Free Fiction Friday: Heather Lindsley
This week, I’d like to point out Heather Lindsley’s story, "Just Do It," which originally appeared in the July 2006 issue of F&SF. Here’s a link to a podcast of the story online, courtesy of Escape Pod.
Which SF Writer are You?
Ever wondered which science fiction writer you’re most like? Take this test to find out.
It thinks I’m most like Isaac Asimov. Not bad, but I’m disappointed I didn’t match up with Alfred Bester, who wrote the best book ever.
[via E. E. Knight]
Monsters & Critics reviews Paolo Bacigalupi
Jason Sanford over at Monsters & Critics reviews Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut story collection Pump Six, which mostly contains stories originally published in F&SF: "Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi the best science fiction short story collection of recent years. […] So if you enjoy philosophical science fiction stories, read Pump Six. If you hate philosophical science fiction stories, read Pump Six. Because like the evocative concrete rain which continually falls from the buildings in Bacigalupi’s title story, Pump Six gently rains upon the reader until you find yourself swimming in a deep ocean of truth. And no matter how you approach this book–whether for the ideas or for the great stories–you won’t be disappointed." The full review is here. Jason also offered up some additional thoughts about the title story over on his blog.
Name check!
I’m told that in Stephen King’s new novel, DUMA KEY, there’s a passing reference to an article authored by one M. Rickert.
Interview: K.D. Wentworth on "Exit Strategy"
K.D. Wentworth–author of “Exit Strategy,” which appears in our March 2008 issue–said in an interview that the story is about a young girl, Charlesie, who thinks she doesn’t want to live.
"She goes down to the Church of the Second Life, where donating your body to a dying person is considered a ‘sacred gift,’ and applies to be accepted," Wentworth said. "They enroll her in the Donation Guild, which requires volunteer work as well as a cooling off period before you’re allowed to donate yourself. Her family, of course, objects, when they find out about this, and by the end of the story, Charlesie knows a whole lot more about both herself and her dad."
As happens with many of Wentworth’s stories, she found it difficult to trace the story’s beginnings. "Years ago, I had scribbled a note to myself in that little notebook all writers carry that ‘suicides should give their body to a dying person, since they don’t want it anymore, so that a perfectly healthy body doesn’t go to waste,’" she said. "That idea lay dormant in the back of my mind for a long time until I was thumbing through that notebook one day and ran across it again. By then, my subconscious knew what to to with it."
