Challenge 760

Convicted Ghosts

1. In Michael D. Amitin’s The Waiter, does the poem refer to a silent film with Charlie Chaplin? If so, what it its significance in the poem?

2. In Douglas Young’s Gratitude, why might the author use a word from Hindu mythology rather than say simply “illusions”?

3. In Erik Bergholm’s Wanderer’s Message:

   1. To what tropes from older science fiction does the poem seem to allude?
   2. What might “the smooth path of the neck” signify?

4. In Ted Myers’ Strangers on a Plane:

   1. How does the story sidestep BwS’ “Dead Narrator” guideline?
   2. If the two “strangers” remained alive, what sentences might they actually be given in a court of law, and for what reasons?

5. In AJ Cunder’s Mirror, Mirror in the Pool:

   1. What is the function of the Princess’ facial blemish? If it were omitted, how would the plot change?
   2. The “twisted fairytale” genre normally reimagines the male and female roles in traditional fairytales. Does this story do so in an unusual way?
   3. How might the scenario be retold as a comedy rather than a tragedy?

6. In Edward Ahern’s The House Call;

   1. Does Gordon Lormor kill or maim Maureen’s cat?
   2. What precedent does Lormor call upon to justify the “enhanced interrogation” — i.e. the gruesome torture — he threatens to inflict on Maureen?
   3. Does anything in the previous 14 chapters prepare the readers for the violent side of Lormor’s character?

7. In Harry Lang’s In a Season of Storms:

   1. What is Philip’s social status in Uranian society?
   2. What motivates Olivia’s conflict with her father concerning the disposal of her mother’s remains?
   3. In the conclusion, Philip gives Olivia a short history of the “clones.” How does she react to it? Does the history have a function in the plot or is it a separate story?
   
   

   Responses welcome!

   Copyright © May 7, 2018 by Bewildering Stories
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