Clockwork Phoenix reviewed again!

[realthog]

This time by Mario Guslandi over at The Harrow . . . and a very, very nice review it is, too! Here are the best bits:

[S]et somewhere between fantasy, SF, and something else, the stories selected by editor Mike Allen have an unique property: they are never tedious. Some are beautiful, some alien and odd, a few irritating, several too incredible to be taken seriously, but none leave the reader indifferent or bored. This is no minor accomplishment for any anthology, so praise to Allen who, incidentally, is already assembling a second volume that should be available soon. . . .

The best tale in the book is, by far, John Grant's "All the Little Gods We Are," an outstanding piece of fiction in which the special, perfect spiritual link between a boy and a girl wavers between the dream of an impossible future and the actuality of a lonely existence. Can the two distinct realities coexist in two different levels? Thought-provoking and compelling, the story proves once more Grant's uncommon talent as a storyteller.

. . . I highly recommend the book to anyone looking for top-notch fiction irrespective of genre labels.

Huge congrats to Mike, whose editorial acumen is praised throughout the review. Modesty restrains me from comment on the remainder of the excerpts above.

Comments

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

That's so nice, realthog. I'd love to read your story. Is it available, perhaps, in PDF?

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

Oh my, there will be strutting going on in the study!

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

You have my sympathy, Pam!

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Huh!

[realthog.livejournal.com]

there will be strutting going on in the study

In fact, all over the house. You better believe it, babe.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Doors being widened too?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"Doors being widened too?"

Forcibly.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I knew you were the hard-headed sort.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

I see you've managed to make yet another reader admire you, Sirascible Krapbuster.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Listen, when you're me you feel delighted if anyone reads your stuff at all, honest.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

I can imagine . . . honestly . . . all joking aside . . . how good it must feel to receive well deserved recognition and accolade.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

The book is now by my bedside, which means it is getting read in spurts (I'm yielding pride of place on my reading list to Mark Sawyer's Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba*). I have, nevertheless, finished your story, which reminds me of one by Robert Silverberg (in which radio astronomers communicate with alternative world Joan of Arc and Temujin). I like it a lot, and it plays nicely with the alternative world trope at the domestic scale which is hardly ever done.

* I've assigned this as a text for next semester.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"which reminds me of one by Robert Silverberg (in which radio astronomers communicate with alternative world Joan of Arc and Temujin"

That sounds quite a long way different! Can you recall the title of the Silverberg story?

Um, I'm not so sure "Little Gods" is an alternative worlds story. Me, I think it's about the creation of variant, equally valid realities . . . which, I hasten to assure you, is not something I believe in in real life.

Thanks for the kind comments though! They are very much appreciated. My comment above to sarcobatus is not a joke.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the title, what's similar is the fact of communication.

I didn't think you believed in that sort of thing happening in real life, though, frankly the alternatative reality looks a lot like an alternative world to me.

I understand your comment is not a joke. I feel that way after every class, and every time I present a paper at a conference.