Touchstone by Terry Carr

The ‘be careful what you wish for’ story has been a staple of folk tales long before such classics as Continue reading →

The Malaysian Mer by Jane Yolen

Characters are tricky things to get right in short stories. It’s all well and good for novels, who can afford Continue reading →

Nicholas Was by Neil Gaiman

For once I have nothing to say about a story. It’s only a hundred words long, it’s on Neil Gaiman’s Continue reading →

The Carpetmaker’s Son by Andreas Eschbach

The Carpet Makers is one of my favorite sf books of the last twenty years, and I do not say Continue reading →

Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut by Stephen King

I wouldn’t call this a horror story. Granted, there’s something quite unsettling about the titular shortcut, a sense of the Continue reading →

Portraits of his Children by George R.R. Martin

A standard piece of advice to new writers is that you shouldn’t write more than one novel, or a few Continue reading →

Too Many Crooks by Donald E. Westlake

Although no prior knowledge is needed, this is part of the John Dortmunder series about the titular thief. He’s the Continue reading →

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (part 2)

If you haven’t read part one, that would be a sensible place to start. When we left, Gurgeh was on Continue reading →