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djotaku's review against another edition
4.0
"Two Ways of Living" - A world in which humans can essentially hibernate by eating a ton of calories and then a chemical cocktail to go unconcious. Additionally, the person does not age. The short story essentially serves as a meditation on what kind of person would do such a thing and what their reasons might be. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending.
"Real Ghosts" - Every culture speaks with the dead, but there's a special emphasis on it among Asian cultures and that's where the world is richer for everyone of every culture writing SF. The story concerns a future where you can be imaged and then your family, descendants, etc can call you up and interact with you as if you were alive. The main character struggles with some of the philosophical questions, but it's not one of those twist ending stories - just a look at life near the end and what it means to live forever after a fashion.
"Waiting out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" - Lots of storys about the end of the world, but I love the tone this one took. If I'd known ahead of time, it was the author of "Cat Picutres Please" I would have known I'd love it.
"Crown of Thorns" - Another apocalypse story. This one is a great look at the moments just after apocalypse. It's not like a pre-apocalypse story where there's hope you might win or a post-apocalypse where the new generation is trying to reclaim what they lost. Instead, it's the slow realization that civilization is over and one man's story of how he deals with the grief.
"Goodnight, Melancholy" - Although this story takes place in the future, I think the following quote applies now that we even have app-based food delivery at the airport: "In this age, everyone relied on others to live, even something as simple as calling for take-out required the services of thousands of workers from around the globe: taking the order by phone, playing electronically, maintaining various systems, processing the data, farming and manufacturing the raw ingredients, procuring and transporting, inspecting for food safety, cooking, scheduling, and finally dispatching the food by courier...But most of the time , we never saw any of these people, giving each of us the illusion of living like Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island." A beautiful use of SF to explore depression in a world that is not too far in the future from our own.
"The Discovered Country" - A masterfully told story that makes me wonder (having only just begun to tear into my back catalog of Clarkesworld issues from the past 4 years) how much Neil Clarke looks for themes when putting together an issue. The story contains both post-apocalyptic and virtual consciousnesses, uniting the themes of the previous short stories in this issue. It works very well and has a very satisfying narrative. So far this is another masterful issue of Clarkesworld. Also, interesting to read this story in the same month that Neal Stephenson's "Fall: Or Dodge in Hell" comes out.
"At the Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball" - Continues the theme of virtual worlds, but this time more of a science fantasy story rather than a science fiction story. A neat tale of gods who have virtual worlds created for them and of one of the critics who reviews them. I think this would have been more meta if created today, but works well as a piece from the 80s.
"A review of Chinese SF in 2016" - Somewhat paradoxically the amount of SF published in China continues to grow even as circulation of SF magazines continues to fall.
“Howling at the Lunar Landscape: A Conversation with Ian McDonald” - A discussion of his Luna trilogy. Made me add it to my list.
"Another Word: Reading for pleasure" - Cat Rambo and I agree (that’s a cool statement) that reading is fun, even if you can see the tropes and other cogs behind the story. And, as a writer (she is the president of SFWA) you can use this to learn how to make better stories.
“Editor’s Desk: Recognizing 2016” - a look at the awards and compilations that Clarkesworld stories appeared in during the previous year.
"Real Ghosts" - Every culture speaks with the dead, but there's a special emphasis on it among Asian cultures and that's where the world is richer for everyone of every culture writing SF. The story concerns a future where you can be imaged and then your family, descendants, etc can call you up and interact with you as if you were alive. The main character struggles with some of the philosophical questions, but it's not one of those twist ending stories - just a look at life near the end and what it means to live forever after a fashion.
"Waiting out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" - Lots of storys about the end of the world, but I love the tone this one took. If I'd known ahead of time, it was the author of "Cat Picutres Please" I would have known I'd love it.
"Crown of Thorns" - Another apocalypse story. This one is a great look at the moments just after apocalypse. It's not like a pre-apocalypse story where there's hope you might win or a post-apocalypse where the new generation is trying to reclaim what they lost. Instead, it's the slow realization that civilization is over and one man's story of how he deals with the grief.
"Goodnight, Melancholy" - Although this story takes place in the future, I think the following quote applies now that we even have app-based food delivery at the airport: "In this age, everyone relied on others to live, even something as simple as calling for take-out required the services of thousands of workers from around the globe: taking the order by phone, playing electronically, maintaining various systems, processing the data, farming and manufacturing the raw ingredients, procuring and transporting, inspecting for food safety, cooking, scheduling, and finally dispatching the food by courier...But most of the time , we never saw any of these people, giving each of us the illusion of living like Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island." A beautiful use of SF to explore depression in a world that is not too far in the future from our own.
