Joey V. > Recent Status Updates

"Pax Mechanica" - Daniel J. Davis (2016): Steampunk train rolling STRONG now! Roman Centurian piloting a war mecha against the Celtic barbarians. Caught in an ambush when the mech breaks down, he has to buy time for his men to make repairs. What will he do? Fight dirty. I mean, the story is about him trying to regain his family's honor, but he's an underhanded little shit.

"Dear George, Love Margaret" - Amanda C. Davis (2015): Definitely Steampunk! Epistolary Steampunk. The story of a woman taking charge of her own life told through letters she writes to her garbage husband. And that thing you think will happen as soon as you read the very first letter? Very last letter she says it TOTALLY happened. And will continue happening.

"Hilda Silfverling: A Fantasy" - L. Maria Child (1845): A teenage girl gets knocked up, gives up her baby, is accused/convicted of killing it, sentenced to sleep for a hundred years, wakes up, falls in love with a young man, discovers he is the grandson of the baby she gave up (who did NOT die, apparently) and IS OKAY WITH THAT. Granted it IS a distant relationship but still. Feels weird. Also, NOT STEAMPUNK.

"The Demoiselle d'Ys" - Robert W. Chambers (1895): In quality, somewhere between a script from The Twilight Zone, and a rejected script from The Twilight Zone. I think 125 years is enough of a spoiler buffer; A man gets lost on The Moors, is rescued by a (very) young woman, falls hopelessly in love with her the next day, is killed by a convenient snake, wakes to find the woman died years before. OR DID SHE?!

"Moon Skin" - Beth Cato (2016): Only steam in this one is the boats they sail in. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. The story is pretty badass though. A Selkie slave during the Civil War, forced to help the Confederates sink Union ships in the hopes of gaining freedom for herself and her (white) sister. Also features a preacher with the powers of the main character from Carnivale. Which is nice. Just not Steampunk.

"The Grove of Ashtaroth" - John Buchan (1910): Aaand we just chuck the whole Steampunk idea right out the window. Wealthy man buys land in Africa but succumbs to ancient religion because he's weak and...Jewish? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! The narrator can resist, and even see beauty in it, because reasons, but Lawson is subjugated because "that's not his real name and I know where he comes from, wink-wink." WTF >:(

"Little Healers" - Andrew Bourville: Off to a strong start I must say. Steampunk Nanotech. Nothing wrong with that. An attempt at a Vampiric red herring. Who doesn't love a cross-genre work? But once he does what he does, is she prepared to do what she MUST? If not, the earth is doomed. DOOMED I tells ya!

I bought this anthology thinking, based on the title, that it would be a collection of Steampunk stories. Not my #1 genre, but one that I'd been wanting to explore. So far seven stories in, and fewer than half could even generously be called Steampunk. Enjoyable, to be sure, but not what I was expecting. "Swords & Steam" man. So far, very little steam, and only one sword...

So far, 129 pages of an old man shaking his fist at Those Young People With Their Rick And Roll Music! At this point we finally complete the Unholy Triumvirate Of Sex Drugs & RocknRoll, with the addition of the Orgy of the Lotus Eaters. All the subtlety of a sledgehammer. And I’m having trouble coming up with a “rock” pun he hasn’t used. Progressive rock. Acid rock. Soft rock. Hard rock. Heavy metal.

At this point, I’m left with the distinct impression that Christopher Stasheff was an avid fan of F-Troop...

I don't care. I still don't trust Nick.

I don't trust this Nick. He said he was coming to find Offred at the Commander's request. A man. Coming to speak to her. Alone. In her room. In the middle of the night. Exactly 0% of that would have been permitted, much less commanded. I suspici you Nick! I suspici you SO MUCH.

Halfway through and enjoying it thus far. You can definitely taste a flavor of Narnia, in both the fantasy AND the religion. Could do without the latter, but I'm sure the author would insist it was the entire point of the book. At any rate, still a fun read. Will probably finish it over the weekend...

Excuse me, Gam Lutie? There's a man named Chekhov who would like to speak to you about these "Treasures" you insist on dragging around...

Chapter 1, and the Minnipin society has a definite feeling of Hobbiton. Although, if the cover art for the sequel is accurate, they're closer in size to The Borrowers or The Littles.Makes me wonder just how high those mountains really are, and what Fooley actually saw on his balloon ride. How big was his balloon to carry a human sized painting and family tree?

Clockwork Evangeline, by Nemma Wollenfang: A mechanical dressmaker's assistant. There's not much story here, but I think something could he made from it. I do like it, what there is. ***

The Worlds Of If, by Stanley G. Weinbaum: A man learns what WOULD have happened, IF he had made certain other decisions in his life. It doesn't help. I realize the bombastic pomposity of van Manderpootz is intended for comic purpose...but it's really just annoying. Almost takes you out of the story. ***

The Care & Feeding Of Mammalian Bipeds, v.2.1, by M.Darusha Wehm: Reminiscent of other stories wherein a family acquires a robotic servant (several by Asimov come to mind) but told entirely from the Robot's point of view, complete with a total lack of understanding as to the actions of her human "herd." ****

Planetoid 127, by Edgar Wallace: Written in 1929, this may be the oldest Counter Earth story ive ever read. A scientist uses advice from a second earth to become a wealthy man, and establish an heir.

The Day Of An American Journalist In 2889, by Jules Verne: They can't all be winners. Favorite part is the prediction of color photography. By the END of the 20th century. And the idea that video phones wouldn't exist until the 29th. Kind of dry and dull for Verne too. I can easily believe the idea that it wasn't him who wrote it. Still, not bad though. Just not Verne level of good. ***

Butterfly Dreams, by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt: Layers upon layers, how many levels of vr are there before you come to reality? It's turtles all the way down, man. 🐢 🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven, by Mark Twain: What one might expect were one to find oneself in Heaven, and how the stereotypical trappings of the afterlife would be unlikely to last. The story itself is great, but it ends rather abruptly. This, coupled with the title, leads me to wonder whether it was originally intended to be a two way trip, like the Yankee in King Arthur's court. ****

A Life As Warm As Death, by Patrick Tumblety: It's not a bad idea. A talented writer could make a decent story out of it. Sadly we're stuck with this. The big question, Why did the captain destroy his ship? He was supposed to dump the cargo and go home. Why get in an escape pod and destroy the ship? Even if it couldn't make the return trip, he could wait in it for rescue, rather than waiting in the pod. *

Shortcuts, by Brian Trent: Would have benefited from an editor. Some grammar issues, and one sentence that merely repeats the previous one, paraphrased. And how is this wormhole device a benefit to anyone, when you still have to walk from point A to B? The whole point of teleportation is that it's instantaneous. Ending is just silly. And how do the openings in the wormholes get there? **

Jenny's Sick, by David Tallerman: In a world where all disease has been eradicated, illness is the most popular narcotic. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. **

Sweet Dreams, Glycerine by Zach Shephard: I like it! Again, the ending is telegraphed nearly from the beginning, but with a story that only lasts a few paragraphs maybe that's just hard to avoid. It does contain the best use of the "And then he woke up." plot device I've ever seen. That's not saying much, but it's saying something, I think. ****