Playing Nice with God’s Bowling Ball by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 5/5 cats
“What are you saying? That Timmy’s not dead?”
“I’m saying Timmy Johnson may very well live forever.” Mrs. Hanson gave Grace another of those strange, bleak smiles. “You still want to arrest my son for murder?”
this is a free tor short on a technicality—it’s a reprint of a story that appeared in an issue of jim baen’s universe, which is why that “cover” is nowhere near the level of tor’s typical cover art. but the story itself is spectacular, and i fully understand why tor would want to reprint it.
n.k. jemisin is one of those authors i’ve wanted to read for a long time, but i worry about my own genre-weaknesses—that i would be lost or wouldn’t understand its particular strengths because i lack experience in the whole fantasydome or whatever. i overthink things. which is another reason why these free tor shorts are so great; i get exposure to an author’s style and realize they’re not so scary after all!
so, even though this one isn’t fantasy in the same way her beloved and award-winning novels are, my “do i dare?” apprehension is lessened somewhat because this story is just a perfect little chunk of writing. and since i have vowed to stick to my “short reviews for tor shorts” initiative, for my time management and sanity, that’s all i’m going to say! it’s a perfect example of how short stories should be written, and it leaves you wanting more in the warmest way possible.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2014/06/30/playin…
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