Dear Staff:
I think we’ve seen enough of Deep Bora’s works by now to raise a few questions about his general perspectives. My first reaction to his writing is that the proper term for it would be “inimitable,” although the Kali Ferngrove stories presented in the early issues have some things in common with Bora’s writings. And as for scope, perhaps in the pro sf field Rajnar Vajra’s works furnish us with a good assumed comparative. Inimitable his writings may be, but not completely out of all traditions.
He has raised questions: is our way of seeing things exactly in focus, meet and tithe with the Universe as it stands in general, or should we listen to a speaker of science as he perhaps redefines the apparent realities? If not, would it not be a good idea to read a little abstract fiction tending to that verdict?
In his latest, about the moons of Pluto, he describes an orange-colored sky, or more exactly, a tinge of orange appearing in the sky. Is what he is seeing the same orange as we are seeing, and should it be? These illuminations appear from time to time in what he is writing.
Also a little comment about Charles Richard Laing. He’s had a couple of stories in Pablo Lennis and appears to be the same person, but is he? He’s listed in my files as Richard Charles Laing. Maybe I’ve perpetuated an error all this time. But the coincidence factor is strong, and I’d say he’s the same writer. Anyway his latest flash fiction is an amusing piece.
Best of the New Year, John Thiel
And a Happy New Year to you, too, John.
It took me a while to get used to Deep Bora’s perspectives. He uses familiar astronomical names, but his Solar System is simply not the one we know; it is in an alternate universe. His prose style is also very unorthodox and can achieve some rather unusual effects, as we saw in “E.S.P. Revealed upon Pluto,” part 3. I can say that Deep’s choice of style is deliberate: his personal correspondence is quite idiomatic and does not resemble his stories at all.
As for Charles Richard or Richard Charles Laing, my guess is that they’re the same person. It’s not uncommon to meet people who go by their middle name; and sometimes they’ll even reverse the names, if that’s their preference.
In Mr. Laing’s case, I suspect that he likes both “Richard” and “Charles” and finds that the two combinations allow him to make useful distinctions. Or else it doesn’t matter much which combination one uses. Perhaps Mr. Laing will write and explain. In any event, we use the byline that the author puts under the title in the submission. If authors change their mind, as has been known to happen, we’ll be glad to make the change requested..
Copyright © 2004 by John Thiel and Bewildering Stories
