The Random House website Suvudu always selects a single story from F&SF to reprint. This time around they chose “Bronsky’s Dates With Death.” So you can check it out there.
PAD
The Random House website Suvudu always selects a single story from F&SF to reprint. This time around they chose “Bronsky’s Dates With Death.” So you can check it out there.
PAD
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Unrelated, but finished Imzadi last night for the first time since 10th or 11th grade, which is to say shortly after it was originally released. Holy crap, better than I remembered and that’s saying something. Hit it out of the park. It’s not like you’ve been any sort of a slouch since, but blew me outta the water all over again dámņ near 20 years later.
Cool.
Incidentally, was the ad for timeshares in the back of F&SF your doing?
No, it most definitely was not, although I was thrilled to see it there.
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PAD
A direct link to the blog post with the story is as follows:
http://graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com/2011/07/free-story-from-fantasy-science-fiction-magazine.html
In a few days, the post will probably fall off the front page of the site.
Wow, that was good. I had just finished re-reading Pratchett’s “Mort” so I kept expecting Death to speak in all CAPITALS. And as a relativly new father that last scence kind of got to me.
I’m a relatively old father and it still gets me.
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PAD
That’s “small caps“, which at least one USAian edition got wrong…
Great story! Thanks for writing & sharing this link wih us. I especially liked the ending.
As it went along, I could see it rolling as an episode of Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone”
Meant as a compliment by the way.
My own response at Suvudu:
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It’s not first-person, and it’s not written all in present tense …
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…but it reminds me irresistibly of Damon Runyon.
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Probably the first paragraph sets the tone that way, but i kept “hearing” it being narrated out of the corner of his mouth by Sheldon Leonard.
Not to be confused, of course, with the two guys from “The Big Bang Theory.”
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Yes, I can see the Runyonesque comparison. I’m not sure that’s what I was going for, but now that you mention Sheldon Leonard, I can definitely hear it.
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PAD
A comparison with BIG BANG isn’t that off, either. I could easily see Sheldon driving Death nuts, too.
Ever see MULBERRY? A British comedy series about 20 years back. I mention it because there’s a side-splitting bit where Death’s son falls off a cliff (his mind was elsewhere, you see), winds up in hospital only to be visited by a very irate dad who’s quite upset at being mercilessly picked on ‘back home’ for having such an inept son.
I thought I had at least a passing familiarity with most Brit comedies, but “Mulberry” doesn’t ring any bells.
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PAD
Me too.
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Me too.
I was privileged to hear the excerpt of this at Shore Leave. If, by some astonishing chance, it ever becomes an audiobook, Jerry Stiller HAS to do the reading.
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J.
Awesome story (and very poignant ending). Loved the “Death rides a pale horse” reference. And yes, Jerry Stiller has to do the narration!
Only because Sheldon Leonard is not currently available.
Yeah, I cried too.
Way to go, PAD.