Friday, August 23, 2013

More from Connie Willis - Novella Review



On Wednesday I posted a general review of Connie Willis' collection of short stories, The Winds of Marble Arch, and today I am back with two more reviews.


The Last of the WinnebagosOut of the four novellas I read, this on was my favorite. It's set in a time when animals are dying off, roads and cars are changing drastically, and technology is taking over the job of newspaper photographers (ok, that last one seems to be happening already).

David McCome is a reporter and photographer on route to report on the last RV on the road. RV's are banned in all but four states and relegated to only driving on the old undivided multiways.

On his way he passes a dead jackal on the road, bringing back memories of his old dog and the day he died. The story weaves in many side stories and mysteries, with a satisfying ending.


Even The Queen
In a futurist setting, Traci's daughter joins group called the Cyclists. In recent history women have made strides to become more like men, remove third-person singular pronouns and use words like "herstory." but this pre-Liberation women's groups wants to go back to the core of who they are as women. They want to have their periods again. 

It seems that during the liberation women decided to implant a shunt to free them of their monthly cycle and all the negative effects of it. So now, the alternative thing to do, is to have the shunt remove and get back to nature.

As Traci's mother-in-law bring the family together to try and "save" the daughter, there is humorous debates over the pros and cons of having a menstrual cycle, and beautifully written dialog among the women of the family.

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I'd recommend this book for people who like science fiction or short stories, or anyone else to wants to read. Luckily the short stories don't take too much commitment, and if you don't like it, you probably will be done in a few pages.

If you have reviewed this book, please leave a link to the review in the comments and I will add your review to the main post. All I ask is for you to do the same to mine — thanks! 

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