Fantasy & Science Fiction: March 2008
April 8, 2008 by Andy
A long but engrossing story from Albert E. Cowdrey and a short piece of personal interest from Alexander Jablokov highlight the March 2008 issue of F&SF.
“The Boarder” by Alexander Jablokov
I’ve enjoyed the few Jablokov stories I’ve read, but this is the first that’s really struck home. There’s actually nothing science fictional or fantastic about it, which might normally make me grumble about its appearance in F&SF.
It’s a character study, told as the memoir of a man looking back at his youth. His family, Russian emigres, lets out their basement to fellow emigrant Vassily, a metallurgist who worked on the Soviet space program and gets by in America doing odd jobs.
My interest in the story is idiosyncratic–in the 90s I lived two years in the Baltic States of the former Soviet Union. Never before have I encountered a fictional character that seemed taken directly from my own experience. I did not know Vassily, I knew several of him. His rough mannerisms, oscillating temperament, his facility for tinkering, his balcony-style garden, his indifferent arrogance and capacity for lazing are so authentic the story, whatever its value as a perspective on science fiction and space exploration, leaves me replete with the warm fondness of nostalgia.
“Rumple What?” by Nancy Springer
I love fairy tales with the love that leads to strong opinions. Because of this pickiness it’s not often I’m impressed with twists on classic tales. “Rumple What?” comes admirably close. What most recommends it is its unabashed, snarky voice and style.
“The Overseer” by Albert E. Cowdrey
Cowdrey has been one of the most prolific and dependable authors in F&SF’s recent years. This may be my favorite story of his to date and, overlooking for the moment the personal connection I feel for Jablokov’s boarder, it’s the best story of the issue.
“The Overseer” follows the life of Nick Lerner, whose best friend is a slave boy on his father’s unprofitable plantation. Nick fights in the Civil War, becomes a criminal, and makes the natural transition from that to politics during Reconstruction. He’s haunted by the ghost of his father’s overseer, the specter of his own misdeeds, and the echoing consequences of the plot’s patiently developing twists.
It took some time for the narrator’s present to become as interesting as the past he records in his memoirs, but the final package is very rewarding. I saw The Kite Runner this weekend (haven’t read the book). “The Overseer” could be considered the antithesis of that powerful story.
“Exit Strategy” by K. D. Wentworth
After a bad day at school Charlsie, a pouty debutante, has come to the Church of Second Life to end it all by donating her body to someone who needs or wants its life more than she does. It turns out there’s a whole application process and she has to volunteer at the Church for several weeks. Bummer. Do they want her body or don’t they?
The stupid self-obsession of my teenage years was bad enough to live through. I usually find it very tiring in fictional characters. Wentworth keeps her tongue far enough in cheek, and her protagonist develops just enough to earn a pass. That coupled with the fun ideas at the root of this story gives it a nice vibe of old-school SF meets mallrat.
“The Second Descent” by Richard Paul Russo
While this piece’s abstracted narrative is a mode that does not resonate with me, it’s final message, of perseverance without hope, perseverance based, in fact, on doubt, does (and no, that’s not just a comment on my own authorial aspirations).
“A Ten-Pound Sack of Rice” by Richard Mueller
I’m also a sucker for stories of redemption, and despite some rough edges Mueller delivers a nice one here, informed by his intimate knowledge of the battle in the air above Guadalcanal.
