SF Waxes Philosophical
Those of you who had been following my old blog at http://ahmedakhan.journalspace.com know that I was editing an anthology of SF with philosophical underpinnings. The TOC of that anthology, SF Waxes Philosophical, has been finalised. Here it is in alphabetical order:
Michael Bishop: Diary of a Dead Man
Douglas van Belle: The Squirrel That Didn't Bark
Paul Carlson: Waveform
Sean Foster: Different and Again Different
Ren Holton: Lords of Light
Matt Hughes: Liw Osfeo and the Worm
Luke Jackson: The Saving Power
Ahmed A. Khan: The Shores of Id (I have reasons for including one of mine. See below.)
Ted Kosmatka: The God Engine
Marian Powell: Categorical Imperative
Ian Shoebridge: The Day the World Lost Gravity
Steven Utley: Chaos and the Gods
Jetse de Vries: The Third Scholar
Casey Wolf: These Old Bones
Need it be said that I am extremely happy with this anthology? I have received excellent stories in spite of (or because of) the challenging theme.
I have included one of my stories in the anthology for 4 reasons:
Reason #1: When I did not include any story of mine in the previous anthology, "Fall and Rise" (because I thought it was not good form), some of my friends and fellow writers (including some who were included in that anthology) berated me for not doing so. I care more about friends than form.
Reason #2: The anthology had stories dealing with western philosophy; it had stories dealing with far-eastern philosophy; but it did not have any story dealing with middle-eastern philosophy. So I thought my story would strike a right balance.
Reason #3: I think it is a nice story.
Reason #4: Haven't you ever heard of shameless self-promotion?
Michael Bishop: Diary of a Dead Man
Douglas van Belle: The Squirrel That Didn't Bark
Paul Carlson: Waveform
Sean Foster: Different and Again Different
Ren Holton: Lords of Light
Matt Hughes: Liw Osfeo and the Worm
Luke Jackson: The Saving Power
Ahmed A. Khan: The Shores of Id (I have reasons for including one of mine. See below.)
Ted Kosmatka: The God Engine
Marian Powell: Categorical Imperative
Ian Shoebridge: The Day the World Lost Gravity
Steven Utley: Chaos and the Gods
Jetse de Vries: The Third Scholar
Casey Wolf: These Old Bones
Need it be said that I am extremely happy with this anthology? I have received excellent stories in spite of (or because of) the challenging theme.
I have included one of my stories in the anthology for 4 reasons:
Reason #1: When I did not include any story of mine in the previous anthology, "Fall and Rise" (because I thought it was not good form), some of my friends and fellow writers (including some who were included in that anthology) berated me for not doing so. I care more about friends than form.
Reason #2: The anthology had stories dealing with western philosophy; it had stories dealing with far-eastern philosophy; but it did not have any story dealing with middle-eastern philosophy. So I thought my story would strike a right balance.
Reason #3: I think it is a nice story.
Reason #4: Haven't you ever heard of shameless self-promotion?
Comments
patchmulberry
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bleaklight.com
Oh, and as far as including a story of your own is concerned... well, goodness, I don't think that there's any question as to your writing ability, and both you and Ms. Sexton make outstanding points:
1) By including a story that involves Middle-Eastern philosophy, you improve the span of the anthology;
2) By including a story that you yourself have written, you provide readers with a clear view of your aesthetic and demonstrate to them what you intended with the anthology.
And if it makes your friends smile, so much the better!
Congratulations all around!