'Nathan Burgoine's Blog, page 68

#ShortStoryMonth Day Fifteen — “The Werewolf Before Christmas,” by Charles Payseur

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If We Took a Holiday

First off, you need to know the truth when it comes to superheroes and super-villains: I’m biased. I love superhero stuff. And there’s so damn little of it (especially queer stuff) that finding this was like reaching into the holiday stocking and finding a chocolate orange where you thought there was just going to be a roll of socks. Also, I know I’ve mentioned this story before, but I’m gonna do it again.

In other words? I loved “The Werewolf Before Christmas.” It hit all the right buttons for me, somewhere in the Venn diagram where campy, queer, super-villainy, magic, hilarity, sweetness, and just enough spice intersect.

It’s not a serious story, but there’s verisimilitude, which is hard enough with any spec fic, but we’re talking a magic and a tech based queer super-villains in love, one of whom watches a soap opera about werewolves—and it totally holds together. I bought in, and loved the ride.

So when a magic-wielding super-villain (whose magic isn’t totally reliable) decides the one grand gesture that will make Christmas work involves kidnapping the star of his super-villain lover’s favourite character from his soap opera of choice? It’s gold. And it’s a holiday story, and romantic, and still freaking adorable.

Other holiday shorts I adore? Sassafras Lowrey’s novella A Little Queermas Carol is flipping awesome (a Little/SM chosen family retelling of A Christmas Carol, for reals); Also, “It’s a Life” by M. Christian from Upon a Midnight Queer, which retells It’s a Wonderful Life from a very specific angle and is wonderful—the whole collection is solid, but that story had me; and also Elliot Cooper’s “Hearts Alight,” which is a spec-fic Hannukah romance between a golem and a young man that was freaking lovely.

What about you? Got any short fiction holiday themed stories you love?

#ShortStoryMonth Day Fourteen — Wild Cards

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Sharing is Caring

I waffled over this one quite a bit, but in the end it really is the experience of shared world short fiction that I love—with that one, frustrating caveat that is almost always the case: as far as I recall multiple anthologies go by and there are zero queer characters.

But! Onward. The Wild Cards shared universe was a series I bumped into ages ago, and it was aligned with what I loved to read about and how: superheroes, and short fiction. I devoured them (there are many, many books in the series), and it wasn’t until at least five or six books into the series that I petered out because, again, a complete lack of queerness. (It’s been years, so I’ll say it’s possible I’m mis-remembering, but if so, that’s how little impact any queer character that might have been had on me as a reader at the time).

The premise of the Wild Cards shared universe was one of a viral outbreak (alien in origin, I believe) that affected those who caught it in particular ways. Most people “drew the black queen” and died. Some people became hideously deformed (though that often came with benefits like tough skin or great strength) and were called “Jokers.” Some people got really odd like abilities that didn’t do much (like being able to change their hair colour at will) and were referred to as “Deuces.” But the “Aces”? They were the rarest of the rare, who instead developed super-powers like telekinesis or teleportation or phasing.

The stories begin in the McCarthy era (and indeed, the intersection there with McCarthyism was really cool in the first story) and move on from there, with characters appearing, aging, dying (or being killed) and growing throughout the series, and with characters from various stories showing up in the hands of other authors for their own tales. I loved them. I really did.

And every now and then I see there are newer books I’ve not read and I wonder if anyone ever got around to writing a queer Ace or not.

Another shared-world anthology I recently picked up but haven’t read yet was put together by Julie Czerneda, Tales from the Plexis, is set in her Trade Pact Universe and has stories from many authors all set at the massive space-market.

What about you? Do you have any shared world love?

#ShortStoryMonth Day Thirteen — “Evil Eye,” by Madhuri Shekar

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Shuddering

It will surprise no one that Mr. Loves His Happy Endings and Will Fight You For Them isn’t a huge fan of horror. I struggle with the hopelessness that threads its way through so many horror narratives (don’t even get me started on Zombies), but I do enjoy some horror when there’s that dash of hope and the horror ends with the survivor (or survivors) crawling their way out of the darkness, beaten but not broken, and ultimately triumphant.

