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Motivation is a bit of a struggle at the moment but in odd ways. Its as if my priorities have been altered. The upshot is that just recently I'm not writing about as many books as I would normally do. Of course, some that I read go "straight to shelf" but others are sitting there making me feel guilty. So lets try the short sharp shock treatment.
Ellen Datlow's anthology The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy certainly shows the editor's preference for stories where style and atmosphere are emphasised compared to story or character. Although a couple of the writers tried to emphasise everything and ended up with muddled work, the rest of it was top notch. But a warning to editors - re-read your opening blurb notes if you re-order the stories. You may give away an unintended hint about your editorial thinking. (Edit: or not - see comments)
Strange Itineraries by Tim Powers shows two things. That the author is much better at longer works than short stories and that the author is obviously aware of this because he does not write many of them. Or possibly cause and effect are the other way around.
The Dragon Waiting by John M Ford is an alternate history. What it showed me is that I know next to nothing about that period of English or European history - I think 15th century, but that is just a guess which shows how little I now. Even in an alternate universe that is a big drawback when trying to get into the book. Especially when that book is very plot-rich - there was a lot of re-reading to try to keep track of what was going on.
Ellen Datlow's anthology The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy certainly shows the editor's preference for stories where style and atmosphere are emphasised compared to story or character. Although a couple of the writers tried to emphasise everything and ended up with muddled work, the rest of it was top notch. But a warning to editors - re-read your opening blurb notes if you re-order the stories. You may give away an unintended hint about your editorial thinking. (Edit: or not - see comments)
Strange Itineraries by Tim Powers shows two things. That the author is much better at longer works than short stories and that the author is obviously aware of this because he does not write many of them. Or possibly cause and effect are the other way around.
The Dragon Waiting by John M Ford is an alternate history. What it showed me is that I know next to nothing about that period of English or European history - I think 15th century, but that is just a guess which shows how little I now. Even in an alternate universe that is a big drawback when trying to get into the book. Especially when that book is very plot-rich - there was a lot of re-reading to try to keep track of what was going on.