by Jason Fischer | Jan 20, 2011 | Reviews
A review of Aurealis Magazine #44 has just been posted over at Suz’s Space, covering the issue which contains my 2nd jesusman story, “gunning for a tinkerman”. She says:
“All of these stories were top quality. There were a couple that stood out and screamed “write a sequel, write lots of sequels” as the worlds were just so good and while the characters might not have been likeable I certainly wanted to know more of them. Jason Fisher and KJ Taylor, I’m talking about you. I’m not saying the other stories weren’t as good, but they stand on their own and don’t seem to need anything else around them, they are complete by themselves. But Fisher and Taylor have written stories that not only stand on their own two feet but would also go well in an anthology of stories about their particular worlds.
gunning for a tinkerman by Jason Fisher is a wonderful little post-apocalyptic story where tinkermen have run the gamut of being wanted for their skills to being a dying breed who are both wanted and reviled in the same breath. I would like to know more about this world and more about the people in the world. It’d just be extra cool to have a story from someone else’s point of view so we can see how the tinkermen and their roles have changed.”
(the rest is here http://www.suzs-space.com/blog/2011/01/07/aurealis-issue-44/)
Well, that’s just lovely, thanks Suz 🙂 I’ll see what I can do about that for you!
by Jason Fischer | Nov 22, 2010 | Reviews
Wow, these things are rolling out in quick succession! I truly appreciate when folks take the time to give reviews to short fiction, it’s a bugger of a job and a proper review takes quite some time to prepare. In a previous life I did a lot of fiction reviewing for places like Tangent Online, Specusphere, ASIM, and Last Short Story. I have emerged from those places with total respect for those who would wield the critic’s pen (and the affirmed desire to never again wield the same myself – done my time etc.). I sincerely believe that every writer should have a go at reviewing, it’s great to exercise your own critical faculties, as well as a chance to pay it forward to discerning readers and review-gathering authors like moi. Over time it’s helpful to get an oversight of your preferred genre, learn from the mistakes of others and such.
Anyhow, onto the reviews. Firstly, reviewer David Conyers over at Albedo One had this to say about my ASIM #46 story The School Bus:
“Mark Farrugia’s issue 46 of Andromeda Spaceways standout stories were those of the horror genre. Jason Fischer’s “The School Bus” was the best with a post-apocalyptic Australia complete with zombified kangaroos. Told from the point of view of a child, it built its horror slowly so that when the final revelation hit hard, it was the human parents who were the scariest characters to be found anywhere in this dark and disturbing world that Fischer created.”
http://www.albedo1.com/reviews/andromeda_spaceways_46_on_spec_77.html
And once more from Horrorscope, my Aurealis #44 story gunning for a tinkerman gets a look-in. Reviewer Mark Smith-Briggs says:
“Jason Fischer’s Gunning for a Tinkerman uses a blend of character and action in the highly entertaining outback tale of a former preacher hunting a man through a world of giant snakes and witchcraft. An apocalyptic style fantasy, there is a lot of fun to be had with Fischer’s free flowing prose and warped sense of humour.”
http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2010/11/review-aurealis-44.html
It was also nice to see some fellow ink-siblings get recognition for their efforts in ASIM #46, especially Chris Green and Felicity Dowker (and in Chris’s case also for his oztastic “Jumbuck” in Aurealis #44). Andromeda Spaceways got me into short genre fiction, will always hold a special place in my heart, and I’m glad to see that recent issues are getting such positive feedback. Despite its mad pulp-retro beginnings, I really believe ASIM has matured and represents Aussie writers very well indeed.
by Jason Fischer | Nov 22, 2010 | Reviews
Over at Horrorscope, reviewer Mark Smith-Briggs has undergone the herculean task of reviewing three issues of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine in one hit! Of my issue #46 story The School Bus, Mark says:
“Jason Fischer’s The School Bus also uses the innocence and naivety of youth to construct a dark examination of an outback society trapped following the outbreak of a zombie virus. A story of layers, Fischer draws you in through the horrors of a zombie hoarde only to reveal a far more sinister underbelly from the town itself. His writing is a brilliant example where saying a little can be far more disturbing than saying too much.”
I am so pleased to hear this, it’s exactly what I was aiming for with this story. The rest of the review can be read here:
http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2010/11/review-asim-46-48.html
(I’m still madly in love with the zombieroo cover)
by Jason Fischer | Nov 18, 2010 | Reviews
Why yes, I do make use of Google Alerts 🙂
Fellow Aurealis #44 contributor Adam Ford has posted a blog entry about his long years of subbing to the magazine (he sent in a story to issue #1!) and his long-awaited success in selling them a story. Well done mate, persistence is king.
He’s starting to read the other stories in the issue, and of mine he says:
‘I’ve been loving the stuff I’ve read so far, including Jason Fischer’s batshit insane post-apocalyptic Mad-Max-meets-Gilgamesh “gunning for a tinkerman”.’
BEST QUOTE EVER. This seriously belongs on a t-shirt, made my flipping day that. He’s summed the story up better than I ever could.
http://theotheradamford.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/published-a-billion-tiny-lights/#more-2465
EDIT: It sure does belong on a t-shirt, behold.
by Jason Fischer | Nov 10, 2010 | Reviews
Horrorscope has just reviewed the first two issues of Jason Paulos’ retro-tastic comic “EEEK!”, which includes my story “The Harvest”, a comic script retrofitted from my prose short story “Rick Gets a Job”. Reviewer Shane Jiraiya Cummings says:
“While clearly inspired by (and some might say derivative of) works such as Soylent Green and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, “The Harvest” is the highlight of this issue. Rick’s motivations are powerful, offering the beacon of a sympathetic protagonist as the reader is led through a particularly dark story. The revelation at the end is grim and ultimately offers a payoff that is enlightening and frustrating at the same time. Well done to Fischer and Paulos on creating such a brilliant story together. On the strength of this story, hopefully the pair will collaborate again in the future.”
The rest of the review can be found here: http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2010/11/review-eeek-2.html
EEEK! can be purchased at your local newsagent, or via the webstore here: http://www.blackboox.net/products/EEEK%21-Issue-1.html
by Jason Fischer | Oct 23, 2010 | Reviews
The anthology for WOTF XXVI has just been reviewed over at the Library Journal, and reviewer David Rapp says:
“These new stories by talented as-yet-unknowns are uniformly good; some show impressive talent, such as Adam Colston’s “Not in the Flesh,” an interesting take on the sentient android story, and Jason Fischer’s clever “The House of Nameless,” which opens with a girl and a minotaur on a date.”
The rest of the review can be found here: http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887391-264/xpress_reviewsthe_first_look_at.html.csp
The book has also been reviewed over at The Baryon Review, and can be read here http://thebaryonreview.blogspot.com/2010/09/writers-of-future26-and-exile-reviews.html
