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The Radio Magician & Other Stories
Mixing straightforward science fiction ideas, such as the search for habitable planets, the terra-forming of Venus, and a time-traveling substitute teacher, along with fantasy concepts, such as saving the Earth from nuclear destruction through supernatural sacrifice, a teen werewolf agoning over attending prom on the night of the full moon, or a young boy who denies his polio by listening to a radio magician, to tales of horror where a pair of fathers have both lost sons, or an inn so vast that a man may never find his wife, The Radio Magician and Other Stories showcases James Van Pelt's wide-ranging talent as a tale spinner of the fantastic.
290 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 20, 2010
I am not a big fan of short story collections because I am lazy. I tire of the starting and stopping, the continual return to “Go” (without collecting $200) and the laborious resetting of context and character, but mostly, I tire of stories that really do too little to really even be interesting, let alone significant, and end with little done and less said.
That said, let me now say that James Van Pelt has reminded me of why I used to love short stories and why the best of the short stories I read were usually science fiction.
Many are the reasons that James Van Pelt is a true Fiction Magician. My favorite in the collection (today, anyway) is “The Saturn Ring Blues,” and I’ll refer to that one as I enumerate his strengths.
First, Van Pelt is a master at reducing the dreariness of reset, that drag of starting over and over again as you turn the pages from story to story. To do that, he begins a story where the story actually begins. No annoying throat-clearing and author-dawdling mars these tales. Starting at “Go” is a rare talent, but Van Pelt demonstrates his with every story.
Try this first sentence: “Old Jelly Roll Morton’s soulful voice fills the buglighter’s cabin.” In the first line, Van Pelt has introduced and connected the blues and “buglighting.” If you’re lucky, you’re already familiar with the blues and Jelly Roll. If you’re not, you will know a lot about them by the end of the story. But what the hell is “buglighting”? Jim and I are both glad you asked, and that dramatic question will draw you immediately to a very smart story.
Second, Van Pelt just KNOWS stuff. He astonishes me with his width, depth, and breadth of knowledge about history (the polio plague of the early twentieth century, for instance), music (the intricacy of music performance for those actually playing it), the blues (yes, it’s my favorite music, so I’m partial, but how often does or could any author make the music, its history, and its performance integral to the meaning, plot, and resolution of a story?). Van Pelt uses what he knows about the blue to inform the story, plot, and characters. He’s got smarts, and he knows how to use them.
For instance, here’s a bit of description of the blues from “The Saturn Ring Blues”: “See, when you’re singing the blues, you start off all sad and lonely, but after a while, you’re into the music. You forget why you started the song, and you’re just doing the song.” That’s true of the blues. He’s, of course, also describing the subject of his story, buglighting, which is another reason that his fiction is more than worth reading. The known, which is the blues, and the unknown, which is buglighting, are woven together to mutually illuminate complexities and characteristics of each.
Third, Van Pelt is amazingly inventive. In “The Saturn Ring Blues” he creates a very intriguing ramscoop spacecraft and follows that machine into the inevitable human application: racing. And in this case, the race is held between Saturn and its rings, with the orbiting debris gathered and used for fuel. Of course, debris that is too small is worthless, and debris that is too large is deadly, and thus, the narrative is set; the range of complications is fascinating and absorbing.
It would seem to me, as a long-time reader of SF that this invention and these complications and the possibilities they present are worthy of a novel, but Van Pelt has more than enough imagination to compress this fascinating future into a rich and rewarding short story--although I would not be sorry to see this one fleshed out in a novel.
Other stories in the collection further reveal what he can create: a junior high band abducted to make music for unseen alien captors and their skillful and surprising escape; a child’s toy used clandestinely by the powers-that-be to explore the cosmos through the obsessions of its young operators; the consciousness of an elderly dying woman absorbed by the appliances to which she is neurally connected; a man on vacation at Mount Either lost in the infinity of worlds represented by possibility who is (almost) reunited with his wife. Nice work.
One more thing: in “Tiny Voices” appears my favorite character: a pencil, a talking, wise-cracking, stubby, little writing instrument with its own ideas about word choice and survival. Considering its leaden core, short shaft, and well-used eraser, that pencil knows some good jokes.
Check out this collection. Science fiction is best when it’s smart, funny, deep, and entertaining, and The Radio Magician and Other Stories is all that.
That said, let me now say that James Van Pelt has reminded me of why I used to love short stories and why the best of the short stories I read were usually science fiction.
Many are the reasons that James Van Pelt is a true Fiction Magician. My favorite in the collection (today, anyway) is “The Saturn Ring Blues,” and I’ll refer to that one as I enumerate his strengths.
First, Van Pelt is a master at reducing the dreariness of reset, that drag of starting over and over again as you turn the pages from story to story. To do that, he begins a story where the story actually begins. No annoying throat-clearing and author-dawdling mars these tales. Starting at “Go” is a rare talent, but Van Pelt demonstrates his with every story.
