Reviews

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 207 by Neil Clarke

sashas_books's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

A wonderful issue – mostly because of “Eight or Die” by Thoraiya Dyer. But other stories were good too :)

“Morag’s Boy” by Fiona Moore - I have read about Morag before, in “The Spoil Heap”, issue 198 of Clarkesworld. I wasn’t too impressed, and didn’t review it. This is the same dystopian universe, but the story is so much better. Morag adopts Cliff, and begins to understand that her post-apocalyptic world can be different. 4.9 stars.

“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Cyborg” by Samara Auman - crows are mourning their cyborg friend. This one is virtually plotless, it’s poetical and philosophical. Nice, but I was left wanting more. 3.8 stars.

“In Memories We Drown” by Kelsea Yu - some people are living in an underwater station after some kind of catastrophe. They find a strange plant. It’s a beautiful story. It felt too short and somewhat incomplete, though. 3.9 stars.

“Waffles are Only Goodbye for Now” by Ryan Cole - in a war zone, a little boy befriends a smart refrigerator. Awww. 4.0 stars.

“The World’s Wife” by Ng Yi-Sheng - there is a body that becomes a whole world… Fun! 4.0 stars.

“The Last Gamemaster in the World” by Angela Liu - Here is the grandest online game ever! Interesting, but it didn’t quite move me. 3.9 stars.

“Kill That Groundhog” by Fu Qiang - three people are trying to escape their Groundhog Day, in various ingenious ways. So much fun! Hilarious. 4.4 stars.

“Eight or Die”, Part II by Thotaiya Dyer - continued from issue 206 of Clarkesworld. We are still on a mission on an alien world. It’s weird, it’s quirky, it’s fun, it’s tragic, it’s magic, it’s humane. It’s very unlike “regular” sci-fi (whatever that is). The writing is great. The characters are great. Everything is great. I’m fangirling. Here are 5 stars. 

djwudi's review

Go to review page

3.0

Standout stories this month were “Morag’s Boy” by Fiona Moore, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Cyborg” by Samara Auman, and “Kill That Groundhog” by Fu Qiang.

techxplorer's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

More...