Titan Books has just re-published one of the coolest-conc...
Titan Books has just re-published one of the coolest-concept anthologies I've ever heard of, which contains a story of mine and one of my late husband, George Alec Effinger.
The anthology is WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE GLOBAL DISPATCHES. The Martian Invasion of 1898 which H.G. Wells wrote about in his novel was, of course, world-wide, so Kevin Anderson had the idea of collecting an anthology of what was happening ELSEWHERE in the world besides England... stories written by authors who would have been around at the time.
Mike Resnik wrote as Theodore Roosevelt, about when the Martians landed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
I got to do what happened when the Martians landed in India (whose muggy climate caused their poison smoke weapon to precipitate into harmless dust almost immediately)... written by Rudyard Kipling. ("Soldier of the Queen" - it's essentially Soldiers Three Meet the Martians).
George, bless his heart, decided to do "Mars, the Homefront," as written by Edgar Rice Burroughs - a story whose concept was, unfortunately, much better than its execution, as his medications prevented him from focussing. It's a fairly good story and a VERY good imitation of Burroughs, but it isn't what it could have - and should have - been.
The anthology also includes Howard Waldrop's take on the Martians landing in Texas, the novella "Night of the Cooters," which preceded Kevin's anthology but which Kevin felt he HAD to include.
Some of the other tales I haven't read, but the prize for the book, in my opinion, goes to Connie Willis, for a doctoral dissertation (complete with footnotes and bibliography) about how Emily Dickinson defeated the Martian invasion even though she'd been dead for two years. (As an academic myself, I consider this one of the funniest things I've ever read in my life.)
For the sake of that alone, check it out.
(Of course, years before, Manly Wade Wellman had written SHERLOCK HOLMES' WAR OF THE WORLDS, about what HOLMES did during the Martian invasion...)
Hot and windy on campus today - the last Saturday class for this "condensed" session; the next time we assemble on a Saturday (in 2 weeks) will be for the final. There's a fire in the hills near by and everything was covered with a thin, gritty film of ash. I'll be teaching intermittently on Saturdays for the rest of the semester: tiring.
The anthology is WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE GLOBAL DISPATCHES. The Martian Invasion of 1898 which H.G. Wells wrote about in his novel was, of course, world-wide, so Kevin Anderson had the idea of collecting an anthology of what was happening ELSEWHERE in the world besides England... stories written by authors who would have been around at the time.
Mike Resnik wrote as Theodore Roosevelt, about when the Martians landed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
I got to do what happened when the Martians landed in India (whose muggy climate caused their poison smoke weapon to precipitate into harmless dust almost immediately)... written by Rudyard Kipling. ("Soldier of the Queen" - it's essentially Soldiers Three Meet the Martians).
George, bless his heart, decided to do "Mars, the Homefront," as written by Edgar Rice Burroughs - a story whose concept was, unfortunately, much better than its execution, as his medications prevented him from focussing. It's a fairly good story and a VERY good imitation of Burroughs, but it isn't what it could have - and should have - been.
The anthology also includes Howard Waldrop's take on the Martians landing in Texas, the novella "Night of the Cooters," which preceded Kevin's anthology but which Kevin felt he HAD to include.
Some of the other tales I haven't read, but the prize for the book, in my opinion, goes to Connie Willis, for a doctoral dissertation (complete with footnotes and bibliography) about how Emily Dickinson defeated the Martian invasion even though she'd been dead for two years. (As an academic myself, I consider this one of the funniest things I've ever read in my life.)
For the sake of that alone, check it out.
(Of course, years before, Manly Wade Wellman had written SHERLOCK HOLMES' WAR OF THE WORLDS, about what HOLMES did during the Martian invasion...)
Hot and windy on campus today - the last Saturday class for this "condensed" session; the next time we assemble on a Saturday (in 2 weeks) will be for the final. There's a fire in the hills near by and everything was covered with a thin, gritty film of ash. I'll be teaching intermittently on Saturdays for the rest of the semester: tiring.
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