[Penumbra]

When I first wrote "Modal Sojourn," I was tasked to include famous past individuals and keep the tale to under 2000 words. If you enjoy intense dramas that manage to satisfy both fantasy and science fiction, please read it in the stories section and let me know what you think, either here or by email.

Thanks

[mul]

Penumbra,

Is that stream of conciousness writing or did you actually work out the story prior to putting quill to parchment? (wrapping the keyboard doesn't quite do)

The phrase I kept thinking as I read was..."Pearls before swine". As an exercise in appreciation of how colorful good writing can be, I thought Modal Sojourn was outstanding. What the story was about - I haven't a clue. I can't explain why, but for that reason alone, I will probably read the story two or three more times. Not that I expect it to make more sense, but simply to appreciate the word-smithing used to construct the tale. I also read Token of Esteem. Far less temporal and ethereal - and despite my relative ambivalence toward Sci-Fi, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like science fiction that does not feel the need to explain the science used within the fiction. This also contributes to why I cannot say that I disliked Modal Sojourn. Personally, it had more the feeling of a poem than it did a short story. I look forward to reading the other contributions I see you have made to sffworld.

[This message has been edited by mul (edited February 27, 2002).]

[Penumbra]

High praise indeed. I hadn't thought of it poetically, but I think you may have a point. Sometimes I get a little carried away with the effect certain words and phrases can have. I suppose, if formatted differently, it could have been a poem. Thank you so much for sharing that.

[Nathan Carter]

Well, well, well... I had to grab my dictionary and turn on my black light, but quite a ride indeed. Obscure enough to baffle, yet somehow direct enough to invoke emotion, the afterlife experience of a LSD flashback...

A most appropriate title, given the multi faceted meanings of "modal"... you managed to fuse all the sporadic, intricate, detail of a jazz composition into a moody expression of written clarity. I don't know of anyone who can pull that off... or who has the guts to try... hats off.