Announcing the Michael M Jones “I wish I’d thought of that” Award!
A nice review for CLOCKWORK PHOENIX appears in SF Site over the byline of Michael M. Jones.
Billed as "Tales of Beauty and Strangeness," Clockwork Phoenix is editor Mike Allen’s latest effort to inject a little more weirdness and artistic fantasy into the market, working from his own particular tastes of what he personally enjoys reading. His introduction to the anthology yields little concrete wisdom into the method and madness he used to construct this particular collection of stories, for all its poetic imagery and vivid, dreamlike narrative, but consulting the Clockwork Phoenix web site turns up more solid requirements for the stories within. Simply put, Mike Allen wanted stories with elements of the fantastic, something new and genuine, stories that lured the reader into unfamiliar territory and experiment with style. As he himself says, "I envision the CLOCKWORK PHOENIX books as places where these two schools of story telling can mingle and achieve Happy Medium; where there is significance to both the tale that’s told and the style of the telling." It’s important that we look at what he’s trying to achieve, because Clockwork Phoenix is by no means your average, everyday anthology.[…] Mike Allen definitely lives up to his goal; this is a collection of rare treasures and intriguing stories, pushing boundaries and making the reader think.
Here is the part interesting to me particularly:
John C. Wright gets the "I wish I’d thought of that" award from me, for his story, "Choosers of the Slain."" On the last day of a brutal war, the commander of a broken army readies himself for a suicidal, final attack upon the other side, one that will cost him his life and catapult him into legend. But just as he’s about to fire, a blonde beauty appears out of nowhere, offering him a deal. But what will his fate ultimately be? Cleverly reworking an aspect of Norse myth, this story hints at a much larger world, and events playing out both before and after the scene in question. It’s a simple concept, but stunning nonetheless in the execution.
Glad I stunned him. Another author-related assault & battery.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
March 2, 2009 @ 1:19 am
