Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

This is our monthly SF/F Anthology discussion for


The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick

Here's a list of stories in this collection (All written by Michael Swanwick, of course):


“Hello,” Said the Stick
The Dog Said Bow-Wow
Slow Life
Triceratops Summer
Tin Marsh
An Episode of Stardust
The Skysailor’s Tale
Legions in Time
The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport
The Bordello in Faerie
The Last Geek
Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play
A Great Day for Brontosaurs
Dirty Little War
A Small Room in Koboldtown
Urdumheim

From the introduction: "Michael Swanwick is a leading example of that most curious modern or perhaps postmodern creature, the science fiction writer, a species uniquely equipped to explore and hopefully illuminate the shimmering interface where literature and science intersect, giving birth to the elusive paradigms that populate our cultural psyche, so to speak."

It's a good thing that's a parody. It is a parody, right?

The 11th seems to have sneaked up on me this month, so I'm only starting reading now. Andreas, do you want to discuss one story at a time, down the list, or do you have something else in mind. I have Swanwick's Stations of the Tide on my Kindle (not yeat read), so he's a new author to me.

I don't see how we could manage discussing one story at a time, giving different starting points. In more discussion heavy groups I'd say to open up a thread per story, but I don't think that would be a good choice here.
So let's just let the discussion come as everyone progresses.

I nominated Swanwick's collection because I liked his light-hearted story of two conmen Darger and Surplus in Rogues.
This collection contains three additional stories with those "heroes": The eponymous and Hugo-winning "The Dog Said Bow-Wow", "The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport", and "Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play". I'm looking forward to meet those guys again but also to read some different themes from Swanwick.

As always, GR isn't a good help tracking stories. I'd recommend ISFDB for consulting meta-information about the collection and the individual stories.

I dont have this collection but I have read a few of Swanwicks stories including the titular story and I have The Best of Collection which has several stories from this collection as well as having probably one or two others from various best of year/ multi author collections. He is one of the highest regarded writers in the field and has got a load of awards and nominations particularly for his short fiction. Still he is not talked about much. His novel The Iron Dragon's Daughter was amazing but I have not connected with his short fiction as much.

I had been meaning to read the title story again as whilst I quite enjoyed it when I read it I was half asleep so didnt fully take it in and thought I would enjoy giving it a try with more awake eyes.

G33z3r wrote: "[Swanwick] he's a new author to me..."

Actually, looking back over various anthologies and magazines that I've read, I have read Swanwick before, he just hasn't been a name that's stuck in my head.

“Hello,” Said the Stick

This first story of the collection is really short, about 8 pages. It's a "cute" story rather than a serious one. It's amusing enough.

It's set in a world of mixed technology, a swordsman mercenary who understands what things like radio are. Judging by the Darger & Surplus later in the collection, Swanwick likes this sort of skewed technologies.

Anyway, this first story is certainly amusing enough, a sweet trifle, though I found the title character rather stiff and wooden :)

Well I have reread The Dog Said Bow-Wow and I have read Triceratops Summer - some spoilers to follow....

The Dog Said Bow-Wow I enjoyed the second time, particularly as the first time I was v tired and got the plot but not loads else. This time I got a much better sense of the world and the world building. Its a fun tale with a strange world setting - sort of post singularity/ future baroque hybrid. Kinda works and would object to seeing more about the world in future stories. Didnt really connect with either of the protagonists though I can see others doing so. This is a story that is one of the favorites of the 20th century in a Locus Poll and whilst I felt I got what others see in it my response was more....that was kinda fun. I thought there was lots of plot and plenty of humor in the story and it is unusual to get so much of this whilst still getting lots of world building in such a few pages.

Triceratops summer - this was another example to me of a fun idea, well put together but didnt really resonate deeply with me. A lot of this was down to me really. Science has pretty much worked out that triceritopses never existed so that kept going round my head and in a time loop type story that is the least of the realistic problems a story is going to have.

There are some writers who I love reading their collections and immersing myself in their writing and stories. Thus far Swanwicks stories are enjoyable in and of themselves but not stories that I want to keep reading too closely together. I also have Slow Life and Legions of Time in my best of so I will read them in a bit.

★★ for "Hello," Said the Stick

G33z3r wrote: "This first story of the collection is really short, about 8 pages. It's a "cute" story rather than a serious one. It's amusing enough."

