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A review by arkron
In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns by Elizabeth Bear
5.0
Cyberpunkish near-future India setting with a locked-room mystery starting with This pink tube. This enormous sausage. This meaty object like a child’s toy "eel", a long squashed torus full of fluid being a human body turned inside-out.
Lots of well-researched background of Indian culture, nice projection of near-future gadgeting, suntrees, complex characters including a talking parrot cat, and some scientific elements concerning bioengineering and astronomical phenomenons.
I didn't get the sub-plot around first-contact and a supernova which was a bit irritating.
The central story is about identity and parent-child relationships in the meatworld and virtual reality. It was quite hard for me to get into the story at first, but then I loved her brilliant and lively descriptions, and the multi-layered plot. What makes me a real fan is her great characterization of the detective duo in this exotic setting of Bangalore.
Is there more of that available?
Read as part of the [b:The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection|16045130|The Year's Best Science Fiction Thirtieth Annual Collection|Gardner R. Dozois|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357403925s/16045130.jpg|21823347] anthology.
Lots of well-researched background of Indian culture, nice projection of near-future gadgeting, suntrees, complex characters including a talking parrot cat, and some scientific elements concerning bioengineering and astronomical phenomenons.
I didn't get the sub-plot around first-contact and a supernova which was a bit irritating.
The central story is about identity and parent-child relationships in the meatworld and virtual reality. It was quite hard for me to get into the story at first, but then I loved her brilliant and lively descriptions, and the multi-layered plot. What makes me a real fan is her great characterization of the detective duo in this exotic setting of Bangalore.
Is there more of that available?
Read as part of the [b:The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection|16045130|The Year's Best Science Fiction Thirtieth Annual Collection|Gardner R. Dozois|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357403925s/16045130.jpg|21823347] anthology.