bookaneer's review
4.0
I read two stories, both I liked.
(1) Tobias S. Buckell's "A World to Die For".
An action-packed, cli-fi Mad Max-inspired story, involving parallel universes with different fates on climate change. Efficient writing despite some familiar tropes, supported by a likable main character. Sure it could be better, but I had fun, so 4 stars.
(2) Bao Shu's “The Lighthouse Girl”. Originally published in Chinese in Zui Mook, vol 2, April 2017.
I'd love to watch the adaptation of this story a la Twilight Zone or maybe Black Mirror. Not too complicated but emotional enough. I like the epistolary format. There were some twists and red herring but the resolution could be stronger. Still enjoyable. Also 3.5 stars rounded up.
(1) Tobias S. Buckell's "A World to Die For".
An action-packed, cli-fi Mad Max-inspired story, involving parallel universes with different fates on climate change. Efficient writing despite some familiar tropes, supported by a likable main character. Sure it could be better, but I had fun, so 4 stars.
(2) Bao Shu's “The Lighthouse Girl”. Originally published in Chinese in Zui Mook, vol 2, April 2017.
I'd love to watch the adaptation of this story a la Twilight Zone or maybe Black Mirror. Not too complicated but emotional enough. I like the epistolary format. There were some twists and red herring but the resolution could be stronger. Still enjoyable. Also 3.5 stars rounded up.
djotaku's review
4.0
This one was a tough choice between three stars and four stars. The stories I didn't like: "Say it Low, Say it Loud" and "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever" I REALLY didn't like. But from the stories I liked, some of them like: "A World to Die For" and "Lighthouse Girl" I REALLY liked. And the Non-fiction section helped push it over the edge.
The theme for this issue seemed to be memory, an issue that's always quite fascinating because of how much we still don't understand about how it works.
Here are my per-story thoughts:
A world to die for: Starting off in a Mad Max-like world, the author makes it a parable about the choices we make about how to treat this one world we have.
Say it low, then loud: Extremely confused about the plot; a little too metaphorical.
Sour milk girls: A group of girls in a foster home that swaps out the shock therapy true for a science fiction memory therapy. Kind of scary, but an unexpected ending.
Cigarette burn in your memory: Another piece about memory loss. This one is an incredible scary sorry about a world where everyone seems to have dementia.
The lighthouse girl (translated): Another story about memory. This one is a thriller with a few plot twists. The opening mood is quite delightful to read even though the hints of what is too come stay right away.
Her smoke rose up forever: Another incredibly confusing story. At the end the reason for the confusion is revealed and it's quite depressing.
For I have lain me down: A neat sorry that takes place in Ireland that is at least partly about the endurance of the Irish spirit. The first person narrative worked well and was done in a fun way.
Non-fiction
Why science fiction detective stories aren't impossible: A history of science fiction mystery stories. I loved learning all the history.
Clever plants: discussion with author of Semiosis about how agresive plants can be.
Another word & Luke vs Han: a set of questions you can ask yourself if your story gets stuck. As someone who's not actively writing, it helped me understand the elements of stories and why they work. (And also how the rules can be broken)
Editor's desk: About Neil's partnership with Storycom and various anthologies he was working on.
The theme for this issue seemed to be memory, an issue that's always quite fascinating because of how much we still don't understand about how it works.
Here are my per-story thoughts:
A world to die for: Starting off in a Mad Max-like world, the author makes it a parable about the choices we make about how to treat this one world we have.
Say it low, then loud: Extremely confused about the plot; a little too metaphorical.
Sour milk girls: A group of girls in a foster home that swaps out the shock therapy true for a science fiction memory therapy. Kind of scary, but an unexpected ending.
Cigarette burn in your memory: Another piece about memory loss. This one is an incredible scary sorry about a world where everyone seems to have dementia.
The lighthouse girl (translated): Another story about memory. This one is a thriller with a few plot twists. The opening mood is quite delightful to read even though the hints of what is too come stay right away.
Her smoke rose up forever: Another incredibly confusing story. At the end the reason for the confusion is revealed and it's quite depressing.
For I have lain me down: A neat sorry that takes place in Ireland that is at least partly about the endurance of the Irish spirit. The first person narrative worked well and was done in a fun way.
Non-fiction
Why science fiction detective stories aren't impossible: A history of science fiction mystery stories. I loved learning all the history.
Clever plants: discussion with author of Semiosis about how agresive plants can be.
Another word & Luke vs Han: a set of questions you can ask yourself if your story gets stuck. As someone who's not actively writing, it helped me understand the elements of stories and why they work. (And also how the rules can be broken)
Editor's desk: About Neil's partnership with Storycom and various anthologies he was working on.
