"Straw" by Gene Wolfe. (Reply #34) - Democratic Underground

In the discussion thread: Do you have a favorite "obscure" short story? [View all]

Sat Oct 19, 2019, 02:14 PM

klook (8,429 posts)

34. "Straw" by Gene Wolfe.

It's a very different kind of "what-if" science fiction story, set in a past where the hot air balloon has been invented hundreds of years earlier than it actually was.

Sounds strange, but it's very well done. Wolfe sucked me into the world of this story right away, and I found the characters and setting compelling. When it was over I was sorry he hadn't expanded it into a novel.

Reply to this post

Back to OP Alert abuse Link to post in-thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

115 replies	Author	Time	Post
Do you have a favorite "obscure" short story? [View all]	red dog 1	Oct 16	OP
I love Harlan Ellison's writing.	Aristus	Oct 16	#1
The Conversion of the Jews	The Wizard	Oct 16	#2
more, more!!	NJCher	Oct 16	#3
"Raft" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Oct 16	#9
"Odour of Chrysanthemums", by D. H. Lawrence. nt	Atticus	Oct 16	#4
maybe not so obscure, but "Bartleby the Scrivener"	diva77	Oct 16	#5
I hated this story nt	yellowdogintexas	Oct 22	#81
more a collection. john collier's fancies & goodnights.	pansypoo53219	Oct 16	#6
I have read some of these.	yellowdogintexas	Oct 22	#83
the whole book is pretty good. i just bought a reprint on impulse. pretty good for 1930's.	pansypoo53219	Oct 23	#88
Young Goodman Brown, Nathael Hawthorne	sarge43	Oct 16	#7
"The Wendigo," by Algernon Blackwood	Glorfindel	Oct 16	#8
De-fa-go	jpak	Oct 19	#39
eeeek!	Glorfindel	Oct 19	#40
Oh this flame and fiery height!	jpak	Oct 19	#43
"Three Bananas" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Oct 16	#10
Also DH Lawrence	RobinA	Oct 16	#11
Arthur C. Clarke (two stories):	lastlib	Oct 16	#12
Oh those are good.	miyazaki	Oct 16	#16
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuinn	Glorfindel	Oct 20	#68
I was always impressed with Ms. LeGuin,,,	lastlib	Oct 20	#69
Yes. "The Wind's Twelve Quarters: Short Stories by Ursula Le Guin"	Glorfindel	Oct 21	#71
Yes, the quintessential American short story	klook	Oct 22	#76
This message was self-deleted by its author	geralmar	Oct 16	#13
Is that Hannes Bok doing the cover...?	First Speaker	Oct 16	#15
This message was self-deleted by its author	geralmar	Oct 16	#18
The Devil's Crapper by Lawrence Walsh	yankeepants	Oct 16	#14
"It", by Theodore Sturgeon...	First Speaker	Oct 16	#17
This message was self-deleted by its author	geralmar	Oct 16	#19
"The Destructors" by Graham Greene	Paladin	Oct 17	#20
Just about anything by William Tenn. n/t	malthaussen	Oct 17	#21
Anything by H.H. Munro ("Saki").	The Velveteen Ocelot	Oct 17	#22
Terry Bisson's "They're Made Out Of Meat" -- admittedly not obscure at all, really.	eppur_se_muova	Oct 18	#23
"Bears Discover Fire" is one of my favorite stories!	klook	Oct 19	#33
A one-act play, really, but	frogmarch	Oct 18	#24
"The Most Dangerous Game"	DeminPennswoods	Oct 18	#25
That one was brilliant.	DFW	Oct 19	#36
Another was "The Storm" by McKNIGHT MALMAR	ailsagirl	Oct 19	#45
"The Ransom of Red Chief"	DeminPennswoods	Oct 19	#46
Me too!	ailsagirl	Oct 20	#61
A book of short stories by Donald Ray Pollock.	AJT	Oct 18	#26
Speaking of Southern Gothic, my favorite short story of that genre is	LuvNewcastle	Oct 22	#78
Don't remember the writer, or the name	pnwest	Oct 18	#27
I love this description and I want to find this story. n/t	ms liberty	Oct 19	#41
IKR?!	pnwest	Oct 19	#42
Glorfindel identified the story, see their reply with a link to it!	ms liberty	Oct 20	#54
Thank you for the heads up! That's amazing!	pnwest	Oct 20	#62
Check out "Reunion," by Arthur C. Clarke, written in 1971	Glorfindel	Oct 20	#48
Thank you so much for finding this!	ms liberty	Oct 20	#53
It's my pleasure.	Glorfindel	Oct 20	#59
I am gobsmacked you found it! Thank you	pnwest	Oct 20	#63
I've read it! It's an Arthur C. Clarke story!	lastlib	Oct 20	#70
tough one... hills like white elephants. ..maybe	Kurt V.	Oct 18	#28
It's plenty weird, but...	FiveGoodMen	Oct 18	#29
The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster, here is a PDF	braddy	Oct 18	#30
The Body Politic	Bayard	Oct 18	#31