Try this first sentence: “Old Jelly Roll Morton’s soulful voice fills the buglighter’s cabin.” In the first line, Van Pelt has introduced and connected the blues and “buglighting.” If you’re lucky, you’re already familiar with the blues and Jelly Roll. If you’re not, you will know a lot about them by the end of the story. But what the hell is “buglighting”? Jim and I are both glad you asked, and that dramatic question will draw you immediately to a very smart story.
Second, Van Pelt just KNOWS stuff. He astonishes me with his width, depth, and breadth of knowledge about history (the polio plague of the early twentieth century, for instance), music (the intricacy of music performance for those actually playing it), the blues (yes, it’s my favorite music, so I’m partial, but how often does or could any author make the music, its history, and its performance integral to the meaning, plot, and resolution of a story?). Van Pelt uses what he knows about the blue to inform the story, plot, and characters. He’s got smarts, and he knows how to use them.
For instance, here’s a bit of description of the blues from “The Saturn Ring Blues”: “See, when you’re singing the blues, you start off all sad and lonely, but after a while, you’re into the music. You forget why you started the song, and you’re just doing the song.” That’s true of the blues. He’s, of course, also describing the subject of his story, buglighting, which is another reason that his fiction is more than worth reading. The known, which is the blues, and the unknown, which is buglighting, are woven together to mutually illuminate complexities and characteristics of each.
Third, Van Pelt is amazingly inventive. In “The Saturn Ring Blues” he creates a very intriguing ramscoop spacecraft and follows that machine into the inevitable human application: racing. And in this case, the race is held between Saturn and its rings, with the orbiting debris gathered and used for fuel. Of course, debris that is too small is worthless, and debris that is too large is deadly, and thus, the narrative is set; the range of complications is fascinating and absorbing.
It would seem to me, as a long-time reader of SF that this invention and these complications and the possibilities they present are worthy of a novel, but Van Pelt has more than enough imagination to compress this fascinating future into a rich and rewarding short story--although I would not be sorry to see this one fleshed out in a novel.
Other stories in the collection further reveal what he can create: a junior high band abducted to make music for unseen alien captors and their skillful and surprising escape; a child’s toy used clandestinely by the powers-that-be to explore the cosmos through the obsessions of its young operators; the consciousness of an elderly dying woman absorbed by the appliances to which she is neurally connected; a man on vacation at Mount Either lost in the infinity of worlds represented by possibility who is (almost) reunited with his wife. Nice work.
One more thing: in “Tiny Voices” appears my favorite character: a pencil, a talking, wise-cracking, stubby, little writing instrument with its own ideas about word choice and survival. Considering its leaden core, short shaft, and well-used eraser, that pencil knows some good jokes.
Check out this collection. Science fiction is best when it’s smart, funny, deep, and entertaining, and The Radio Magician and Other Stories is all that.
October 16, 2021
Only the title short story in this collection is about magicians, but it was a dark, fun read. If you're from Denver who probably know or know of Blinky the Clown. Blinky ran a ratty antiques store on South Broadway and had a weekly kids show on a local tv channel. He was brusque during the show and was outright nasty to customers in this shop. That's who I thought of when reading that first story.
The rest of the stories are mostly cosy scifi pieces. One fun one made it clear that Van Pelt was familiar with Denver, as his street descriptions were accurate. I read his bio blurb, and yep, he lives in Colorado, though on the western slope.
The rest of the stories are mostly cosy scifi pieces. One fun one made it clear that Van Pelt was familiar with Denver, as his street descriptions were accurate. I read his bio blurb, and yep, he lives in Colorado, though on the western slope.
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October 14, 2021these stories have a heart of gold
October 9, 2012
Besides having the freshest, most insightful writing blog I've had the good fortune to encounter,, Jim Van Pelt can write a mean short story. Among the stories in this collection, there are three short pieces which are superb: "The Radio Magician," about a child with polio who listens to magic shows on the radio, "The Small Astral Object Genius," where the new collectible card craze is either a cunning hoax or the forefront of space exploration, and "How Music Begins," in which a high school band has been abducted by aliens, and have nothing to do but practice, perform, and wonder what the aliens want of them.
Each of these three stories is an absolute gem. "The Radio Magician" effortlessly submerses us in a different age and a different mindset. "Genius" combines a very neat science-fictional premise with human pain and hurt; couching it all in the familiar geeksome pastime of collecting makes for a powerful and unusual story. And "How Music Begins" conveys perfectly the uncertainty and desperation of its characters, while bringing them to life - in addition to a stunning conclusion which is sure to leave readers gasping for breath.
One thing this trio of stories has in common is that they are firmly rooted in an element that is firmly mundane - yet unfamiliar, lesser-known. In "Genius", it's card-collecting; in "The Radio Magician," it's the idiosyncrasies of radio entertainment in the 1930's. For "How Music Begins," JVP's reported that he's gotten emails from band leaders, surprised and gratified to find a story featuring one of their own. The result is characters and situations that are fresh and compelling even before the SF comes in. These stories are exceptional because the mundane and the SF each plays off the other, and because there's not the slightest hint of stereotype or over-familiarity.
