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Jay

@tarvolon.bsky.social

112 followers 46 following 591 posts

SFF book blogger, sports pluralist (mostly Vols, Canes, and Courage, some USA, O’s, Dockers, Atlanta United, Valencia CF), Dad x3.

Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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And then moving back to family but away from space is the lovely magical realism in “My Sister is a Scorpion” by @isabelcanas.bsky.social www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/my-s...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Not so much immediate family, but still very personal costs of space exploration is “You Cannot Grow in Salted Earth” by Priya Chand clarkesworldmagazine.com/chand_01_24/

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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And “For However Long” by @thomasha.bsky.social, which complicates the family dynamic with space migration, which might not even be that different than domestic migration www.khoreomag.com/fiction/for-...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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So is “Our Father” by K.J. Khan, which complicates the family dynamic with long-haul space travel clarkesworldmagazine.com/khan_05_24/

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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The biggest thing that gets me hooked into those shorter pieces is close family/friend relationships that generate emotional investment quickly. They usually tend to be bittersweet. Totality by @ouibrandi.bsky.social is a great example of this thedeadlands.com/issue-33/tot...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Actually, as I think about it, there do tend to me some commonalities in the stories in that 1,000-2,000 range that really draw me in. Anyone up for a random Saturday thread on Stuff Jay Likes? Let’s go

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I finished the Pandominion duology by M.R. Carey, and it’s definitely a setup book followed by a payoff book. I often prefer the setup books, but the quality is good throughout www.tarvolon.com/2024/07/06/s...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I finished the Pandominion duology by M.R. Carey, and it’s definitely a setup book followed by a payoff book. I often prefer the setup books, but the quality is good throughout www.tarvolon.com/2024/07/06/s...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Thanks, I’ll keep an eye out! It looks like you read much shorter works than I usually prefer, but I did really like the Greenblatt short story you recommended a bit back!

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Really honestly same

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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👀

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Reposted by Jay

Thomas Ha's avatar Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social
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The latest Clarkesworld subscription drive has these little banner ads on the site. They tap into the effective ancient sales technique, "number go down." Very satisfying to see readers chipping away at it. I like watching it drop every day.

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Tend to *be* dangit. Can’t delete the thread now 🤦‍♂️

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Anyways, I love short fiction, but it’s usually longer short fiction. But these are some exceptional exceptions. This was all very spur-of-the-moment, but hope y’all find something new and fun to try, happy Saturday

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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There are only two that immediately come to mind as really short pieces that stuck with me without hitting those themes. And those are both death games. What can I say, I have a soft spot for death games…

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Actually, as I think about it, there do tend to me some commonalities in the stories in that 1,000-2,000 range that really draw me in. Anyone up for a random Saturday thread on Stuff Jay Likes? Let’s go

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I almost never love stories under ~2000 words, and I loved this story.

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I’m not subscribing to any of the digests this year, and I’m trying to fill that time by periodically browsing the magazines that I barely remember exist. I don’t think Haven was even on my list until I saw a tweet about it (possibly from you?). Had a couple good ones from off-the-radar sources

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Thread of short fiction favorites from my June reading? Yeah, let’s go!

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Had a bit of a reading slump in June, but the last week of the month delivered me a pair of tremendous short pieces to shout about in my month round-up. Check out mini-reviews of these and others in my June 2024 round-up: www.tarvolon.com/2024/07/03/j...

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I think I am responsible for four of your 11 novelettes and I just added another—love that form. Ironically, I think Uncanny is having a much better 2024 than they did 2023. I guess most readers don’t share that opinion? Also, Captain Holli for non-Tor novella!

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Can’t think of anyone more deserving of breaking into a too-small crowd. In the middle of the Amazon nonsense and the AI spam nonsense, Clarkesworld still published (IMO) the four best short stories of 2023

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Clarkesworld's avatar Clarkesworld @clarkesworldmagazine.com
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So... I apparently won the Locus Award for Best Editor. Stunned. Thank you to all the voters, readers, and everyone I worked with in 2023. Wow!

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Liking the four I’ve read so much definitely makes me more likely to check out the others!

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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I must’ve missed this last month but this is a fascinating shortlist. My two favorite science fiction novels of the last two years, two more I liked a whole lot, one on the TBR, and one I’ve never heard of

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Indrapramit Das's avatar Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social
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ICYMI; my mythic realist novella set in the 90s and early aughts, about an extended family that lives in a house in Calcutta that may be a dragons' nest. Now a Locus Award finalist, if that makes a difference to one's inclination to read it.

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Kaia Ball (They/Them)'s avatar Kaia Ball (They/Them) @kaiaballwrites.bsky.social
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Very much recommend giving The Mub a read - an apt story for creators and netizens alike, a fantastical tale for modern times 👀

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Jay's avatar Jay @tarvolon.bsky.social
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Decontextualized book quote but “No ape was gone” is a great line

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Louisa's avatar Louisa @louisathelast.bsky.social
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These AI generated book ads on my Kindle lock screen are getting weirder and weirder. Like…you can’t even be bothered to put actual text on your AI generated cover? Who is this going to fool into buying the book? Where is the ad budget coming from?

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