(I don’t love it when the writer or director or the what-have-you takes that moment to show you the evil twitching or throwing in one last jump-scare to let you know it totally isn’t the end and they’re pretty much boned.)

I quite literally stumbled into an audiobook short today, “Evil Eye,” by Madhuri Shekar that fit the bill of everything I love in horror, though. The set-up is simple enough (and, honestly, quite funny to start with): you’ve got the Indian daughter living in the US, her mother in Delhi trying to arrange a good match for her, and the cultural divide between them that often leaves both frustrated with each other despite their love. Told entirely through phone calls and recordings, the story begins with that light, amusing tone.

And then things take a turn for the dark, supernatural, and horror. That it’s through an Indian lens was all the more refreshing—this is quite frankly a perfect example of why it’s so untrue when we say “Stories about X are so over!” when the market is only saturated with stories about straight-white-Christian versions of those stories—and having those twists of Indian culture forming the framework of the malice at play was really neat.

Anyway. If you like a creepy tale (but like me, need the good guys to triumph in the end at least a little), this is worth an eyeball. Or an ear, as it were, given it’s an audiobook.

More horror? Okay. William Holden’s Words to Die By is a collection of his darker thoughts put together along a fascinating theme of words/associations, and was super-freaking-creepy. Also, for those of you who do love zombies, check out Silvia Moreno-Garcia edited Dead North for tales of Canadian-specific zombies. Also, I did once write a horror short, and it’s included in Night Shadows: Tales of Queer Horror edited by Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann.

Do you like horror? What about the “aha! they didn’t make it after all!” moments? Fan or nay?

#ShortStoryMonth Day Twelve — Subscriptions, Fave Publishers and Series, and Short Fic Podcasts

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The Ongoing Hunt

Finding new short fiction isn’t always easy, and it’s something I find myself doing in little gluts when I can. Obviously, the easiest is to hit large bookstores with decent anthology selections (which isn’t often the case, but), and I listen to a lot of reviews and recommendations when I can (I’ve mentioned Charles Payseur’s reviews before, and I’ll drop his name again—check him out).

Second? Themed series. I recently delved backwards into the “Destroy” issues of science fiction in my collection (I have a terrible habit of picking up anthologies and reading a couple of stories in each before another anthology grabs my attention, and I’ve yet to touch the fantasy ones). They’re from Lightspeed Magazine, and they’re was awesome—People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction, Queers Destroy Science Fiction, and Women Destroy Science Fiction will be popping up a lot over the next year or so of my short story review projects/next year’s daily short fiction project, and they were a blast to find and discover.

Subscriptions, too. I recently picked up a subscription to Uncanny Magazine, and I randomly dip in and out of short fiction podcasts like Glittership, in an effort to make sure I find places that centre queer voices (with audio, the performer can make-or-break, so I don’t sweat it if I don’t click with a short fiction performer, and skip by to the next tale).

Big-5 wise, I’m also a fan of checking out Tor, though with the caveat that it feels sort of rare when I find a queer story there that’s tonally triumphant or happy, so I don’t go there on a bad-mood day, if that makes sense, on the off chance there’s a queer tale and it’s once again a bit depressing. Indie or smaller-press, I keep an eye on ChiZine, who do a lot of neat anthology projects, though they tend to skew darker/more horror than my usual tastes.

And of course, there’s also awards. I try to pick up anthologies that win the Lammies (you should totally check out the Transcendent anthologies), for example (again, in my quest to read queer stuff as much as I can).

But mostly? Mostly I get my suggestions from other readers, so hit me with your best sources for where you find your short fiction. Do you have a subscription or a podcast or a reviewer you follow?

 

Sunday Shorts—Salto Mortal, by Nick T. Chan

[image error]Oh, how I loved this story. It begins in a truly dark place: a woman in an abusive relationship with a border-guard who is making a break for it after a particularly brutal beating, one painful step at a time. Her progress is halted, however, by her realization she’s left a digital opening for him to find her.

And then she finds the alien child.