It felt more like an overlong, underwhelming joke than a short-story. I didn't get involved with the shallow, dumb protagonist or with the stick to call it "cute". The only thing making it ok for me was the twisted world-building - something like science fantasy. And it was short enough to not regret it.

★★★★★ for The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Published in Asimov's October/November 2001 (sorry guys, there is no GR entry for that particular volume), it won the Hugo 2002 and was nominated for Nebula Short Story in the same year (beside of several other nominations).

It is one of several stories following the two con-men Surplus and his partner Darger who is a genetically engineered intelligent and talking dog. They remind me a little bit of Leiber's Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser. Ben nailed it with the "baroque" or Victorian SF: Alone Surplus' longer name "Sir Blackthorpe Ravenscairn de Plus Precieux" is a perfect demonstration of that crazy, mixed-up future world. I'd even call it Science Fantasy because technology is so advanced that it might be magic - evident from fashion worn at "Queen Gloriana"'s court: "boots and gloves cut from leathers cloned from their own skin."

The two protagonists invent cons in several European cities where human won a war with artificial intelligence. They had to shut-down communication devices which even now contain those demonic A.Is.

This time, they are around Buckhingham palace - the queen is one gigantic maggot, her bodyguards are apes.
How I love that setting!

It is full of action, narrow escapes, schemes and James Bond like romance. A distinct narrative voice and intelligent, witty dialogues round it up. Entirely entertaining, though maybe a bit too light of substance.

★★★★★ for Slow Life

Published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2002, this novelette won the Hugo 2003.

Swanwick's stories are set in a broad range of SF styles. This Hard SF starts as an exploration mission on Titan focusing on Lizzy O'Brien ballooning over Titan's surface. They find a chemical soup of ethan, methane, and longer Polysomething chains in the Saturn moon's ocean - leading to musings about possible life. Until one of the crew members begins to dream...

Unusual and elegant start, great science parts, but the best for me where the disturbing insights into human nature and the dream discussions. It is interleaved with witty dialogues with "unintelligent" (illiterate) life on Earth.

★★★ The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Andreas wrote: "They remind me a little bit of Leiber's Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser...."

The "buddy story" is a pretty common trope (though more so in TV and movies), usually used for lighter fare. The concept is to mix two different personalities and use the contrast and badinage between them for entertainment while also drawing on their underlying, possibly hidden, friendship. I, too, thought of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser in that context, or some of their more recent counterparts (Royce and Hadrian), or even some older fare (Rod and Fess?)

One twist here is that Surplus is a dog (or more precisely some genetically engineered canine-based lifeform that walks upright on hind legs.) The related twist seems to be that it's the dog, Surplus, who's the Don Juan of the duo.

I assume this is the first story involving Darger & Surplus, since it describes their meeting?

Usually, such pairings are more forced, either from necessity of circumstance or by some outside agency. In this case, they seem to fall in with each other a little too easily, so there's no tension in their alliance. Sorry, but I just didn't feel the love for the pairing. Their interactions just aren't all that entertaining to me.

On the other hand, the setting of the story is really interesting. Some sort of AI/robot uprising in the past has made all computer, communications, and most electronics illegal and dangerous. Computers and such seem to be replaced by human "autistics" (who I guess are also genetically engineered), and communications is back in the gaslight era. An interesting setting, and Swanwick sketches it out nicely within the context of the story — some stellar exposition.

The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Two vital questions about this story:

1. If the first story in the collection is titled: “Hello,” Said the Stick
Why isn't the second one titled: The Dog Said, “Bow-Wow”

2. If the canine is named Blackthorpe Ravenscairn de Plus Precieux (precious), isn't the proper (French) pronunciation of "Plus" there "ple", thus making the "Sir Plus" = "Surplus" joke awkward ?

This is why I'm noted for my trenchant literary insights.

I didnt buy or like the way they came together but I was happy to forgive this purely on the basis that I am a bit bored sometimes of seeing the "how we get together" narratives. I didnt think that the characters were that interesting but when there was a good amount of world building and zippiness to the story I was happy to forgive it.

