A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Analog, khōréō, and Clarkesworld
Analog 3-4/24
khōréō 3.4
Clarkesworld 4/24
The March/April 2024 issue of Analog opens with “Enough” by William Ledbetter, wherein a graffiti artist encounters tech designed to resist tagging and report the location of artists to authorities. Working with his ex-girlfriend and her new partner, he finds a way to co-opt the tech and broadcasts a message of hope and resistance. “A Long Journey into Light” by Deborah L. Davitt looks at family dynamics and growing up in the shadow of a legend. Twenty years ago, Peter’s grandfather was the only human to ever board the Wanderer, a mysterious alien vessel at the edge of the solar system. Now Peter must do the same to prevent a war.
“Brood Parasitism” by Auston Habershaw is set in the same world as the author’s story “Tool Consciousness” from the November/December 2023 issue of Analog, and other stories featuring the character Faceless. This time around, Faceless is hired by a group who know they are about to be slaughtered and want to pre-arrange their revenge. Faceless uses his shapeshifting ability to impersonate the son of an imperial leader, but his plan goes off course and he’s forced to improvise. There continues to be nice worldbuilding in these stories, and the sense of stakes and danger are well done. “Mariposa de Hierro” by Matt McHugh is a sweet story about a young girl in a migrant camp who finds herself followed by a swarm of experimental robot bees. The scientist who arrives to study the robots’ odd behavior grows attached to her and does what he can to help improve her life.
“A Reclamation of Beavers” by Romie Stott is a charming story dealing with serious issues. Lee is a park ranger assigned to monitor the local beaver population with the help of a Beaver AI. When a forest fire threatens the beavers’ habitat, the AI accidentally labels the firefighters as intruders, preventing them from calling for backup, and Lee must convince the AI to reclassify them as a group of rare migratory birds so they can work together to keep the beaver population safe. “Define the Color Blue” by Ron Collins is a flash piece about an AI limiting human space travel for what it perceives as the greater good. “Gab” by Adam-Troy Castro relates a human’s encounter with a Godlike Alien Being that forces them to reevaluate humanity’s place in the universe.
“The Days of the Empire Are Over” by Alan Molumby uses SF to effectively look at the impact of colonialism and in particular, the backlash that can occur when an empire withdraws. In “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts” by Sean Monaghan, discovery of a sabotaged spacesuit forces two hull repair bots to go beyond their programming to save the day.
“Ramanujan’s Goddess” by Naim Kabir brings a lone survivor on a space station caught in a decaying orbit into contact with what may be an alien intelligence. As they struggle to survive, they must grapple with loneliness, survivor’s guilt, and the possibility that they are either losing their grip on reality, or that all of Earth is in great danger. “Bereti’s Spiral” by Kedrick Brown follows the titular astronomer as he posits the existence of “mirror matter” to explain unknowns in the universe and is barred from studying planetary astrology for his trouble. “The Birdwatchers” by Don D’Ammassa is set in a future where living birds are extinct and two men pursue the thrill of a rare sighting by tracking down a film of a bird only to destroy it to truly experience the fleeting joy of being a birdwatcher. The concept of this story was intriguing, but made me wish the piece was a bit longer and delved into some of the questions left unanswered.
“Potential Spam” by Karen Heuler is a cute story with a Twilight Zone-like feel wherein an employee of NASA is beset by spam calls from an alien, who seeks to turn the tables on the caller, with unintended consequences. “Return on Investment” by J.W. Armstrong adopts a similarly light tone as a captive of the Karg Imperium uses economic theory and thought experiments to bargain for his life as he faces execution. “Decision Trees” by John McNeil looks at the complicated question of what parents and children owe to each other as the narrator struggles with whether to stay on Earth, or travel to Proxima Centauri b. Her mother gave up her career to raise her, leaving the daughter feeling conflicted about pursuing her own career dreams.
In “Undertow” by Gregor Hartmann, Franklin is a participant in a medical trial trying to replicate in humans the way dolphin brains “sleep” one hemisphere at a time. Throughout the trial, he repeatedly fails to see his own privilege, and emerges seemingly even more entrenched in his prejudices and fear. The issue closes with “Ganny Goes to War”, a novella by David Gerrold that has some fun character dynamics and interactions as Starling, her grandmother, and a young man named Jimmy, turn pirate to get revenge against the Martian corporation who destroyed their livelihood. Overall, it’s satisfying to see the themes that recur across this issue, and how different authors approach and explore them.
With a few stories sitting at the liminal intersection of prose and poetry, khōréō 3.4 contains lovely and moody writing. “Pink Bird, War Sun” by Tania Chen is one such piece with a prose poem vibe as it reflects on the horrors of war through gorgeous and striking imagery. “Blue Cube” by Prema Arasu looks at humanity’s carelessness and callousness when it comes to deep sea exploration, especially exploration carried out by humans of the tech billionaire variety who are primarily interested in their own egos. In “Ghost and the Piano” by Sofia Ezdina, a famous pianist takes in a young urchin as his ward. She dies of cholera, but her ghost continues composing music, exploring the idea of art outliving the artist.