The layers of this story peel back in tiny reveals that are paced so perfectly I had writer envy alongside my enjoyment as a reader. The border wall is explained not to be just a mere political wall but one to keep out alien monsters who have destroyed the country the heroine came from—but are they monsters? The alien child is far more communicative than any alien she has heard of before, and as she tries to figure out if she can barter this alien to cover her attempted escape, the story unravels further mysteries and throws so much into question.

Ultimately triumphant, the tale left me happy on multiple fronts, and also wishing there was more—I want to know what happens next, and where she goes from here, and what it will mean for humanity.

Which, I guess, is one of the best signs of a short story done well, really.

#ShortStoryMonth Day Eleven — Wilde Stories

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Mine!

When I came up with topics for each day of #ShortStoryMonth, I didn’t always have a specific story (or anthology or collection) in mind to refer to, and was banking on my future self having ideas throughout the month to answer the prompts.

Today, I’m a little stuck.

The idea of the prompt today is more-or-less wide open: what things, or theme, or characters or settings or what-have-you is your total jam when it comes to short fiction. I can break that down into notions easily enough: give me queer stories with chosen family, conflict not about being queer, and/or a healthy dose of magic or psychic or somehow other? That’s what I love to read. Toss in some Canadian content or places outside of the US (no offence to the US, just, been there done that, fictionally speaking as it were), and I’m even happier.

And then I tried to think of examples, and sort of fizzled, because those are the things I love the most but not necessarily the things I bump into—and often a story has most but not all of what I listed above.

Still, if I’m gonna settle in one spot to look? There’s almost always a tale or three in any issue of Wilde Stories that hits all my favourite themes (or at least on a two-out-of-three). I was super-sad to see the Wilde Stories series go, frankly.

Another name that makes me sit up impatiently when I see it on an anthology editor credit? Jerry L. Wheeler. The man is a king of anthology themes with unusual frameworks—be it erotica themed around trains (Riding the Rails) or food (Dirty Diner) or circuses (Tented), just for three examples, when Jerry’s name appears, I’m always interested, and I know I’m going to find an unusual range of stories.

What about you? What are the things that make you go Oh! This is a story for me! and do you have any go-to places (or people) to get them?

#ShortStoryMonth Day Ten — “Patience, Colorado,” by Rob Byrnes

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Have Patience

You’ve all heard me extoll the virtues of Rob Byrnes before. He wrote the book I consider my start—if it hadn’t been for The Night We Met I don’t think I’d have become a published author—and his romance, When the Stars Come Out, was amazeballs good. Also? You need the caper stylings of the Grant and Chase series. Need.

That said, while he rarely delves into short fiction (and we’re all the poorer for that), when he does we end up with pieces like “Patience Colorado” from Men of the Mean Streets, and holy crap, is this a brilliantly dark little mystery/murder/noir piece.

We have a man passing through Patience, Colorado who is definitely not coming from a happy place (nor all that sure are we he’s heading for somewhere better), but he stops in the town and meets a young fellow working at a Bowling Alley who is potentially in a lot of trouble and garners the affection of this less-than-trustworthy traveler.

And things get a little dark—and twisty—from there. Also? Prize for best murder method of the anthology. Now, full disclosure, I’m in the anthology as well, but today it’s all about having “Patience.” The tone is pitch-perfect, the setting is grimy enough to leave a feeling on your skin, and the ultimate end to the tale? Oh, it’s chef-kiss perfection noir.

Other thriller and/or mystery short fiction pieces I’ve enjoyed? “Lucky Thirteen” by Anne Laughlin, where karma gets a vengeful resolution (from Women of the Mean Streets); and “Press Enter to Execute,” by Tobias S. Buckell (from Fireside Magazine) which blended a dark mix of assassin-for-hire and crowdsourcing in a way I didn’t see coming (and really enjoyed, especially when it all hits the fan).

Friday Flash Fics — “Any Cove in a Storm”

Once again, I’m back in the world of my ‘Cohort’ series, which is getting to be quite the series now, which is fun for me, but is scattered all over this blog. If you want to read them in chronological order (which wasn’t the order I wrote them in, but that’s just because I never write in chronological order), here they all are:  First Cohort, Second Cohort, Third Cohort, Fourth Cohort, Fifth Cohort, Sixth Cohort, Helios, Home, and now Any Cove in a Storm.

