A Dozen Tough Jobs
A novella.
Suppose the ancient world of meddling gods who interfere in human affairs is reset in northern Mississippi, circa 1926. It is still a world of classic good-ol'-boys, of Southern belles, of children of ex-slaves picking cotton and "bowin' and scrapin'," and of chain gangs and rumrunners. Rump parties rule the populace and the KKK flourishes. Now add into that mix the Graeco-Roman legend of The Twelve Labors of Hercules. Waldrop takes aim at the corruption and arbitrary injustice of that place and time. It is a marvelous story told with much humour and sadness, much joy and despair.
Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop was born in Mississippi in 1946 and has lived most of his life in Texas except for about six years when he lived along the Stillaguamish River in Washington state. He made his first professional sale in 1970. He was nominated for two Nebulas in 1977 for his stories "Custer's Last Jump" (written with Steven Utley) and "Mary Margaret Road-Grader" and has won both the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards for "The Ugly Chickens" (1980).
Howard Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies (and character actors), classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical. The stories are often considered entertaining: Night of the Cooters is The War of the Worlds told from the perspective of a Texas sheriff (a homage to Slim Pickens); "Heirs of the Perisphere" involves robotic Disney characters waking up in the far future; "Fin de Cyclé" describes the Dreyfus affair from the perspective of bicycle enthusiasts.
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