The fire when it comes

by Parke Godwin

Science Fiction, Fantasy

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories

170 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Parke Godwin was an American writer known for his lyrical yet precise prose style and sardonic humor. He was also known for his novels of legendary figures placed in realistic historical settings; his retelling of the Arthur legend (Firelord in 1980, Beloved Exile in 1984, and The Last Rainbow in 1985) is set in the 5th century during the collapse of the Roman empire, and his reinterpretation of Robin Hood (Sherwood, 1991, and Robin and the King, 1993) takes place during the Norman conquest and features kings William the Conqueror and William Rufus as major characters. His other well-known works include Waiting For The Galactic Bus (1988) and its sequel The Snake Oil Wars (1989), humorous critiques of American pop culture and religion.

Parke Godwin also worked as a radio operator, a research technician, a professional actor, an advertising man, a dishwasher and a maitre d' hotel.

Godwin's short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. His short story "Influencing the Hell out of Time and Teresa Golowitz," was the basis of an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Reviews

[Jakub Brudny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy przez pierwsze 25 stron myślałem sobie, że to musi być moje ulubione opowiadanie o duchach, no i pewnie jest, ale ostatnie strony, gdy wreszcie dowiadujemy się dlaczego główna bohaterka jest duchem meeega zniszczyły to opowiadanie. Czy jest problematyczne? Yeeeep, bawi mnie bardzo moment konfrontacji miedzy główną bohaterką a Nickiem, cały ten powód śmierci jest tak absurdalny, że nie będę się nad nim pastwić. Skupiając się na samym początku, na strukturze narracji, na jakimś trudnym do uchwycenia uczuciu obecności płynącej z tego opowiadania... Zupełnie jakby duch Gay naprawdę opowiadał swoją historię, ale przez to, że jest ona duchem to nie widzimy jej samej. Depresja, histeria, pustka, ale też nadzieja i miłość, ten ogień który wreszcie przychodzi.

[Richard Edgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exquisite. I don't know what else to say that isn't a spoiler. It's lovely. Go read it.

[Bill Purkayastha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of these I have read two:

"Up Yours, Federico" (*not* Frederico): the eponymous Federico being Federico Garcia Lorca, who does not feature in the story. A Spanish fighting bull breeding ranch discovers a calf in the new batch being tested for courage that is averagely brave but incredibly smart and therefore incredibly dangerous...to the matador who will try to kill him in the corrida. Rather than destroy the bull (as would happen in real life) the ranch owners decide to breed him and then unleash him in the ring. Not very factual about bullfighting but extremely satisfying to anyone who hates the structured animal cruelty that is the corrida and sympathises with the brave bulls murdered in it every Sunday afternoon. Rating: 3, because even basic bullfighting information in the story is totally wrong. Otherwise would have been 4.

"The Fire When It Comes": A woman wakes up in her home thinking she's just recovered from an illness....but the furnishings have changed, there is an unfamiliar date on the calendar on the wall, and an unknown young couple is unpacking their stuff in the apartment. And then she realises that she is dead. She realises that she has had half-aware moments in the many years that have passed since her, um, passing, but has never woken fully before. And she almost immediately realises that it is the vital force of the male half of the new occupants that is responsible. Inevitably, she, the ghost, watching him, falls in love with him, and as she does begins to remember her own past and how it was that she made the choices and decisions that led to her death. Would have been perfect (five out of five stars and more) but for an extremely weak ending. Rating: 4, because of the terrible ending.

Overall rating, therefore: 3.5 out of 5

Let me emphasise that this rating is only for the two stories I've read from this collection.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent short story collection is filled with odd little gems that have sad edges. Wonderful speculative fiction includes the title novella, which was a Hugo and Nebula nominee and winner of the World Fantasy award for 1982 - it’s a breathtakingly sad ghost story, well, sort of...

Also includes:

“Influencing the Hell Out of Time and Teresa Golowitz”, 1982
— nifty time warp faustian stuff, with pathos
“The Lady of Finnigan’s Hearth”, 1977
— legendary Isolde gets another chance at life, sentimental but lovely
“The Last Rainbow”, 1978
— loopy medieval doings with faeries and barons and a mad young woman
“The Little Things”, 1981
— sharply incised “crime in the big city”, dark and satisfyingly creepy
“The Second Day of Genius”, 1984
— a gastronome goes berserk
“Stroke of Mercy”, 1981
— odd time travel tale, with a gently sad bite
“Unsigned Original”, 1975
— twisted tale of authorship and borrowed ideas
“Up Yours, Frederico”, 1981
— what happens when the bulls are smarter than the matadors

[Janith Pathirage · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I was bored to death reading 'The Lady of Finnigan's Hearth' but after 5-6 pages or so the story picked up. This is like a modern day A Midsummer Night's Dream (or something close to it). What I like about the story most is, the way Parke Godwin shows the value humanity. We might live 1oo years without realizing it. Not a ground breaking story, but it has something to take. And wish I had a "house -be clean !" spell like Isolde's.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly excellent SF stories, with occasional dips into just very good.