"The Discovered Country" - A masterfully told story that makes me wonder (having only just begun to tear into my back catalog of Clarkesworld issues from the past 4 years) how much Neil Clarke looks for themes when putting together an issue. The story contains both post-apocalyptic and virtual consciousnesses, uniting the themes of the previous short stories in this issue. It works very well and has a very satisfying narrative. So far this is another masterful issue of Clarkesworld. Also, interesting to read this story in the same month that Neal Stephenson's "Fall: Or Dodge in Hell" comes out.
"At the Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball" - Continues the theme of virtual worlds, but this time more of a science fantasy story rather than a science fiction story. A neat tale of gods who have virtual worlds created for them and of one of the critics who reviews them. I think this would have been more meta if created today, but works well as a piece from the 80s.
"A review of Chinese SF in 2016" - Somewhat paradoxically the amount of SF published in China continues to grow even as circulation of SF magazines continues to fall.
“Howling at the Lunar Landscape: A Conversation with Ian McDonald” - A discussion of his Luna trilogy. Made me add it to my list.
"Another Word: Reading for pleasure" - Cat Rambo and I agree (that’s a cool statement) that reading is fun, even if you can see the tropes and other cogs behind the story. And, as a writer (she is the president of SFWA) you can use this to learn how to make better stories.
“Editor’s Desk: Recognizing 2016” - a look at the awards and compilations that Clarkesworld stories appeared in during the previous year.
pearseanderson's review against another edition
3.0
Two main thoughts come to me: firstly, this is the best single issue of Clarkesworld I have read, just a bit worse than issue #119 but still a fun, quick read.
Secondly: I feel really good reading single issues, because it makes me believe in myself. Sometimes schlock can get published, and if that's printable so my work can be. Now, I'm not talking about the magazine being schlock, just the latter half-ish of this issue. "At the Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball" felt like a failed short film idea from two bros who just watched the Matrix. It could've gone the route of Gaiman's The Kraken or Westworld and done this "surreal world hidden under the skin and indistinguishable from reality, while being controlled by a mysterious few as a lone man journeys through them" thing in a smarter fashion. It didn't hold me, it read like it was published in '87, and not in a good way.
"The Discovered Country" did not hold me long enough to even finish it. I got about half way before I asked myself if I cared about the characters or if any intriguing questions had developed for me to latch onto. And then I continued for a bit longer and stopped.
Further, the essay here is just a simple overview, the interview felt pretty wish-washy.
BUUUT
The rest of the stories were real stories, and they felt professional. I didn't love "Goodnight, Melancholy" or "Two Ways of Living," mostly because of plot progression, but they did have control over the language and subtleties. They were successful. Stories.
The best part of the issue was "Waiting Out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" and "Real Ghosts." Both really made me feel things, and raised interesting questions, and had quality prose. These stories stand as the definition of literary science fiction, whatever that may be. They were smart and cute and I stayed up at night to finish them because, well, they worked. So overall, this issue was kind of half and half. 6/10 seems reasonable.
Secondly: I feel really good reading single issues, because it makes me believe in myself. Sometimes schlock can get published, and if that's printable so my work can be. Now, I'm not talking about the magazine being schlock, just the latter half-ish of this issue. "At the Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball" felt like a failed short film idea from two bros who just watched the Matrix. It could've gone the route of Gaiman's The Kraken or Westworld and done this "surreal world hidden under the skin and indistinguishable from reality, while being controlled by a mysterious few as a lone man journeys through them" thing in a smarter fashion. It didn't hold me, it read like it was published in '87, and not in a good way.
"The Discovered Country" did not hold me long enough to even finish it. I got about half way before I asked myself if I cared about the characters or if any intriguing questions had developed for me to latch onto. And then I continued for a bit longer and stopped.
Further, the essay here is just a simple overview, the interview felt pretty wish-washy.
BUUUT
The rest of the stories were real stories, and they felt professional. I didn't love "Goodnight, Melancholy" or "Two Ways of Living," mostly because of plot progression, but they did have control over the language and subtleties. They were successful. Stories.
The best part of the issue was "Waiting Out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" and "Real Ghosts." Both really made me feel things, and raised interesting questions, and had quality prose. These stories stand as the definition of literary science fiction, whatever that may be. They were smart and cute and I stayed up at night to finish them because, well, they worked. So overall, this issue was kind of half and half. 6/10 seems reasonable.
cathepsut's review against another edition
4.0
"Waiting Out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" by Naomi Kritzer
“I ran out of gas in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, just two hundred miles short of Pierre, my goal. Pierre, South Dakota, I mean, I wasn’t trying to get to someone named Pierre. I was trying to get to my parents, and Pierre was where they lived. I thought maybe, given that the world was probably ending in the next twenty-four hours, they’d want to talk to me.“
End of the World. Nothing else needed to make me read this. Nice. Relationships, family, should you fulfill the usual expectations, just because it‘s the done thing?
