Challenge 666
Triple Boxcars
In James Ogunjimi’s “A Promise Kept,” does the old lady curse Aremu with forgetfulness as well as with deafness and blindness?
In Margi Desmond’s Window of Opportunity,” what traits do Earl and Officer Tutwater appear to have in common?
In Edward Ahern’s “The Water’s Edge,” at what point might readers suspect that the elderly lady whom Sophie meets on the beach might be Sophie’s alter ego? Does Sophie ever learn the woman’s name?
In Bertrand Cayzac’s review of Gary Inbinder, The Devil in Montmartre, the reviewer refers to the history of Montmartre, particularly “rebels” and the Commune. How might it tie in with the novel? With Bertrand Cayzac’s Floozman cycle of stories?
In Peter Medeiros’ “Empty Hearts”:
- Is Gavin Kwoong a native New Yorker? Does his ethnicity become significant at any point in the story?
- Gavin frequently recalls Kamilla and his life in New York. Does he mention anything that actually happened, something that would confirm the rejection he phrases in abstract terms?
In Herb Kauderer’s Star Trek Immortality”:
- To what extent is the work a poem? To what extent is it an essay? Why does it not overstep BwS’ guideline about fan fiction?
Can the poem be understood even if the reader doesn’t know who “Lt. Galloway” is? Does the poem necessarily address a special audience, i.e. only readers who are already familiar with the Star Trek “franchise”? To what extent does the article Brand Names and Cultural References apply to the poem?
What kinds of “immortality” does Star Trek purportedly propose? What does the poem lament?
Bonus question: Star Trek is nominally set in the 24th century. To what extent is it a projection of 20th-century America?
Jackpot question: Does any modern science fiction even begin to approach the prescience that Cyrano de Bergerac displays in The Other World? Hint: it contains a dramatized recapitulation of the history of flight more than 300 years in advance; what else is there?
by Bewildering Stories
What is a Bewildering Stories Challenge?
