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Aurealis #82
Aurealis #82
Aurealis #82
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Aurealis #82

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Aurealis #82 brings you the classy and serene ‘The Other-faced Lamb’ from C.S. McMullen, and the deft, absorbing ‘Echoes of Space’ from Carolyn J Denman. Our non-fiction is awash with quality, with the second part of Chris Large’s compelling John Scalzi interview, Gillian Polack’s wide-ranging and insightful exploration of the work of Paul Linebarger and reviews of fresh SF/Fantasy publishing. Line all this up with some of the most sensational artwork in Australian publishing, and we’re sure you’ll agree that Aurealis #82 is quality through and through.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 3, 2015
ISBN9781922031389
Aurealis #82

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    Aurealis #82 - Michael Pryor (Editor)

    AUREALIS #82

    Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction

    Edited by Michael Pryor

    Published by Chimaera Publications at Smashwords

    Copyright of this compilation Chimaera Publications 2015

    Copyright on each story remains with the contributor.

    EPUB version ISBN 978-1-922031-38-9

    ISSN 2200-307X (electronic)

    CHIMAERA PUBLICATIONS

    Smashwords Edition License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors, editors and artists.

    Hard copy back issues of Aurealis can be obtained from the Aurealis website:

    www.aurealis.com.au

    Contents

    From the Cloud—Michael Pryor

    Echoes of Space—Carolyn J Denman

    The Other-Faced Lamb—C S McMullen

    John Scalzi Interview—Part Two—Chris Large

    Secret History of Australia—Milo Hammond—Architect, Cardsharp, Visionary—Researched by Michael Pryor

    The Work of Paul Linebarger—Gillian Polack

    Reviews

    Next Issue

    Credits

    From the Cloud

    Michael Pryor

    Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep isn’t a perfect novel. It has inconsistencies, a few plot holes, some ‘What the…?’ moments, but they’re forgiven because King does something surpassingly well, something that drags us into the story and keeps us reading right through.

    Stephen King does character like few others can.

    If a writer does character well, the story will work. If all the other story elements are wonderful, but the story’s characters are dull, flat, or unengaging, then the story is likely to fail.

    The key word here is ‘engaging’. If a writer creates engaging characters, readers will keep reading to see what happens to them, it’s as simple as that and King has a knack for creating engaging characters. Strike that, it’s not a knack—it’s something that he works at in a hundred different ways.

    The two main characters in Doctor Sleep are Dan Torrance and Abra Stone. Dan is the main point of view character. Now, while remembering that King is a horror writer and Dr Sleep is a horror novel, take note of how much time King spends on non-horror stuff. A good half of the novel has nothing to do with Horror. We explore Dan’s problems with alcoholism, we see his search for solace, we experience his sense of dislocation, we work through his backstory—family, work history, episodes of violence and self-loathing. To balance this, we learn about Dan through his actions, where he acts selflessly but not without internal struggle. We see him undertake work, physical labour, and he does so with care and dedication. We see his relationships with others—sometimes fraught, sometimes difficult.

    And we come to understand Dan’s tortured feelings about his parents.

    King keeps us riveted in Dan’s personal struggles in a thousand different ways, like turns of phrase that belong to Dan alone, or the careful formality he uses when addressing the older women in the hospice he works at, or his childish enjoyment at driving the model train, or the mannerisms that are sifted in along the way, all contribute to a rounded, breathing character.

    Mannerisms. An example would be useful here, but the most important mannerism in this book is a key plot point, and we don’t want to get into spoiler territory. Let it be said that the mannerism is deftly dropped in nice and early then touched on a few times throughout so that when the key moment comes you not only have a fine example of using mannerisms to establish and maintain character, you have a superb example of foreshadowing. King is a craftsman.

    King uses memories, too, and this is particularly important since this book is a ‘many years later’ sequel to The Shining. Dan’s flashbacks and musings fill us in on what has happened in the years since the Overlook Hotel burned down, but the time he spends dwelling on these events serves another purpose—they show us that he’s a thoughtful, reflective person.

    All of this works independently from the horror aspects of the book. And, of course, when the horror elements are introduced, they are all the more horrific because they’re contrasted with these everyday elements of a realistic life. Thanks to King’s careful characterisation, we keep turning the pages, on the edges of our seats because we care for Dan and Abra—we want to see if they will prevail or if they will succumb to the evil.

    King manages to do all of this subtly, with a lightness of touch that is masterly. We don’t see him at work because we’re engrossed in the characters and the narrative. He doesn’t draw attention to his methods—they work away undetected.

    Doctor Sleep is a masterclass in character and characterisation.

    Back to Contents

    Echoes of Space

    Carolyn J Denman

    It’s always nice to have a little space, so when I saw the bright Forward Institute poster advertising for volunteers for scientific research, I seriously considered it for a good, oh, 20 seconds… before common sense laughed and jeered at me for even thinking about it. The private suite they were offering the volunteers was not worth the price.

    I took one last deep breath of semi-fresh air, hooked my handbag over my head and then stepped down from the light-rail platform, plunging into the morass of travellers on the street below. After nearly four years of running errands for the Duke of Fitzroy himself, I had finally earned my way into a tiny but preciously private apartment down by the river. Unfortunately, it was about as far from the centre of town as one could get before hitting the next one, and so it took almost three hours to get home from work. And that was when the foot-traffic control lights weren’t blinking a useless universal blue colour in all directions.

    Somewhere ahead and to my right, a little girl whined—and my chances of making it home in daylight plummeted as people jostled to get a glimpse of the rare child. As I was funnelled to the edge of the street I had my feet stepped on six times, both my elbows snagged on people’s jackets and handbags,

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