Sundry Sundries: Acceptance News and Stupid SF.
Good news, everyone! My publication dry-spell is over!
It seems that the best way to get published is to give in to your excessive nerdom. The wonderful Margaret Bashaar has accepted a poem for publication in her 2011 anthology, Make It So. That’s right–it’s an anthology of Star Trek: TNG poetry. The moment I heard about it, I got to work.
Here’s a little tease, of the first two lines:
A PropositionGeordi, even I knew the shiver
of Tasha’s bare thighs around my waist . . .
If you’re not excited by that then you might be an android.
(If you are excited by that then you might be an android.)
In other news, I recently finished Diana Peterfreund’s Ascendant, which was amazing (review will be posted tomorrow). But now I’m reading I am Number Four and . . . well . . .
I’m not sure if perhaps it’s just looking bad by comparison. But so far, it’s not looking very good. It’s what I typically think of as “idiot sci-fi.” Take, for example, this explanation of the premise, which comes not far into the novel’s first chapter:
[. . .] we protect ourselves because of the charm that was placed upon us when we left, a charm guaranteeing that we can only be killed in the order of our numbers, so long as we stay apart. If we come together, then the charm is broken. When one of us is found and killed, a circular scar wraps around the right ankle of those still alive. And residing on our left ankle, formed when the Loric charm was first cast, is a small scar identical to the amulet each of us wears. The circular scars are another part of the charm. A warning system so that we know where we stand with each other, and so that we know when they’ll be coming for us next.
Is it just me, or is that sort of unbelievable gibberish? And really kind of silly, even by, say, high-fantasy standards, much less science fictional ones?
Of course, there’s been a rash of science fiction books for young adults out lately, all advertised as “sci-fi but not for sci-fi fans!” As a sci-fi fan, I find that depressing. I know that SF isn’t a terribly popular genre right now, and I realize that the lingo and the nerdiness can be kind of off-putting. But it’s not as if I like my sci-fi particularly hard–I prefer character-driven stories just like the rest of you. But I also like a universe that’s cohesive and fairly believable, one that isn’t somewhat fundamentally silly but at least attempts to follow some sort of rules. And I’d love to read some science fiction that seems to come out of a deep love of the genre, rather than as a result of trend-chasing (dystopians are over! aliens must be next!).
I suppose if I want to read it, I’ll have to write it.
Phoebe
Phoebe is a 20-something writer who lives in New York State with her husband and cat. She is a dork, not a geek or a nerd.
Her debut novel, Starglass, will be released from Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers in Summer 2013.
7 comments
Star Trek is the coolest. Yep. Dude, I still get random comments from people I don't know saying they loved my Q/Picard fanfic and that I nailed the characters. *smiles widely*
(Did I nail the characters? I did okay, not great, but this is how fanfic goes.)
The start of your poem sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read.
I saw the I Am Number Four trailer the other day. I thought it looked interesting, but now, I think what kills the concept is the ankle stuff. That's a bit too random. The trailer didn't have that. Plus, how is that sci-fi?
Hehe, I love Star Trek fandom. The fans are always so supportive and enthusiastic!
I think it’s SF by the if-it-quacks-like-a-duck definition. It has aliens, therefore, scifi. Even though it’s clearly just fantasy/adventure stuff if you want to get down to the nitty gritty of it. Oh well.
oh my god that excerpt is like a textbook case of “telling, not showing.” and james frey is like a legit (kinda) writer. disappointing.
Yeah. I suspect that what’s going on here is that the authors in question don’t read much of either YA or scifi. It kind of reads like older kid’s literature from like the 80s when it was all slim scholastic paperbacks you’d get from book clubs (although even then, there would be sharp, intelligent gems). It just really comes across like they don’t expect much of their readership.
That excerpt looks kind of painful. Not only is it blatant infodumping, it also doesn't make any sense. I have a feeling I'll be skipping that one.
(And you're right,t here needs to be more 'real' YA SF out there. I suggest we get on it immediately!)
Actually, it’s an ok book. Certainly not the best, but certainly not as well written as, say, Before I fall or Mockingjay, but I’m enjoying it a whole lot more than I enjoyed reading Mockingjay, and that’s saying something. If I had to describe it I’d say this is the Twilight for boys – bland, cliche but somehow still good enough to enjoy.
I don’t know, Akin. So far it wildly veers between being overwhelmingly, mind-numbingly bland (the high school scenes, where characters are all cliche and saccharine) and really infodumpy.