As Andreas says, other than the world building it is pretty slight. Nothing in the plot felt mega original or anything but I felt it fitted well with the world building and that overall the piece worked very well and was a lot of fun. Whilst I wouldnt seek out the novel with the characters or other Dargar and Surplus stories I probably will read the one in my copy of Rogues as it is to hand.

Agree with your pedantic points G33z3r - I make far to many mistakes myself for me to be the one to notice these things or point them out.

One point I felt a bit uncomfortable with was the use of the word "autistic" - It was using the word in a way that is very different from what being autistic actually means. I can forgive words evolving and adapting over time (in the future all the words we use now would be very different) but i didnt feel that comfortable with it. As understanding and attitudes to neurological conditions has improved and changed over time I should perhaps be more forgiving though.

Ben wrote: "I didn't buy or like the way they came together but I was happy to forgive this purely on the basis that I am a bit bored sometimes of seeing the 'how we get together' narratives. "

The main reason I mentioned the partnering part of the story is because within the "buddy story" trope, some exigent circumstance forcing the pair together usually provides for some friction in their interaction. It's the sameness of purpose of Surplus and Darger that Ben wrote: "I didn't buy or like the way they came together but I was happy to forgive this purely on the basis that I am a bit bored sometimes of seeing the "how we get together" narratives. "

The main reason I mentioned the partnering part of the story is because within the "buddy story" trope, some exigent circumstance forcing the pair together usually provides for some friction in their interaction. It's the sameness of purpose of Surplus and Darger that I thought made the partnership kind of bland. I'd be perfectly happy to simply take their first meeting as read and get on with the story.

You're right, "autistic" was a bad choice of name by Swanwick, and could quite possibly give offense. Maybe "mentat" would have worked.

Pedantic? Moi?!

★★1/2 for Triceratops Summer

Ben wrote: "Science has pretty much worked out that triceritopses never existed..."
That was 2010 when they found out that Torosaurus and Triceratops are the same genus and Torosaurus is the mature form. But that doesn't mean that Triceratops didn't exist, right? It is a kind of un-learning like scratching out Pluto as a planet. Here is a nice article about saving Triceratops :)

What do you do when there is no tomorrow?
Swanwick takes the sujet of changing time-lines to ask how an elder pair would behave if they knew that nothing they did the next couple of months would matter in the long term because everything will be reverted by a time-machine.
What would you do in such a situation? Go to work? Do the garden? Read books?
Dozois' answer is: It matters more how you spend your time than how much time you have to spend.
Swanwick's answer seems to be "marriage, hard work, community, and simple human kindness".

The other things are the dinosaurs, of course - it starts with them:
The dinosaurs looked all wobbly in the summer heat shimmering up from the pavement. There were about thirty of them, a small herd of what appeared to be Triceratops. They were crossing the road
- don't ask me why - so I downshifted and brought the truck to a halt, and waited.

Waited and watched.
Dumb like sheep. Not green as often illustrated but colorful like butterflies. But they didn't have the awesomeness of Jurassic Park.

The last sentence in the citation demonstrates the slowness and style of the story. No fighting against the time laboratory or against government. Slow and caring about the two protagonists. I don't need action in a story but the tension arc and resolution were just meh.

The story was included in THREE best-of anthologies in 2005/6 - Strahan's, Dozois', and Horton's. And I don't get it. Maybe it is my personal taste. Maybe 2005 wasn't such a good year for SF. Maybe it is favouritism. Maybe it is the money. But I certainly would have selected something else.

In the end I nearly liked it. There certainly is some quality in the narration and the raised questions keep sticking in your head. It might be the case that the story needs time to ripen. But one day after reading it, it was only ok.
And it worked as part of the anthology!

★★★★★ Slow Life

I enjoyed this story a good deal. A little "hard" sci-fi exploring Titan, plus some old-school speculation ("[NASA] frowns on speculation. It is, in their estimation, almost as unprofessional as heroism.") Well structured, a little in the old-school style (the old-fashioned exposition by answering questions from reporters has been replaced by a newfangled answering questions from the Internet.)

Balloons/dirigibles seem to be growing in popularity for planetary exploration, at least in science fiction, even those that aren't steampunk. KSR used balloons for traveling around Mars in his Mars trilogy, calculating that the lighter gravity was ample compensation for the thinner atmosphere (less buoyancy.) Earlier, Clarke imagined a dirigible for exploring Jupiter in A Meeting With Medusa.