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Any Cove in a Storm

“You okay, Bradley?” Adamson asked, working hard to keep the amusement from his voice.

The soldier-turned-guard-for-hire turned, and a faint flush crept up from the neckline of his shirt. He didn’t, however, let go of the boat’s rail.

“You’re sure this thing is safe?” Bradley said, instead of answering the question.

Adamson did smile now. “Really? You’re afraid of being on a boat? Don’t you command a fleet of security ships? In space? With weapons?”

Bradley scowled at him, but the annoyance didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Space legs aren’t sea legs.”

“Was this a mistake, Chase?” Adamson said. “I’m sorry. I just thought it would be a bit of a break for both of us. A relaxing trip out for a day.”

“No,” Bradley said. “It’s fine.” His smile was a bit tight, but Adamson decided to take him at his word. It was strange seeing the man out of his usual black and silver Vanguard uniform. In a white t-shirt and simple grey pants, he seemed more human. His right arm was cybernetic all the way up to his right shoulder, and it was obviously military grade, but without the uniform—or the weapon at his waist—it took some of the edge off the broad man.

He almost looked like one of the colonists. Almost.

Bradley’s team had been hired by the same company that funded the Helios project, and Bradley’s small fleet of five ships had been the only reason the personnel on Luna had managed to make a break for Enceladus, and then had defended them once again from the EDF forces that hadn’t wanted to give up even then.

The WorldGov coup hadn’t been bloodless. And Vanguard-Three had been a casualty, too, before Cassandra had decided to reveal the location of the Helios Gate. The station and the four ships had all gotten through—scuttling the gate behind them—and now they were here, on Chiaroscuro, in another part of the galaxy, with no way home.

At least, not yet. Adamson looked back out over the water. He hadn’t told anyone but Dr. Adebayo and Flood about his work on another Helios gate. It wasn’t happening quickly, either. It had been his baby, but last time, his baby had been worked on by a whole team of scientists with the resources of a massive multinational company. Now he was working on a fledgling colony, which was running as smoothly as he could have dreamed, given the circumstances, but certainly wasn’t operating on a surplus of many of the things he’d need to turn tiny probes and testing systems into a full blown gate capable of tossing a space-ship from one star to another.

“That’s a whole lot of frowning.”

Adamson turned, blinking. “Sorry.”

“Lot on your mind, Jay?”

Adamson laughed. “Always. Have I ever told you I wasn’t supposed to still be running the show at this point?”

“You know, I think you have,” Bradley said. He had a wry smile when he let it out. In that one small way, he reminded Adamson of Manny, the Canadian who’d agreed to be his fake husband-slash-anchor to get Adamson out of the US on a fake ID when the Gentech situation had gotten worse.

He wondered about Manny. What was happening in Canada, now that the WorldGov had annexed it and Norway, the last two holdouts, after Yellowstone had erupted. Was he okay?

Was he alive?

“You’re frowning again.”

“Sorry,” Adamson said again.

“You apologize a lot.”

“Well, I do have Canadian citizenship.”

Behind them, the biology team were releasing drones into the water. He could hear their excited chatter. The smallish coastal sailboat hadn’t exactly been on the plan, and certainly they could have done most of the work remotely by air-dropping the drones from a shuttle, but…

Well. As Dr. Adebayo and Cassandra kept reminding him, the emotional health of the colony was just as important as all the rest of it.

On that note…

“I’d like to offer your team positions in the security division. I know you’re completely overqualified for it, and Cassandra pointed out a few other options for some of the Vanguard personnel after the screenings as well. You’ve got medics and engineers who’d be fantastic in the medical or engineering departments, too, but I thought you might want to keep your group together. At least at first.”

Bradley nodded slowly, looking out over the water. “Patel said that offer was probably coming our way. He’s a smart man.”

“He is,” Adamson said. “His suggestion is to have you all as a separate unit, everyone still reporting to you as you do now, and having you be part of the details that go out on missions outside the colony proper—like this one, for example. He’d like you to have a position equal to his, not reporting to him.”

Bradley laughed. “You guys are really trying to make us feel useful and important, aren’t you?”

