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villyidol's review
Review only for three stories in this issue.
Eyes of the Crocodile by Malena Salazar Maciá
(post-apocalyptic / read February 18, 2021)
Well, I thought there would be an actual crocodile in this story. But nope. Where are the good crocodile stories?
Anyways, this is about a post-apocalyptic civilization that ran into a couple of problems with nanobots. It reads a bit like a pandemic story, only that the cause of the disease are those little mechanical buggers.
I wasn’t sure what this crocodile thing and the rituals were all about. Some mythological thing? I don’t know.* I mean it was easy enough to follow what was happening to the infected people. I just didn’t quite know what to do with all of it. However, there was some nice imagery of a transformed post-pandemic planet.
2.5 stars
It just wasn’t for me. There’s every chance you’ll like this a lot better.
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/macia_02_20/
As always, I listened to the podcast. Narrated by Kate Baker. *sighs contently*
*Okay, I asked google:
Looks painful.
The Host by Neal Asher
(sci-fi / read February 23, 2021)
A smuggler and killer has an encounter with an alien life-form. One which he barely remembers, but that has left him changed, both physically and mentally. He now possesses unusual physical ruggedness. And empathy. He is no longer a killer. He is still wanted for his crimes though and shortly thereafter is caught by a polity agent. While an AI is probing his mind, it brings up the memory of his encounter and the AIs subsequently facilitate a second meeting with the aliens.
There’s a lot of buildup in this story. Maybe too much. The ending is interesting but felt a little rushed. I wish Asher had spent more time with the latter part of his story.
2.5 stars
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/asher_02_20/
Jigsaw Children by Grace Chan
(sci-fi / read March 02, 2021 to March 03, 2021)
In a Future China traditional conception is outlawed. Children are spliced together from the genomes of several donors and raised in Children's Centers, which are "taking the role of parenting away from amateurs and giving it to professionals."
This story follows Lian, one of the Jigsaw Children, from the age of nine (in 2098) through to her late twenties.
Early on we are witnessing her seeing one of her grandmothers for the last time. Erma was born the old way and dies the old way too (of cancer). But before she goes, she plants the first seeds of doubt in Lian. Are perfectly engineered children really the only logical choice?
There are still advocates for the old ways. But at the same time other countries are starting to follow China's example.
Through encounters with different people, and also a reunion with one of her old friends from the Children's Center, we see how Lian's perspective and also the world's perspective on gene splicing develops over the years.
It's quite remarkable how Grace Chan is able to capture the feeling of decades passing, and lives and places changing in such a short piece. From the time it took me to listen to it (roughly 90 minutes) I'd say this is a novelette-length story, but it feels like a much longer work. And I mean that in the best possible way.
There was one moment when I thought the story would take a totally different turn that would have been interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't quite go there. Nevertheless, this was very good. Definitely recommended.
4 stars
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/chan_02_20/
Like with all the stories in this issue, I listened to the Clarkesworld Magazine Podcast. This story is the only one that wasn’t narrated by Kate Baker. And while I was disappointed about that at first, I have to say Alethea Kontis is doing a really good job as well. The quality of the recording however is not great.
Eyes of the Crocodile by Malena Salazar Maciá
(post-apocalyptic / read February 18, 2021)
Well, I thought there would be an actual crocodile in this story. But nope. Where are the good crocodile stories?
Anyways, this is about a post-apocalyptic civilization that ran into a couple of problems with nanobots. It reads a bit like a pandemic story, only that the cause of the disease are those little mechanical buggers.
I wasn’t sure what this crocodile thing and the rituals were all about. Some mythological thing? I don’t know.* I mean it was easy enough to follow what was happening to the infected people. I just didn’t quite know what to do with all of it. However, there was some nice imagery of a transformed post-pandemic planet.
2.5 stars
It just wasn’t for me. There’s every chance you’ll like this a lot better.
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/macia_02_20/
As always, I listened to the podcast. Narrated by Kate Baker. *sighs contently*
*Okay, I asked google:
Looks painful.
The Host by Neal Asher
(sci-fi / read February 23, 2021)
A smuggler and killer has an encounter with an alien life-form. One which he barely remembers, but that has left him changed, both physically and mentally. He now possesses unusual physical ruggedness. And empathy. He is no longer a killer. He is still wanted for his crimes though and shortly thereafter is caught by a polity agent. While an AI is probing his mind, it brings up the memory of his encounter and the AIs subsequently facilitate a second meeting with the aliens.
There’s a lot of buildup in this story. Maybe too much. The ending is interesting but felt a little rushed. I wish Asher had spent more time with the latter part of his story.
2.5 stars
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/asher_02_20/
Jigsaw Children by Grace Chan
(sci-fi / read March 02, 2021 to March 03, 2021)
In a Future China traditional conception is outlawed. Children are spliced together from the genomes of several donors and raised in Children's Centers, which are "taking the role of parenting away from amateurs and giving it to professionals."
This story follows Lian, one of the Jigsaw Children, from the age of nine (in 2098) through to her late twenties.
Early on we are witnessing her seeing one of her grandmothers for the last time. Erma was born the old way and dies the old way too (of cancer). But before she goes, she plants the first seeds of doubt in Lian. Are perfectly engineered children really the only logical choice?
There are still advocates for the old ways. But at the same time other countries are starting to follow China's example.
Through encounters with different people, and also a reunion with one of her old friends from the Children's Center, we see how Lian's perspective and also the world's perspective on gene splicing develops over the years.
It's quite remarkable how Grace Chan is able to capture the feeling of decades passing, and lives and places changing in such a short piece. From the time it took me to listen to it (roughly 90 minutes) I'd say this is a novelette-length story, but it feels like a much longer work. And I mean that in the best possible way.
There was one moment when I thought the story would take a totally different turn that would have been interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't quite go there. Nevertheless, this was very good. Definitely recommended.
4 stars
Can be read for free here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/chan_02_20/
Like with all the stories in this issue, I listened to the Clarkesworld Magazine Podcast. This story is the only one that wasn’t narrated by Kate Baker. And while I was disappointed about that at first, I have to say Alethea Kontis is doing a really good job as well. The quality of the recording however is not great.
paulweymouth's review
2.0
Jigsaw Children by Grace Chan was pretty good. It is about asking what family is when you are created in a laboratory? A story about having babies that are engineered vs. natural. - 4
All the other stories didn't do much for me. Generation Gap by Thoraiya Dyer was alright.
All the other stories didn't do much for me. Generation Gap by Thoraiya Dyer was alright.
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