MindFlights 2: The Stories

Since MindFlights is a speculative fiction e-zine, it's fair to look over the stories. Although MindFlights is technically new, it has a seasoned staff, so I'll set the bar higher than I did for the newer Wayfarer's Journal.

The best of the stories, in my view, is "The Significance of Snowflakes," by C. L. Dyck. It's also the best story from a scientific and philosophical standpoint. For that matter, it's the only outright Christian story in the group; all the others could have been written by an atheist or Wiccan with the right kind of imagination. (If you've ever looked at Isaac Asimov's "religious" fantasy short stories you'll know what I mean.)

"The Other's Mission," by Matthew Wuertz, is also good, showing how a spec fic story can be generally "Christian" without being particularly preachy. (On other hand, the basic plot could also be transferred to a non-spec fic setting: it's basically a missionary story.)

"The Red Unicorn," by Rebecca D. Bruner, is caught in a dilemma of the author's own making. In medieval symbology, the unicorn represented Christ, and Bruner appears to accept that. But that makes the importance of virginity work in a troublesome way, as though it were a means of grace or even salvation. Is there forgiveness for someone who marries for the wrong reason? Apparently not.

"On the Edge of Eternity," by Steve Stanton, has a few issues. The opening scene should've been deleted; the story proper starts in the lounge. I found the "sprite" idea excessively cute. It could work, but not this way.

"Heart of Flesh," by Michael Bonett, Jr., was depressing enough I didn't finish it. I suspect it has a worthwhile point; I just didn't care for the overall tone or spirit of the piece.

"Takin' Notice," by Susan Plett, just annoyed me. The narrator affects a folksy tone, yet when God shows up in quasi-Bubba gear, he talks like a regular city fella. It probably wasn't God at all--just Obama makin' a stopover in flyover country. (Zeb shoulda ast to see him bowl!) And remember, flyover folks at best are well-meanin' but childlike dolts who need a city slicker to straighten 'em out. And what's on God's mind anyway? Salvation? Repentence in general? No, just avoidin' critters on the road. Good point and all, Lord; should I save the whales while I'm up?

"Potato," by Ben Payne, and "Poisoned Thorns," by Jonathan Moeller, were both good stories at the start, but in the end they inexplicably took a sharp turn right into the wall. I wanted to like "Potato" in particular--its opening is reminiscent of my novella "Virtual Messiah," though the setting there is relevant to the story as a whole. In this case we seem to be looking at a fake existence that is changed (more or less) to something more real by evil. There's a wrinkle God never thought of! (Yes, God does use our evil deeds to confront us with our selfish, godless fantasies, but perceiving reality is a gift of God, not a direct result of evil.) And the solution to mindless fantasy is something poisoned and evil. Okay...

In "Poisoned Thorns" the main character decides that the answer to bad magic is not-so-bad magic. Though warned at every turn that there will be some kind of curse on the result, she perseveres--and no curse turns up! (Okay, her hubby may throw a hissy fit. Large whoop.) I was prepared for some kind of "Monkey's Paw" resolution, and indeed the logic of the story requires one. I have no idea where it got off to.

Someone will probably take issue with my statement that "The Significance of Snowflakes" is the sole specifically Christian story in the group. What about "Wedding at the End of Time," by Russ Colson? It does use some biblical imagery and terms, but the concept is a bit of a stretch. The early Christians realized that the big deal about the afterlife was being admitted into or barred from the presence of God. Here, rather like "Waiting for Godot," there's a certain amount of chat about the curiously absent deity (okay, no, there's way more in the play than in this story), but it's unsurprising that the story ends without his actually putting in an appearance.

So we have two stories out of nine that are good, perhaps two more than aren't bad, and the rest (in my view) hit the wall for one reason or another. Not bad, I suppose.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll make a few observations about the e-zine as a whole and why it's necessary to set the bar higher for spec fic than for regular fiction.

Other CSFF Blogs on the tour:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Kameron M. Franklin
Beth Goddard
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Linda Wichman
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

MindFlights 1: Intro

I should begin this tour of MindFlights e-zine by mentioning that I am a proofreader for two other Double Edged Publishing e-zines, and on one of them I also serve as an editor. I don't usually bother actually reading those e-zines; I've already read them in proof.

MindFlights isn't one of them, but I admit I've steered clear of it on several grounds, as I did from its predecessors, The Sword Review and Dragons, Knights and Angels. But it's on the CSFF list, so I thought I might as well take the time for a look.

To begin with, there's a bit of an odd nuisance factor: unless a piece is unusually short, such as a poem or flash fiction, you get a teaser page with about a printed page worth of text. You can then get the whole piece in your choice of html or pdf, and the full version comes with a copy of that month's cover art.