“You saved so many lives. Everyone on the station up there is here because of you. And that doesn’t even count all the people you brought on the Vanguard ships from Luna.” He thought of Mica, back at the colony, and how he was doing better. Slowly, and in tiny steps, but still. Better.

“I’ve been reading up on this planet,” Bradley said. “It’s not like there are many dangers here. The largest life forms you’ve found have been in the oceans, and almost nothing beyond birds and insects on land. We’re not going to be protecting you from anything. There aren’t many threats here.”

Adamson smiled. “Would that be so terrible?”

Bradley blew out a breath. “Fair point.”

A rumble of thunder interrupted them. They both turned, and Adamson stared. In the distance, over the water, a line of black clouds was forming.

“Huh,” he said, pulling up his pad. “That’s not great.”

“Jay?” Bradley said.

“Let me check,” Adamson said. He raised his voice for the rest of the crew. “Satellites are projecting a good chance we’re in for a storm. Sorry to cut it short, but it’s time to turn it around and head back.”

To their credit, the crew didn’t grumble too loudly.

More thunder.

Adamson turned. He checked his pad again. The “good chance” had gone from a decent number to a certainty.

“Let’s do it quickly,” Adamson said, raising his voice again. The team hustled.

Bradley raised his eyebrows. It was another look that made Adamson think of Manny. “Is that your way of saying we’re in trouble?”

Behind them, a bright flash of light streaked from the dark clouds to the water. The crack of thunder that followed was loud.

Adamson’s wrist lit up. He tapped it.

“There’s a pretty bad storm forming near where you’re sailing,” Flood said from where she manned the Coop. “Just wanted to give you a head’s up.”

Lightning streaked the sky behind them.

“You know, I think we need to prioritize more satellite coverage soon,” he said.

“Do I need to send someone?” Flood said.

The wind was starting to whip around them. The colony shuttles were good, but in weather like this? “Not a great idea. We’ll head straight back.” He closed the connection, and eyed Bradley.

Rain started to pelt the deck.

In no time at all they were soaked. They helped the crew lock away the last of the equipment and were underway in record time. The storm loomed behind them, a wall of dark clouds and flashes of lightning.

“I’m so glad I came out on this relaxing day trip,” Bradley said.

Adamson glanced at him, and Bradley winked.

They’d all put on emergency jackets and they were hanging out in the cabin now, which lurched up and down with the waves. All their eyes were on the screens Adamson had synched with the satellite and the tracking systems. They were still ahead of the storm, but only just. Their skipper, Quinn—one of Constantinou’s biologists—was doing an amazing job, but her expression made it clear she’d rather have more distance between them and the storm.

“What about there?” Bradley said.

Adamson looked, not quite seeing it at first. But there was a small cove ahead. Quinn glanced at it, looked up through the windows, squinting through the rain and gripping the wheel.

“You want to stop?” Adamson said.

“He’s right,” Quinn said. “Better for us to get the ship under some shelter, and there’s a pretty good natural breakwater there.” She eyed the rest of the team. “Time to go get wet again.”

They barely made it in time, but they did made it. They slipped the ship into the cove and had her anchored before the black clouds rolled overhead. They had the sails down and the ship as prepared as possible. It wasn’t a pleasant time to be in the ship, and the storm took its time in passing, but they came out more or less unscathed, beyond one crewman’s unfortunately bout with seasickness.

When the clouds passed, a flock of white-winged birds flew overhead in the fading sunlight, chasing after some of the bioluminescent insects that seemed to have been churned up and confused by the storm.

Adamson joined Bradley on the deck once the worst had passed.

“Good call on the cove,” Adamson said.

“Quinn would have seen it.”

Adamson nodded. “I hope so. But she didn’t have to, because you did.”

Bradley took a breath. “I think my crew were really hoping you’d all find us a way to go home.”

Adamson froze, not trusting himself to even speak.

The security man eyed him. “And that’s an interesting reaction.”

“Is there any good way to say ‘there’s no way home’?” Adamson said. For just a second, he was tempted to skim the other man’s thoughts. Make sure he wasn’t suspicious.

