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atuin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
My favorite stories of this magazine were "Gel Pen Notes from Generation Ship Y", a harrowing story about immortality on a cramped ship and the attempt to find hope, and "Every Seed is a Prayer" (and your world is a seed)", which is an interesting retelling of the Garden of Eden story. I do need to note that one of the stories, a translated one called "Who can have the Moon", paints NFT's in a positive light. It's not the main point of the story, which focuses more on how an artist fells about the transition to new mediums, but it is odd, especially now that NFT's have (thankfully) fell out of favor with most people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Suicide
justkyliep's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
There, always there, whether he watched the screen or not.
This was my first Clarkeworld, and like a lot of short fiction collections it was a mixed bag! I really, really enjoyed Window Boy (Thomas Ha) and all the creepy, looming horror it brought. Every time Jakey turned down the filters, I had a physical response--It was genuinely unsettling. I thought Resistant (Koji A. Dae) was also especially relatable in its intersection of technology, neurodivergence, and the medical system--but most especially in the line about liking people rather than patients. Finally, Gel Pen Notes from Generation Y Ship (Marisca Pichette) was such a lovely, horrible look at memory and immortality. I always love having an optimistic piece to treasure.
That said, most of the NFT and AI works were a flop for me. I didn't find any of them particularly enlightening or saying very much of importance (though several definitely believed they had something important to say). The NFT story in particular, Who Can Have the Moon (Congyun "Muming" Gu) had an interesting feeling of a very outdated work despite first being published in 2022. I would have liked to see more connection to the story telling to help carry these pieces through such rapid technology changes.
I was happy with the non-fiction selections. None of them particularly wowed me, but I did find them interesting and worthwhile. I look forward to the next edition!
howardgo's review
3.25
The August issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is another that I read over my vacation. Once again, my brief reviews of the fiction in the issue.
It opens with a technological retelling of Adam, Eve, and the garden of Eden in "Every Seed is a Prayer (And Your World is a Seed)" by Stephen Case. Ava joins Odem at a station in the midst of a forest managed by AI El. Their job is to fix the drones, but they drift further and further apart regarding doing what they are told. An interesting future perspective on an old myth. (My rating: 4/5)
"Window Boy" by Thomas Ha starts out as a simple enough story. A boy sits staring out a window while waiting to go to boarding school and occasionally talks to the "window boy". But after the window boy asks him for something, he starts to realize that things aren't what they seem. An interesting take on haves and have-nots in the future. (My rating: 3/5)
I didn't really get "Light Speed Is Not a Speed" by Andy Dudak. For me it was a confusing mish-mash of a history of a storyteller on a world seeded by humans. (My rating: 2/5)
Clarkesworld often has Chinese science fiction in its pages. In "Who Can Have the Moon" by Congyun ‘Muming’ Gu, translated by Tian Huang, a poor Chinese woman with nothing grows up to become a famous artist of 3D dream boxes. It's about the transition from 2D to 3D and digital art. Well told, and it is always good to get a different culture's view of science fiction. (My rating: 4/5)
A history lecturer at an English university deals with discrimination and becomes an unwitting accomplice in a plan that eliminates her job in "Empathetic Ear" by M. J. Pettit. An interesting perspective and exploration of discrimination and the politics surrounding it. (My rating: 4/5)
"Gel Pen Notes from Generation Ship Y" by Marisca Pichette is a unique twist on the story of a ship that will take generations to reach its destination. The ship leaves earth for Proxima Centauri with a crew of people sterile and unable to age. How does one handle generations of time without aging? What does endless life aboard a ship do to those on board? (My rating: 3/5)
In the future, everyone has nanobots installed in their body. These regulate and heal the body. Everybody has them implanted in their youth. But what happens if your body rejects them? That is the premise of "Resistant" by Koji A. Dae. For me it felt a bit like an allegory for an abortion clinic(?). (My rating: 3/5)
This issue tried some unique story lines. Some worked for me. Others not so much. Over all for me the issue is 3.29 out of five starts.
djwudi's review
4.0
I’m using our vacation time to focus on eBooks, including finally diving into my ever-growing backlog of SF/F magazines. For me, the standout stories in this most recent issue of Clarkesworld are Stephen Case’s “Every Seed is a Prayer (And Your World is a Seed)” and M.J. Pettit’s “Empathetic Ear”.
techxplorer's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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