Jason SizemoreCríticas

Neat concept with a solid mixture of settings. A few of the stories were good. Most were not to my taste and a few were so bad I skipped to the next one part way through.

Oh Alix. How can you pack so many feels in one short story, 5200 words? I think I need to have a long steady look at the ones around me I love, and feel my own heart beat, and maybe cry a little but mostly smile.

Merged review:

Oh Alix. How can you pack so many feels in one short story, 5200 words? I think I need to have a long steady look at the ones around me I love, and feel my own heart beat, and maybe cry a little but mostly smile.

Some years it seems like everything in the anthologies (my preferred reading) has gone weird. To me it's like the cycle for everyone to get creative has come again and everyone has to get all existential. My life is just strange enough that I don't have the shared metaphors to connect with them. This would be one of those.

The sequel to Ursula Vernon's Jackalope Wives is nearly as good. It feels a little more pat than it's predecessor and a little more fan-servicey. If nothing else, Grandma Harken is a well-written and nuanced older female character -- a demographic largely missing from speculative fiction.

I don't always review short stories, but people need to know about this one, which I was lucky to stumble upon a link to in a GR friend's review of something else.

This is one of the best things I read all year. Like goosebumps, mixed with trying to pick out key quotes that kept spiraling from a sentence to a paragraph to a page of amazing prose. This very light fantasy story is about what books mean to us -- how they can speak to our emotions and how the right book can guide us through hard times. It is poignant and very funny.

Don't take my word for it -- go read: https://apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-por...

Merged review:

I don't always review short stories, but people need to know about this one, which I was lucky to stumble upon a link to in a GR friend's review of something else.

This is one of the best things I read all year. Like goosebumps, mixed with trying to pick out key quotes that kept spiraling from a sentence to a paragraph to a page of amazing prose. This very light fantasy story is about what books mean to us -- how they can speak to our emotions and how the right book can guide us through hard times. It is poignant and very funny.

Don't take my word for it -- go read: https://apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-por...

I only have one thing to say about this book - it is the funniest thing I have ever read.

For Exposure is filled with (mostly?) true stories of the first 10 years of Apex. But really, it's fuel for the "Let's pick on Jason Sizemore" campaign that I have personally created.

*It's not a very long book, Apex isn't THAT special, so you could probably plow through it in a day. The eyewitness rebuttals are fantastic, and written by people that are a great deal more talented than Jason Sizemore himself. An "Apex in the next 10 years" section has some interesting ideas of the future of Apex, including one in a Choose Your Own Adventure style.

Buy a copy because it's a hilarious book, filled with even funnier little footnotes. And it is perfect for re-reading anytime, any chapter you want, especially if you're having a bad day and need to chuckle.

*Most of this is my attempt at snark.

If you read intros, do as Mr. Girard says and just read the book first, that intro will be there waiting when you're done. I don't know if Mr. Sizemore chose the order of the stories to start small and build to the most intense but it's really what it felt like. While the first story, "Caspar" delivers a major shock and let's the reader know the title of the collection serves a definite purpose, it is not the most sinister of the stories. I can't even choose the worst ending for all the irredeemable characters because each one has a major shudder factor.

While some stories are futuristic or set in another part of the world, the common thread is the Kentucky countryside. If you don't understand the culture of the South, you may miss some of the deeper intricacies herein. Big Coal, dirty rednecks, and creepy church services are all weaved in the lifestyle. And let me tell you, as someone who has grown up in the culture, it's a sinister dark landscape. Mr. Sizemore definitely pulls the terror of that landscape in and runs wild with it, like a crazed apprentice with the wizard's wand.

I won't go into detail of each story, or give any spoilers, but a few of my favourites were:

Hope- Humanity faces its end but the real story lies in Hope finding the traitor of her coven.

Plug and Play- darkly humorous peek into drug trafficking of the future.

Pranks- All I'll say is...Cancer Beast! The bile still reaches my throat thinking about it!

Shotgun Shelter- If you're sensitive to animal abuse, read with caution but know the irredeemable never win in this book.

The Dead and Metty Crawford- Zombies!! I really liked this story and the little symbolism in it...awesome.