But he didn’t.

Bradley blew out a breath. “No, I guess there isn’t. But hey, apparently you science types need protecting from storms.”

“We do.”

“I’ll talk to my people when we get back.”

“That’s great. We’ll do everything we can to make his like home, Chase. You know that, right?”

Bradley nodded. “I know.”

Adamson patted the man’s shoulder, and turned to head back into the cabin.

His Helios notes were on his pad, and he wanted to work on them again.

 

 

#ShortStoryMonth Day Nine — “That Door is a Mischief,” by Alex Jeffers

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Through the Door

I love connected short fiction. I love Alex Jeffers’ talent and skill and sheer artistry with short fiction. I love one of his characters I bumped into, I think, in Icarus magazine way back in the day: Liam, the fairy raised by gay dads who found him. All this came into a perfect little microcosm of things ‘Nathan loves when That Door is a Mischief was released, and there was an entire book—an entire book!—of Liam stories in my little hands.

That Door is a Mischief is a brilliant whole made of magnificent parts. There’s pain, and love; fear, and growth; beginnings, and, yes, and ending. But even the ending has that Jeffers magic spun through it, and somewhere alongside the choking feeling of sadness at the final few lines I was still smiling in spite of myself.

If you’re at all a lover of short fiction, and if you’re at all a lover of speculative fiction where our world intersects with something ‘other,’ then you need to do yourself the favour of finding a copy of That Door is a Mischief.

Open it. Step through. You won’t be same, but then again, with magical doors that’s always the point.

Other connected short fiction I love? I’ve already mentioned Jeff Mann’s Desire and Devour yesterday (but it bears repeating: 1700’s Scot leather-bear Vampire living in today’s Appalachia); Jimmy Misfit’s The Silliest Stories out of Bustleburg, America’s Worst City is a delight of satire and amusement (and a little on-the-nose with the way things are going down there, to be honest); and, of course, the Newford stories by Charles de Lint are freaking amazing, urban fantasy/magical realism that all starts with Dreams Underfoot.

What about you? Connected short fiction you’ve read and loved? Hit me with it.

#ShortStoryMonth Day Eight — “Derek and Angus,” by Jeff Mann

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See What’s Become of Me…

If you read my blog at all, you’ll likely have heard me wax poetic about Derek Maclaine, Jeff Mann’s 1700’s Scottish Vampire (who is now residing in Appalachia in the present day) already. When Desire and Devour came out, I was so excited to have all my Derek stories in one handy volume (it didn’t last, to my pleasure, as since then there have been more Derek tales) but more importantly, Desire and Devour delivers “Derek and Angus” to readers.

It’s no spoiler that Derek’s past was completely entangled with his first love, Angus, but the story and the details of what happened were left scattered like crumbs of sacher torte among other tales until “Derek and Angus.” Now we finally get to go back hundreds of years and spend time with Derek, who is in love, who has his Angus, and who hasn’t yet become immortal.

And then we get to watch it all happen.

“Derek and Angus” is a novella of love and revenge told with depth and brutality—the sense of the time is so well evoked, and the reality the two men face in being together isn’t skipped over. And while it’s bittersweet, it begins the story of Derek so it feels somehow triumphant as well. And if you start here? You’re lucky enough to have so many more stories of the dark Scot vampire ahead of you. No one does the dichotomies of death and the erotic, violence and love, dominance and compassion, and fear and arousal like Jeff Mann.

Other tales I’ve enjoyed that stand outside of time, or involve immortals or time-travel or some twisting thereof? “Letter From An Artist To A Thousand Future Versions Of Her Wife” by J.Y. Yang, from Queers Destroy Science Fiction, was so fantastically written and performed, about a woman who has been stymied by the failure of a technology to allow her to communicate across the limitations of light-speed; Matthew Bright’s “What a Coincidence” from Men in Love, which has a kind of Venn Diagram of Meet-Cute and Time-Travel and Aww to it; and “A Brief Guide to Other Histories,” by Paul McAuley, from Other Worlds Than These, which handled alternate timelines and temporal incursions and the notion of temporal doppelgängers really, really well.

What about you? What are your favourite stories about time?