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A review by cathepsut
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 204, September 2023 by D.A. Spires, Neil Clarke, Neil Clarke, Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
3.5
STONES by Nnedi Okorafor
5790 words, 18 pages, ☄️☄️☄️☄️
“I don’t know if I can die. Maybe when this comet reaches the sun, I’ll keep right on being.“
Huh, strange. A very old and benevolent space traveler encounters Earth. Humans are not kind.
No, I still haven’t read Binti.
THE QUEEN OF CALLIGRAPHIC SUSURRATIONS by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
3890 words, 13 pages, 🐝
I don‘t think we‘ll become friends. I read some poetry by her that I didn‘t get and a short story that was just ok. This here is about creative writing with an AI. Is it still personal art? However, I just don‘t like her writing style.
A GUIDE TO MATCHMAKING ON STATION 9 by Nika Murphy
4020 words, 15 pages, 💍💍💍
“The number one thing to remember about matchmaking on Station 9 is to keep your hyper-synesthesia under control.“
The synesthesia was the most interesting part of the story. Talking about yourself in the 2nd person is odd. The story was cute in a way, but did not really do much for me.
AXIOM OF DREAMS by Arula Ratnakar,
22570 words, 76 pages, ➕➖➗✖️🟰
“Truth lives at the top of this mountain. Our floating fractal god, housed in a temple within the clouds.“
This is something for lovers of mathematics. And parallel universes. Fascinating idea, although the math went over my head a lot. I know a lot more about polyhedrons, Platonic solids and fractals than I ever did.
The author is a neuroscientist. I am pretty sure I will read more of her fiction.
THE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD WHALE by Djuna, translated by Jihyun Park and Gordon Sellar
4680 words, 16 pages, 🐋🐋🐋🐋
“The whale sat about ten kilometers away from our raft.“
We are on a tidally locked planet. The nightside means death by freezing, the Day side is death by heat. People live in the twilight zone, on the backs of whales. Cool idea. Unless your whale dies…
THE FIVE REMEMBRANCES, ACCORDING TO STE-319 by R. L. Meza
1910 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖
“The STEs—or the Salt-The-Earths—are deployed first for a reason: we are outdated. Once activated, we destroy everything in our path, leaving nothing behind.“
Left behind by it‘s army, this weaponized robot finds its redemption. Didn‘t do much for me.
UPGRADE DAY by RJ Taylor
2080 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖🤖
“Today is upgrade day and Gabriel, a model 2098 post-human intelligence robotic service assistant, wears an appropriately festive hat.“
Uploaded consiousness. Sweet, but sad.
BEYOND THE GODZILLA TROPE: RADIATION BIOLOGY by Julie Nováková
Non-fiction. Interesting. 🧬🧬🧬🧬
VIOLENT REVOLUTIONS: A CONVERSATION WITH S.L. HUANG by Arley Sorg
Non-fiction. Very informative interview. 💧💧💧💧
I pushed The Water Outlaws to the top of my TBR pile.
5790 words, 18 pages, ☄️☄️☄️☄️
“I don’t know if I can die. Maybe when this comet reaches the sun, I’ll keep right on being.“
Huh, strange. A very old and benevolent space traveler encounters Earth. Humans are not kind.
No, I still haven’t read Binti.
THE QUEEN OF CALLIGRAPHIC SUSURRATIONS by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
3890 words, 13 pages, 🐝
I don‘t think we‘ll become friends. I read some poetry by her that I didn‘t get and a short story that was just ok. This here is about creative writing with an AI. Is it still personal art? However, I just don‘t like her writing style.
A GUIDE TO MATCHMAKING ON STATION 9 by Nika Murphy
4020 words, 15 pages, 💍💍💍
“The number one thing to remember about matchmaking on Station 9 is to keep your hyper-synesthesia under control.“
The synesthesia was the most interesting part of the story. Talking about yourself in the 2nd person is odd. The story was cute in a way, but did not really do much for me.
AXIOM OF DREAMS by Arula Ratnakar,
22570 words, 76 pages, ➕➖➗✖️🟰
“Truth lives at the top of this mountain. Our floating fractal god, housed in a temple within the clouds.“
This is something for lovers of mathematics. And parallel universes. Fascinating idea, although the math went over my head a lot. I know a lot more about polyhedrons, Platonic solids and fractals than I ever did.
The author is a neuroscientist. I am pretty sure I will read more of her fiction.
THE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD WHALE by Djuna, translated by Jihyun Park and Gordon Sellar
4680 words, 16 pages, 🐋🐋🐋🐋
“The whale sat about ten kilometers away from our raft.“
We are on a tidally locked planet. The nightside means death by freezing, the Day side is death by heat. People live in the twilight zone, on the backs of whales. Cool idea. Unless your whale dies…
THE FIVE REMEMBRANCES, ACCORDING TO STE-319 by R. L. Meza
1910 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖
“The STEs—or the Salt-The-Earths—are deployed first for a reason: we are outdated. Once activated, we destroy everything in our path, leaving nothing behind.“
Left behind by it‘s army, this weaponized robot finds its redemption. Didn‘t do much for me.
UPGRADE DAY by RJ Taylor
2080 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖🤖
“Today is upgrade day and Gabriel, a model 2098 post-human intelligence robotic service assistant, wears an appropriately festive hat.“
Uploaded consiousness. Sweet, but sad.
BEYOND THE GODZILLA TROPE: RADIATION BIOLOGY by Julie Nováková
Non-fiction. Interesting. 🧬🧬🧬🧬
VIOLENT REVOLUTIONS: A CONVERSATION WITH S.L. HUANG by Arley Sorg
Non-fiction. Very informative interview. 💧💧💧💧
I pushed The Water Outlaws to the top of my TBR pile.