It's part of the anthology, Diamonds in the Sky.
It's free, too, so have a look. And, if you like, send feedback.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Short-Story Miracle
My NASA story, "The Moon is a Harsh Pig," is now on-line for free reading. It may not be a prize-winner, but coming from me, any short story is a small miracle.
It's part of the anthology, Diamonds in the Sky.
It's free, too, so have a look. And, if you like, send feedback.
It's part of the anthology, Diamonds in the Sky.
It's free, too, so have a look. And, if you like, send feedback.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I read the story and I enjoyed it. Nice twist with the artificial moon thing. I didn't see that one coming.
One point that bugs me - the girl seems faultless. She should have some faults. I did like the way the guy saw how badly he was behaving, so he wasn't all bad, but the girl seemed all good.
One last question, did this story stem from any real life experiences with your wife the anthropologist?
Dwayne,
I wouldn't say the girl is faultless, given the way she sets the guy up. Seems to me she's cruel, though she believes she has right on her side.
As for Dani's influence, well, there was the incident with the runaway truffle pig in Provence. And just generally her fieldwork in peasant communities like we found on this planet. Anyway, I couldn't write anything without her backing me up.
Well, going all "literary scholar" here:
The girl isn't "faultless" but she is very Heinlein-esque. There's a whole series of Heinlein "heoines" who are very smart, sexy, self-possessed. Also kind of overbearing, and more than a little manipulative, especially in dragging the menfolk around by their 'nads.
Lets the girl be almost a formal device, propelling the story.
As for Dani's influence, the heroes in all of Jerry's stories since about "The Psychology of Computer Programming" are applied anthropologists. Sometimes they are called other things. Since he lives with an anthropologist, I'd think her influence on everything he writes is huge.
OK, that's two fieldstones, and I just had inspiration for another bit: "The System Behind the System."
Gotta go write . . .
Nice story. I expected a twist, but not "this twist".
IMHO, I wouldn't say the girl is neither faultless nor cruel. Sometimes you need to take a person all the way around the forest in order for them to appreciate a specific tree. I think that is what Astrid did to Zeke. And if she had some fun along the way, so be it. It helped to propel the story along.
Gerry, thanks for an enjoyable read.
Post a Comment