Reviews

Lightspeed Magazine, September 2013 by John Joseph Adams

caedocyon's review

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3.0

why yes I'm listening to Lightspeed's podcast while cleaning. :) I should probably rate this higher because it totally made me tear up, but instead I'm thinking about the particularly North American style (conflation, really) of heroism and football that underlies the story. Not that that makes it bad; the cultural specificity actually helps the story. It's just an interesting assumption that makes me wonder about how this would play out in other cultural contexts.

oh, oh, OH, the model of heroism being referenced is working class. That's what I was trying to put my finger on. One player is a scientist, but hers is vaguer than the other vignettes, and honestly it doesn't work as well as the others.

sonofthe's review

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4.0

See my status updates for this book to read my initial reactions and notes for each story.

scamp1234's review

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3.0

Average issue, but I believe I'll be coming back to reread Bellweather and the Kaslo story, And Then Some.

macthekat's review

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Odd, strange and strangely satisfying! Anything said about the post of the story would be a spoiler, the same goes for themes. So I can just recommend that you seek it out and read it.

formtruthregret's review

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4.0

This review only applies to "Homecoming" by Seanan McGuire.

There is something uniquely American about the myth of the football player, be he in high school, college, or the big leagues. There's a powerful sense of that American myth in this story, which folds in a bit of Norse mythology as well to add a bit of meditation on what it really means to be a hero. And not just in the sense of being the star quarterback, either. This story is strange and sad and gentle, and I liked it enormously.

Also, I always appreciate it when McGuire champions cheerleaders and the amount of work and risk it takes to be one. So there's some of that in here too.
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