The Sleeping Quartet- I laughed out loud a few times and then curled up in a ball from how disturbing it was. The really eerie thing is you're not sure if it was real or not! (I have heard a rumor it was though *cries a little inside*)

Yellow Warblers- One of the most unexpected endings in a short story I have EVER read! Totally floored.

All the stories were excellent and I can honestly say they all burrowed under my skin and left their eggs behind to hatch. If you have a copy of this anthology, you have increased the beauty of your collection. If you're trying to decide to buy it...what are you waiting for? Go now and add it to your shelves!!

Whether it's a novel or a short story, Alix weaves words in one of the most poetic & emotional ways I've found. Mr. Death brought me to tears of sadness & joy. How one can put so much emotional energy in 5k words, I will never know. But I'm so thankful for every world she shares with us.

A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies — Alix Harrow

Neat short story.

I was that foster kid.

But with better foster parents, who didn't understand why I read that much, or that being depressed as a teenager isn't just being 'moody'. What they did do was giving me more books. I was being teased for reading that much but never for what genre I read. I got a bike so I could go to the library on my own. I was complemented when I went (sometimes that was the only thing that actually made me put my clothes on). When we were herded outside (''Fresh air is good for you!'') I could take my books and just sit in the sun. I even got some tea to take with me.

So even though I wanted to escape my life sometimes, I always had a place to call my home. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't chosen, it left it's scars but at the end of the day I could always return.

Excuse me while I go cry and/or leave an emotional message to my (foster)parents.

Grandma Harken lives out on the edge of town, away from most everyone else. Many speculate on why that is: Is it for privacy? Is she a witch? Does she just not like people? But maybe the real question is: Does it even matter? One thing Grandma Harken does like are her prized tomatoes. When they start disappearing from her garden, however, she finds herself with her own set of questions about the thief. And what follows is a double lesson on why one should never make assumptions or judge people based on the little information we can get from just a glance or two.

There was no question for me that this was destined to win the Hugo Award in the novelette category once I had a chance to read all the finalists. In a relatively short space, Ursula Vernon packs in a well-paced fantasy story with a touch of mystery and some action to go along with it. The storytelling is gripping, and while the overall message seems like a serious one, I felt a lightness to it all that kept it from becoming too heavy. I do find reviewing shorter fiction to be difficult because sometimes I worry about having enough to talk about without spoiling the plot. There is so much here, though, that I know I have not even come close. The story is available to read for free on the Apex Magazine website, so I suggest checking it out when you get a chance.

So far only read:

-- Sex Is Great, But Have Your Ever Seen Your Real-Life Relationship Depicted in Fiction? by Nicole Kornher-Stace (nonfiction)
Here: https://apex-magazine.com/sex-is-great-but-have-you-ever-seen-your-real-life-rel...

Hat tip to the author for her passion about including platonic relationships in stories. I don't think the essay was *powerful* but she has great points. I found it repetitive or maybe too casual and though I don't mind some 'boom chicka bow wow', I do think it's important that we see ourselves in stories. So if it's asexual people or all of us who aren't fully defined by our sexual relationships I look forward to more stories that don't force the sex.

Apex Magazine, #121 January 2021

So far i only read/listened to:

-- Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow, narrated by Chris Lester - 4*
Offered here: https://apex-magazine.com/mr-death/
The audio narrator was perfect as this new-ish reaper.

hmmm what to say? One thing I'd say is avoid spoilers. The story goes some ways I didn't expect and the impacts may have been less if I was warned ahead of time.

Our MC is a reaper. He isn't fully dead because he has been given the job of helping people cross the river and "rejoin the spangled cosmos". Our reaper is struggling with a job shortly after we meet him. It shows the humanity left in him which isn't ideal for a reaper and it makes me nostalgic for HBO's DEAD LIKE ME series !!!


CW:
child (male toddler) death. I was worried when I started to realize what was happening, I wasn't sure I could handle it. But the author handled it well and I'm glad to have read the story!

Only read Suzie Q by Jacqueline Carey - 2*

Probably a life-to-fiction story -- When the MC let's here inner demon out people die. That inner demon is built with all the bad she has experienced in life. Some she caused herself. She makes offerings to minor "saints" to help keep her demon at bay but eventually they can't help contain it.

