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bookaneer's review
1.0
Ratings and reviews for two stories:
1) AT Greenblatt's Before the World Crumbles Away. Alright, this is the author's third story I read and gonna be my last. Boring.
2) Karen Osborne's Nebula nominated story, The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power. It is weird, disorienting, unpleasant to read with zero feel of accomplishment at the end. I still don't know why a generation ship needed sin eaters. Not my jam.
1) AT Greenblatt's Before the World Crumbles Away. Alright, this is the author's third story I read and gonna be my last. Boring.
2) Karen Osborne's Nebula nominated story, The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power. It is weird, disorienting, unpleasant to read with zero feel of accomplishment at the end. I still don't know why a generation ship needed sin eaters. Not my jam.
nataliya_x's review
4.0
This review is for the Nebula-nominated short story The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne:
A generation ship simply referred to as Home (or the Fee-nix) is on an endless track to Paradise - a distant planet that is mean to be their destination. The ship has a strict class system - the well-off and powerful in first and the second class and illiterate workers in steerage for whom work is supposed to be their religion. The way of life on the ship has obviously devolved to quite unpleasant space feudalist theocracy.
After a bomb at a captain’s funeral kills almost everyone in the attendance, two young girls are made to ascend to their new hereditary roles. Bethen, the new Captain, drinks from the Virtue cup, inheriting (via ingested nanobots, of course) the bright and confident memories of the previous hundred of the ship captains. Mey gets the other cup - the nanobots in which make her a sin-eater, depositing into her brain the worst, the most brutal and the most cruel of the memories of those same hundred of previous captains, meant to eventually drive her insane while the new captain gets to be all virtuous and glorious and benevolent. Mey’s purpose is to contain the sins to allow the glory of the captain’s virtue to lead the ship onwards.
Tormented by the insane voices in her head and shunned by her former companions in the steerage, Mey makes an unexpected and terrifying discovery that can upend all the life on the ship — the discovery of evil and betrayal fueled by ambition and lust for power.
It’s not an easy story to read. It’s choppy and disorienting, and does not shy away from the unpleasant. It’s frustrating — but it pays off in the end, and perhaps as a compensation for the confused frustration the ending delivers a very hopeful note.
The devolution of the life on a generation ship and deliberately falling back into the Dark Ages is a fascinating concept to explore (and I’m definitely a sucker for it).
—————
A very different take on the same theme was done by Aldiss in [b:Non-Stop|384579|Non-Stop|Brian W. Aldiss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1321611598l/384579._SX50_.jpg|2268003]. And if you like weird and somewhat gross parts too, then Hurley’s [b:The Stars Are Legion|29090844|The Stars Are Legion|Kameron Hurley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455431216l/29090844._SY75_.jpg|21836212] may just do. A good (but very very long) novel about a generation ship that eventually has issues would be [b:Aurora|23197269|Aurora|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436300570l/23197269._SX50_.jpg|42742263] by Kim Stanley Robinson. And the best one in my opinion, short but brilliant generation spaceship novella is “Paradises Lost” by Le Guin, found in the collections [b:The Birthday of the World and Other Stories|68021|The Birthday of the World and Other Stories|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410139500l/68021._SY75_.jpg|639316] and [b:The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin|29868611|The Found and the Lost The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476615440l/29868611._SY75_.jpg|50237861].
—————
4-ish stars.
Read it here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-dead-in-their-uncontrollable-power/
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3295830569
“My destiny was always this: to drink the sin-cup and to hold the sins of the captains in my body where they cannot harm our people on their journey to Paradise.“
A generation ship simply referred to as Home (or the Fee-nix) is on an endless track to Paradise - a distant planet that is mean to be their destination. The ship has a strict class system - the well-off and powerful in first and the second class and illiterate workers in steerage for whom work is supposed to be their religion. The way of life on the ship has obviously devolved to quite unpleasant space feudalist theocracy.