Can be found for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_03_17/
About the Arecibo Oberservatory: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_Observatory
Internal soundtrack, while listening to the podcast: GoldenEye by Tina Turner (because of the Arecibo Observatory—watch the movie, if you haven‘t yet, it‘s great).
Quirky podcast. At one point she took a break to drink something. That was a first!
“I ran out of gas in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, just two hundred miles short of Pierre, my goal. Pierre, South Dakota, I mean, I wasn’t trying to get to someone named Pierre. I was trying to get to my parents, and Pierre was where they lived. I thought maybe, given that the world was probably ending in the next twenty-four hours, they’d want to talk to me.“
End of the World. Nothing else needed to make me read this. Nice. Relationships, family, should you fulfill the usual expectations, just because it‘s the done thing?
Can be found for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_03_17/
About the Arecibo Oberservatory: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_Observatory
Internal soundtrack, while listening to the podcast: GoldenEye by Tina Turner (because of the Arecibo Observatory—watch the movie, if you haven‘t yet, it‘s great).
Quirky podcast. At one point she took a break to drink something. That was a first!
carol26388's review
4.0
"Waiting Out the End of the World in Patty's Place Cafe" by Naomi Kritzer.
Read because I'm a sucker for the end of the world.
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_03_17/
Read because I'm a sucker for the end of the world.
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_03_17/
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
Two Ways Of Living - Robert Reed **
A man tries to extend his lifespan by hibernating for years at a time. He meets a woman and her dog during several gaps, seeing the dog's voice-AI develop and her attitude change. Never really connected and the ending was a bit glib.
Real Ghosts - JB Park ***
An elderly man debates with his siblings and himself about being scanned so his "holo" can be recalled by family members after he dies. Well-realised bickering relationships among brothers and sisters, some thought given to the ethics. Liked the idea of being scanned while thinking angrily and the holo insulting everyone when summoned.
Waiting Out The End Of The World In Patty's Place Cafe - Naomi Kritzer ***
Gentle story of people working out what is really important to them while preparing for the apocalypse. Bit "teen rebel" but inoffensive enough and easy-going, conversational style.
Crown Of Thorns - Octavia Cade ****
Enjoyed the writing here - the imagery of the shrinking reef and the starfish, the snipped dialogue of the survivors. A nice take on how people deal with surviving disaster in different ways.
Goodnight, Melancholy - Xia Jia ****
Juxtaposes fictionalised conversations between Alan Turing and a computer program with a near-future Chinese woman using programmed pets/dolls as a therapeutic device. Light on plot but the comparison between a person with depression and a program passing the Turing test is pointed.
The Discovered Country - Ian R MacLeod **
Drags out its length with backstory to a man reuniting with his celebrity ex in a virtual afterlife but sparks towards the end.
At The Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball - Alexander Jablokov ****
Liked this more and more as it went on. An interesting take on multiple universes with worlds being created and critiqued as art, and people created in one world being able to step outside and create their own.
A man tries to extend his lifespan by hibernating for years at a time. He meets a woman and her dog during several gaps, seeing the dog's voice-AI develop and her attitude change. Never really connected and the ending was a bit glib.
Real Ghosts - JB Park ***
An elderly man debates with his siblings and himself about being scanned so his "holo" can be recalled by family members after he dies. Well-realised bickering relationships among brothers and sisters, some thought given to the ethics. Liked the idea of being scanned while thinking angrily and the holo insulting everyone when summoned.
Waiting Out The End Of The World In Patty's Place Cafe - Naomi Kritzer ***
Gentle story of people working out what is really important to them while preparing for the apocalypse. Bit "teen rebel" but inoffensive enough and easy-going, conversational style.
Crown Of Thorns - Octavia Cade ****
Enjoyed the writing here - the imagery of the shrinking reef and the starfish, the snipped dialogue of the survivors. A nice take on how people deal with surviving disaster in different ways.
Goodnight, Melancholy - Xia Jia ****
Juxtaposes fictionalised conversations between Alan Turing and a computer program with a near-future Chinese woman using programmed pets/dolls as a therapeutic device. Light on plot but the comparison between a person with depression and a program passing the Turing test is pointed.
The Discovered Country - Ian R MacLeod **
Drags out its length with backstory to a man reuniting with his celebrity ex in a virtual afterlife but sparks towards the end.
At The Cross-Time Jaunter's Ball - Alexander Jablokov ****
Liked this more and more as it went on. An interesting take on multiple universes with worlds being created and critiqued as art, and people created in one world being able to step outside and create their own.
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