Discussion Group Read for January 14, 2020.....???

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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
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The High Seas
I LOVED this story! Oh my gosh. It was melancholy yet had this dreamy, gossamer feel. Set in the future, kind of dystopian, a lot more than a little steampunk, in my opinion.

I went back and forth between feeling sorry for Iris and thinking she was a brat. I really loved Chip. Who doesn't need that kind if a friend from time to time? No judgment, just an ear and maybe some gentle advice, but given SO gently, slipped right into conversation, a person would never bristle, even if they didn't necessarily like the advice being given. So what that Iris had to pay for it. It was what she needed.

Which made the ending all the more shocking and unexpected. They had just shared this incredible experience, not many in their world got to experience it. And BOOM!

I had a small inkling, when Iris first came across Chip, she kept "mentioning" his belly full of tokens. But, I was so pulled in by Chip's charm and his lack if concern about Iris' intentions that I truly did not see it coming.

I have enjoyed all of Joe's novels, but I think he really shines in short story form. Exceptionally.

A few quotes that really stood out to me...

Iris fantasizes about being pulverized into a fine, warm spray and raining gently on her rotten, selfish mother and sorry, hopeless father, wetting their faces in red tears.
Wow. The imagery just smacks you upside the head. Gross and disturbing but somehow not, at the same time.

The thing is an antique....A moldie-oldie from the days of Google and chunky VR headsets and Florida.

The bubble will not pop, or we pledge to refund your money to your next of kin.
These 2 quotes just made me giggle.

Her song....has no words. Perhaps there never are for grief.
No there aren't.

This story is right up there among my favorites. I very much enjoyed it and was sorry when it was over.
That line caught my eye too. Like we (Florida) are underwater when this story takes place, :)

I thought the story was exceptional. The ending was a gut punch. I didn't see that coming but it did fit Iris' personality when you think about her callousness towards her father and his gift. I took a few pages for the story to grab me but when it did, there was no putting it down.
Totally agree and well said Cat. This is one of my favorites of Joe's.

I also loved Chip. And while he was a robot, he seemed like so much more. Like if you wished hard enough and sprinkled blue fairy dust on him, you could make him a "real, live, boy." The best kind.

Joe is very good at this futuristic, Blade Runner vibe. Bleak and cold, but packed with so much feeling. Reminded me very much of his early work, Gunpowder. If you can get your hands on that, it is such a wonderful story. It's been so long since I read it, so I'm curious if this might possibly be part of his Gunpowder world. A snippet of the continuing story. I hope so!

His writing is so lyrical and beautiful.

I wouldn't mind if we stay with Joe's stories from Full Throttle for next time.