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A review by sashas_books
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 204 by Neil Clarke
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This was a great issue, imo! I ended up loving/liking all of the stories. I am very happy about this :)
“Stones” by Nnedi Okorafor – a mysterious and wondrous life-form travels the universe and encounters humans. A well-written, solid story. 4.0 stars.
“The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations” by D. A. Xiolin Spires – a breathtaking future take on aspiring authors, AI, and virtual reality. It’s gorgeously written. (Also, I interrupted my reading in order to resarch zhezhi and how it is different from origami. Fun!) The ending was way to abrupt, it left me wanting more. 4.3 stars.
“A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9” by Nika Murphy – heartbreaking, poignant, uplifting. There were glimpses of a world I wanted to see more of. I’ll be looking out for more stories by Nika Murphy! 4.9 stars.
"Axiom of Dreams" by Arula Ratnakar - Don't do strange experiments with brain chips! The characters, the dialogues, and the ending were not done well. But the neuroscience, the math, and the worlds were awesome! 4.2 stars
“The People from the Dead Whale” by Djuna – human colonists are trying to survive on a strange, tidally locked planet. There was a lot of world building going on in just a few pages! I liked the writing, too. 4.3 stars.
“The Five Remembrances, According to STE-319” by R. L. Meza – a discarded war robot does a humane and kind thing. It was quiet and lovely. 4.4 stars.
“Upgrade Day” by RJ Taylor – a story that wants to be wonderful and humane, but I am not sure what it wants to say. I wasn’t moved enough, I guess? Putting a human consciousness into a robot servant is a ghastly idea, though. 3.9 stars.
“Stones” by Nnedi Okorafor – a mysterious and wondrous life-form travels the universe and encounters humans. A well-written, solid story. 4.0 stars.
“The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations” by D. A. Xiolin Spires – a breathtaking future take on aspiring authors, AI, and virtual reality. It’s gorgeously written. (Also, I interrupted my reading in order to resarch zhezhi and how it is different from origami. Fun!) The ending was way to abrupt, it left me wanting more. 4.3 stars.
“A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9” by Nika Murphy – heartbreaking, poignant, uplifting. There were glimpses of a world I wanted to see more of. I’ll be looking out for more stories by Nika Murphy! 4.9 stars.
"Axiom of Dreams" by Arula Ratnakar - Don't do strange experiments with brain chips! The characters, the dialogues, and the ending were not done well. But the neuroscience, the math, and the worlds were awesome! 4.2 stars
“The People from the Dead Whale” by Djuna – human colonists are trying to survive on a strange, tidally locked planet. There was a lot of world building going on in just a few pages! I liked the writing, too. 4.3 stars.
“The Five Remembrances, According to STE-319” by R. L. Meza – a discarded war robot does a humane and kind thing. It was quiet and lovely. 4.4 stars.
“Upgrade Day” by RJ Taylor – a story that wants to be wonderful and humane, but I am not sure what it wants to say. I wasn’t moved enough, I guess? Putting a human consciousness into a robot servant is a ghastly idea, though. 3.9 stars.