I just finished reading "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" by 姜峯楠 . . . which was also the last published story of his that I hadn't read, so I've now finished all of the 姜峯楠 that currently exists . . . and I was really blown away. This is a story that really cuts to the heart of being.
"You may say, 'I know I’m not perfect. I’ve made mistakes.' I am here to tell you that you have made more than you think, that some of the core assumptions on which your self-image is built are actually lies."
Pow. Straight through the heart. I think it's impossible to read this story and not be profoundly affected. To be forced to confront your own life and wonder about your own lies. And that is very discomfiting.
It's rare for a story to do this to me. And, I'm sorry to say, but Vero Nihil Verius, it's rarer for a science fiction story to do this to me. Come to think of it, I don't know if a science fiction story has ever done this to me before. Sorry, just sayin', sir.
So anyway, the seven stories which 姜峯楠 has published since Stories of Your Life and Others are not only very good, they are actually much better than the stories in that collection. As I pointed out previously ( ), most of these stories (6) are available online. The other one, "Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny," is also well worth reading, but I don't think it's appeared anywhere other than in the collection The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer), so I guess you'll just have to seek that one out or contact a friend.
But even though I still hold by my pronouncement that the hype on the cover of Story of Your Life and Others was bullshit hyperbole, I have to say that the 姜峯楠 oeuvre is definitely worth seeking out.
Now how long do I have to wait before the next story?
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