After a bomb at a captain’s funeral kills almost everyone in the attendance, two young girls are made to ascend to their new hereditary roles. Bethen, the new Captain, drinks from the Virtue cup, inheriting (via ingested nanobots, of course) the bright and confident memories of the previous hundred of the ship captains. Mey gets the other cup - the nanobots in which make her a sin-eater, depositing into her brain the worst, the most brutal and the most cruel of the memories of those same hundred of previous captains, meant to eventually drive her insane while the new captain gets to be all virtuous and glorious and benevolent. Mey’s purpose is to contain the sins to allow the glory of the captain’s virtue to lead the ship onwards.
“There has never been an uprising against the dazzling mercy of first class. Why would there be, when the captain of our ship sees only the truth of beautiful things?”
Tormented by the insane voices in her head and shunned by her former companions in the steerage, Mey makes an unexpected and terrifying discovery that can upend all the life on the ship — the discovery of evil and betrayal fueled by ambition and lust for power.
“This can’t be true,” she whispers. “The captains can’t lie. They can’t lie. They only know grace.”
“Knowing grace doesn’t make you incapable of doing evil,” I manage.
It’s not an easy story to read. It’s choppy and disorienting, and does not shy away from the unpleasant. It’s frustrating — but it pays off in the end, and perhaps as a compensation for the confused frustration the ending delivers a very hopeful note.
The devolution of the life on a generation ship and deliberately falling back into the Dark Ages is a fascinating concept to explore (and I’m definitely a sucker for it).
—————
A very different take on the same theme was done by Aldiss in [b:Non-Stop|384579|Non-Stop|Brian W. Aldiss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1321611598l/384579._SX50_.jpg|2268003]. And if you like weird and somewhat gross parts too, then Hurley’s [b:The Stars Are Legion|29090844|The Stars Are Legion|Kameron Hurley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455431216l/29090844._SY75_.jpg|21836212] may just do. A good (but very very long) novel about a generation ship that eventually has issues would be [b:Aurora|23197269|Aurora|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436300570l/23197269._SX50_.jpg|42742263] by Kim Stanley Robinson. And the best one in my opinion, short but brilliant generation spaceship novella is “Paradises Lost” by Le Guin, found in the collections [b:The Birthday of the World and Other Stories|68021|The Birthday of the World and Other Stories|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410139500l/68021._SY75_.jpg|639316] and [b:The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin|29868611|The Found and the Lost The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476615440l/29868611._SY75_.jpg|50237861].
—————
4-ish stars.
Read it here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-dead-in-their-uncontrollable-power/
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3295830569
villyidol's review
2.0
***The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne***
A story of sin-eaters on a generation ship. The narrator is one of those people as well, who have to absolve the ship's captains of their sins, so that they can focus on their ultimate goal, to get the ship and its occupants to Paradise.
I never quite managed to immerse myself in that story. I mean, I understood the words, and perhaps their meaning too. Suppose this is about how we deal with power, about finding some sort of common ground, and not repeating the mistakes of our ancestors. But, yeah, it didn't really work for me.
Alas. 2 stars, mainly because of the nice ending.
You can read it for yourself here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-dead-in-their-uncontrollable-power/
Or listen to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast #27A. The story starts at 14 minutes and 10 seconds and runs for roughly 37 minutes.
Nebula 2019 finalist for Best Short Story.
_________________
Best Novel
• [b: Marque of Caine|42201629|Marque of Caine (Tales of the Terran Republic, #5)|Charles E. Gannon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547943199l/42201629._SY75_.jpg|65814152] by Charles E. Gannon
• [b: The Ten Thousand Doors of January|43521657|The Ten Thousand Doors of January|Alix E. Harrow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548174710l/43521657._SY75_.jpg|63516505] by Alix E. Harrow
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
• [b: Gods of Jade and Shadow|36510722|Gods of Jade and Shadow|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SY75_.jpg|58230232] by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• [b: Gideon the Ninth|42036538|Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546870952l/42036538._SY75_.jpg|60943229] by Tamsyn Muir
• A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Best Novella
• Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang ([b: Exhalation|41160292|Exhalation Stories|Ted Chiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534388394l/41160292._SX50_.jpg|64336454])
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b: This Is How You Lose the Time War|43352954|This Is How You Lose the Time War|Amal El-Mohtar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545755487l/43352954._SX50_.jpg|58237743] by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
• [b: Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water|40939044|Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water|Vylar Kaftan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548256640l/40939044._SY75_.jpg|63832458] by Vylar Kaftan
• [b: The Deep|42201962|The Deep|Rivers Solomon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549411869l/42201962._SY75_.jpg|64281827] by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes
• [b: Catfish Lullaby|45454304|Catfish Lullaby|A.C. Wise|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557003095l/45454304._SX50_.jpg|70223668] by A.C. Wise
Best Novelette
• A Strange Uncertain Light by G.V. Anderson ([b: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2019|51205594|The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2019 (F&SF, #744)|C.C. Finlay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561674223l/51205594._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71657053])
• For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll
• [b: His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light|43565763|His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light|Mimi Mondal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548761606l/43565763._SY75_.jpg|67781447] by Mimi Mondal
• The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker ([b: Uncanny Magazine Issue 29: July/August 2019|52228003|Uncanny Magazine Issue 29 July/August 2019|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562183674l/52228003._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71772498])
• [b: Carpe Glitter|52579998|Carpe Glitter|Cat Rambo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570634877l/52579998._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73519447] by Cat Rambo
• The Archronology of Love by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2019)
Best Short Story
• Give the Family My Love by A.T. Greenblatt (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 149, February 2019)
• The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne (Uncanny Magazine Issue 27: March/April 2019)
• And Now His Lordship Is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons 9 September 2019)
• Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, Issue 80)
• A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 26, January-February 2019)
• How the Trick Is Done by A.C. Wise (Uncanny Magazine Issue 29: July/August 2019)
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• [b: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe|36595887|Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (Sal and Gabi, #1)|Carlos Hernandez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536087897l/36595887._SY75_.jpg|58346652] by Carlos Hernandez
• [b: Catfishing on CatNet|41556068|Catfishing on CatNet|Naomi Kritzer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568119890l/41556068._SY75_.jpg|64836558] by Naomi Kritzer
• [b: Dragon Pearl|34966859|Dragon Pearl|Yoon Ha Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517413544l/34966859._SX50_.jpg|56241840] by Yoon Ha Lee
• [b: Peasprout Chen: Battle of Champions|36320150|Peasprout Chen Battle of Champions|Henry Lien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547747935l/36320150._SX50_.jpg|57994958] by Henry Lien
• [b: Cog|43453676|Cog|Greg Van Eekhout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562027659l/43453676._SY75_.jpg|64712441] by Greg van Eekhout
• [b: Riverland|41070150|Riverland|Fran Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533879692l/41070150._SY75_.jpg|64154930] by Fran Wilde
A story of sin-eaters on a generation ship. The narrator is one of those people as well, who have to absolve the ship's captains of their sins, so that they can focus on their ultimate goal, to get the ship and its occupants to Paradise.
I never quite managed to immerse myself in that story. I mean, I understood the words, and perhaps their meaning too. Suppose this is about how we deal with power, about finding some sort of common ground, and not repeating the mistakes of our ancestors. But, yeah, it didn't really work for me.
Alas. 2 stars, mainly because of the nice ending.
You can read it for yourself here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-dead-in-their-uncontrollable-power/
Or listen to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast #27A. The story starts at 14 minutes and 10 seconds and runs for roughly 37 minutes.
Nebula 2019 finalist for Best Short Story.