The story also has an interesting concepts for alien life without individuality, and a rather rapid culture shock at discovering there were "others".

The aforementioned Internet AMA also provided what Andreas pointed out, a contrast in the level of discourse between humans and alien.

Despite the title, although the story suggests a vast difference in the speed of thought between human and alien, the story doesn't really make much use of that.

★★★★ Triceratops Summer

I liked this one more than Andreas did.

After introducing the sudden and unexpected intrusion of a herd of dinosaurs into the contemporary world, thanks to an advanced physics experiment run amok, the story is a little coy in reviewing what our hero knows that suddenly makes him feel rich and on vacation. (Was the PoV character ever given a name?)

Andreas wrote: "Dumb like sheep...."

Dumb as mud. Act like cows. (Living in the rural Western US, I'm familiar with driving through small cattle herds.)


Andreas wrote: "What do you do when there is no tomorrow?.."

Or at least, when there's no autumn?

One of the characters says "everything ends eventually". (Reminded me of a Woody Allen line from Love and Death: "eventually, yeah. But for me it's dawn tomorrow.")

Certainly one should forget planning for the future. (You wouldn't catch me painting the trim on the house, as our hero does.) No sense saving for your children's college education. Why stay on your diet?

Our hero (and Everett and Delia) decide to keep the whole end of the world thing a secret, saying "some people" (clearly less enlightened than them) would do bad things, and they're probably correct. On the other hand, it's a little selfish keeping the knowledge that it doesn't matter how many credit cards you max out because you will never have to pay it off, a little like cheating those who you purchase from.

It's also interesting that Everett (the kid from the physics lab) takes an entirely different moral mindset and refuses to max out his credit card for new luxury car, but insists on getting an old clunker he can afford. In what little we see of him, he seems determined not to act any differently knowing the world is about to end.

You can also draw parallels to the movie Groundhog Day, where after Bill Murray realizes nothing he does is going to last, decides to live it up, including reckless behavior and a crime spree. (Murray could have gone for far worse crimes than bank robbery.)

Does it make any difference that the world isn't going to end, per se. Just the timeline your living will be pruned?

In the end Delia convinces our hero that everyday life is the best way to spend their remaining time. That seemed a little trite; perhaps it's an aspiration, perhaps Swanwick has achieved such a life, but I think I'd accelerate my bucket list. (Made me think of the Herb Gardner play, A Thousand Clowns: "You gotta own your own days and name 'em, each one of 'em, every one of 'em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. And that ain't just for weekends.")


Still, an interesting story, nicely structured, intriguing premise.

★★★★ Tin Marsh

Prospectors on heat-scoured Venus get a chip implanted which controls in a kind of Asimov's laws their behaviour. When a landslide disrupts one of those chips, one of the space-suited prospectors isn't barred from living out his hatred anymore and a cat-and-mouse play evolves.
I'd call it Western-SF: (view spoiler)[ "Turn around or I'll lase you a new asshole." (hide spoiler)] (spoiler due to profanity)

I feared a basic "how those laws make problems and can be circumvented", but the story turned out differently. A short thriller keeping you on the edge.

★★ An Episode of Stardust

A bizarre con-men feary story on the unseelie court mixed with modern technology. I was tired when reading this and couldn't get into it.
Amusing story but nothing insightful to be found.
It felt more like a bit scratched out from a larger novel - maybe like The Iron Dragon's Daughter or the newer The Dragons of Babel.

★★★ Tin Marsh

I surprisingly enjoyed this sci-fi story. The two characters aren't terribly likable (and don't like each other, either; a little extreme for a "buddy story"). They're stuck together for a long-term contract mining metals on Venus (I think), marching around in their "muscle suits". (Must be interesting tech to survive on Venus's surface.)

As with "The Dog Said Bow-Wow", the setting and situation were more interesting than the characters.

Andreas wrote: "Prospectors on heat-scoured Venus get a chip implanted which controls in a kind of Asimov's laws their behaviour...."

I especially liked the idea of imposing an equivalent to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics on humans. Hilite of the story, IMO.

