SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club discussion

Years ago I used to read a short story all along and enjoyed them as a way to just take a break from a longer read. But it seems of late(last few years)I have found that so many of the short stories I try just don't do it for me. They seem to be very boring, stupid, meaningless and the endings...well they just lay there like a dead fish. Is it just me?

I can't get into them and most that I've tried just feel rushed or unfinished.

I have read some good ones, but generally they don't appeal to me. I like to get to really know the characters and world they inhabit and a short story just doesn't allow for much depth.

I've read a lot of good ones from authors I like...but whenever I look at magazines that publish them or short story collections, I'm pretty unimpressed.

Generally, I'm not into the format. Which I suppose is odd as I've started writing a few. But it's taken me a long while to come to terms with the format (and I still tend to start them only to find they expand out into novelettes or novellas). **shrug**

I tend to want more complexity than they can provide.

David wrote: "I have read some good ones, but generally they don't appeal to me. I like to get to really know the characters and word they inhabit and a a short story just doesn't allow for much depth."

That's actually why I liked some I read by Alastair Reynolds. They were set in his Revelation Space universe and so shared the world concept, the history, and some of the characters from his longer works. I realized they could be used as backstory for universes that have longer works set in them.

I have to be honest. The only short stories that I ever truly enjoyed were ones by Kurt Vonnegut. And Poe. His are still good as well.

Although I have to admit, there were some sci fi ones from the early masters that I also enjoyed. I can't remember particulars, however.

So were they interesting because you already had the world and characters in mind? If so I quite like the idea of short stories tagged onto longer stories that I've already enjoyed

David wrote: "So were they interesting because you already had the world and characters in mind? If so I quite like the idea of short stories tagged onto longer stories that I've already enjoyed"

I went into those Reynolds stories after already reading probably 2, maybe 3 of his longer works in that universe. I knew going in that these were in that universe, but I didn't know they would involve characters I had met before. But it was really more that they filled in history that was only briefly discussed in the longer works. They were kind of like collector's editions of DVDs where you get more back story and "behind the scenes" views...they filled out the world.

Judy wrote: "I have to be honest. The only short stories that I ever truly enjoyed were ones by Kurt Vonnegut..."

I like his as well because of his sense of dry humor, his perspective, and his concise writing style...he was a true craftsman.

But Philip K. Dick's short stories are the ones I've read most. His range from mediocre Twithlight Zone like little punch line stories ("The Cookie Lady") to complex action tales which have spawned an avalanche of Hollywood flicks (most of which totally miss the PKD mark)...stories like "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" (Total Recall), "The Minority Report", "Impostor", "Second Variety" (Screamers), "Paycheck", "The Golden Man" (Next), "The Adjustment Team" (The Adjustment Bureau).

Some of his like "Autofac" after you're read them sit in your mind like you've read a novel.

Writing a great short story is truly an art. The author must captivate and entertain the audience in a short amount of time. Building interesting and compelling characters along the way. Then placing a capstone that completes the story, without leaving the reader wanting more from the story, though they may want more about the characters.

A chapter or scene that belongs in a full length novel, does not deserve being placed as a short story, just to draw attention to the novel itself.

Some authors can write these, most cannot.

Ok...its not just me then.

I pretty much agree with all of you on the comments and since posting this question I thought back over some of the authors that filled my needs with short stories and I now realize that most of them are of the vintage authors. Though some of the short stories I find so bad are by authors that I truly enjoyed their novels so I guess maybe what I'm looking at...as many pointed out...is that the more seasoned/talented authors are able to pull off the great short read.

Thomas, I think you just hit the nail on the head with your comment!

Thanks all for your comments!!

I tend to think of a short story without a twist ending as being worthless. I hate a story that boils down to "I got up, ate breakfast, went to work, and came home" as being profoundly uninteresting. A short story should pack a punch.

*Glances nervously at my works list*

Heather wrote: "I tend to think of a short story without a twist ending as being worthless. I hate a story that boils down to "I got up, ate breakfast, went to work, and came home" as being profoundly uninteresti..."

