Memory Dust
Filed under My Writing • 01-01-2010 •
In February 2009, my short story “Memory Dust” appeared in Interzone. It was intended to be a full-throttle retro space romp, but somehow failed to attract the same enthusiastic reviews as my two previous stories in the magazine, and looking back now with the benefit of hindsight, I can see areas where it could have been improved. Niall Harrison probably judged it about right in his review on Torque Control.
Obviously, I was disappointed that I’d shot slightly wide of the mark, but took it as a lesson: not every story will be an unqualified success, and just because an editor likes it enough to include it in a magazine, it doesn’t mean the readers will feel the same way. Nevertheless, I enjoyed writing “Memory Dust”, and I had especial fun with passages like this:
The Red Shark was a tough, streamlined wedge with a thick heat shield, and paint scoured to ash by the pitiless fires of hyperspace. He walked up the cargo ramp into her belly without looking back. He’d been stuck on this worthless planet for three long years, growing old and tired and soft. He could hardly wait to get airborne again, to open the throttle and feel the kick of the exhaust, the giddy freedom of the up-and-out.
It may not have been to everyone’s taste, but at least it’s made Blue Tyson’s list of Best New Stories of 2009, and I’ve already submitted new and better stories to Interzone (among other places), which when they appear, I’m sure will get a better reception.
Tags: Interzone • Interzone 220 • Memory Dust
