“During the last decade or so, it seems there’s been a fashion for deconstructing L. Frank Baum and Oz. First Gregory Maguire’s book and stage play, _Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West_, then a recent TV effort [Tin Man], and here we have Tom Doyle’s ‘The Wizard of Macatawa,’ which I think is far better than both. * * * The reason I prefer this Oz to Maguire’s is that it is recognizable. There’s a line in ‘The Wizard of Macatawa’ that snaps everything into place — including how I feel about the story. Naturally, it’s delivered by Dorothy: ‘Oz is America’s magical twin — and like America, it’s a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them.’ A rousing good ending to an enjoyable issue.” Sherwood Smith, The Fix.
Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.
2nd Place in SH’s 2004 Reader’s Poll. Also, along with my “Crossing Borders,” one of the best stories of the year on Strange Horizons, according to Rich Horton.
“Hip and charming, it is a site whose blog alone would make daily visits worthwhile. But there’s more: For one thing, terrific SF stories by Jay Lake, Tom Doyle, Carrie Vaugn and others began appearing on the web page in May 2004.” A.M. Dellamonica. Site of the Week, SciFi Weekly (2/7/05)
“Consensus Building”
“Futurismic’s publishing some amazing science fiction and this story doesn’t disappoint. It’s a great 10 minute read, perfect for the Web.” Cory Doctorow (http://boingboing.net/2005/01/03/sf_short_story_about.html)
“It’s a mean-spirited story about naked ambition, greed and the fungibility of computer-assisted memory.” Jeremy Lyon, Futurismic.
“The Garuda Bird” “Tom Doyle’s quite witty take on the convergence of Indian politics with Hindu legend.” Nick Gevers, Locus
A “grand epic tale reminiscent of the ancient myths combined with near-future technology, an amalgam of ancient and new.” Scott Sandridge, Tangent