Heather, that is my feelings as well. I read somewhere on a writing skills site that Tweeter filled a great need in that it was a good tool to quickly help you find out if you could potentially become a good writer by the fact that if you could entertain, thrill, excite, motivate, sway etc. in the 140 characters allowed....then you may have what it takes to be a good writer. I can say that I have been more moved by many tweets than many of these 40 page short stories I've read lately!!

I'm pretty sure it was the Phillip K. Dick ones that I liked--either him, Asimov, or perhaps there was another author in there as well.

But you're exactly right. They had interesting ideas, were concise, and gave you a new insight on things.

I love good short stories. Especially Gene Wolfe's.

Judy wrote: "I'm pretty sure it was the Phillip K. Dick ones that I liked--either him, Asimov, or perhaps there was another author in there as well.

But you're exactly right. They had interesting ideas, were ..."

Asimov was one that comes to mind for me as well done SSs. Old school stuff!

Kenneth wrote: "I love good short stories. Especially Gene Wolfe's."

Gene Wolfe...another old schooler. Don't know if I've read any of his reads but I'm going to ck him out!! Thanks for bring his name up!

Good short stories? Jeffrey Ford

Any of his collections will do.

I love Jeffrey Ford's short stories and novels. Caitlin Kiernan writes some of the best dark SF/ fantasy around. It all depends on which writers, writing style and types of stories you connect with. I have loved some of Greg Egan's short fiction and it certainly has plenty of depth to it.

I also love some of Wolfe's short fiction.

I do feel that many modern novels are pretty bloated and often have little if anything more to say than a short story. Short stories are not for everyone, they have different requirements, different amounts of world building etc. than novels. What I like about short fiction is that there is much more scope for freshness and variety than novels where writing what the publisher wants can lead to over familiar and conventional elements.

Gregor wrote: "Good short stories? Jeffrey Ford

Any of his collections will do."

Thanks for the heads up on Mr. Wolfe. Not read any of his work either and I notice he does not have any Kindle offerings in the "Well Built City" series...which sucks as I really have just about gone Kindle 100% now. But..I may have to check out the library for this series!

Ben wrote: "I love Jeffrey Ford's short stories and novels. Caitlin Kiernan writes some of the best dark SF/ fantasy around. It all depends on which writers, writing style and types of stories you connect wi..."

Thanks Ben....for the heads up on Caitlin K and Greg E. They both look promising!

Ben wrote: "I love Jeffrey Ford's short stories and novels. Caitlin Kiernan writes some of the best dark SF/ fantasy around. It all depends on which writers, writing style and types of stories you connect wi..."

I've been meaning to pick up some of Caitlin Kiernan's stuff for a while now. Would you say Gene Wolfe is as a good as short story writer as he is a novelist?

Danny wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Good short stories? Jeffrey Ford

Any of his collections will do."

Thanks for the heads up on Mr. Wolfe. Not read any of his work either and I notice he does not have..."

Yeah, it's too bad that Jeffrey Ford's "Well-Built City" books aren't in eBook format. They're certainly worth seeking out though. The series is called a trilogy, but each book is very different from the others in the series.

Gregor wrote: "Danny wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Good short stories? Jeffrey Ford

Any of his collections will do."

Thanks for the heads up on Mr. Wolfe. Not read any of his work either and I notice he..."

I am going to see if my library system has them and go that route....I like the looks of the series so I'll see how it goes!!

I enjoy short stories written by authors I already leave. This allows me to have a character/characters that are already developed and fleshed out. The author then tells the story relating to a new development in the character, or an older explanation for the character traits they already have. I truly love Jim Butchers short stories. They give me joy.

Gregor wrote: "Ben wrote: "I love Jeffrey Ford's short stories and novels. Caitlin Kiernan writes some of the best dark SF/ fantasy around. It all depends on which writers, writing style and types of stories yo..."
Oh yes, Gene is a master of the short and the long.

I recommend "Starwater Strains" collection of short stories to start with. And his novels, especially the 80s and 90s stuff, are fantastic.

