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Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille
James Van Pelt’s fourth story collection Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille offers a carnival of science fiction, fantasy and horror tales. Hang on as you fly a WWI fighter plane hanging in a singles’ bar, ride a dragon from a troubled-man’s past, run genetically engineered world record marathons, see Tokyo Rose and the ghost of a romance past, read books before they turn to stone, run with wolves who will not let you go, conduct alien abductions, and swim in a lake of childhood regrets. Van Pelt’s wide-ranging imagination promises a surprise at every turn, taking you into the very heart of your dreams and fears.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 28, 2020
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
Published in 2012, "Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille" is a collection of science fiction/fantasy stories by James Van Pelt.
I attended a free Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers workshop hosted by Van Pelt on January 10, 2015, and bought this book during the event. Unfortunately, it languished on my bookshelf until December 2020, when I finally picked it up to read.
Many sci-fi/fantasy stories feature hyper-masculine men completing heroic, ultra-manly deeds. Saving damsels, killing Big Bads, and saving the world. This collection is the extreme opposite of that type of storytelling.
More than anything, I thought these stories were about middle-aged men who struggle to live up to masculinity norms, men who feel a lack of purpose in their lives, and men who deeply fear women: women's bodies and women's sexual rejection.
It's honestly kind of refreshing to come across such a subversive collection of sci-fi/fantasy stories. It makes me reflect a lot on gender norms and storytelling, and how much adhering to gender norms drives most storytelling.
Authors do not often spell out their intentions in books, and this collection does not contain any kind of author's note in which Van Pelt states his intentions for publishing this collection. I cannot know whether my takeaways are anything close to what the author intended for this book.
But I definitely came away from this collection thinking that a lot of "living up to masculinity" is the projection of confidence, either true confidence or faked, and what the protagonists of these stories all greatly lack is confidence. It was the cumulative effect of reading so many stories about timid people who struggle (and often fail) to find meaning and purpose in their lives that led me to stop reading this book on page 230 (of 303 pages total).
One story in particular, "Rock House," seemed to be a direct retelling of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," but lacked all of the shocking/thrilling excitement of Poe's tale. The protagonist of "Rock House" doesn't react with any amount of horror or despair to the plot twist. The only emotion I could detect in the story was "resigned weariness." Honestly, that was the primary emotion I felt from all of the protagonists in this book: resigned weariness. Not a weariness brought on from old age, but from middle-aged diffidence and fatigue.
The cover art for this book, which features an analogue clock popping out of a woman's womb, signifying the anxiety of a woman's "ticking biological clock" running down amidst a chaotic world of sexual malaise and ennui, is an excellent (if overdetermined) metaphor for the content of "Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille."
The stories in this book are much more realistic than typical sci-fi/fantasy wish-fulfillment tales of hyper-masculine men surviving great feats of derring-do. Rather than celebrating brinkmanship, this collection is honest about the loneliness, alienation, and diffidence of suburban Americans, people disconnected from their communities and the land they live on. But that honesty comes at a price, and these stories don't make for easy reading. A lot of readers turn to sci-fi/fantasy for thrilling adventures and escapism. But these tales are heavily rooted in sadness and pyrrhic victories, and illustrate the fact that boredom is often the reward for "doing the right thing."
I'm glad I bought this book, and I'm glad I read it. It's useful to know that I can read and appreciate stories about timid, diffident people starring in sci-fi/fantasy tales. I just have a hard time reading one right after another.
Recommended for readers interested in sci-fi/fantasy stories that focus on loneliness, alienation, and the fear of women. Highly recommended for fans of the 1971 movie "The Last Picture Show."
Published in 2012, "Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille" is a collection of science fiction/fantasy stories by James Van Pelt.
I attended a free Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers workshop hosted by Van Pelt on January 10, 2015, and bought this book during the event. Unfortunately, it languished on my bookshelf until December 2020, when I finally picked it up to read.
Many sci-fi/fantasy stories feature hyper-masculine men completing heroic, ultra-manly deeds. Saving damsels, killing Big Bads, and saving the world. This collection is the extreme opposite of that type of storytelling.
More than anything, I thought these stories were about middle-aged men who struggle to live up to masculinity norms, men who feel a lack of purpose in their lives, and men who deeply fear women: women's bodies and women's sexual rejection.
It's honestly kind of refreshing to come across such a subversive collection of sci-fi/fantasy stories. It makes me reflect a lot on gender norms and storytelling, and how much adhering to gender norms drives most storytelling.
Authors do not often spell out their intentions in books, and this collection does not contain any kind of author's note in which Van Pelt states his intentions for publishing this collection. I cannot know whether my takeaways are anything close to what the author intended for this book.
But I definitely came away from this collection thinking that a lot of "living up to masculinity" is the projection of confidence, either true confidence or faked, and what the protagonists of these stories all greatly lack is confidence. It was the cumulative effect of reading so many stories about timid people who struggle (and often fail) to find meaning and purpose in their lives that led me to stop reading this book on page 230 (of 303 pages total).
One story in particular, "Rock House," seemed to be a direct retelling of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," but lacked all of the shocking/thrilling excitement of Poe's tale. The protagonist of "Rock House" doesn't react with any amount of horror or despair to the plot twist. The only emotion I could detect in the story was "resigned weariness." Honestly, that was the primary emotion I felt from all of the protagonists in this book: resigned weariness. Not a weariness brought on from old age, but from middle-aged diffidence and fatigue.
The cover art for this book, which features an analogue clock popping out of a woman's womb, signifying the anxiety of a woman's "ticking biological clock" running down amidst a chaotic world of sexual malaise and ennui, is an excellent (if overdetermined) metaphor for the content of "Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille."
The stories in this book are much more realistic than typical sci-fi/fantasy wish-fulfillment tales of hyper-masculine men surviving great feats of derring-do. Rather than celebrating brinkmanship, this collection is honest about the loneliness, alienation, and diffidence of suburban Americans, people disconnected from their communities and the land they live on. But that honesty comes at a price, and these stories don't make for easy reading. A lot of readers turn to sci-fi/fantasy for thrilling adventures and escapism. But these tales are heavily rooted in sadness and pyrrhic victories, and illustrate the fact that boredom is often the reward for "doing the right thing."
I'm glad I bought this book, and I'm glad I read it. It's useful to know that I can read and appreciate stories about timid, diffident people starring in sci-fi/fantasy tales. I just have a hard time reading one right after another.
Recommended for readers interested in sci-fi/fantasy stories that focus on loneliness, alienation, and the fear of women. Highly recommended for fans of the 1971 movie "The Last Picture Show."
April 1, 2021
a gift for my recent birthday -- the donor knew i "liked science fiction" -- so ... of 23 'short stories' (ranging from 2 pages up to 25) i really liked just 2 (that he might yet ...) and Mrs. Hatcher's Evaluation -- but another half-dozen or so were more than merely interesting and evoking the kind of "weird" us sci-fi/fantasy enthusiasts are looking for.
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October 19, 202224 very good stories. No common theme.
December 14, 2013
As I expected, I enjoyed all of the stories in this anthology. However, the military-style fiction sort of threw me off as I'm more used to reading Van Pelt's science fiction and fantasy that tend to lean more heavily into the genres. I didn't not enjoy them but the style was also... different. Not in a bad way but in a way that took me out of the story just a little. I did find a story I was familiar with, which was a fun but short read, but mostly everything was new. I really should give a better review and I will when I have a more proper way to do so. I really do love Van Pelt's writing and miss reading some of it in class. I will definitely give his other anthologies a go as well.
March 8, 2013
Individual stories are excellent but this is not as good a collection overall as his previous efforts.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews