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omnibozo22's review
3.0
Only the title short story in this collection is about magicians, but it was a dark, fun read. If you're from Denver who probably know or know of Blinky the Clown. Blinky ran a ratty antiques store on South Broadway and had a weekly kids show on a local tv channel. He was brusque during the show and was outright nasty to customers in this shop. That's who I thought of when reading that first story.
The rest of the stories are mostly cosy scifi pieces. One fun one made it clear that Van Pelt was familiar with Denver, as his street descriptions were accurate. I read his bio blurb, and yep, he lives in Colorado, though on the western slope.
The rest of the stories are mostly cosy scifi pieces. One fun one made it clear that Van Pelt was familiar with Denver, as his street descriptions were accurate. I read his bio blurb, and yep, he lives in Colorado, though on the western slope.
standback's review against another edition
4.0
Besides having the freshest, most insightful writing blog I've had the good fortune to encounter,, Jim Van Pelt can write a mean short story. Among the stories in this collection, there are three short pieces which are superb: "The Radio Magician," about a child with polio who listens to magic shows on the radio, "The Small Astral Object Genius," where the new collectible card craze is either a cunning hoax or the forefront of space exploration, and "How Music Begins," in which a high school band has been abducted by aliens, and have nothing to do but practice, perform, and wonder what the aliens want of them.
Each of these three stories is an absolute gem. "The Radio Magician" effortlessly submerses us in a different age and a different mindset. "Genius" combines a very neat science-fictional premise with human pain and hurt; couching it all in the familiar geeksome pastime of collecting makes for a powerful and unusual story. And "How Music Begins" conveys perfectly the uncertainty and desperation of its characters, while bringing them to life - in addition to a stunning conclusion which is sure to leave readers gasping for breath.
One thing this trio of stories has in common is that they are firmly rooted in an element that is firmly mundane - yet unfamiliar, lesser-known. In "Genius", it's card-collecting; in "The Radio Magician," it's the idiosyncrasies of radio entertainment in the 1930's. For "How Music Begins," JVP's reported that he's gotten emails from band leaders, surprised and gratified to find a story featuring one of their own. The result is characters and situations that are fresh and compelling even before the SF comes in. These stories are exceptional because the mundane and the SF each plays off the other, and because there's not the slightest hint of stereotype or over-familiarity.
The other crucial element of these stories that I'd like to touch upon is: suspense. Van Pelt does it right. Each of these stories has woven into it a central tension. Is the magic show actually being performed, or does it just a creative announcer? Are the collectibles all a big hoax? Will a perfect performance set the band free? These are all questions we immediately, reflexively care about, because it is clear what they will mean for our protagonists. The power of this thread of tension to keep the entire story on edge is enormous - and JVP comes through, creating for each of these an answer which manages to be decisive, significant, convincing, yet unexpected.
Aside from these three stories, the rest of the anthology is the typical grab bag you'd expect from most short story collections. Some stories are quite good; others not so much. The good ones find new ideas and unfamiliar notes to touch ("The Boy Behind The Gate" is particularly noteworthy, gradually building up dread and suspense, and making powerful use of melodrama). The ones I found to be poor include a couple of pieces that seemed overly experimental, using contrived and unnecessary structures; there were also two pieces ("Where and When" and "The Origin of the Species") which felt quite juvenile and out of place in this anthology, which is otherwise of high calibre.
All in all, a worthy anthology from an author worth following, with several absolute must-reads.
Each of these three stories is an absolute gem. "The Radio Magician" effortlessly submerses us in a different age and a different mindset. "Genius" combines a very neat science-fictional premise with human pain and hurt; couching it all in the familiar geeksome pastime of collecting makes for a powerful and unusual story. And "How Music Begins" conveys perfectly the uncertainty and desperation of its characters, while bringing them to life - in addition to a stunning conclusion which is sure to leave readers gasping for breath.
One thing this trio of stories has in common is that they are firmly rooted in an element that is firmly mundane - yet unfamiliar, lesser-known. In "Genius", it's card-collecting; in "The Radio Magician," it's the idiosyncrasies of radio entertainment in the 1930's. For "How Music Begins," JVP's reported that he's gotten emails from band leaders, surprised and gratified to find a story featuring one of their own. The result is characters and situations that are fresh and compelling even before the SF comes in. These stories are exceptional because the mundane and the SF each plays off the other, and because there's not the slightest hint of stereotype or over-familiarity.
The other crucial element of these stories that I'd like to touch upon is: suspense. Van Pelt does it right. Each of these stories has woven into it a central tension. Is the magic show actually being performed, or does it just a creative announcer? Are the collectibles all a big hoax? Will a perfect performance set the band free? These are all questions we immediately, reflexively care about, because it is clear what they will mean for our protagonists. The power of this thread of tension to keep the entire story on edge is enormous - and JVP comes through, creating for each of these an answer which manages to be decisive, significant, convincing, yet unexpected.
Aside from these three stories, the rest of the anthology is the typical grab bag you'd expect from most short story collections. Some stories are quite good; others not so much. The good ones find new ideas and unfamiliar notes to touch ("The Boy Behind The Gate" is particularly noteworthy, gradually building up dread and suspense, and making powerful use of melodrama). The ones I found to be poor include a couple of pieces that seemed overly experimental, using contrived and unnecessary structures; there were also two pieces ("Where and When" and "The Origin of the Species") which felt quite juvenile and out of place in this anthology, which is otherwise of high calibre.
All in all, a worthy anthology from an author worth following, with several absolute must-reads.
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