Tin Soldier -- Joan D. Vinge	hunter	Oct 19	#32
"Straw" by Gene Wolfe.	klook	Oct 19	#34
"Serendipity" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Oct 19	#35
Lost Legacy	DFW	Oct 19	#37
Sredni Vashtar by Saki	DFW	Oct 19	#38
Me, too. I love that story!	Glorfindel	Oct 20	#47
Sredni Vashtar the beautiful! n/t	DFW	Oct 20	#49
It's in The Chronicles of Clovis, and it's free at gutenberg.org	hunter	Oct 20	#58
A really creepy one was "The Distributor" by Richard Matheson	ailsagirl	Oct 19	#44
One very off the wall story: The Unpleasant Profession Jonathan Hoag	DFW	Oct 20	#50
"The Playground" by Ray Bradbury	Peregrine Took	Oct 20	#51
"The Door" - E.B. White	flor-de-jasmim	Oct 20	#52
Stephen King's "Night Shift."	CrispyQ	Oct 20	#55
I loved Hearts in Atlantis except for one thing.	nolabear	Oct 23	#87
A Piece of Steak Jack London	cachukis	Oct 20	#56
"My House shall be called the House of Prayer" by William Hope Hodgeson and	aka-chmeee	Oct 20	#57
Just about anything from M R James.	RGinNJ	Oct 20	#60
Stories of Your Life and Others	Polly Hennessey	Oct 20	#64
"The Kool Aid Wino" by Richard Brautigan	red dog 1	Oct 20	#65
Great story!	MatthewHatesTrump2	Oct 23	#85
"Gopher in the Gilly" by Harlan Ellison	red dog 1	Oct 20	#66
"When We Were Wolves", Jon Billman...	2naSalit	Oct 20	#67
Mother to the World by Richard Wilson	TuxedoKat	Oct 21	#72
Lot by Ward Moore. n/t	MicaelS	Oct 21	#73
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson	wnylib	Oct 21	#74
"Looking For a Legend" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Oct 22	#75
I remember reading that one....It's about looking for Wyatt Earp's grave, right?	MatthewHatesTrump2	Oct 23	#86
Builds a Fire - Jack London	Bradshaw3	Oct 22	#77
Don't know about obscure, but my first thoughts are:	petronius	Oct 22	#79
Sandkings was what made me start the Song of Ice and Fire series	cemaphonic	Oct 23	#84
This message was self-deleted by its author	petronius	Oct 22	#80
Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne nt	yellowdogintexas	Oct 22	#82
One by T. C. Boyle, I don't remember the name...	Ohiya	Oct 23	#89
"The Autopsy" by Michael Shea	MatthewHatesTrump2	Oct 25	#90
"obscure" in the sense of: I wanna FIND it!1 About the 1919 World Series	UTUSN	Oct 25	#91
Was that player "Shoeless Joe Jackson?	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 1	#95
Probably, Say-it-isn't-so wasn't the focus of the story	UTUSN	Nov 1	#97
"Africa Screams" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Oct 31	#92
"Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor	smirkymonkey	Oct 31	#93
"In a Grove"	Harker	Oct 31	#94
"Gopher in the Gilly" by Harlan Ellison	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 1	#96
"The Getaway Lunch," by Tibor Fisher	PETRUS	Nov 1	#98
"Keyboard" by Harlan Ellison	red dog 1	Nov 2	#99
The Shepard by Fredrick Forsythe	jrandom421	Nov 3	#100
I agree with you about "Driving in the Spikes"	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 5	#101
Not sure it qualifies as "obscure" but "The Three Most Important Things in Life" by Harlan Ellison	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 5	#102
"Trout Fishing in America Shorty"	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 6	#103
"In Video Veritas" by Larry Tritten	red dog 1	Nov 7	#104
"Eight O'Clock in the Morning"...Ray Nelson	Tikki	Nov 7	#105
"A Tiny Feast" by Chris Adrian	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 7	#106
"The Hospice" by Robert Aickman	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 8	#107
"Walking Hills" by D.R. McBride	red dog 1	Nov 9	#108
"Delivery" by Michael Shea	red dog 1	Nov 10	#109
Another very good "obscure" short story is "Dinner Time" by Russell Edson	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 12	#110
"The Stone Boy" by Gina Berriault (1957)	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 14	#111
"Wemer" by Jo Ann Beard	MatthewHatesTrump2	Nov 14	#112
"Who Will Love the River God" by Emily Newland	red dog 1	Nov 16	#113
"The Great Martian Pyramid Hoax" by Jerry Oltion	red dog 1	Nov 17	#114
Just now watching Hallmark 'drama' of The Gift of the Magi,	elleng	Nov 18	#115

Edit History

Please login to view edit histories.