My thanks to you for writing the story.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose so.

[jimvanpelt.livejournal.com]

The most profitable way for me for you to get them is through Fairwood Press at www.fairwoodpress.com. Just as easily (and perhaps a little less expensive), you can get them through amazon.com.

Thanks for your interest in the other stories! My novel, Summer of the Apocalypse, came out in November and is available the same way.

Best,
Jim

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Done. I'll be eagerly awaiting the novel and the collections from Fairwood Press.