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
A World To Die For - Tobias S Buckell ***
A very Mad Max inspired setting for this parallel universes ecological cautionary tale. Keeps things interesting up to the second shift to another world, then gets a bit bogged down in the cross-universe smuggling and fighting. The second person narration makes the warning tone clear, if a bit rock-over-the-head by the end.
Say It Low, Then Loud - Osahon Ize-Iyamu ***
A little difficult to follow the mathematics-suffused language to begin with, but works that in nicely with the main characters PTSD and the clarity that enters the prose when dealing with his family instead of the abstracted war he is fighting in. Wavers between incoherence and poignancy but worth persevering with.
Sour Milk Girls - Erin Roberts ****
At a fostering agency where girls have their traumatic memories wiped to make them more adoptable, a new girl who seems to have retained hers stirs things up among the long-term residents. The use of the memory-wiping technology to compare whether each of them are better off in their current state is clever and each of the girls come through as individual.
A Cigarette Burn In Your Memory - Bo Balder ****
Really nice atmosphere to this one, as a private detective wanders a Netherlands where everyone has lost most of their memories from more than two years ago. She seems to take on the same case over and over without solving it but there are hints around the edges at something preventing them from recovering what was lost. That nagging frustration runs throughout.
The Lighthouse Girl - Bao Shu, trans. Andy Dudak ***
A dark story about a girl gradually finding out the truth about her biologist father. The diary format worked for the slow discoveries but was inconsistently applied. Some grotesque imagery that sticks in the mind towards the end. The initial conclusion it points towards is bad enough although fairly mundane, but the ultimate reveal, even with the good intentions behind it, is somehow more horrific.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr *****
Snapshots of various personal and professional frustrations throughout the life of a man, from his adolescent attempts at shooting ducks through his relationships and scientific endeavours. Asks the question of what will remain of our lives after we have gone and, for him at least, answers with the moments of boiling rage and humiliation. Bleak and brutal, but pitch perfect and sharply observed.
For I Have Lain Me Down On The Stone Of Loneliness And I'll Not Be Back Again - Michael Swanwick ****
I found this very sad: dealing with people who have done well from an alien colonisation and those who are still resisting after the war has ended. The visitor falls in love with a member of the resistance but ultimately can't bring himself to join her in action, abandoning them to the rule of the aliens.
A very Mad Max inspired setting for this parallel universes ecological cautionary tale. Keeps things interesting up to the second shift to another world, then gets a bit bogged down in the cross-universe smuggling and fighting. The second person narration makes the warning tone clear, if a bit rock-over-the-head by the end.
Say It Low, Then Loud - Osahon Ize-Iyamu ***
A little difficult to follow the mathematics-suffused language to begin with, but works that in nicely with the main characters PTSD and the clarity that enters the prose when dealing with his family instead of the abstracted war he is fighting in. Wavers between incoherence and poignancy but worth persevering with.
Sour Milk Girls - Erin Roberts ****
At a fostering agency where girls have their traumatic memories wiped to make them more adoptable, a new girl who seems to have retained hers stirs things up among the long-term residents. The use of the memory-wiping technology to compare whether each of them are better off in their current state is clever and each of the girls come through as individual.
A Cigarette Burn In Your Memory - Bo Balder ****
Really nice atmosphere to this one, as a private detective wanders a Netherlands where everyone has lost most of their memories from more than two years ago. She seems to take on the same case over and over without solving it but there are hints around the edges at something preventing them from recovering what was lost. That nagging frustration runs throughout.
The Lighthouse Girl - Bao Shu, trans. Andy Dudak ***
A dark story about a girl gradually finding out the truth about her biologist father. The diary format worked for the slow discoveries but was inconsistently applied. Some grotesque imagery that sticks in the mind towards the end. The initial conclusion it points towards is bad enough although fairly mundane, but the ultimate reveal, even with the good intentions behind it, is somehow more horrific.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr *****
Snapshots of various personal and professional frustrations throughout the life of a man, from his adolescent attempts at shooting ducks through his relationships and scientific endeavours. Asks the question of what will remain of our lives after we have gone and, for him at least, answers with the moments of boiling rage and humiliation. Bleak and brutal, but pitch perfect and sharply observed.
For I Have Lain Me Down On The Stone Of Loneliness And I'll Not Be Back Again - Michael Swanwick ****
I found this very sad: dealing with people who have done well from an alien colonisation and those who are still resisting after the war has ended. The visitor falls in love with a member of the resistance but ultimately can't bring himself to join her in action, abandoning them to the rule of the aliens.
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