So the other day I was shopping around Barnes and Noble, getting ready to spend a birthday gift card. After finding a Murakami book, I wandered, as I do, into the sci fi/fantasy section. One thing I found was a first volume of a two volume series of zombie short stories, each of which was quite thick (the first one, which I bought, clocks in at 483 pages). Now, this is not the first collection of zombie short fiction that I own. And the one other that I own is not the only other collection. It seems like, these days, you walk into the sci fi section of a book store, close your eyes, and touch the spine of a book, odds are you’re touching, or within 3 books of touching, a zombie book. Novels, collections, “survival guides”, fake zombie memoirs, zombies are everywhere in book stores. And it isn’t just trashy SF Horror writers any more, either. This collection that I’ve just purchased, for instance, has some surprises. Aside from big names Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and George R.R. Martin (who just so happens to be my all-time favorite author, next to, perhaps, Douglas Adams), this collection also features stories by Kelly Link and – most surprising of all – Sherman Alexie. That’s right, I have a zombie short story by Sherman Alexie that I bought at Barnes and Noble. Chew that one over for a second. Like a bit of human intestine.
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Today my class on science fiction begins. At this point no reading has been assigned yet and we need something to discuss, so we’ll read a story in class. This afternoon we’ll cover science fiction through World War I. I’ll mention Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, widely considered the first science fiction book. We’ll also acknowledge Edgar Allan Poe’s incorporation of time travel and mesmerism in his work. (Mesmerism involves being in a trancelike state and under the command of the hypnotizer.)

Really, today is about Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, though. We have to choose between the two, read a story of one “father of science fiction” or the other. Which should it be?

The anthology we are using has Verne’s “Master Zacharius” and Wells’ “The Crystal Egg.” I found the process of reading “Master Zacharius” easier and more enjoyable; the prose is broken up by more dialogue and action, and the characters are more sympathetic. But I keep thinking about the strange ideas and images in “The Crystal Egg.”

I thought I’d see what you think. I’ll give you some excerpts from each and see which one you would rather read if you were joining us for our first class. Read more »

Yesterday a colleague told me about a science fiction and romance writing group that meets not far from my house. I’ve written and published some genre fiction (no, I won’t tell you my pseudonym; we’ll talk about that in next week’s post), so I’m thinking about stopping by. Of course, inside my head the literary snob alarm was blaring, telling me not to lower myself to that level. But it got me thinking about my favorite science fiction books and recent developments in the world of genre publishing.

It’s been almost a month since the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America took down links to authors’ work on Amazon. The fallout hasn’t been especially significant, so far as I can find, but it’s an interesting move. Their reasoning is simple and subtly pissed-off: “we would prefer to send traffic to stores where the books can actually be purchased.” Makes sense. And today I heard that the SFWA may have a couple of new qualifying members: Ian McEwan and Rick Moody.

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Dear Mr. Farley,
We’re going to pass on your nonfiction piece, “Tumescent Eyes.” We suggest that you familiarize yourself with our magazine and take advantage of the enclosed subscription form. Thank you for your interest in the Cathode Ray Review, and we would enjoy seeing your work in the future.
Sincerely,

Greg Arious, Managing Editor

Internal notes scribbled on the manila envelope:

NO- This piece gave me diarrhea. The first line was garbage. I wish I could go to this guy’s house, smash his computer with a hammer, and gouge out his eyes, so I’d never have to read this shit again. If he learned Braille, and somehow figured out how to use one of those Braille typewriters, I’d go back to cut off his fingers. Some good similes though, but nothing compared to the novel I’m working on. –Chad C.

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The Cathode Ray Review
English Department, P.O. Box 10102, Literature University, New York NY 10102-0000. Email: theliteraturereview@junkmail.com Contact: Greg Arious, editor. (deceased) Magazine: 13X2; 4-1180 pages; coated with polyurethane cover paper; 120lb. “The Cathode Ray Review publishes 10,000+ word stories that steer clear of character, and plot, unless they resemble recent movies. We also accept translations, if they resemble recent movies. We don’t enjoy reading flat prose, so right click every couple words and use the synonym function, picking out a word with more letters. We want a writer who’s not afraid to dust off the first 10 chapters of their failed novel and send it off without bothering to edit out the chapter breaks.” Semiannual/septuagenarian. Estab. 1882.
• Stories for The Cathode Ray Review have been included in The Best Armenian Short Stories, and have won the Puelit Surprise.
Needs: literary, environmental/erotica, hybrid forms of recipes, and short short short shorts. Receives 100,000,000 unsolicited mss/month. We process art like poultry. Accepts 6 mss/decade; 0/year. Publishes 6-12 months after author’s death. This month is our theme issue, Writing about writing, especially if you’ve never published anything. Recently published work by Greg Arious, Randolph McQueef, and Raymond Carver’s (Obituary)
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