“Homeland in Verse” by Naomi Day is surreal and lovely, also feeling like it exists at the intersection of prose and poetry. The narrator discovers pieces of a map of their lost homeland on the bodies of strangers, allowing them to reconnect with their past. The language is gorgeous and evocative, and the piece can be read as a reflection on cultural assimilation, immigration, and/or the refugee experience. “Seven Recipes for Crossing” by Diana Dima highlights the connection between food, memory, family, and tradition, as a parent on their deathbed passes on recipes to their child. There’s a melancholy air to the story, hinting at a strained relationship and the pull between a child wanting to live their own life and still honor their parent. Dima does a wonderful job of showing food as a language, standing in for all the things the characters are unable to say aloud.
“Thank God Things Are Different Now” by Desiree Winns adopts a subtly snarky tone to deal with heavy subject matter, as a bartender relates the history of their island of St. Christina to a tourist. The island has been recently “liberated” from a dictator known as the Storm, the descendant of a slave who learned to trade lives to bring back the dead. The story does a wonderful job of looking at the way outsiders perceive history and culture, and the fear colonizers have of the colonized being in charge of their own destinies. “When We Make it to Bet-Zelem” by Louis Evans is a heartbreaking story of a family fleeing violence. The grandfather does his best to keep the children’s spirits up by telling them of the wonders to be found in their destination of Bet-Zelem, effectively mixing grief and hope.
“Mad Studies” by [sarah] Cavar is another story with a prose-poem vibe that delights in playing with structure and language. In “Rhythms of the Resonant Revolution” by Rodrigo Culagovski, Zyv uses music to fight their former-lover-turned-enemy, Ash, who uses his own music to prop up an oppressive government. The story is occasionally reminiscent of N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities duology. “RAIN FIRE CLOUD” by Caroline Hung is full of beautiful language, telling the story of an emperor calling forth a mechanical Qilin to judge and execute his enemies only to find the tables turned against him.
The April 2024 issue of Clarkesworld starts out strong with “The Lark Ascending” by Eleanna Castroianni. Tuki is a bot left behind when their former owner, Papa, is taken away as an enemy of the state. The government assumes Tuki will receive a reset order from their manufacturer, thus accidentally leaving them with their memories, while Papa’s daughter, Pet, has had her memory wiped. Tuki tries to pass on Papa’s stories and ideals without endangering either of them. The story is painful, but lovely, and packs a lot of emotion into just over two thousand words. The issue continues on a high note with “The Indomitable Captain Holli” by Rich Larson, a fast-moving novella with an excellent voice. It’s a special day for Holli, who has been given a mission by Puck, the puppet-like goretoon who speaks to her through her goggles. She has to climb to the tippy-top of the tower where she lives with her mother and older sister, Estima. Holli sets off on her adventure, and Estima and her boyfriend Lemar return home to find her missing and embark on a rescue mission. Larson does a wonderful job of suggesting subtle threat from Puck, keeping his true motives hidden for much of the story. The reveal of Puck’s ultimate goal, the relationships between the characters, and the worldbuilding, are all very nicely done. A highly satisfying read.
“An Intergalactic Smuggler’s Guide to Homecoming” by Tia Tashiro follows Miko as she takes a job smuggling organics – 700 tiny jellyfish-like aliens – off their homeworld. Miko left her own homeworld, leaving her twin sister behind, and feels a kinship with the aliens, but discovers the person who hired her has an ulterior motive. The story is smoothly written, and Tashiro adds a layer of depth and emotion through the relationship between the sisters. “The Rambler” by Shen Dachang (translated by Cara Healey) originally published in Chinese in Wanderers in 2021, sees a pedestrian bridge uproot itself to go on walkabout, eventually escaping into the woods when construction workers are sent to destroy it. It’s a well-written slice-of-life, but it didn’t seem to me to bring much new to the subgenre of house/skyscraper/structure choosing to move under its own power. “The Oldest Fun” by Natalia Theodoridou is a short and pleasantly creepy story about a group of high school students playing a mysterious game that leads to their disappearance. It can be read as a straightforward surreal piece of speculative fiction, or as a metaphor for navigating the high school experience, especially for those who might not fit in, or who risk being lost to rage, grief, or violence. It’s equally satisfying either way, making for an effective piece.
“The Arborist” by Derrick Boden focuses on an android named Pele working with a group of terraformers on a hostile planet. There’s a division among the human crew – some believing the work they’re doing is good and necessary, others believing it is an abomination – leading to one crew member’s death, and the suspicion of sabotage and murder. The worldbuilding shines, and the language Boden uses to paint a picture of the planet is evocative. The issue closes out with “Occurrence at 01399” by Kelly Jennings, a short piece about a drone waylaid by an alien intelligence asking it define sentience in order to determine the fate of the human race.
Recommended Stories
“A Reclamation of Beavers”, Romie Stott (Analog 3-4/24)
“Homeland in Verse”, Naomi Day (khōréō 3.4)
“Seven Recipes for Crossing”, Diana Dima (khōréō 3.4)
“Thank God Things Are Different Now”, Desiree Winns (khōréō 3.4)
“The Lark Ascending”, Eleanna Castroianni (Clarkesworld 4/24)
“The Indomitable Captain Holli”, Rich Larson (Clarkesworld 4/24)
“The Oldest Game”, Natalia Theodoridou (Clarkesworld 4/24)
This review and more like it in the June 2024 issue of Locus.
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