"Hello," Said the Stick

this one didn't really grab me; the juxtaposition of historical and futuristic was interesting, but Swanwick does a lot more with it in most of the other pieces

Overall, though, I liked the feel of Swanwick's stories and almost finished the anthology in just a couple of days (a long train ride helped with that). A lot of times I find short stories like poems or photos, in that I have to digest them in one sitting or I get distracted/feel like I'm missing out, and what I'm left w/is largely an overall impression. I thought Swanwick's stories had a little bit more "weight," which might have been just the deliberate archaisms on the prose level or the fact that most have strong, clearly discernible plots (something I appreciate in the story), but I think also has to do with the background world-building that might not make it into the story but seems to be pretty well thought-out.

The Dog Said Bow-Wow

I enjoyed this story, with the light tone of the caper and the interesting juxtapositions of the setting. I'm not sure I fully suspended my disbelief when it came to the demons that could spring from the Internet, but thinking about the fiction-world technicalities and the real-world metaphors that could be involved was fun.

Ben mentioned his discomfort with ; for me, it was more non-suspension of disbelief (a person w/autism wouldn't act this way), which then led to questions: Have they really made a custom of treating neuro-atypical humans as pets, and did it really not seem to cause any significant backlash or problems? If this society is so good at genetic engineering, why would they have to engineer savant dwarfs? Why not just savants? Why would a futuristic society, even after the upheavals caused by Internet demon wars (or whatever they're called) revert to historical attitudes about different and "montrosity"?

What actually made me more uncomfortable was the vibe I got from the women's roles, and not just in this story but in others like the Paris Darger/Surplus adventure and "Tin Marsh." The Dog Said Bow-Wow story seems to want to put a twist on the buddy con trope, but the place of women seems pretty familiar. And the defining characteristic of the Queen is that she's so fat she wants to die? I oversimplify, and it's not that Swanwick doesn't bring any complexity to her character or to other women, just that I think the overall message sometimes seems problematic.

Of the three Darger/Surplus stories in the book, I found this one by far the strongest. (I'm curious: is the story in "Rogues" set in Byzantium?)

Triceratops Summer

I, too, think I like this one more than you did, Andreas, but I think your "What would you do when there is no tomorrow?" gives a great summary. I found the final triceratops by moonlight section poignant. Maybe I'm a sucker for marriage & human kindness.

Slow Life

I liked this, but I think I preferred the details of "NAFTASA" culture and interaction to the telepathic dream communications, which seemed fuzzy to me; as a first contact story, that just seemed a little too easy.

In terms of the title concept, I thought the implication that Lizzie assumed life evolved on Titan would be "slower" compared to human perception but that it turned out to "faster" though different gave some development.

Hillary wrote: "What actually made me more uncomfortable was the vibe I got from the women's roles, and not just in this story but in others like the Paris Darger/Surplus adventure and "Tin Marsh"....
... the place of women seems pretty familiar. "

I agree that women in t"The Dog Said Bow-Wow" exist to be seduced by a dog,... but Patang's role in "Tin Marsh" bothered you? She seemed just a homicidal as Mac to me. :)

The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Hillary wrote: "Have they really made a custom of treating neuro-atypical humans as pets, .... Why would a futuristic society, even after the upheavals caused by Internet demon wars (or whatever they're called) revert to historical attitudes about different and "montrosity"?..."

The impression I have (and I'm reading between the lines, this isn't explicit) is that the autistics aren't pets but replace the forbidden electronic calculators & recording devices — they are bred just for savant talents such as math and memory.

The Skysailor’s Tale

Steampunk set in early 19th century Philadelphia where the indepence war was lost. This story wasn't published before and is the longest in the anthology.

The framing story starts with a fireside story where an elder skysailor regrets that he mist his mad father's burial, leading to a longish meditation about his father. It carries on with his travelogue of adventures on an airship including piratery, alternate worlds, and some X-rated scene.

I'm sorry, but I didn't get into the story and started skipping pages. It felt longish, weak, not incomplete, a start of a novel that didn't come to life. Some editorial work would have done good.
I'm looking forward if you can get more out of it and I'll have to re-read it when I'm better concentrated.

Hillary wrote: "I found the final triceratops by moonlight section poignant."

I love Swanwick's nearly poetic prose. His non-action stories are worth a re-read because of those nuances, atmosphere and insights.

I'll be without access to internet the next 10 days or so (cruising the Mediterranean Sea) and return reading the anthology after that. Happy discussions until then :)

Andreas wrote: "I'll be without access to internet the next 10 days or so (cruising the Mediterranean Sea)... :)"

Have a great vacation.

