Pleonasms: Department of Redundancy Department
The Lampworks Lamplighter SF & Fantasy News & Reviews
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In this issue
Pleonasms
I fell into a rabbit hole today when I encountered this word. No, this isn’t a new public health menace or something teenagers say to confuse anyone over thirty. Pleonasms are redundancies in phrases we use every day, like “tuna fish.” A tuna is always a fish (except when it’s a pun, as in “you can tune a piano but you can’t tuna fish). But we’re so used to saying “tuna fish” that it almost sounds funny when we don’t. Another is “safe haven,” even though havens are safe places by definition. Ever heard of an unsafe haven? Maybe that deserted farmhouse that offers shelter from a sudden storm but turns out to be the lair of a serial killer, but then you’re in a horror novel and I don’t write those.
It’s hard to leave that type of pleonasm out of writing, especially dialog, because that’s how people talk. There are others, though, that I try to leave out, like “free gift” (mostly used in marketing), or “the ship itself,” or “in actual fact.” Writing becomes tighter and more powerful when the extra words are left out.
There’s a special place in perdition for “irregardless” and “inflammable.” “Regardless” is already “without regard;” adding “ir” to it doesn’t do anything for you. “Flammable” already means “easily catches fire.” No need for an extra “in.”
But I suppose the amusing bi-lingual pleonasms are here to stay. “The River Avon” is just saying “the river river,” since Avon is the Welsh word for river. And the “La Brea Tar Pits” means “the tar tar pits.” Bonus points if you can guess what I was doing when I tumbled into this rabbit hole. Hint: it wasn’t writing or researching. I’ll give you a free ebook if you get it right.
Our Books
Sellenria: The Starship and the Citadel
Chuck Boeheim, Daniel Elswit
It came as a shock to archaeologist Stenn Gremm to find that his ancestor had been a warlock.
As a scientist, Stenn didn’t believe in magic. But when a monster from legend ground his equipment into dust, Stenn was forced into roles for which he hadn’t prepared. Apprentice to an assassin for one, advisor to the heir to the throne for another. When archaeological digs were conducted via telepresence, he didn’t expect to get dirt under his nails and blood on his hands. Now his fate hinges on his ability to embrace his greatest role: the new warlock.
Readers have called this a cross between Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, as well as a tale of self-discovery, set in a journey through a fantastic land. All legends have a kernel of truth, but the full story can be surprisingly different.
Buy on amazon Bookshop.org
What We‘re Reading
Visit our archive of reviews and recommendations on the Books We Like page of our website. You‘ll find over one hundred recommendations in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Non Fiction.
Implied Spaces
Walter Jon Williams
Implied spaces are those unintended elements that exist, just because something has to fill the void between the spaces that are deliberately created. This metaphor starts with architecture, but the swordsman and scholar Aristide extends it to the created worlds, societies, and pocket universes of post-singularity humanity. He discovers a plot emanating from the implied spaces that threatens to destroy all that he created, from a nemesis who can match or exceed Aristide’s nearly god-like powers.
Buy on Bookshop.org amazon
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
Natasha Pulley
Thaniel, a telegraph clerk, finds a watch on this pillow that forecasts a bomb blast six months in the future. After this proves be accurate, he makes the acquaintance of watchmaker Mori, along with his whimsical creations, which include a mechanical octopus. Set in Victorian London and Meiji-era Japan, the story is full of humor, quirky characters, and twisty plots. The writing is engaging, with many colorful turns of phrase. Highly recommended.
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A Night in the Lonesome October
Roger Zelazny
An old favorite of mine, which I pull out to read every October. Narrated by Snuff, the watchdog of an occult practitioner named Jack, the thirty-one short chapters chronicle the thirty-one days of a particular October. A group has gathered to play an ancient game with high stakes. The tale is told through the familiars of the (mostly) human players as they negotiate to alternately aid and confuse the other teams. But you can’t say which team you’re on until the last moment.
Buy on amazon
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Splice: A Sci-fi Technothriller
ZZ Adams
The kid is a bomb that’s ready to go off, but for one genetically-modified hero, he’s a second chance.
Elliot: Trained from birth by his father, being a killer is all he’s ever known. After his family were killed in suspicious circumstances, the story of their millennia old guild of assassins is a mystery he desperately needs to solve.
**Arthur: **Life as a TV personality hasn’t lived up to his dreams. He’s coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth putting his ex-wife and daughter in second place to end up a D-list celebrity. Worse, Hellinix’s genetic modifications don’t seem to have stopped asserting themselves. He’s still changing, but into what?
Buy via StoryOrigin
Spacer's Bet
Bonnie Milani
The attack came out of nowhere. Suddenly a hunting pack, flashing Lupan IDs, dropped out of Jump to fire on the unarmed ore hauler Shojai.
Isfahan “Iz” Hauler Shojai had only an instant to wonder why before the attackers’ guns ripped open Shojai’s cargo bay.
The cargo bay where her ditzy younger brother Kansas was working. The bay whose crew was sucked out into the void. Like herself, Kansas was genetically engineered to survive vacuum. But his protective shell couldn’t hold forever. Battling time and the chaos of a wounded ship, Iz launched herself into the vacuum of the gutted hold to rescue her brother.
Buy via StoryOrigin
Epicentre
Chris Andrews
Grace may have just caused a war among magical Creatures
When Grace balks at taking yet another life to ensure her own survival, she loses the necklace storing the last of her magical lifeforce. Desperate for the lifeforce she failed to steal and with nothing held in reserve, she must recover her necklace before sunset or be forced to drown another victim. If she doesn’t she’ll die, and she only has minutes left.
Buy via StoryOrigin
The Revenge Job
Shane Shepherd
The Empire lied to him. But they’re not out of surprises yet.
Having miraculously survived their expedition to the deadly planet Kovacs, Key and his team return to the Empire cruiser Drake for their debriefing. But their time on the planet has only raised more questions than it has answered – and the top brass is less than willing to let Key in on their secrets.
But when he makes a disturbing discovery, he begins to realize that the Drake may be compromised. Key is determined to keep the Cloud – and what’s left of Dawn – from falling into the wrong hands, even if that means executing a risky plan… one that will make him no shortage of powerful enemies.
Buy via StoryOrigin
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