Clarkesworld Magazine, #26, November 2008

I concluded my review of last month’s issue by observing that Clarkesworld Magazine seemed to have “shifted away from more boundary-pushing work, with less emphasis on technique and more on conventional story.” The trend continues, at least partway, in issue #26, November 2008.

Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn bring us “Idle Roomer,” which feels like a bit of an idle story. Maria cleans the rooms at a boarding house and can’t help but notice certain things amiss about Mr. Valapoli’s room. Playing Miss Marple, she eventually uncovers the truth. My main objection to this story is that Maria, as a point-of-view character, remains outside the happenings and has little impact on the final outcome of events: she’s a Witness. This wouldn’t be a significant issue if the premise were sufficiently suspenseful, but the idea behind “Idle Roomer” has been done before in similar fashion, and careful readers will figure it out early on. Cat Rambo’s reading makes this piece slightly more dramatic, but it remains only mildly interesting.

“batch 39 and the deadman’s switch” by Simon DeDeo is a catchy infusion of science and philosophy. The narrator has been detained in relation to her use and dissemination of “anima devices.” What these devices are, and how they might alter our society on a global scale, constitutes the story’s basic expository set-up. DeDeo makes a lot of references in a short space, which might be a little overwhelming for some readers, but the graduate student’s tone and lingo are craftily rendered, and her personality seeps through an intriguing narration.

November’s nonfiction pieces are the highlight of this issue of Clarkesworld, particularly for writers in any of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s first three writerly stages (namely, “1) wannabe 2) hot young thing 3) established professional”), as described by in her column, “Introductions and Hints of the Future,” over at 15 Vol 3 Num 3 October 2008 of Jim Baen’s Universe.

“Writing with One Hand Tied to the Death Star: Award-Winning Authors and Media Tie-In Fiction” by Jason S. Ridler focuses on its subject primarily by examining the personal experiences that writers Jeanne Cavelos, Bruce Holland Rogers, Jeff VanderMeer, Elizabeth Hand, and Bruce Bethke have each had in writing tie-in work. These are interesting case studies and provide a useful spectrum of possible “lessons.” Ultimately, there isn’t—and there probably can’t be—any consensus. This piece also nicely complements September’s SF Signal: Mind Meld feature “How Do Media Tie-In Novels Affect SF/F?” and is followed by some amusing remarks from Mike Resnick (in the comments section below the main piece).

“Voodoo Economics: How to Find Serenity in an Industry that Does Not Want You” by Catherynne M. Valente concerns itself with Writer’s Anxiety in a way that proves both entertaining and illuminating, and contains comments by Hal Duncan and Theodora Goss. It’s a deeply felt account of Valente’s own struggle to find meaning and something to hold onto in a world where the publishing industry “doesn’t want me. And they don’t want you, either.” If there is a path to serenity, it’s not a simple one. The following is worth repeating here:

I realized something in that moment that I am trying very hard to remember right now, when I fear for my ability to keep working in the steel town I have chosen: publication was never the point. The point was the work, the book, the voodoo, the faith.

Did I get to scratch my head as much I would have liked during issue #26? Not really. I did thoroughly enjoy both nonfiction pieces, and the fiction on display was competent enough, but I missed the full Clarkesworld flavor of strangeness we’ve been treated to in times past.