Things to avoid in the Mediterranean: Scylla, Charybdis, Kraken.

★★★ An Episode of Stardust

This is another con artist story, not a whole lot different in flavor than the "The Dog Said Bow-Wow" Surplus & Darger story. It even including an "how they met" flashback (So why did Andreas like the former and not to latter, other than con-artist fatigue? :)

Instead of a technology-adverse post-AI-war gaslight world, we have a mix of technology (Edwardian again?) and supernatural creatures (fae), and the story structure very neatly offers two different PoVs: a mildly belligerent dwarf, Gabbro Hornfelsson, for the main story; and Nat, one of the con artists, in the flashback "how they teamed up" story.

Strangely, the Fox as a shape-shifting trickster comes from Japanese folklore rather than the European faerie origins, and there's also a tokoloshe (which I had to look up to find out was an African critter.) So it's a real mix-and-match mythos.

I liked this story because I found the writing more wryly amusing than in the previous stories.

Enjoy the Mediterranean, Andreas!

G33z3r wrote: ... but Patang's role in "Tin Marsh" bothered you? She seemed just a homicidal as Mac to me. :)

I think what bothered me in that story was that Patang's taunting of Mac wasn't revealed until near the end of the story, making me go back and reevaluate her character but also kind of seeming like a blame-the-victim story arc. I don't think I would have minded so much if they had been just "equally unlikable" from the beginning.

There's something Kafkaesque about the way the miners are at the mercy of the company in this story, and the fact that it was making me frustrated & indignant probably speaks to the effectiveness of the story, although it may have tarnished the enjoyment a bit.

An Episode of Stardust
This was light & pretty enjoyable, though I didn't really feel much for any of the characters. There's the merest mention that the train in this story is headed to Babel, and I was trying figure out how many other stories in the collection were set in the same world as this one. The only one I'm sure about is

A Small Room in Koboldtown
which I really enjoyed. In this detective-style story, haints and aspects of hoodoo/voudoun mix with more European supernatural traditions. I suspected the resolution of the mystery pretty early on, but I liked the interplay of suspicions and stereotypes between the various groups and how even the self-aware protagonist met with a few surprises.

The Skysailor's Tale
I kept thinking I would have enjoyed this story more w/out the conceit that the narrator's memory is spotty due to a fever -- if, say, the confrontation w/ & escape from the Aztec Empire was told straight. It sounds like Andreas might have had a clearer read on the politics than I did; I didn't get the feel that the Americans here had lost the War of Independence (there wouldn't have been a war of 1812 if we had lost, would there?), but it seemed like Britain, or maybe Britain and America both, had fallen to Queen Titania.

I was torn b/t appreciating that one of the themes seemed to be no matter how exciting or exotic one's life, it's the moments w/family/loved ones that matter most & wanting more focus on the action & adventure.

☆ The Skysailor's Tale

I didn't care for this story at all. Part of it was that it struck a personal sore point, and part of it is the annoying jumping around. (It would be interesting to know why Swanwick wanted to tell this story in so many chunks with abrupt transitions. I was almost expecting and ending in which the narrator turned out to be as mad as his father.)


Andreas wrote: "I didn't get into the story and started skipping pages. It felt longish, weak, not incomplete, a start of a novel that didn't come to life...."

We agree :)


Hillary wrote: "I didn't get the feel that the Americans here had lost the War of Independence (there wouldn't have been a war of 1812 if we had lost, would there?)..."

Yeah, I think Andreas must have skipped something. :) The British guy Fuzzleton — from the airship Empire? — finished his remarks with the toast: “To America! — Her Majesty’s most treasured possession.” which sets off a near riot. But apparently someone called Titania is Queen of England?

It's a sign that the storytelling is head scratching at best, incoherent at worst. I didn't really feel interested - at all - to try to sort the matter out.


And don't get me wondering about the Aztecs....

★★★ Legions in Time

Maybe it was just relief after the previous story (Skysailor) at finally having a comprehensible and linear story (okay, maybe not entirely linear since there's some time travel involved, but linear enough. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this one.

Eleanor is an engaging character, quick witted and resourceful, I'm the short story moves along quickly enough (no it doesn't break any new ground or twist any familiar tropes.)

