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Apex Digest: Sufficiently Advanced

edited June 2007 in Short Stories
Tangent reviews issue 9. About "Sufficiently Advanced," the reviewer says:



What can I really say about this short piece other than it’s ironic in its macabre humor while also poignant in its meaning? Henry, an astronaut, crash-lands on a planet full of primitives capable of magic abilities such as teleporting. I can’t say more without spoiling the story, so I’ll just say this instead: read it.

Comments

  • The previous thread got corrupted, so I'm rebuilding it below:



    Bev_Vincent



    I'm thrilled to announce that my short story “Sufficiently Advanced” won the 2nd annual Apex Halloween Contest. In addition to a nice cash prize and publication in Apex, I am the proud winner of a ton of swag. These guys are amazingly generous in their offerings.



    I hope y'all get a chance to check out “Sufficiently Advanced” when it appears in Apex.



    Here's the prize list:



    The Essentials:



       * Theme: Alien Witchcraft

       * Word Count: 2,500 words or less



    First Prize:

    ***********************************************

    $200  



    Winning story published in Apex Digest issue nine and an invite to the Apex 2007 featured writers anthology.



    One year subscription to Apex Digest  



    Apex Global Domination Mug



    Signed copies of Inheritance and



    Dominion from Steven Savile



    Signed copy of Headstone City from Tom Piccirilli



    Signed copy of



    Deathbringer from Bryan Smith



    Signed copy of War Surf from M.M. Buckner



    MP3 audio versions of Rusty



    Nail and Bloody Mary from JA Konrath



    Signed art print of Judi Davidson's “Temple Part II” illustration printed in Apex issue six



    Signed art print from Aegri Somnia cover artist Michael Bielaczyk  



    Trade paperback copy of Brandy Schwan's Grim Trixter



    Signed music cd Horror on the Orient Express from Alex Otterlei



    A $20 gift certificate to the Changeling Press online store



    Signed copies of Lords of Terror by Allan Cole and Nick Perumov and Dreams of Darkness by Elizabeth Burton from Zumaya Publications



    Signed copy of Thank You For the Flowers from Scott Nicholson



    Halloween: 25 Years of Terror DVD from Horrorview.com



    The Blackest Death: Volume II signed by Angeline Hawkes and Christopher Fulbright





    Lou_Sytsma



    Woot! Very Nice.  Congratulations!



    8-)



    Bev Vincent



    Thanks -- the title is drawn from an oft-cited Arthur C. Clarke quote.



    Lou_Sytsma



    Yes - any sufficiently advanced technology can be considered magic... or something to that effect.



    I figured that is what the title was alluding to.



    Lou_Sytsma



    Curious Bev.  How long did it take you to write the story?



    Bev_Vincent



    First draft (2200 words) in two days.



    If you go to my LiveJournal for October 12-13th, I write a little about the process there. Then I polished it for the next few days until it was due (on the 15th).



    Lou_Sytsma



    Wow! That is pretty quick.  I'm trying to write but it has been difficult to maintain the discipline and I always end up loosing the enthusiasm.  Discipline.



    Discipline!



    Bev_Vincent



    Every morning, day after day, whether I feel like getting up or not! Whether I think I have something to write or not, because there's always something that I could be working on: an essay, book review, something, if inspiration isn't really working that day.



    Lou_Sytsma



    I applaud you. I try to do the same.



    Writing reviews and/or nonfiction is not too bad but fiction is tough. I can only do it in the morning, too burnt out by the end of the day.  Writing nonfiction at lunch hours or at night I can do.  Fiction not.  



    Mantra - In the morning, I must make use of this time.



    Bev_Vincent



    I received seven or eight packages in the mail today. Maybe nine. Should have counted. Many of them contained prize component from this contest. See my LJ for full details!



    Bev_Vincent



    I just received the page proofs for Sufficiently Advanced's upcoming publication. I hadn't read the story in a while and I think it hold up pretty well. I probably would have tinkered with a few things, but I didn't, since the story's all laid out and everything.



    Bev_Vincent



    Apex Digest #9, containing “Sufficiently Advanced,” was released today.



    It is a beauty to behold:







    Bev_Vincent



    I received my contributor copies and paycheck for publication (separate from my haul for winning the contest) on Saturday. It's a lovely little digest.



    Bev_Vincent



    From a review of Apex Digest #9:

    Sufficiently Advanced by Bev Vincent brings the issue out of the esoteric and puts the reader into a darkly ironic world where what we find unreal is mundane and what we are accustomed to put a crash survivor in terrible danger. Bev proves that just because you escape doesn’t mean you survive.


    >>>  Source



    Bev_Vincent



    From the Whispers of Wickedness reviews:



    “Bev Vincent's short space travel tale, Sufficiently Advanced, is the best story of the bunch. It takes cultural relativism to a whole new level. The story is well-paced and well-narrated, and Vincent's use of back-story is sparingly efficient. He tells you just enough to keep you interested and informed without switching focus away from the present. The story naturally progresses from the beginning to the climax to the end, with no jerky movements or awkward pauses. (Insert sexual joke here.)”



    CrinVA



    simply awesome Bev!
  • Bev_Vincent



    I agree -- when someone prefers one of my stories to works by Kevin J. Anderson and William F. Nolan, I feel pretty good about it!



    Bev_Vincent



    [link=http://ozhorrorscope.blogspot.com/2007/05/review-apex-science-fiction-and-horror.html]Another nice review from HorrorScope[/link]



    Winner of the 2006 Apex Halloween short fiction content, Sufficiently Advanced by Bev Vincent is a riotous and simple story with prose as blunt and to the point as the big guy we all know Bev has written books about. After crash landing on an unknown planet - the only one to escape his ship The Odyssey - Henry comes into contact with what appears to be a primitive race. Appears. The flip-flopping that comes next is nasty and hilarious. A short, sharp piece.
  • You can vote for this story at Preditors and Editors' annual poll if you feel so inspired!
  • Currently tied for 3rd! Voting ends on January 15th.
  • I forgot to check -- apparently Sufficiently Advanced finished 7th in the poll in the sf short story category.
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