SnackReads

Daniel Abraham Roundup

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:27:26 +0000

Daniel Abraham is a SnackReads author, a damn fine writer, and as his recent blog post shows, prolific. He has 3 novels coming out in as many months, a Novella in the pipeline, and several short stories published recently or coming soon. He probably would not mind if you considered him your one-stop-shop for genre fiction. We recommend you give his work a try.

Suzy McKee Charnas Interview, Part 4 of 4

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:43:24 +0000

In this final installment, Suzy Charnas talks about how to explore controversial topics without writing propaganda. In my opinion, this is her greatest strength as a writer.

Cover reveal: “Mr. Jester” by Fred Saberhagen

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:11:29 +0000

SnackReads is delighted to announce that we will be reissuing the Saberhagen short story, “Mr. Jester.” What’s that you say, a Berserker comedy? Yes, yes it is. Here is an early peek at the cover by Jennifer Gentry.

Suzy McKee Charnas Interview, Part 3 of 4

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:05:57 +0000

In this installment, Charnas answers unfair questions about her influence on younger writers and the Speculative Fiction field.

Suzy Mckee Charnas Interview, Part 2

admin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:23:41 +0000

In this installment, Charnas talks about the genesis of her first novel, Walk to the End of the World, and how it became a feminist book.

Suzy McKee Charnas Interview, Part 1

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:23:33 +0000

Suzy Charnas was kind enough to talk with me on camera. This was a great privilege. Ms. Charnas is razor sharp, eloquent, and has a huge amount of experience to share. I recommend giving it a listen. If you find Suzy as fascinating to listen to as I do, spread the word. Hers is a voice more people should know.

The volume is a little low. You will probably need to crank up the volume on your speakers, or use headphones.

Part 1 of 4

“No, not the …!” #8

admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:18:01 +0000

by Karl Saupe, iamkarl.com

I pull myself up along the stern of the boat. It’s occupants chatter away as I climb up the aluminum ladder, completely unaware of my recent arrival.

The water found its way into my boots somehow, so they squeak as I approach the cabin of the yacht. Checking to make sure my cap is straight and I have the badge on, I make my entrance. Trying for some showmanship I bark out, “Everybody down, this is a bust!”

The voices hush and someone in the far back yells “No, not the DEA!” I begin to chuckle when there’s a bright flash of light.

I can’t believe they shot me with a flare gun. Worst costume party ever.

Fun is better.

There is a video, about SnackReads

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:58:42 +0000

“No, not the …!” #7

admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:18:11 +0000

We didn’t make it for Monday, but here is one for hump day.

by Karl Saupe, iamkarl.com

The time traveler takes his past self by the arm and tries to explain
his failure to be in the near future.

“You have to understand, we can’t make this mistake again. The flow of
everything will just be broken!”

The younger time traveler pulls his arm away. “I have to go! Maybe you couldn’t save her but I…”

The time traveler interrupts his younger self. “It will be foolish to
try, I mean just think of the paradoxes!”

His younger self smiles. “No, not the paradoxes!”

Before the timer traveler can do a thing, the younger time traveler is gone.

Fun is better.

grimdark is not realism

admin — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:30:59 +0000

by Josh Gentry

(Views expressed are those of the author, not SnackReads)

There is this conception that grimdark* genre fiction presents a realistic picture of human experience. This is false. I use a metaphor from visual art to illustrate. This is a value scale. Value here refers to how dark or light something is.

It is widely taught that a classically realistic picture will contain the full value scale. There will be a little of the lightest light, and a little of the darkest dark, and most of the picture will be variations in the middle. Often this results in an overall balance, such that if you threw the picture in a blender you would get a blob of the middle value. This balance is not the goal, but a result of creating images that appear true to life.

We can use this as a metaphor for talking about literature. The value scale above represents the range of human experience. Realistic literature will generally contain a little of the lightest light, a little of the darkest dark, and a wide range of values in between. Grimdark literature compresses the value scale to this:

That is not realism.

Pointing out it is not realism is not a criticism. There is no requirement for art or entertainment to be realistic. Plenty of Fantasy and Science Fiction reside at the other end of the spectrum. Arguing that either is realistic is false, and perhaps harmful.

*I use the term grimdark for a couple reasons. One is that it is becoming common usage. The other is that it almost makes my entire argument by itself.

Value scale image By Oliver Harrison (Directly from the creator) [CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons