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Terminal Care: a Science Fiction Novel

November 11, 2024

Fiction, Writing

book, fiction, literature, science fiction, writing

After the short-story collection I talked about recently, A Less Disturbing Form of Reality, this is another old work retrieved from the depth of hell my, shall we say, secondary literary repertoire. Terminal Care is a science fiction novel with elements of a political thriller.

This sentence alone is probably enough to convince you that this is a novel far, far outside my usual literary repertoire. Terminal Care, being science fiction, is much closer to my academic expertise but much father from my literary interests.

Besides aspects of genre, this is one of those works of mine that all share some other similar characteristics:

  • Written a long time ago.
  • Unpublished or published using a pen name.
  • Not quite my cup of tea.

This last part in particular might surprise you. Why the hell did I write it, then? Why do I share it now?

Terminal care, science fiction novel. image of album cover.
In all honesty, I don’t take my genre works too seriously. They do have value, but it’s not literary; it’s entertainment. Terminal Care is a science fiction story, and this can be intriguing, but it’s not high art. The cover is an AI render – just to highlight I don’t take it too seriously.
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Review of Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki

July 24, 2023

Book Review, Criticism

art, book, Japan, literature, review, science fiction, short story, society, symbolism

Terminal Boredom, by Izumi Suzuki, is a collection of science fiction short stories. It includes seven stories in total, and should be possible to finish in one afternoon, should the reader wish to do that. The stories are entirely independent plot-wise, and there is no specific affect-based benefit in reading them all at once.

In other words, the reader doesn’t need to enter any specific reading mood to get the best out of these short stories, which means, whether you read all seven in quick succession or take your time, the result will be basically the same.

You might already be tempted to decipher what I may imply by all this, so let me make it explicit: The stories in Terminal Boredom are an interesting example of a narrative that basically somewhat relies on plot, while at the same time it somewhat presents some intriguing symbolism.

I think the best description I can offer for Terminal Boredom is that it includes plenty of allusions and meanings, but the reader must work hard for them.

Terminal Boredom
The worlds in Terminal Boredom are distinctly Japanese, and this view of Tokyo helps the reader understand why
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What Donald Duck Taught Me About Fiction

November 7, 2022

Fiction

experience, fantasy, fiction, literature, narrative, reading, science fiction, writing

I might have mentioned it before: I owe a lot of whatever I know about writing fiction to… Donald Duck. Reading Donald Duck taught me a lot about reading, writing, and writing fiction. Indeed, I learned to read and write before I went to school, thanks to Donald Duck.

My folks got bored of reading stories to me, so I had to figure it out myself. Then later, when I was maybe seven (memory is very thin ice when it comes to factual accuracy), I wrote my first fiction thanks to Donald Duck. You’ve likely read the story on the main Home for Fiction site:

One day, when I was perhaps seven years old, I read a Donald Duck mystery which was divided into two parts. The first one ended in a cliffhanger, and I sadly had no access to the second part. That was seriously devastating. I solved the problem the only way I could: I took pen and paper and wrote the ending the way I imagined it to be. Those three paragraphs were my first work of fiction.

Years passed. I’ve written a lot, I’ve read a lot, I’ve spent twelve years at the university studying and teaching literature, and overall I have a professional, high-level engagement with fiction.

Imagine my surprise when I realized Donald Duck had more to teach me about literature!

Donald Duck taught me about fiction
Donald Duck has taught me a lot about fiction. And there’s more to learn, still!
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