Kenneth wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Ben wrote: "I love Jeffrey Ford's short stories and novels. Caitlin Kiernan writes some of the best dark SF/ fantasy around. It all depends on which writers, writing style and type..."

Thanks Kenneth...I'm going to ck Jim Butchers out as well.

I really like the option of a good short story just to take a break from a longer read...something quick but enjoyable...and I prefer, like most folks, I prefer those from authors I like and from a series I am into already. Just gotta crank up my sensors and scan near and deep space for some good reads!!

I have read some pretty good shorts provided by Daily Science-Fiction (coming into my inbox every working day). Some dull too. I really enjoy the smart ones with twist at the end. Nice way to discover new voices.

With Kiernan The Drowning Girl is my favorite and also the novel she speaks most favorably about. In terms of short fiction she has written quite a variety of stories so it is worth trying at least a few to see if they are your cup of tea. Lots are available free online if you want a taster http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Ca... . She has done a best of part 1 which is quite hard to get hold of now but well worth it if you can and her best of part 2 is due out later in the year. Her latest collection The Ape's Wife and Other Stories is available in US cheap as an ebook or you can get the lovely paperback edition.

I have only read a little Wolfe but his novella The Fifth Head of Cerberus is the best thing by him I have read. Its available in the best of Wolfe I have as well as being available with some linked other stories as the link i included.

For Danny - you might like Richard Park's short stories. I am very fond of them. Also if you like stuff by writers you might know from their novels then you might want to check out some of GRRM and Dozois's collections such as Warriors.

Ben wrote: "With Kiernan The Drowning Girl is my favorite and also the novel she speaks most favorably about. In terms of short fiction she has written quite a variety of stories so it is wort..."

Thanks, Ben. That freesfonline.de site is quite the find.

I use the free fiction site when ever I come across a story by a writer and want to try more or if my interest is piqued by an author I have not tried anything by. If I like them enough then I will pick up their collections. It does not come close to having everything free and legal by many of the writers but it is far closer to having everything than you would expect.

If you are checking out Kiernan's stories from there I was particularly affected by Season of Broken Dolls and Houses Under the Sea but I am still catching up with all her stories after reading Drowning Girl and The Red Tree last year.

Ben wrote: "I use the free fiction site when ever I come across a story by a writer and want to try more or if my interest is piqued by an author I have not tried anything by. If I like them enough then I wil..."

I didn't dig too deep into the site, but it looked to me that they were just pointing to stuff on the interwebs that was already free. It didn't look like they were hosting any files illegally.

Thanks to all of you for your insightful and helpful links, thoughts and good words of authors I might find to my liking for the short story.

Ben, Gregor,Julius and Clare, I do thank you for your input and I do love Ray Bradbury....he's is the kind of story I am longing for but find hard to come across....Free Fiction Online looks good...got it book marked now for easy and frequent use...looking at Kiernan's work and it looks good. Daily Science-Fiction looks like a great site and I signed up for the alert....
Thanks again for all who have contributed to this thread as it has given me a new path to some good reading material...I am grateful to you all!

Some short stories I enjoy, but I usually won't buy an anthology unless all the stories are by one author. That said, there are several that I have loved, but they are usually older works: "Fifteen Miles" by Ben Bova and "Runaround" by Isaac Asimov to name two. Just about everything by Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury score with me as well.

Like everyone else, I feel that short stories just lack the involvement a novel provides. Oddly, ebooks seem to be moving toward shorter stories. There are lots of books in the Kindle store that are called "novels" but to me feel like they fall into the novella or novelette categories. So, while short stories don't seem as popular, everyone seems to be gravitating toward shorter novels. At least with ebooks.

I always liked Stephen Kings short stories more than the novels.

yeah - the site is all legal Grigor, thats the point, so I am happy to recommend it to people. All I was getting at is that sometimes there can be a story available somewhere like an authors website or an online magazine such as Apex and it doesnt always make it to their lists but lots of great stuff is linked to.

