SF Signal on My Short Story “The Skull-Faced City”
Sunday, September 5th, 2010SF Signal tweets: “Reading through @JohnJosephAdams’ THE LIVING DEAD 2. Just read a standout story: ‘The Skull-Faced City’ by David Barr Kirtley.”
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Archive for the ‘letters/comments/reviews’ CategoryListener Support for the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy PodcastThursday, August 26th, 2010Since the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast went on hiatus, we’ve received a fair number of messages from people who like the show. Here’s a sample: Antihippy: “I’m really sad to hear that it doesn’t sound like you’re doing this podcast any more. I really enjoyed it. You guys put me onto all kinds of cool stuff — I’ve been punting that trailer for Pumzi round all my mates. And I bought The Windup Girl and Hack the Planet almost exclusively because of the chats with the authors. I thought there was a ton of potential in the show as well. So I am giving you the sad face. :(” Farris wheel: “I’ve bought and read The Anubis Gates, Wild Seed, The Windup Girl, and Boneshaker because of the podcast. So thank you.” Sandikal: “I got hooked on Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series. I also pulled the Wastelands anthology off my to-read shelf and devoured it in a couple of days after the episode about apocalypses. The terrific reading list in that book led me to other good post-apocalyptic fiction, like Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt.” Mike: “I’m a huge fan of the show, and am sad to hear there may be no more. I’m one of those guys who actually knew about every single video game reference you guys made! Wish there were a mention of Deus Ex, though — was close in theme to a number of the books discussed in the podcast. ;) Good luck on all future endeavors.” Michael321: “I just discovered the Geek’s Guide podcast last week, and it has quickly become one of my favorites. You guys conduct great interviews, and you’ve turned me on to a whole ton of cool stuff I didn’t know existed. The banter between David and John is also very engaging; if you have trouble booking guests, I would be happy to listen to a podcast with just the two of you shooting the breeze. Count me as another one who is hoping the Geek’s Guide makes a comeback.” Ed: “I am a guy who has listened to every episode of your podcast since the beginning. I have enjoyed every single episode (except number 16, that one just didn’t do it for me). I have noticed the story podcast hosted by Ms. Lafferty has been canceled, and my precious Geek’s Guide has not been released on its usual schedule. I am filled with disquiet as a result of these circumstances and wonder if it is my fault somehow. Please pass on the following sentence to your corporate overlords. It may help. Ahem, ‘I have been in the unusual position that every time I hear a new episode of Geek’s Guide to The Galaxy, I am inclined, nay compelled, to purchase thousands of dollars of merchandise from Tor. My psychiatrist says this condition is incurable.’ There, hope that helps.” Pete S: “I note that the Geek’s Guide is ‘missing’. I hope it will return soon. I appreciate all of Tor’s efforts in podcasting stories as well as the Geek’s Guide, but when my time is limited, as it so often is, I find I look first for the Geek’s Guide each week. I’m 60+ and a reader of science fiction since I was 9 or 10, and a (continuing) purchaser soon after (if that is of any benefit to your marketing department). I do hope to hear from Dave and John again.” Siznax: “I’ve really enjoyed GGG episodes so far, and I hope you’re able to continue producing more. I find your interviews fascinating and entertaining. I’ve been amazed by your thoughtful observations and random knowledge, and you guys just really crack me up. Also, you’ve expanded my reading list, gotten me excited about new books and authors, and led me to read a lot of awesome stories. I find myself replaying your post-interview talks while waiting for the next episode, and it just never gets old. I was wondering how in the world you guys can be readers, authors, editors, anthologists, and produce a podcast, so I’m not surprised to hear how difficult it is. I was really hoping for GGG#999, but in the meantime I’ll continue enjoying everything else you guys produce, and all the great fiction you lead us to.” Fortunately for fans of the show, things are currently looking pretty promising for a Geek’s Guide relaunch in the near future. More news to come. Horror World Reviews My Story “The Disciple”Saturday, August 21st, 2010“The Disciple” is a story I wrote right out of college. It was my very first anthology appearance, and it’s still picking up reviews, the latest of which just appeared on Horror World. Here’s an excerpt: Some years ago a very small press did a very small print run (less than 100 initial copies, from what I heard) of a new anthology of Lovecraftian-flavored horror called Dead But Dreaming. That publisher, Dark Tales Publications, then promptly went out of business, thereby ensuring no more copies of DBD would be printed. If that book wasn’t any good then no one would have cared, and the little tome would have faded away into the horror history books without so much as a whimper. However, by all accounts Dead But Dreaming was amazing! That meant that very soon copies were being hocked on eBay for hundreds of dollars. Not bad for a small press anthology that was only a few years old. However, it was very bad news for any Cthulhuhead like me that didn’t already have a copy of what everyone “in the know” was calling the breakout book of new Cthulhu Mythos fiction. Instead of going over all fifteen stories, I’ll just shine a light on the tales that really floored me, or the ones I had the most fun reading … David Barr Kirtley’s “The Disciple” is one of the more traditional Lovecraftian tales to be found here. However, in no way does that lessen its effectiveness or the enjoyment I had while reading it. The story takes place at the heart of higher horrific learning, Miskatonic University, and centers around a select group of students, a very special professor, and the unusual extra-credit, after-hours study group they all belong to. Torque Control on My Short Story “Cats in Victory”Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Some folks over at Torque Control are not a fan of my short story “Cats in Victory.” Philippine Online Chronicles Reviews Lightspeed June 2010Tuesday, July 6th, 2010Here’s a nice, in-depth review of the June issue of Lightspeed by Eliza