_________________
2019 Nebula Award Finalists
Best Novel
• [b: Marque of Caine|42201629|Marque of Caine (Tales of the Terran Republic, #5)|Charles E. Gannon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547943199l/42201629._SY75_.jpg|65814152] by Charles E. Gannon
• [b: The Ten Thousand Doors of January|43521657|The Ten Thousand Doors of January|Alix E. Harrow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548174710l/43521657._SY75_.jpg|63516505] by Alix E. Harrow
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
• [b: Gods of Jade and Shadow|36510722|Gods of Jade and Shadow|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SY75_.jpg|58230232] by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• [b: Gideon the Ninth|42036538|Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546870952l/42036538._SY75_.jpg|60943229] by Tamsyn Muir
• A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Best Novella
• Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang ([b: Exhalation|41160292|Exhalation Stories|Ted Chiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534388394l/41160292._SX50_.jpg|64336454])
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b: This Is How You Lose the Time War|43352954|This Is How You Lose the Time War|Amal El-Mohtar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545755487l/43352954._SX50_.jpg|58237743] by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
• [b: Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water|40939044|Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water|Vylar Kaftan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548256640l/40939044._SY75_.jpg|63832458] by Vylar Kaftan
• [b: The Deep|42201962|The Deep|Rivers Solomon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549411869l/42201962._SY75_.jpg|64281827] by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes
• [b: Catfish Lullaby|45454304|Catfish Lullaby|A.C. Wise|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557003095l/45454304._SX50_.jpg|70223668] by A.C. Wise
Best Novelette
• A Strange Uncertain Light by G.V. Anderson ([b: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2019|51205594|The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2019 (F&SF, #744)|C.C. Finlay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561674223l/51205594._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71657053])
• For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll
• [b: His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light|43565763|His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light|Mimi Mondal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548761606l/43565763._SY75_.jpg|67781447] by Mimi Mondal
• The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker ([b: Uncanny Magazine Issue 29: July/August 2019|52228003|Uncanny Magazine Issue 29 July/August 2019|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562183674l/52228003._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71772498])
• [b: Carpe Glitter|52579998|Carpe Glitter|Cat Rambo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570634877l/52579998._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73519447] by Cat Rambo
• The Archronology of Love by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2019)
Best Short Story
• Give the Family My Love by A.T. Greenblatt (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 149, February 2019)
• The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne (Uncanny Magazine Issue 27: March/April 2019)
• And Now His Lordship Is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons 9 September 2019)
• Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, Issue 80)
• A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 26, January-February 2019)
• How the Trick Is Done by A.C. Wise (Uncanny Magazine Issue 29: July/August 2019)
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• [b: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe|36595887|Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (Sal and Gabi, #1)|Carlos Hernandez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536087897l/36595887._SY75_.jpg|58346652] by Carlos Hernandez
• [b: Catfishing on CatNet|41556068|Catfishing on CatNet|Naomi Kritzer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568119890l/41556068._SY75_.jpg|64836558] by Naomi Kritzer
• [b: Dragon Pearl|34966859|Dragon Pearl|Yoon Ha Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517413544l/34966859._SX50_.jpg|56241840] by Yoon Ha Lee
• [b: Peasprout Chen: Battle of Champions|36320150|Peasprout Chen Battle of Champions|Henry Lien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547747935l/36320150._SX50_.jpg|57994958] by Henry Lien
• [b: Cog|43453676|Cog|Greg Van Eekhout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562027659l/43453676._SY75_.jpg|64712441] by Greg van Eekhout
• [b: Riverland|41070150|Riverland|Fran Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533879692l/41070150._SY75_.jpg|64154930] by Fran Wilde
jrug's review
4.0
Highlights:
“Every Song Must End”
“Vīs Dēlendī”
“The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun”
“Courage to the Sticking Place: Connecting SF/F Students With Creators”
“That Never Happened: Misplaced Skepticism and the Mechanisms of Suspension of Disbelief”
“things you don’t say to city witches”
“Every Song Must End”
“Vīs Dēlendī”
“The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun”
“Courage to the Sticking Place: Connecting SF/F Students With Creators”
“That Never Happened: Misplaced Skepticism and the Mechanisms of Suspension of Disbelief”
“things you don’t say to city witches”
cathepsut's review
Review for Childhood Memory from the Old Victorian House on Warner BY BETH CATO, ★★★★☆, May 2020
SF poetry is still something new for me. A learning process. Right now that means: do I grasp what is going on and does it generate an internal picture or movie in my head. This one did. I saw the room, the wallpaper, the butterfly trying to escape and I felt the horror of the narrator, wanting another room.... am I too simple?
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/childhood-memory-from-the-old-victorian-house-on-warner/
————
Review for Taho by D.A. Xiaolin Spires ★★★☆☆, June 2019
Poetry. I am woefully under equipped to unterstand it well. Not something I read often. I landed with this story through a bad link and thought... why not?
So, I had to look up stuff....
Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. And Sylvia La Torre is known as the Queen of Kundiman. Listen here: https://youtu.be/qtodF2RV_JU
Arnibal is caramelized brown sugar syrup. Filipino again, I think.
Other than that I have no idea. A bot drives across a Martian landscape with two buckets of food and listens to Filipino love songs... I am stumped.
Did I like it? Well, yes, after the first confusing few lines... Did I understand it? The words, yes. I learned stuff. The meaning, not so much.
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/taho/
SF poetry is still something new for me. A learning process. Right now that means: do I grasp what is going on and does it generate an internal picture or movie in my head. This one did. I saw the room, the wallpaper, the butterfly trying to escape and I felt the horror of the narrator, wanting another room.... am I too simple?
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/childhood-memory-from-the-old-victorian-house-on-warner/
————
Review for Taho by D.A. Xiaolin Spires ★★★☆☆, June 2019
Poetry. I am woefully under equipped to unterstand it well. Not something I read often. I landed with this story through a bad link and thought... why not?
So, I had to look up stuff....
Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. And Sylvia La Torre is known as the Queen of Kundiman. Listen here: https://youtu.be/qtodF2RV_JU
Arnibal is caramelized brown sugar syrup. Filipino again, I think.
Other than that I have no idea. A bot drives across a Martian landscape with two buckets of food and listens to Filipino love songs... I am stumped.
Did I like it? Well, yes, after the first confusing few lines... Did I understand it? The words, yes. I learned stuff. The meaning, not so much.
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/taho/
crunden's review
5.0
The poems in this are beautiful! I've read three so far and I recommend them all! The word play is just lovely.
'things you don’t say to city witches' by Cassandra Khaw. Read it here.
'Other Forms of Conjuring the Moon' by Chloe N. Clark. Read it here.
'Taho' by D.A. Xiaolin Spires. Read it here.
a city whose heartbeat I’m learning to carry
in a pocket left of a sound like the word home
'things you don’t say to city witches' by Cassandra Khaw. Read it here.
I never liked the trick
with the girl and the swords.
'Other Forms of Conjuring the Moon' by Chloe N. Clark. Read it here.
aromas of caramel arnibal mingle with
the tangy bite of auburn dust
'Taho' by D.A. Xiaolin Spires. Read it here.
alexvb's review
4.0
I read 'The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power' because it's part of the Nebula Awards 2020 Short Story Shortlist. This was interesting, enticing, suspenseful, I loved the concept of the two types of nanos in the blood. The LGBT rep was a cherry on the top.i really enjoyed this! I wish there had been more!
bluebec's review
4.0
Nice to read a collection that includes stories about polyamory, and disability (two separate stories).
paulweymouth's review
4.0
I really liked this issue. I prefer short fiction with a lot of relationships and heavy on characters and I got that with this issue. The top 4 stories made up for the bottom 3 stories.
Ranked by how much I enjoyed them, stories in this issue were:
Before the World Crumbles Away by A.T. Greenblatt - Nomination worthy -4.5
Every Song Must End by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam - 4
Vis Delendi by Marie Brennan - 3
On the Lonely Shore by Silvia Moreno-Gracia - 3
The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun by Aliette de Bodard - reprint - 2
The Dead, in Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne -2
A Sharp Breath of Birds by Tina Connolly - 1
Ranked by how much I enjoyed them, stories in this issue were:
Before the World Crumbles Away by A.T. Greenblatt - Nomination worthy -4.5
Every Song Must End by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam - 4
Vis Delendi by Marie Brennan - 3
On the Lonely Shore by Silvia Moreno-Gracia - 3
The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun by Aliette de Bodard - reprint - 2
The Dead, in Their Uncontrollable Power by Karen Osborne -2
A Sharp Breath of Birds by Tina Connolly - 1
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