How Did They Do That?

One of the greatest pleasures I get from reading is trying to figure out how the author did what he/she did. I read two wonderful stories yesterday, both from The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Eighteenth Annual Collection – "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" by Peter Straub and "Wonderwall" by Elizabeth Hand.

Both of these stories do a great job of working on the fundamental level of great storytelling. They're entertaining and pull you in; that's what you want from short (or long) fiction. But there's much more there.

Straub's story concerns four men in the cardiac ward of a New York hospital. They're all connected by the publishing industry, but that's not the only connection. The first page or so describes the hospital (and does so much more), but soon the characters take over. It's at least another two pages before any of the characters speak, but Straub ties the lives of these men together without bogging the reader down in backstory. How does he do it? Don't know. That's one of the reasons I'm going to read it again.

Straub has chosen third-person for a reason: it's the most effective way to tell this tale. Hand's first-person narrative is perfect for the tale of a female drama student in the 70s and her friend David. You couldn't change either and have as satisfying a tale. But I digress....

One of the great strengths of "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" is its use of revealing character through dialogue. It's really masterful how Straub's dialogue advances the story, reveals character, foreshadows what's to come, and just sounds right. "Wonderwall," on the other hand, uses less dialogue and more internal searching of the narrator (understandable, since we're in first person) to show the reader what's going on.

Anyway, I'm just scratching the surface. Both of these are home-run stories in my opinion. Can't wait to read them again.

Now Playing = Exile on Main Street - Rolling Stones
Now Reading = Air - Geoff Ryman (in between various short stories)
Listening to in the Car = Coldheart Canyon - Clive Barker
Watching on DVD = Veronica Mars Season One, Disc Two