(view spoiler)[
One of the artifacts "Legions in Time" uses is something that comes up from time to time in time travel SF: the existence of some place outside of time, some sort of nexus connecting all the multiple time periods. (Asimov used it in The End of Eternity, for example. It also showed up in the recent SF/romance movie "The Adjustment Bureau". Effect, now that I think about it, if this story wasn't from 2003 I'd think it's meta-time world with rows of doors to different times was reminiscent of The Adjustment Bureau.)

These places always seem to have some sort of meta-time; events happened there in sequence (first visit 1936, then 2004, then 3197, then in 1936 again...) I always wonder if someone will write a story in which there's also meta-time travel :)
(hide spoiler)]

★★★ The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport

So, our second Darger & Surplus story. This time we are in Paris, and I liked this story better than the first, perhaps because it's without an "origin" story. It's still a con game, and this time they object on the con is the Eiffel Tower (apparently lost/destroyed during the AI wars.)

The interaction between the two conmen (or con man and con dog) just felt more natural this time.

Swanwick likes to tell con stories by letting the reader in on the con. A lot of authors like to hold back some part of the con, to be revealed as a final twist at the end. Instead, this story gives us a second con by a third party running in parallel to the con we're aware of.

It's interesting in this world that when someone walks into a room followed by "two apes", it doesn't mean muscular gangsters but literally apes. :)

How do you find the Eiffel Tower? "By asking ourselves where such a salvage operation would be most disruptive two contemporary Paris." This logic seems prevalent at our local Department of Transportation highway construction office. :)

Shouldn't the programmable gun be outlawed technology from the AI wars?

I notice there's no mention of indentured autistics in this episode (or the final "Girls and Boys, Come out to Play" Darger & Surplus story.)

★★ The Bordello in Faerie

Huh. Well, if the Darger & Surplus stories are obliquely into furry kink, this story is quite directly into kink. I had the feeling there was supposed to be a Point made at the end, but I missed it. (view spoiler)["Her breasts were lovely, though there were only two of them." (hide spoiler)]

★★ The Last Geek

When I started reading this, I was thinking an entirely different kind of Geek :) But apparently this one is featured on carnival sideshows instead of wearing a pocket protector. Anyway, this is a real short one, and once again it has a Point, though this time unsubtle and treadworn.

★★★★ Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play

The third and I think final of the Darger & Surplus stories is my favorite of the trio. It's a little more active (and violent) then the previous to the collection, though I think that's incidental. The boys are in Greece this time.

God creation seems all the rage in fantasy these days.

I think it's whimsical that the locals have looted the Lord Nelson's column (or at least his statue from it) and Lions from England's Trafalgar Square. Turnaround is fair play and all that.

Also, I liked this quote:

“The parallels between cozening and seduction are obvious. One presents oneself as attractively as possible and then seeds the situation with small deceits, strategic retreats, and warm confidences. The desired outcome is never spoken of directly until it has been achieved, though all parties involved are painfully aware of it. Both activities are woven of silences, whispers, and meaningful looks.”

★★★ A Great Day for Brontosaurs

This was a short little hors d'oeuvre of a short story, simple and to the point with the classic little twist at the end. A good palate cleanser between other stories.

Also, I liked this:

“ ‘You're a visionary,’ said the Financial Officer. No one could mistake this for a complement.”

★★★ Dirty Little War

For some reason, when I saw the title of the story, I immediately sang, "It's a dirty little war, three five zero zero," that being a song from the 60s counterculture musical "Hair" (you remember "Age of Aquarius" & "Good Morning Starshine", I remember "Three Five Zero Zero" :). So it was with some amusement that I noted references to Herb Albert, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, and the Vietnam War setting, discovering the story was set in the 60s as well. (Checked original publication date; 2002.)

An odd little fantasy, like dropping LSD. Groovy.

Great, now I've got this tune stuck in my head.

★★★★ A Small Room in Koboldtown

I enjoyed this story a good deal as an amusing supernatural mystery. I'm going to call it a guilty pleasure. It's a locked room murder mystery — and the chief suspect is therefore a ghost ("haint"). The big ghost politician and his boys, old ward boss style, decides to get the chief suspect off the hook.