Favorite: **** The Amazing Exploding Women of the Early Twentieth Century by A.C. Wise

Favorite: The Niddah by Elana Gomel

So far only listened to:

~ Pocosin by Ursula Vernon - 2*
Not my preference for reading and some of it didn't make sense to me but I admit I wasn't fully engaged.
A opossum crawls up under an old witch's house to die. I guess it's not his first time he's died. I guess he knows she'll leave him alone to die in peace. But other gods come to claim him but the witch won't let that happen or something. Why they want him I don't really understand and ytf does she call the death god "Granny"? Oh, later we learn that the death god is wearing the witch's granny's face. That shit just leaves me sitting in confusion. I rather know why up front. If you are calling a death god granny that makes you it's descendent and the story is only claiming she is a witch so I sat in confusion.

Read Alix E. Harrow's A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies. It was AMAZING.



What would I be, cut off from the orderly world of words and their readers, from the peaceful Ouroboran cycle of story-telling and story-eating?

AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING.

As a lover of libraries, I felt this story in my bones. Go read now.

Only read Field Biology of the Wee Fairies by Naomi Kritzer - 4*

Once young girls hit a certain age a fairy appears to them. If they catch it they can wish for something. Our MC doesn't care about the things other girls wish for like shiny hair, smooth skin etc... So when her fairy appears, she ignores it. But the fairies need to be caught and so it won't stop "appearing". Our MC is an awesome young girl.

I wish I knew about this story when my kids were young. I would have loved to read it to them.

Another fresh and surprisingly pleasant story from this author.

Only read: L'appel du vide by Rich Larson - 3*

I tried to listen to the story but I couldn't absorb it, so now I'm reading.... I'm glad I didn't DNF based on the narrator. For me, she has an accent and her tone was too one note, no build up, slow down so it all came across rather monotone and I couldn't absorb what I was hearing. I kept drifting off.

A SF story.

The title was unfamiliar to me but I have since googled. It's a French term and translates to "The Call of the Void". That tiny voice that tells you to jerk the steering wheel just to the right or take a flying leap off the ledge, that inclination to walk right into the ocean and never return.

The MC's daughter walked off a cliff and this story explores the reason for it. I'm not sure how well it works for that particular title but I do enjoy the author's story telling.

So far only read/listened to: Rich Larson's You Too Shall Be Psyche - 2*

Confusing at times with some unclear SF. I usually find his stories pretty straight forward so I am sad that this one has some ambiguity regarding who & where exactly the characters are in the story. Our MC is demanding an audience with a God they worship but when she gets there it is not what people think it is. Upon arrival, a spirit guide takes her on a tour showing her what is really going on and we get some horrific tableaus involving all the human sacrifices over the decades.

Listened to:

Going Endo by Rich Larson - Spotify podcast - DNF
Heavy on the SF and way over my head.

"a cyberpunk tale about a love triangle between a pilot, a mech, and a tech. It gets fantastically weird." Summary from here: https://sbhowell.com/2019/01/best-of-apex-magazine/

Also read the interview with Rich Larson here: https://apex-magazine.com/interview-with-rich-larson/

Don't steal from grandma
it's not about tomatoes
it's the mystery.

Ah, a return to the old tales of the Coyote and the Raven, with a special appearance from a couple of dragons, a mule, and an old woman. :)

This is the first story I've ever read by Ms. Vernon, but I'm sure it's not going to be my last. There's a lot of old Soutwestern Tales in her and since I've spent most of my life submerged in that whole world, it kinda felt a bit like I was going home.

Bring on the trains and the mythology, I say, give me a tale of trickery and world-building in the grand old style, and set me back upon my feet to face the world and its constant change.

Nice. :)

And this story is also nominated for the '17 Hugos. Gotta catch up and pick the best of the year!

Delightful short story!

But then, I'm always a sucker for libraries, librarians, book discussions, and anything that throws the yoke off our necks. :)

Want some Harry Potter? How about some [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309203605s/7126.jpg|391568]? How about we just live there a bit, shall we?

Ah, well, we only have a short story here, but at least the feels are here. :)