REVIEW: “Cloudgazing” by Guy Woods and Sven Kiefer

Review of Guy Woods and Sven Kiefer, “Cloudgazing”, in Around Distant Suns, ed. by Emma Johanna Puranen (Guardbridge Books, 2021): 85-109 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.)

You’ll probably be as surprised as I that there were not one but two radio plays involving clouds in this — otherwise rather small! — anthology.

And yet, even though both plays featured a scientist who found something radically unexpected in the clouds, the two plays could not be more different. This one feels very slow, and pregnant: In many scenes, not much happens, and it’s what isn’t being said that is important. Whereas in the previous play, the reader was given the discovery in the first few lines, and the rest of the play dealt with the aftermath, here the final reveal was kept underwraps until the very last scene, which sent shivers down my spine. The dramatic build-up was exquisitely crafted.