“A haint’s been arrested for murder and we got to get him off.”
“You think he was framed?” Will asked.
“What... difference does it make? He’s a voter.”

Cute mystery with an old fashion Agatha Christie solution plus a little twist on the side.

Oh, and I learned a new word. (Albeit one I'll never get to use.)

★★★ Urdumheim

This fantasy "creation story", featuring gods and demons, started off a little dry, but I found it grew on me as I read along and it evolved in anothor of Swanwick's odd directions, and I ended up enjoying it.

★★★ The Last Geek
Once again, Swanwick demonstrates his diversity - this time with joke in the form of a short story.

A professor of "South Culture" invites the last practicioner of his profession, a carnival geek to talk about good old South and demonstrate his art. He is proclaimed as American as John Wayne or Buzz Aldrin, a living cultural treasure and an acknowledged national icon. Of course, this leads to the pointe of the joke.

I don't want to over-analyze it, but I think, it is not only a joke but also holds up a mirror on strange things that academics investigate.
What I'm wondering is (view spoiler)[if there are really people who bite off chicken heads or if that was invented (hide spoiler)].

In an interview Swanwick tells us
People think I'm having a laugh at my own expense when I say it's autobiographical, but when first I finished it and read it through, I honest to God did think, «Le Geek, c'est moi!»

Interesting, huh?

★★★1/2 for The Bordello in Faerie

After the boys in Ironbrock come of age, they adventure to the faerie bordello across the river - a kind of inverted Dunsany's world-building. Protagonist Ned finally gets to experience what all the fuss is about and he becomes obsessed in faerie sex.
There are some explicit scenes but nothing adult haven't come across. And if you think it is faerie porn, then you have to read it again because it is more than just that: Because Ned could be the neightbour guy obsessed with online gaming, his car or similar. Swanwick develops a very good characterization how he stumbles into it, doesn't recognize his obsession and doesn't know how to get out but needs help.
The story develops very nicely with a good tension arc and a definite ending. I especially liked devious Gilbrig the imp and loved the world-building.

★★ The Last Geek

Andreas wrote: "Once again, Swanwick demonstrates his diversity - this time with joke in the form of a short story...."

Huh. I thought it was kind of sad. (view spoiler)[I mean, yeah, it's got the whole "which one is the real geek thing, but still. (hide spoiler)]

Oh, and yes, There were geeks. Usually part of a carnival sideshow, the freak show (another expression that survives) featured people with various physical differences, often grotesque (or who could be made to appear so.) E.g. "the fat lady", midgets, people with other than five fingers, whatever. The "geek" role was specifically someone who bit the heads off chickens (which was apparently entertaining before TV. Now people bite the heads off chickens on TV in "reality TV".) It was a little like the sideshow featuring exotic animals. The freak show was a pretty degrading thing all the way around.

Somewhere the word "geek" morphed into just someone who was an obvious "outsider", and in the 60s/70s started being used in its present context, tho not in a flattering way.

I only knew geek from the term "computer geek", and I never bit off a mouse cable. So, it was obvious for you what that geek would do right from the start? Then it's no joke of course. For me it was absolutely surprising. Now, I've learned something from southern culture though it somewhat hurt my reading experience.

★★★★ Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play

G33z3r wrote: "I think it's whimsical that the locals have looted the Lord Nelson's column (or at least his statue from it) and Lions from England's Trafalgar Square. Turnaround is fair play and all that."

I thought it was a bit cheap - the winner takes it all: think of all the obelisks and statues that the Roman and British and German Empire took from ancient countries. Now, Greece has been a mighty country and stolen those artifacts...
But there always is a bigger fish, and I found it funny that it is (once again) an African country creating those pheromone gods like Dionysos. I loved it and hope to read another con-story located in Istanbul.

At the same time, I am impressed by a much deeper theme Swanwick shows us very briefly at the end of the story: the impossibility to return to the places one loves best.

★★ The Last Geek

Andreas wrote: "I only knew geek from the term "computer geek", and I never bit off a mouse cable. So, it was obvious for you what that geek would do right from the start? Then it's no joke of course. ..."

No, I didn't see that coming from the beginning. (As I mentioned earlier, when I started reading I was thinking the pocket-protector type geek, and only realized as the story progressed that it was the older side-show geek. But you read the last paragraph and it's just melancholy, no?