PC038: In the House of the Seven Librarians

[Listener]

The cut-off point is 10,000 words. Seven Librarians is 9,600; Hell Is the Absence of God is 11,800.

Ah. Well, once I finish HITAOG (should be today) I'll have some words on its length (critical of the author, not of the publication). Did you ever tell us the actual cut-off point in the "how long should a Giant be" thread? It's possible, and I may have just missed it.

[Rachel Swirsky]

I'm not sure whether or not I did -- it's informally implied in our guidelines, because we overtly accept stories up to 10k, but not stories over. I'm wary of making it a formal rule qua rule because I may someday get a story that's 10,200 words and want to run it as a regular episode instead of a giant.

The third giant that we have in stock is "Bright Waters" by John Brown, a tale of magic and adventure set in Dutch-controlled New England before the Revolutionary War. It's definitely short for a giant, but has an epic breadth. ("Hell Is the Absence of God" lacks the kind of epic breadth that gives you fight scenes, but was definitely too long for a normal episode.)

[JoeFitz]

I love libraries and books and I know lots of librarians, many of whom are the most wonderful people. This piece just rang so hollow as to be slightly offensive. The shrewish female librarian is a mean-spirited chauvinist stereotype. This story hardly even played with the idea. And not a single male in the story (unless you count Harry Potter, though I don't know why, it seemed like a cheap reference).

The idea that a library existed outside of time with no patrons is just too silly to contemplate. Without patrons it's not a library. It's just a book collection. If there are no patrons, there are no books to repair, accession or re-shelve. The exact same story, with a library that was actually open would have at least seemed interesting. The 7 librarians were exceedingly uncharming or engaging and the "secret room" was ridiculous. A "child" who has never been in the "secret" basement in 22 years? As if!

Colour me non-plussed and unimpressed.

[Wilson Fowlie]

And not a single male in the story

This is a silly, and in fact almost offensive, objection.  Are you also keeping track of the stories without any female characters?

[DarkKnightJRK]

It isn't a bad story at all--the fantasy of living in a library is appealing, though I'd imagine I would be itching to go out before I was 17 (I have my hermit moments, but not THAT bad).

Two critiques mentioned earlier do strike a chord though--it did feel like the first act of a bigger story bloated into it's own. That can work sometimes (the movie Unbreakable comes to mind), but it did kind-of prod along for a bit. I also have to agreee that a library without patrons isn't really a library at all, and the librarian's motivation to shield themselves from the world because of EVIL EVIL technology did spring as hollow to me (but hey, I'm more of a sci-fi guy, so I guess that makes sense). I wonder if it would have been less dragging if it was a still open library with the magic hiding just underneith the electronic scanning devices, where she lived in the magic portions, and found herself interacting with other kids that live in the real world? But I digress.

[Unblinking]

I didn't really care for this one, I'm afraid.  This will come as no shock, because I've said before that I like short stories that are actually short.

Much of the reason I had trouble getting into this one, was similar to Secret Life and the one where a bunch of people live on floors of a building.  The whole situation is just implausible, even in its own context.  What do they eat?  Why bother maintianing a library that nobody visits?  Why do they have book repeairs and re-shelving if no one but them is reading the books?

And the pace was just so slow that I couldn't keep up my interest.  I mean, the words kept on rolling by, but nothing seemed to ever happen for huge tracts of time.

[Ellipsis]

I'm a sucker for libraries as are many other people here apparently .  The story as a whole I have to admit, is a bit bland, and the stereotypes a little severe.  That being said it evoked the exact mix of nostalgia and glee in my little bookworm heart that it was intended to.  So it was a little bland in some ways, whatever it was still the library I yearn(ed) for as a bookish child/teen/adult.  The reading felt spot on and I was transported.  I currently volunteer at the library where I once spent time chattering and skipping down hallways running my hand on the rough brick walls.  I also plan to get a masters in LIS, so I'm kind of the fish in the barrel, but, but...C'mon, magical self stocking library complete with coven of semi-mystical logical ocd librarians!!