Posts Tagged ‘Conmergence’
Conmergence: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction by Tara Maya
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It’s commonly suggested that it’s harder to write good short stories than to write good novels because in a short story there’s less space to set the scene and develop characters. First of all, I don’t agree with this. There’s no room for flabby prose in a good novel either and short stories are easier to edit because they are shorter.
But, whatever your form, it’s very hard to capture a reader’s interest immediately. And in a short story it’s very hard to take your reader on a journey that will leave him or her feeling satisfied.
If that is hard to do in a short story, it’s even harder in a science fiction or fantasy story, in which the world inhabited by the characters may be very different from our own.
Tara Maya doesn’t seem to be aware of any of these difficulties. She writes easily, fluently and eloquently as if she were born writing stories about strange people in exotic lands. There are no false notes, no awkward explanations, no loose ends. The surprises, when they come, are well prepared. The characters do develop and so does our understanding of them.
I got a lot of pleasure from these stories and I’d like to read more of Tara Maya’s work. I especially enjoyed her story called Portrait of a Pretender. There were a couple of sentences in there that were far more erotic than a whole slew of stories by some erotica writers I’ve sampled recently.
Look who’s coming!
Posted on: September 28, 2011
One of the best things about sex is the anticipation. So to whet your appetite for treats to come, I’d like to tell you what I’ve been reading.
1. The Empty City by Berit Ellingsen. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
2. Conmergence by Tara Maya. Tantalising when she flashes and a rare delight when she lingers longer.
3. The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche. An express train of a novel.
4. Rashomon by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Terribly impressive.
5. The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming. Dark, dingy and dirty.
6. Asking For Trouble by Kristina Lloyd. Darker. Dingier. Dirtier. Damn good.
If I go quiet for a few days it will be because I am being deeply self-indulgent.