Victoria for the Philippine Online Chronicles. Of my story “Cats in Victory” she says: I tend to approach stories featuring talking animals with wariness, and, at times, lowered expectations. Stories like this tend to fall into one of two extremes–either they’re genius, or a complete waste of time. Thank goodness this story was spun by the able hands of David Barr Kirtley. Whimsical, tragic, and endearing are the words I’d use to describe it. “Cats in Victory” Review at ActuSF.com ForumTuesday, June 29th, 2010Here’s a review of “Cats in Victory” from the ActuSF forum. It’s in French, so I’ve taken the liberty of running it through Babel Fish: Cats in Victory de David Barr Kirtley really did me hot in the middle. A ground populated by men cats created millenia ago by men who started from then a long time. But there are also men dogs whom one believes disappeared. And when men cats and men dogs meet again it can be only one disaster. Unless a badly liked feeling do not come to change the things: curiosity. In short one spoke about positive SF it does not have there so a long time. This text is a splendid example in spite of its wrongfully naive tone. And it is a nice homage in Cordwainer Smith some share. Of course, doing you hot in the middle is definitely one of my goals, so I’m glad to hear that I’m succeeding. Loose Leaf Stories Reviews My Short Story “Cats in Victory”Monday, June 21st, 2010Here’s a review of “Cats in Victory” from Loose Leaf Stories: Another short story from Lightspeed Magazine, “Cats in Victory”! Don’t let the first sections mislead you, “Cats in Victory” is science fiction, not fantasy. I loved Tailchaser’s Song, so I’m naturally fine with cats – or catmen – as characters. “Cats in Victory” is written by David Barr Kirtley, a chronic and incorrigible contributor to sci-fi publications. It’s a pretty good story, very much in the spirit of Planet of the Apes. I won’t be saving it off to my hard drive or anything, but it was a fun read and I’d certainly give anything else by Kirtley a shot! Lightspeed offers “Cats in Victory” both in print and podcast. Happy reading! One thing I’m wondering is what exactly qualifies an author as “chronic”? Is that sort of like “prolific”? Jeff Carlson just referred to me as “prolific” too, which sort of surprised me, since I’ve been managing about two short stories a year lately, which doesn’t seem like that much to me. Or is it “chronic” meaning like “badass?” — like “You are totally chronic, man, totally.” Is that something the kids are saying these days? In any event, I’m happy to be referred to as chronic, since I confess I’ve always sort of liked to think of myself as like the gout of science fiction. More Comments on My Short Story “Cats in Victory”Sunday, June 20th, 2010A few more comments on “Cats in Victory.” On the StarShipSofa forum, subgenre says, “I liked the idea of taking a childhood fantasy with moral simplicity and racist undertones and re-envisioning it as a morally complex post-apocalyptic tale.” Dinsdale says, “I liked both stories this week, especially ‘Cats in Victory.’ Great stuff, kind of reminded me of Planet of the Apes. I like that type of story. I wish the monkeyman would’ve protected his amulet better. I wonder if the author has considered a sequel?” And Talia says, “‘Cats in Victory’ was just great. Made me think of Thundercats, which made me wonder if that was one of the cartoons that inspired the author.” Over at Lightspeed, Non Believer writes, “I think the ‘Cats in Victory’ story is a likely outcome of genetically enhanced intelligence in animals. Not the apocalyptic background, but the creation of those animals to be used as soldiers, slaves, servants. Our pets are our slaves, despite how awful it sounds. They are pampered, loved, and well cared for, but they are not free to leave. Even when they are free to leave, we have created a learned captivity behavior in them, so they don’t leave. I don’t say it’s bad. I am not one of those over-the-top PETA folks. I am saying that if we converted them into a more intelligent and interactive being, they would likely still be in the position of pet/food/slave. I hope we never go down that road.” My Short Story “Cats in Victory” on the StarShipSofa PodcastWednesday, June 16th, 2010 I should mention that the podcast for my short story “Cats in Victory” was co-produced by StarShipSofa, and also appears in their Episode 141 alongside “Pressure” by thriller writer Jeff Carlson. I’ve been listening to StarShipSofa since the beginning, so it’s fun to have something appear there. If you’ve read “Cats in Victory” and want to comment on it, you can do so over at Lightspeed. There are a handful of comments so far. Brett writes, “I was a little turned off at first that it was going to be a fantasy story, but my curiosity got the better of me. I’m glad I kept reading.” Marianne writes, “Great story. I really enjoyed it.” And Chris writes, “Loved this. Loved it so much. Well done.” Over on my Facebook page, Katie writes, “I think you read this at Alpha (’08). I loved this story!” To which I replied, “Yup, this is the same story I read at Confluence in ‘08. I remember that some people didn’t get to hear the end of it because they were all like, ‘Oh, we have to go see the guest of honor speech blah blah blah.’ Some friends they are. I was tempted to never publish this story just so those people would never get to find out how it ends, but finally I decided to take mercy on them.” To which Katie replies, “Well, I’m glad it’s finally published! I’ve been telling friends about this story and now they can read it!” Rachel adds, “Oh, yeah, I remember this story! And you should consider the heretics who failed to listen to the whole story justly punished, since they had to wait until now for the final revelation of Cat’s will. Like Katie, I’m glad it’s now in a place where I can make people read it.” Thanks everyone for your comments! Rat’s Reading Reviews Lightspeed Magazine June 2010Monday, June 7th, 2010Rat’s Reading has reviewed the June issue of Lightspeed magazine. Here’s what he says about “Cats in Victory”: This was an awesome post-apocalyptic story. On a future Earth, the catmen are pretty much the only people left. They haven’t retained any history of their origins as genetic experiments. Instead, they believe the great Cat created the world and designated catmen to purge it of dogmen, birdmen, and monkeymen. All sorts of cliches about cats twisted through centuries of decline. Clever and interesting. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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