Most on-line reviews of Hugo-nominated short fiction this year are being done in bad faith by people who have an elitist agenda and who seem to want to teach the uppity peasants a lesson by showing them how shitty their writing is.
Which is accomplishing nothing because any honest and intelligent observer can see their obvious bias and antagonism. If not openly hostile, at the very least they hold this year's finalists to a much higher standard than usual.
Most of the personal comments I have received over my story - either online or face-to-face - have been positive. But blog posts have usually been a hatchet job. Occasionally some valid criticisms peek through. But generally the blatant hostility is obvious. I don't know why people make the effort for this; they must have a lot of time on their hands and hate in their hearts.
Interestingly, some of the most nuanced reviews have come from people who I've had run-ins in the past, and who seem to be trying to be fair when they know they have a personal bias against me. Although overall critical, they will hit on weaknesses even I would concede.
This all being the case, here's a review that's overall positive. I stand amazed.
Review of “On a Spiritual Plain,” short story by Lou Antonelli (Sci Phi Journal #2, 11-2014)
July 18, 2015
Lela E. Buis
I’m currently reading the Hugo nominations so I can vote. Here’s my second review.
Lou Antonelli’s story is about Earth-people at a base on a planet called Ymilas, and it’s narrated by the base chaplain, a young Methodist minister. Because of the planet’s strong magnetic field, it traps particles that show up as fantastic auroras. When one of the work crew named Joe dies, it becomes evident that it also traps ghosts. The young minister consults with the local alien religious leader and discusses the problem, finds that the spirits of the local dead are also trapped and that they must go on a pilgrimage to the north polar region where they can pass through a gate and dissipate into nothingness. The minister sets out with the religious leader on the pilgrimage and Joe, supported by the local Helpful Ancestors, passes on. When the next man dies, the minister knows they need to go on another pilgrimage.
I rather liked the premise here. The story is well-written, though not very complex, dramatic or exciting–a bit short on conflict. The setup with the magnetic field and the ghosts is creative and provokes questions about the nature of the human soul a.k.a. the electromagnetic imprint left by humans after they die. There is very mild humor in the base commander’s anxiety about the safe return of the transportation equipment the minister uses. Three stars.
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It's that time of the year again, for the annual eligibility post - a blog or social media post listing of what you published in 2017 th...
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The deadline for The Hugo Awards nominations is March 10. My story, "On a Spiritual Plain", which was published in issue No. 2 of ... -
By LOU ANTONELLI Managing Editor It’s rained almost daily for the past four months. The ground is saturated; walking across grass is lik...
Having read your short and called it "reasonably competent," here's what I think is the problem. In many people's mind (or at least mine) there's a significant difference between "l like that story" and "wow, that story should win an award."
ReplyDeleteHaving not seen what you call "hatchet jobs" I can't comment specifically on those reviews, but in general what I'm seeing is a lot of "that was an okay story, but didn't wow me" reviews.
Sorry - I hit "publish" too soon. Your post displays another trait that seems to be in common with other Puppies and which irritates me. Namely, it's completely non-specific. Instead of saying / linking to specific examples of "hatchet jobs" we're merely told some bloggers somewhere have done wrong in some vague and unspecified way.
ReplyDeleteI would ask you how you'd respond if somebody said "all Sad Puppies are jerks." You'd (rightly, I think) ask "what did I do that causes you to say that?" You'd want specifics, so you could look at the action in question and evaluate it for yourself.
Fair request: Here are some links:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2015/06/2015_hugo_award.shtml
https://readingsff.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/review-on-a-spiritual-plain-by-lou-antonelli-2015-hugo-nominated-short-story/
https://sfkittens.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/on-a-spiritual-plain-by-lou-antonelli/
www.liscareyslibrary.com/2015/05/-spiritual-plain-by-lou-antonelli.html
The Strange Horizons one is a bit snarky, yes, but if you've read any of what they publish you'd know that your work is exactly the sort of stuff they'd never publish.
ReplyDeleteI think the Reading SFF review actually asks a good question, which is why does the human ghost want to dissipate?
SF Kittens also makes a good point, which is that the conflict in the story is muted to the point of being non-existent.
The Lis Carey link didn't work for me, but in short what I see are three thoughtful reviews by people who didn't like your story. And if you get on a ballot by shenanigans, it's entirely fair to point those shenanigans out.
Keep hitting publish too quick. Go read this: http://www.strangehorizons.com/2015/20150713/together-f.shtml and look at how the author deals with death vs. how your story handles death. Then tell me if you really think somebody who green-lit this is going to like your story.
ReplyDeleteSince you are talking about this story, I have a question - why is the ghost in the story not the soul? The thinking behind this is not explained and in most stories, it is assumed that the ghost is the soul - In Wright's Pale Realms of Shade he talks about how the actions of the ghost taken after his death will determine if he ends up in Heaven or Hell - and that's representative of other stories with ghosts I've read.
ReplyDeleteSo I am really wondering about your different view in this story. Why?
I suppose I believe that a soul comes from God, and so in some way is a part of God (just as some religions believe the divine resides in us) and so it is impervious to any impediments to ascension posed by the material world.
DeleteTherefore, to explain ghosts - in my thinking - we say they are a separate creation that accumulates during life and only dissipates after death, like any energy wave.
Not standard theology, I suppose, but that's what I was thinking.