O - Other Writers

Joyce Carol Oates "The Artist" © OMNI, May 1992 ---------------------------------------------- Joyce Carol Oates "Broke Heart Blues" (exp. into novel "Broke Heart Blues") © Sirens, ed. E. Datlow, 1998 book: Dutton, 1999 --/ cool f story --/ style award This subtle tale is about a love affair between a community (high school, mostly) and its "outsider" -- rebel figure, handsome John Reddy Heart, spooky "heart-eater". review: 16-Jul-06 (read in 2006) ---------------------------------------------- Joyce Carol Oates "Bodies" © 1970, original also in - Strangeness, ed. T. Disch, 1977 --/ cool f story --/ shock value --/ rare find William Oberfield "Poison Planet" © Planet Stories, Jan 1951 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- Jack O'Connell "The Resurrectionist" (nv) © 2008, Algonquin Books --/ fourth place f novel --/ idea award --/ style award --/ emotion award Themes of redemption and forgiveness glow throughout the fabric of this essentially noir narrative, melding together two wildly separate storylines - one half of this novel can be enjoyed as a dark paranormal medical thriller (channeling the best of Dean R. Koontz or Robin Cook), and the other half is a rich, colorful trip down Ray Bradbury lane (or more recently, Katherine Dunn's surreal world of "Geek Love"): following a group of sideshow freaks on their way across darkly-shaded land to find their true selves - the lyrical, sad tone enriches the visions of the grotesque and finds a way to the reader's heart, to the point that this "Limbo" part of the story can be considered a masterpiece of "New Weird" in its own right. Not all is seamless in this book (this is partly why it reads like a wildly swerving motorbike ride). Some parts of the novel seem jumbled together like jigsaw puzzle pieces that do not quite fit, but are forced in anyway. For example, the ending contains some deep allusions and metaphors that ask to be expanded upon, and the final pages come way too quickly - one is left with half-substantiated emotions and unsatisfied longings, which might even be termed as sheer "confusion"... but, boy, does this novel reads like melancholy Bradbury sometimes! Some critics say that The Resurrectionist "transcends reality and redefines noir"; I would not go that far, but I have to admit that I was entirely charmed by the protagonist's story and lovable freaks' encounters with ruthless people and cruel landscapes... The book leaves a solid bittersweet aftertaste, prompting long reflection on themes of identity, grace and redemption - a lingering and haunting effect. "Part classic noir thriller, part mind-bending fantasy, The Resurrectionist is a wild ride into a territory where nothing is as it appears. It is the story of Sweeney, a druggist by trade, and his son, Danny, the victim of an accident that has left him in a persistent coma. Hoping for a miracle, they have come to the forbidding, fortress-like Peck Clinic, whose doctors claim to have “resurrected” other patients who were lost in the void. What Sweeney comes to realize, however, is that the real cure for his son’s condition may lie in Limbo, a fantasy comic book world into which his son had been drawn at the time of his accident. Plunged into the intrigue that envelops the clinic, Sweeney’s search for answers leads to sinister back alleys, brutal dead ends, and terrifying corners of darkness and mystery." ---------------------------------------------- Andrew J. Offutt "Population Implosion" © IF, Jul 1967 --/ cool sf story --/ idea award Andrew J. Offutt "Shadowspawn" (Thieve's World) © Thieve's World, ed. R. Asprin, 1984 Patrick O'Leary "The Black Heart" © Sci Fiction, Aug 2001 --short story : 2002 Locus /24 --/ cool f story Patrick O'Leary "The Me After The Rock" © Mars Probes, ed. P. Crowther, 2002 --short story : 2003 Locus Poll --/ cool sf story Bob Olsen "The Ant With Human Soul" © 1932, Amazing Stories Bob Olsen "Cosmos" (round-robin series) © 1934, Fantasy Magazine --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find Jerry Oltion "At the Crossroads: The Spacer's Tale" (Star Wars series) © Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, 1991 --/ cool sf story Jerry Oltion "The Grass Is Always Greener" © F&SF, Feb 1993 --/ cool sf story Stewart O'Nan "Endless Summer" © Century, Win 2000 --short story : 2001 Locus Poll --/ cool dark f story --/ shock value Robert Onopa "Geropods" © F&SF, July 2002 --short story : 2003 Locus Poll George Orwell "1984" (nv) © 1949, Dutton --book : 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll /17 --book : 1956 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll /9 (tie) --all time novel : 1975 Locus All-Time Poll /41 (tie) --hall of fame : 1984 Prometheus W --all time sf novel : 1987 Locus All-Time Poll /34 --sf novel (before 1990) : 1998 Locus All-Time Poll /21 --/ idea award Robertson Osborne "Action On Azura" © Planet Stories, Fall 1949 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find Robertson Osborne "Criterion" © Startling Stories, Jan 1951 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find Charles Ott "The Ecologically Correct House" © Universe # 8, 1978 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ rare find Frank Owen "The March Of The Trees" © 1941, Weird Tales --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find ------------------------------------

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