Free advice: Just have the whole piece in html minus the cover art, and have a link at top or bottom for those who'd rather have it in pdf. If the reader decides to drop it after a few paragraphs, that's every bit as easy to do with the full story loaded. And if catering to those with a slow connection is a concern, html loads much faster than graphics, so losing the cover art will speed up the download, and you won't have to click through. (Hands up, anyone who does enjoy click-through pages!)

Anyway, tomorrow I'll look at some of the stories that are up at the moment, and in the third post make a few observations about the e-zine as a whole.

Other CSFF Blogs on the tour:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Kameron M. Franklin
Beth Goddard
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Linda Wichman
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Wayfarer's Journal--conclusion

So what have we learned?

1. Don't accept rides from aliens. Even if the candy's good, the probes aren't.
2. 186,000 miles per second: It's not just a good idea, it's the law.
3. Only a simpleton judges a magazine based on its first two issues, especially when it isn't some kind of professional start-up.

This isn't to put Wayfarer's Journal down. If it were a Double-Edged project or an offshoot of Analog, I'd set the bar higher. As it is, its first two issues have been good, but it's really too early to review it. I'll check back in another year, perhaps.

It is not too early to get involved by reading and writing. That can begin now. I hope I haven't scared anyone off--I doubt I could if I tried. Keep your brain on, even though it's fiction, because ideas have consequences, and some are serious. Provide feedback and be specific: what was good or bad--and why?

Of course, this requires more than just reading WJ intelligently. You also need to read your Bible intelligently. You are doing that already, aren't you? Broaden your world by picking one of your trivial hobby-horses--something that doesn't matter to salvation, but which you go ballistic over anyway--and do your level best to understand what people on the other side say. If you're a premill, check out amills and postmills. If you baptize by immersion, find out why some sprinkle or pour. There are alien creatures and cultures all around us right here on earth, even in the family of God. You might as well get acquainted.

You might even get an idea for a story. Send it to WJ and see what happens.

Other Blog Links:
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Sci-fi With a Difference?

Wayfarer's Journal is only has a new edition twice a year, so don't let any old items on the site fool you: it is alive and updates between editions. It's also very new, so it could change markedly for better or worse, and the readers and writers can influence that.

WJ is dedicated to sci-fi (and only sci-fi: sorry, fantasy fans) with a spiritual, i.e., Christian, dimension. Like most modern projects, it goes out of its way to avoid being "preachy." While I still have problems with that, WJ is somewhat more open to a Christian message than some other putatively "Christian" e-zines.

But there are also problems. Consider "The Soulless," by Donna Sundblad, for example. Ignoring the numerous errors of grammar and punctuation--they really do need editing at WJ--there is preachiness. The topic is cloning, and if you can't predict the ending at least generally before you're halfway through, you're not trying. But the larger point is that it is preachy.

Really: just look at it. We have a rabble-rousing preacher, who is clearly of the same kind as those who preached against civil rights for minorities decades back, and he is the Bad Guy. (This is a Christian e-zine, too: count your blessings. Who knows what an atheist magazine might do? Oh, yeah: about the same thing.) So, since he is obviously a jerk, the Other View is just as obviously the Right One. There is no actual argument to sustain the viewpoint presented; it is supported by emotion and (let us be candid) prejudice alone. For the preacher evokes prejudice, and it is that which argues against his views. The result is propaganda: an uncritical reader will come away knowing less than he did going in.

Christians can do better than this.

(Part of the problem is the naive assumption that Greek and Hebrew had the modern English concept of the soul. They didn't. In fact, although a hundred years ago the word "soul" was vaguely like Hebrew nephesh and Greek psyche, it has changed markedly since then. The same problem occurred in early Latin theology: the whole argument over "ensoulment" derived from trying to make the Bible languages have the same semantics as Latin.)

"Changed Minds," by Alice Roelke, is better, though it ends without hope, which is a cardinal sin for Christian fiction in my view. I'd still consider it the second-best current story. As for "Immunity Project," by Ann Wilkes, I don't see the Christian/spiritual angle, for the most part. There's a passing reference to angels, but the actions of the characters belie whatever faith they might profess. This could've been published in a completely secular magazine.

On the other hand, "Phobos," by Stoney M. Setzer, represents the direction I hope WJ takes. It is definitely sci-fi and definitely Christian--and I'm no fan of telepathy in Christian fiction. Imagine an episode of The Outer Limits written by a Christian.

I couldn't get Colleen Drippe's "Memories" to load, so I can't comment on it. I was surprised to find Grace Bridges' "Invasion" in the archive. It's a good story, but not regular sci-fi. Perhaps WJ will be more inclusive of other genres after all.

Other Blog Links:
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise