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djotaku's review against another edition
4.0
An issue in which I enjoyed pretty much every story. I didn't detect the theme as easily in this issue as I usually do. The novella that anchors this issue, The Persistence of Blood, is really well-written.
Here are my per-story thoughts:
Tool-Using Mimics: The author takes a photo - perhaps a real take or perhaps from a copypasta forum and comes up with a bunch of possible micro-stories that could go along with the photo.
The persistence of blood: A combination of Dune and Handmaid's Tale, this novella is the story of a woman trying to make the world a better place for women. Powerfully written.
Unplaces: an atlas of non-existence: A frame device that creatively both tells us about the world of the story as well as proposing a world where there's some mechanism for the places of myth to be made real and unreal.
Farewell, Adam: A PR team constructs the perfect idol (in the Japanese sense of the super star celebrity) by having his consciousness controlled by 100 different people who each specialize in certain emotional states. There's also an interesting plot twist that I'm not sure I 100% understood, but what I did understand was pretty brilliant.
The no-one girl: A rather sad tale with a bit of a Buddhist ending
Are you afflicted with dragons: one of my favorite types of stories: where a trickster reveals his trick. Nice, humorous tone. If definitely recommend checking it out.
God decay: ostensibly about someone who gets biomods to no longer be wheelchair-bound, but actually about his relationships and how he saw the world after the surgeries
Non-fiction
Aliens among us: cephalopods in science fiction and fantasy: The author presents us with some information about cephalopods and then a survey of them in fiction and mythology from the 1200s to now.
Poetry, philosophy, and Welsh: a conversation with Jo Walton: A conversation about Walton's poetry, a bit about The Just City, and some more about death.
Another word: saving throw vs boredom: how RPG taught me storytelling: Former SWFA President Cat Rambo writes about how RPGs (like D&D) helped fuel her creativity and find a community that she's still a part of decades later.
Editor's Desk: Neil reviews the winners of the Clarkesworld awards in 2017.
Here are my per-story thoughts:
Tool-Using Mimics: The author takes a photo - perhaps a real take or perhaps from a copypasta forum and comes up with a bunch of possible micro-stories that could go along with the photo.
The persistence of blood: A combination of Dune and Handmaid's Tale, this novella is the story of a woman trying to make the world a better place for women. Powerfully written.
Unplaces: an atlas of non-existence: A frame device that creatively both tells us about the world of the story as well as proposing a world where there's some mechanism for the places of myth to be made real and unreal.
Farewell, Adam: A PR team constructs the perfect idol (in the Japanese sense of the super star celebrity) by having his consciousness controlled by 100 different people who each specialize in certain emotional states. There's also an interesting plot twist that I'm not sure I 100% understood, but what I did understand was pretty brilliant.
The no-one girl: A rather sad tale with a bit of a Buddhist ending
Are you afflicted with dragons: one of my favorite types of stories: where a trickster reveals his trick. Nice, humorous tone. If definitely recommend checking it out.
God decay: ostensibly about someone who gets biomods to no longer be wheelchair-bound, but actually about his relationships and how he saw the world after the surgeries
Non-fiction
Aliens among us: cephalopods in science fiction and fantasy: The author presents us with some information about cephalopods and then a survey of them in fiction and mythology from the 1200s to now.
Poetry, philosophy, and Welsh: a conversation with Jo Walton: A conversation about Walton's poetry, a bit about The Just City, and some more about death.
Another word: saving throw vs boredom: how RPG taught me storytelling: Former SWFA President Cat Rambo writes about how RPGs (like D&D) helped fuel her creativity and find a community that she's still a part of decades later.
Editor's Desk: Neil reviews the winners of the Clarkesworld awards in 2017.
kayeofswords's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed most of the stories in this, which I would give 4-5 stars to individually. "The No-One Girl" and "Are You Afflicted with Dragons?" are both really, really good, as are the two experimental pieces by Kij Johnson and Izzy Wasserstein. I loved all of the essays and appreciated the information, opinions, and ideas communicated about cephalopods by Carrie Sessarego.
The only story I didn't like was the novella, The Persistence of Blood — I stopped reading about a quarter of the way into it. As a queer woman, it reminded me of every discordant and anxiety-provoking conversation I have ever had (from my preteens onward; I grew up in a very religiously conservative part of the Midwest in a feminist family) with girl classmates or women who believed they must be submissive to their husbands. The part I read was decent prose, but the prose and the dialogue style were sometimes in disharmony with each other, and I didn't get a strong sense of worldbuilding or place. I'd give the novella 3/5 stars based on what I read.
In Clarkesworld's ebook format, there isn't a signifier that one is about to start reading a novella. I would appreciate if the ebook version included that, as I tend to read cover-to-cover without stopping at the ToC to see lengths.
The only story I didn't like was the novella, The Persistence of Blood — I stopped reading about a quarter of the way into it. As a queer woman, it reminded me of every discordant and anxiety-provoking conversation I have ever had (from my preteens onward; I grew up in a very religiously conservative part of the Midwest in a feminist family) with girl classmates or women who believed they must be submissive to their husbands. The part I read was decent prose, but the prose and the dialogue style were sometimes in disharmony with each other, and I didn't get a strong sense of worldbuilding or place. I'd give the novella 3/5 stars based on what I read.
In Clarkesworld's ebook format, there isn't a signifier that one is about to start reading a novella. I would appreciate if the ebook version included that, as I tend to read cover-to-cover without stopping at the ToC to see lengths.
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
Tool-Using Mimics - Kij Johnson *****
Short series of possible explanations for the picture at the start, of a young girl with tentacles. Uses that merged image to draw comparison between the camouflaged protection an octopus gives its eggs to the way mothers and young girls must change themselves, must "pass, and pass, and pass" to get by in the world. Beautiful.
The Persistence Of Blood - Juliette Wade ***
A longer story about a woman's experience fighting for bodily autonomy through political efforts, initially via her husband and then on her own. Classic patriarchal fantasy society, so the focus on the decaying elites over the various "lower" classes removes some of the impact of the theme of democratic struggle within the system. The message appears worthy at first, but leaves the women of other classes relying on the goodwill of another noble, albeit a woman. Progress within the system, however hard-won, feels reduced when the system itself is oppressive and so the ending doesn't show the hope it intends.
Unplaces: An Atlas Of Non-Existence - Izzy Wasserstein ****
The structure of this short piece works nicely, the encyclopedic descriptions of places that no longer exist - or never existed, or don't exist yet - complementing the marginalia of the writer hiding from fascist gangs in a post-apocalypse. The hints at a possibility of creating somewhere better from the ashes, after so many places have been erased and forgotten, leave a hopeful note.
Farewell, Adam - Xiu Xinyu, trans. Blake Stone-Banks ***
Takes the hollowness of celebrity a step further, as a hundred volunteers become a merged consciousness controlling the general idol, Adam. Touches on some of the consequences but lightly - which group has most control at what points, Adam's interactions with people the volunteers know - focusing on Adam and the volunteers' feelings as they merge further under the control of their corporate masters and the futility of rejecting the system.
The No-One Girl And The Flower Of The Farther Shore - E Lily Yu ****
A sweet story about a girl growing a flower, about rising beyond those who would put her down and steal from her, and how she and her creation became something more than the mundanity of those who attempt to appropriate her efforts for their own.
Are You Afflicted With Dragons? - Kage Baker ****
Smart and funny, full of ironic little moments as a hotel owner vainly attempts to rid his roof of dragons, before hiring a mysterious gentleman from the market who will do it for free so long as he keeps all he finds.
God Decay - Rich Larson ***
A man with a disabling autoimmune condition is turned into a hyper-elite multi-discipline athlete through biomodifications and surgery finds out he now has only two years to live. Mostly focused on the relationship between Ostap and Alyce, the doctor who pioneered the process used on him. Somewhat slow moving and understated, but their motivations and justifications illustrate a complex relationship.
Short series of possible explanations for the picture at the start, of a young girl with tentacles. Uses that merged image to draw comparison between the camouflaged protection an octopus gives its eggs to the way mothers and young girls must change themselves, must "pass, and pass, and pass" to get by in the world. Beautiful.
The Persistence Of Blood - Juliette Wade ***
A longer story about a woman's experience fighting for bodily autonomy through political efforts, initially via her husband and then on her own. Classic patriarchal fantasy society, so the focus on the decaying elites over the various "lower" classes removes some of the impact of the theme of democratic struggle within the system. The message appears worthy at first, but leaves the women of other classes relying on the goodwill of another noble, albeit a woman. Progress within the system, however hard-won, feels reduced when the system itself is oppressive and so the ending doesn't show the hope it intends.
Unplaces: An Atlas Of Non-Existence - Izzy Wasserstein ****
The structure of this short piece works nicely, the encyclopedic descriptions of places that no longer exist - or never existed, or don't exist yet - complementing the marginalia of the writer hiding from fascist gangs in a post-apocalypse. The hints at a possibility of creating somewhere better from the ashes, after so many places have been erased and forgotten, leave a hopeful note.
Farewell, Adam - Xiu Xinyu, trans. Blake Stone-Banks ***
Takes the hollowness of celebrity a step further, as a hundred volunteers become a merged consciousness controlling the general idol, Adam. Touches on some of the consequences but lightly - which group has most control at what points, Adam's interactions with people the volunteers know - focusing on Adam and the volunteers' feelings as they merge further under the control of their corporate masters and the futility of rejecting the system.
The No-One Girl And The Flower Of The Farther Shore - E Lily Yu ****
A sweet story about a girl growing a flower, about rising beyond those who would put her down and steal from her, and how she and her creation became something more than the mundanity of those who attempt to appropriate her efforts for their own.
Are You Afflicted With Dragons? - Kage Baker ****
Smart and funny, full of ironic little moments as a hotel owner vainly attempts to rid his roof of dragons, before hiring a mysterious gentleman from the market who will do it for free so long as he keeps all he finds.
God Decay - Rich Larson ***
A man with a disabling autoimmune condition is turned into a hyper-elite multi-discipline athlete through biomodifications and surgery finds out he now has only two years to live. Mostly focused on the relationship between Ostap and Alyce, the doctor who pioneered the process used on him. Somewhat slow moving and understated, but their motivations and justifications illustrate a complex relationship.
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