Spring story review: "It" by Theodore Sturgeon

I've been bingeing on some short stories so I'm posting a few of my Springy Short Story reviews (stories that keep springing to mind) to remember the details of the ones I know will pleasantly haunt me. I'll also post a review of a few great collections I've read recently (in the running for my personal Book of the Year).

"It" by Theodore Sturgeon

Why it springs to mind: The origin story for swamp creatures!
Where read: The Complete Stories: Volume I: The Ultimate Egoist
Summary: A creature made of mud, plants, debris and the skeleton of Roger Kirk kills out of curiosity as it investigates its world.
Memorable: A unique and curious monster.
Notable: Written in 1940, some characterizations feel particularly dated — violent men, passive women and puzzling relationships and reactions to events.
Read this, for writers: A short story told in shifting points of view: the monster, a dog, a man, a young girl.
Quote:

"It crawled out of its mound in the wood and lay pulsing in ^the sunlight for a long moment. Patches of it shone wetly in the golden 'glow, parts of it- were nubbled and flaked. And whose dead bones had given it, the form of a man?"

Personal connection: Stories about chaotic-neutral plants — I can't resist them and I'm working on a project of classic monster utopias (one inspired by The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Black Orchid, Swamp-Thing, Man-Thing, Animal Man, hive minds).
About the author: Theodore Sturgeon, 1918-1985, was a prolific and esteemed science fiction author. The Complete Stories collection of his works includes 222 stories collected in 13 volumes!
Added to my to-read list: Sturgeon's More Than Human
Pairs well with: The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Comments

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind: You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote: “All life is an experiment." Notable: The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin: The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Wings of R...

Springy story review: "Torching the Dusties" by Margaret Atwood

Why it springs to mind: Relevant thoughts about how we view aging and how we treat the aged in our society. In this story, young people protest the existence of old people in an assisted living facility for taking up resources. Not far from the callous viewpoint of people sometimes expressed in the national news. Where read: The last story in Stone Mattress: Nine Tales (2014) a collection by Margaret Atwood Summary: Wilma and her boyfriend Tobias escape an assisted living facility, Ambrosia Manor, that has come under attack by protestors carrying signs that say "Time to Go" and "Our Turn" who think the old people are just taking up space and resources. Memorable: the delightful use of Charles Bonnet Syndrome as a character trait for Wilma Quotes: "We have to be kind to one another in here, she tells herself. We're all we have left." "According to Tobias, women hang around longer because they're less capable of indignation and...

Shel Graves' Sensorium

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