Speaking in Tongues

by Ian McDonald

A collection of short stories by the author of The Broken Land features "Gardenias," in which a futuristic machine gives rise to a seductive religion, and "Rainmaker Cometh," in which some desert town inhabitants realize their desires. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Collections, Anthologies

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Ian Neil McDonald was born in 1960 in Manchester, England, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father. He moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1965. He used to live in a house built in the back garden of C. S. Lewis's childhood home but has since moved to central Belfast, where he now lives, exploring interests like cats, contemplative religion, bonsai, bicycles, and comic-book collecting. He debuted in 1982 with the short story "The Island of the Dead" in the short-lived British magazine Extro. His first novel, Desolation Road, was published in 1988. Other works include King of Morning, Queen of Day (winner of the Philip K. Dick Award), River of Gods, The Dervish House (both of which won British Science Fiction Association Awards), the graphic novel Kling Klang Klatch, and many more. His most recent publications are Planesrunner and Be My Enemy, books one and two of the Everness series for younger readers (though older readers will find them a ball of fun, as well). Ian worked in television development for sixteen years, but is glad to be back to writing full-time.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange one to review. Ian McDonald has a very lyrical style of writing which is a pleasure to read but also makes you slow down and pay attention - not a bad thing. However that style is very distinctive.

Now this is where I struggled a little. You see in the case of a novel (such as Hearts, Hands and Voices) that style is as much of the story as the characters and the various scenes. However when you have a book a short stories which cover off a whole range of ideas it felt at times a little distracting.

Let me explain. I guess the easiest of way of explaining it would be if it were a TV show. Say the Twilight Zone, once you have got through the credits you would have the same introduction and in the same format. That way you knew you were watching the Twilight Zone. The writing style and its lyrical descriptions made each story feel like that. So no matter what you read, where ever the story took you it always felt like it was part of something or was linked to something. Because as soon as you finished one story you started the next and the style carried on.

Now I have read a lot of short stories, especially science fiction short stories and the most effective are those that totally disconnect themselves from the story before. It makes them more memorable and stand out. Yes you pick out both the good and bad but at least you can differentiate them which thinking back to this book at times I struggled with.

Okay it is probably me looking at the other reviews but what I would say is that these stories would have a far greater impact if they were interspaced with others which had a different style and approach to storytelling, either that or I just read too much of this book in any one sitting.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories from one of SFs brightest new hopes. I made notes after each individual story as I read it:

• “Gardenias” — Fancifully written, but ultimately plotless. Interesting for the mix of poetry and prose, and the way the narrator speaks to the reader and character. Ultimately not my cup of tea, though.

• “Rainmaker Cometh” — I believe I read this before somewhere (in The Year’s Best Fantasy?). Nicely oblique tale of small-town desperation and the mysterious stranger. Well done, but we’ve seen it all before.

• “Listen” — Okay, it’s obvious that McDonald can write, and can write well and stylishly. But what about plot? What about a little less deus ex machina? What about a little more substance? This story is clearly indicative of my problems so far with McDonald: a lot of style, a lot of imagination, but nothing more on the ball.

• “Speaking in Tongues” — I didn’t follow this story at all. I suspect there was something that tied the parts together, but McDonald gave me no clear clues to find that something. Bleah.

• “Fragments on an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria” — Now this is a story worthy of recommendation. Excellent use of historical and fictional, the hysteria originally unfounded except when the story rolls around and we find out, no, it is merely foreboding. The grafted-on bit with the Wandering Jew could just as well been excised for all that it does (and only served to sell the story originally, to Brian Stableford’s theme anthology Tales of the Wandering Jew). It is the rest that makes this story satisfying.

• “Approaching Perpendicular” — Poetical story about the dreams and agonies of a poet, analogous to the struggles of any artist who braves the fears and sometimes oversteps the bounds in trying to be art. Or perhaps I’m reading too much into it. Perfect prose-poetry, to be so ambiguous, yet allow interpretation.

• “Floating Dogs” — Post holocaust story updated to today’s foreseen technology, nanotech. As such, really nothing new said here.

• “Atomic Avenue” — Nice idea, but seems overlong. Once again, the fine line between mood (poetry) versus information (prose) seems stretched too tightly to the mood side for a story.

• “Fronds” — Well realized alien/human contact, with added development of Chinese/Japanese company rule mirrored in a Dr. Moreau-like Delphic (for dolphins) law. This kind of story has been done better, but not by many, and I found myself thoroughly enthralled by the world-building.

• “Winning” — Well done tale of translating modern culture and mores and positing a prospective future. That is, science fiction. Not as clever as “Fragments,” but very worthy.

• “Toward Kilimanjaro” — Reminiscent of Lucius Shepard & Ian Frazier’s “mutant rainforest” stories, which also probably recalls Brian Aldiss’ Hothouse. There is a lot of Joseph Conrad symbolism here (which I can recognize, even though I’ve never read Conrad). What is it about Heart of Darkness that appeals so to the SF spirit? Interesting, but overlong to be so unoriginal in plot.

Overall, I enjoyed the McDonald collection, even though when I look back over my notes, I would only recommend half of the stories (and that to a dedicated reader of SF). He’s got real style, though–a talent with words–that will prove to be useful in the future when his plots and ideas become more original than the recycled ones in these stories.

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this collection of short stories. McDonald's lightness of touch and his eloquent use of language are present and correct but some of the playfulness of his other work is missing. Some of these stories are pretty dour, and some of them (probably) contain Meanings that I didn't fathom in the single reading that I gave them. Still, there are others here that do show the playful spark that keeps me coming back to McDonald, and his evocative use of language still made this a very enjoyable read.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1733917...

As usual, it is full of McDonald's lush, dense, descriptive prose, taking us to various richly imagied environments (mostly near-future Earth, but not usually in the First World). The standout piece for me is "Toward Kilimanjaro", the prequel to Chaga / Evolution's Shore, but they are all great.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up used for practically free; I haven't read McDonald's longer fiction. Best stories were: "Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria" and "Winning"

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories completely draw you in within the first few sentences and hold your complete attention throughout. Very enjoyable.