The other crucial element of these stories that I'd like to touch upon is: suspense. Van Pelt does it right. Each of these stories has woven into it a central tension. Is the magic show actually being performed, or does it just a creative announcer? Are the collectibles all a big hoax? Will a perfect performance set the band free? These are all questions we immediately, reflexively care about, because it is clear what they will mean for our protagonists. The power of this thread of tension to keep the entire story on edge is enormous - and JVP comes through, creating for each of these an answer which manages to be decisive, significant, convincing, yet unexpected.
Aside from these three stories, the rest of the anthology is the typical grab bag you'd expect from most short story collections. Some stories are quite good; others not so much. The good ones find new ideas and unfamiliar notes to touch ("The Boy Behind The Gate" is particularly noteworthy, gradually building up dread and suspense, and making powerful use of melodrama). The ones I found to be poor include a couple of pieces that seemed overly experimental, using contrived and unnecessary structures; there were also two pieces ("Where and When" and "The Origin of the Species") which felt quite juvenile and out of place in this anthology, which is otherwise of high calibre.
All in all, a worthy anthology from an author worth following, with several absolute must-reads.
Each of these three stories is an absolute gem. "The Radio Magician" effortlessly submerses us in a different age and a different mindset. "Genius" combines a very neat science-fictional premise with human pain and hurt; couching it all in the familiar geeksome pastime of collecting makes for a powerful and unusual story. And "How Music Begins" conveys perfectly the uncertainty and desperation of its characters, while bringing them to life - in addition to a stunning conclusion which is sure to leave readers gasping for breath.
One thing this trio of stories has in common is that they are firmly rooted in an element that is firmly mundane - yet unfamiliar, lesser-known. In "Genius", it's card-collecting; in "The Radio Magician," it's the idiosyncrasies of radio entertainment in the 1930's. For "How Music Begins," JVP's reported that he's gotten emails from band leaders, surprised and gratified to find a story featuring one of their own. The result is characters and situations that are fresh and compelling even before the SF comes in. These stories are exceptional because the mundane and the SF each plays off the other, and because there's not the slightest hint of stereotype or over-familiarity.
The other crucial element of these stories that I'd like to touch upon is: suspense. Van Pelt does it right. Each of these stories has woven into it a central tension. Is the magic show actually being performed, or does it just a creative announcer? Are the collectibles all a big hoax? Will a perfect performance set the band free? These are all questions we immediately, reflexively care about, because it is clear what they will mean for our protagonists. The power of this thread of tension to keep the entire story on edge is enormous - and JVP comes through, creating for each of these an answer which manages to be decisive, significant, convincing, yet unexpected.
Aside from these three stories, the rest of the anthology is the typical grab bag you'd expect from most short story collections. Some stories are quite good; others not so much. The good ones find new ideas and unfamiliar notes to touch ("The Boy Behind The Gate" is particularly noteworthy, gradually building up dread and suspense, and making powerful use of melodrama). The ones I found to be poor include a couple of pieces that seemed overly experimental, using contrived and unnecessary structures; there were also two pieces ("Where and When" and "The Origin of the Species") which felt quite juvenile and out of place in this anthology, which is otherwise of high calibre.
All in all, a worthy anthology from an author worth following, with several absolute must-reads.
December 11, 2013
I recently started re-reading this in the hopes to give it a proper review, because I remember really loving it the first time 'round. This time, though, I got stuck halfway through and ended up having to return it to the library before I'd finished. It starts off great --the first story, The Radio Magician is one that has stuck with me ever since I read it the first time-- but I found myself getting antsy and putting the book down for longer and longer between readings, until it had a permanent crease in the spine. :S Because I am a bad library patron and leave books open like that, and sometimes even (I know, I know!) dog-ear them. Yes, I'm ashamed. Anyways.
4 stars because I still think it's worth reading, but either I just wasn't in the mood for shorts this month (it is December after all-- ha HA!), or else some of them just don't hold up well to my nostalgia-induced high expectations.
Recommended for fans of alternate history/steampunky stuff, because I think that's where he really shines.
4 stars because I still think it's worth reading, but either I just wasn't in the mood for shorts this month (it is December after all-- ha HA!), or else some of them just don't hold up well to my nostalgia-induced high expectations.
Recommended for fans of alternate history/steampunky stuff, because I think that's where he really shines.
August 10, 2010
The Radio Magician and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction by James Van Pelt. One that has been on my to read list for quite a while. Short story collections are always a bit of a pain to review so it took me quite a while. I ended up with a long and spoilerish review and I may be gushing just a little. You have been warned.
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
November 25, 2015
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys short stories. These stories are imaginative and beautifully written. I enjoyed every story. James Van Pelt is a master craftsman. If you write short stories you should read these multiple times. It will help you become a better short story writer.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews