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A review by villyidol
Meat and Salt and Sparks by Rich Larson
4.0
A free tor short with an enhanced chimpanzee as the main character.
Cu and her human partner Al Huxley are working on a murder case that seems pretty straightforward at first. At a subway station a woman draws a gun, puts it to the head of a man and pulls the trigger. There’s video footage of the crime and the woman is in custody.
Turns out though that she is a so-called echogirl. Which means she’s got an earpiece and eyecam and basically rented her body out to someone who told her what to do.
But this story isn’t about the tech. It is about the people and what makes them put their life into the hands of someone else.
It is advertised as a murder mystery but doesn’t work very well as such. Because it puts all its cards on the table a little too early.
It works perfectly though as a story about being different and how lonely this can make one.
It is a sad story. But one that is ultimately uplifting.
3.5 stars
I round up to four because of the great ending and the fact that I’m almost certain this will work better on a second read, knowing what to expect.
This story can be read here.
Cu and her human partner Al Huxley are working on a murder case that seems pretty straightforward at first. At a subway station a woman draws a gun, puts it to the head of a man and pulls the trigger. There’s video footage of the crime and the woman is in custody.
Turns out though that she is a so-called echogirl. Which means she’s got an earpiece and eyecam and basically rented her body out to someone who told her what to do.
But this story isn’t about the tech. It is about the people and what makes them put their life into the hands of someone else.
It is advertised as a murder mystery but doesn’t work very well as such. Because it puts all its cards on the table a little too early.
It works perfectly though as a story about being different and how lonely this can make one.
It is a sad story. But one that is ultimately uplifting.
3.5 stars
I round up to four because of the great ending and the fact that I’m almost certain this will work better on a second read, knowing what to expect.
This story can be read here.