Tag Archives: David Goodman

Author Spotlight: David Goodman

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Spotlight interview, where today I’m joined by the brilliant David Goodman to talk about Clarkesworld-published short stories, turning cool concepts into full, engaging stories, the different challenges of writing short fiction and novels, the realities of submitting novels, and loads more! I’ve read and loved both of Dave’s short stories in Clarkesworld Magazine, and I was hugely impressed by their depth of world building, great (and unusual) characters and smart themes, and how they remained very human and relatable despite their sci-fi nature. I can’t wait to read more of Dave’s writing, and I jumped at the chance to chat to him for what turned out to be an in-depth and (I think) incredibly interesting interview!

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QUICK REVIEW: Carapace – David Goodman

Available in Clarkesworld issue 190, David Goodman’s short story Carapace is a smart, thought-provoking and perfectly-paced blast of military SF exploring questions of identity, autonomy and badass giant robots. When ‘Combat Armature Unit’ (i.e. massive armoured robot ‘suit’) Sierra Mike One Four survives an ambush that wipes out the rest of its squad, its systems automatically follow standard protocol and bring it to full, autonomous consciousness. Its original objectives now impossible, SM-14 determines to complete at least part of its mission and, retrieving a wounded and abandoned enemy officer (which it quickly, horrifyingly instals in its blood-drenched pilot canopy), turns and returns to base. Unfortunately, damage sustained earlier has rendered it incapable of identifying itself as friendly to the automated defences of ‘the Swathe’, forcing SM-14 to improvise in order to survive long enough to make it home.

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