A review by daveversace
Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer
5.0
By now it should be obvious to anyone who reads my reviews that I have complete faith in the Twelve Planets Series from Twelfth Planet Press. This volume - Asymmetry - presents four new stories from Thoraiya Dyer, whose short story 'The Wisdom of Ants' (first published by Clarkesworld Magazine) was the winner for Best Short Story at the 2013 Ditmar Awards for Australian science fiction and fantasy. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the stories in this collection in the running next year.
Asymmetry is excellent. If there's a unifying theme, I'm not up to the job of identifying it, though Nancy Kress takes a good stab at it in her introduction. Then again, I'm quite content with no theme at all, if the stories are this good. I'm going to do my best not to spoil any of them.
'After Hours' is the story of a veterinarian assigned to treat security dogs on a military airbase. She struggles to cope with the military mindset of her patients' handlers, only to discover that their belligerent, obstructive attitudes have an uncanny explanation. 'Zadie, Scythe of the West' is a military fantasy about a character trying to escape the rigid expectations of her family, society and religion - and the costs of taking shortcuts. In 'Wish Me Luck', a man begs and borrows luck from sympathetic passers-by so that he can be reunited with his lost love. (It may not sound like hard science fiction, but it is). Finally, in 'Seven Days in Paris' a woman is subjected to what seems like a pointless and grotesque social experiment, but her impatient handlers have a desperate purpose.
'After Hours' is probably my favourite story ever of its kind, though I won't say what kind that is (even if the back cover blurb does kind of give it away). However all four stories are excellent (and the sample chapters from Dyer's novella 'The Company Articles of Edward Teach' are an intriguing bonus).
Like the rest of the Twelve Planets books, Asymmetry does a fantastic job of showcasing the talents of a remarkable Australian speculative fiction writer. I am comfortable adding Thoraiya Dyer's name to my list of must-read authors on the basis of this collection.
Asymmetry is excellent. If there's a unifying theme, I'm not up to the job of identifying it, though Nancy Kress takes a good stab at it in her introduction. Then again, I'm quite content with no theme at all, if the stories are this good. I'm going to do my best not to spoil any of them.
'After Hours' is the story of a veterinarian assigned to treat security dogs on a military airbase. She struggles to cope with the military mindset of her patients' handlers, only to discover that their belligerent, obstructive attitudes have an uncanny explanation. 'Zadie, Scythe of the West' is a military fantasy about a character trying to escape the rigid expectations of her family, society and religion - and the costs of taking shortcuts. In 'Wish Me Luck', a man begs and borrows luck from sympathetic passers-by so that he can be reunited with his lost love. (It may not sound like hard science fiction, but it is). Finally, in 'Seven Days in Paris' a woman is subjected to what seems like a pointless and grotesque social experiment, but her impatient handlers have a desperate purpose.
'After Hours' is probably my favourite story ever of its kind, though I won't say what kind that is (even if the back cover blurb does kind of give it away). However all four stories are excellent (and the sample chapters from Dyer's novella 'The Company Articles of Edward Teach' are an intriguing bonus).
Like the rest of the Twelve Planets books, Asymmetry does a fantastic job of showcasing the talents of a remarkable Australian speculative fiction writer. I am comfortable adding Thoraiya Dyer's name to my list of must-read authors on the basis of this collection.