On the broader issue of depth of shorter work it is my feeling that you can get pretty much as much depth with short work as with long. The one thing that you cannot get with shorter work is sustained immersion. Take for instance game of thrones you can go through thousands of pages with the same world and characters. I know that this is something that a lot of people like and short stories cannot by their nature.

Often shorter works tend to tell different types of stories than longer works but not to my mind necessarily shallower. Sometimes stories have to spend less on some elements whether it is world building, characterisation, plot elements etc. to work at its length but often I feel that the brevity enables the stories to really have a more sharply focused and sustained impact.

I agree. Done right, a short story will resonate. To me, short stories are moving away from the novel end of the spectrum toward poetry. At that point, the work must say more with less, an economy of words. This concision can make the form difficult to handle. It is easy to try to stuff ten pounds of crap in a one pound bag. Some try too hard, and the piece ends up with a bunch of forced symbolism and artsy endings that simply fall flat when you are reading to be entertained. Of course, that fault is not indigenous to short stories, but they are more susceptible. It is easier to trip over a pothole on the sidewalk than on a four-lane highway.

Sam wrote: "Some short stories I enjoy, but I usually won't buy an anthology unless all the stories are by one author.
The American Fantasy Tradition is an excellent anthology of shorts, by different authors. Most of these are famous in one way or another.

Heather wrote: "I always liked Stephen Kings short stories more than the novels."

I agree Heather...though I have not read a S. King offering of any kind in years...King burn out I guess!!

Sam wrote: "Some short stories I enjoy, but I usually won't buy an anthology unless all the stories are by one author. That said, there are several that I have loved, but they are usually older works: "Fifte..."

Yes Sam, it seems that many of the ebooks are trending toward the novelette/novella slot and that would not be to bad but make it a good read!!

Sam wrote: "I agree. Done right, a short story will resonate. To me, short stories are moving away from the novel end of the spectrum toward poetry. At that point, the work must say more with less, an econo..."

Well said Sam. I guess that about sums up my feeling about a lot of the new SS I've encountered of late.

I am however finding through this thread some awesome work to get me back on track.

Once again I want to thank all of you for your responses!

I absolutely love short stories - particularly for science fiction. I am practically addicted to them. I've had subscriptions at various times to a number of the short fiction magazines - including Lightspeed, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Interzone. I also read the e-zines, with a particular preference for Strange Horizons and Abyss and Apex. And I eat up the Year's Best anthologies. My absolute favourites, though, are the Writers of the Future anthologies. Because every story is a 'break-through' story for the author (normally their first published sale) in a highly competitive contest, the standard is actually higher than for established writers.

Also, seeing as we're all ebook readers, your first month of any subscription to a magazine on Amazon Kindle is free and the June edition of Lightspeed sounds like it is going to be amazing! It's a bumper edition of short science fiction written by women. I would highly recommend checking it out - even if you don't normally like short fiction, you might find something in here to convert you.

Eshter, you have given me some good material to check out and I thank you for that.

Thanks for participating!!

There are good novels and there are good short stories. There are bad novels and there are bad short stories.

It's challenging to write a good short story. The author has to provide a beginning, middle and end without the freedom of length that the novel format provides. If the author doesn't do that, the short story fails.

Even if you think you don't like short stories, try this one:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2005/2...

This is the story that lies at the root of my addiction to short stories, from 2005. The great thing about short stories is that the bad ones hardly waste any time, and the good ones live with you forever!

Thanks for the link Esther!

I love short stories. Borges had a lot to do with that!

Joe wrote: "I love short stories. Borges had a lot to do with that!"

Never read any of Borges but he looks like he had a very good run!!!

Check out the collection Labyrinths, especially 'The Tower of Babel.' He isn't exactly Sci-Fi or Fantasy, but definitely speculative!

Joe wrote: "Check out the collection Labyrinths, especially 'The Tower of Babel.' He isn't exactly Sci-Fi or Fantasy, but definitely speculative!"

Thanks Joe,
I checked out his work and the "Labyrinths" read looks like something I might have to try!

Sci-Fi is my go to but I do get into to some of all genres during the course of a year. So most every everything is on the table!!