REVIEW: “Candida Eve” by Dominica Phetteplace

Review of Dominica Phetteplace, “Candida Eve”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact May/June (2020): 96–101 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

Susana is the last surviving member of a terraforming expedition to Mars. An unexpected fungal pandemic claimed the rest of the crew while on flight, in addition to claiming millions of lives back on Earth. Despite the tragedy, Susana must find the courage and will to carry out her mission and create a new home for the future of humanity.

The story’s subject matter — i.e. a deadly pandemic — certainly makes it a relevant read at the time of publication (I’m guessing that is why it was included in this issue). There are startling similarities between the plague in Candida Eve and Covid-19. I’d be very surprised if all of it was just a coincidence.

Aside from that initial impact, however, “Candida Eve” leaves a lot to be desired. The prose is clear but relatively dry, making for a less than engaging read. Almost half the story consists of info-dumping about the details of Susana’s mission and the unexpected pandemic that devastated humanity. There’s little that actually happens in the story, and by the end, little gets resolved in a satisfying manners. There’s little sense that Susana overcame any of the challenges of her mission as she displays very little agency throughout the story.

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REVIEW: “To Persist, However Changed” by Aimee Ogden

Review of Aimee Ogden, “To Persist, However Changed”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact May/June (2020): 105–106(Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

A sentient moon crashes into a planet and discovers another sentient form of life there. The story is told from the perspective of the moon-consciousness as it prepares for the crash.

Billions of light-sensitive organelles orient to the brilliant patch of sky, and magnetosomes orient along familiar field lines. The diffuse awareness of the Moonmind comes to an agreement: Soon.

I must confess, I’ve never been keen on stories that describe an alien consciousness through the physical and chemical interactions that make it up — which seem to be popping up rather often lately. They always strike me as rather contrived. After all, consciousness is an emerging quality. Human thought-processes do not involve moving ions and chemical imbalances, even though it is such events in our brains that make thought possible.

From a fictional standpoint, however, it is a rather effective tool at conveying the “otherworldliness” of an alien mind. The author manages to successfully filter a different kind of consciousness through familiar scientific concepts, and does so clearly and concisely. Moreover, the author did a relatively decent job at maintaining a clear and readable prose, which is crucial for these kinds of stories.

Ultimately, I still don’t think it works, but I can appreciate the effort.

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REVIEW: “A Compass in the Dark” by Phoebe Barton

Review of Phoebe Barton, “A Compass in the Dark”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact May/June (2020): 109–112 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

In a Lunar colony, a young woman moves away from her family to a geological station on the far side of the moon. She is embarrassed by her father’s belief that dead soul are guided by electromagnetic fields and does not want to maintain his “compass towers.” When her father dies, she comes to regret her hostility towards him and reconsiders her attitude towards his beliefs.

I think the author has a great talent for prose as I was really drawn in by some of the descriptions in this piece. However, the plot did not do it for me. The father-daughter relationship could have been fleshed out more to give the story a better grounding for what happens when the father dies. All we have of their background is their respective beliefs towards “magnetic spirit guidance,” which in my opinion is not enough to understand why the characters act and feel the way they do. The ending does not work for the same reason.

Overall, I did not care much for this piece, even though I did enjoy the author’s writing style.

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REVIEW: “A Deal is a Deal is a Deal” by Beth Anderson

Review of Beth Anderson, “A Deal is a Deal is a Deal”, in David G. Clark, Callum Colback, Joe Butler, and Alex Hareland, eds., Beneath Strange Stars, (TL;DR Press, 2020): 349-362 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.)

This was probably the most hilarious story in the volume. I laughed out loud more than once at this clever take on two people who bargain their first-born child for everything their heart could desire.

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REVIEW: “Her Cage of Root and Bone” by Kali Wallace

Review of Kali Wallace, “Her Cage of Root and Bone”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 301 (April 9, 2020): listen online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

This is a striking portrait of two bitterly angry sisters. Nell is the ruler of the land, known by many titles, including (ironically, from her sister’s point of view) Queen of Peace and The Warrior Who Has Ended War. What she has not ended, and clearly has no desire to end, is the life-long rivalry, jealousy, and hatred that exists between twin sister Lottie and herself. Nell has magically imprisoned her twin in “a tower set upon rock in the center of a mountain river . . . and the chains that bind me are living wood, growing from my ankles and feet into roots below, from my hands into the branches wending through walls, from my hair into the crown above.” It’s a striking image and apt metaphor for the rage that has long imprisoned both sisters. Though Lottie has clearly gotten the worst of it, having been physically and psychologically tortured for years, it’s hard to believe she wouldn’t have done the same to Nell had the situation been reversed. It’s an all-consuming fury on the part of both sisters, perhaps the only thing that gives life meaning for either of them. 

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REVIEW: “Never a Butterfly, Nor a Moth With Moon-Painted Wings” by Aimee Ogden

Review of Aimee Ogden, “Never a Butterfly, Nor a Moth with Moon-Painted Wings”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue 300 (March 26, 2020): read online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

In an earlier review, I said that C.C. Finlay’s “The Hummingbird Temple” might be the best story in this special, 300th issue of BCS. Perhaps it is, but this story is at least a close second. It is told in the form of a never-sent letter, written in code, recalling the life of a mother, Shemi, and the hopes and fears she had—and still has—for her much-loved daughter, Oya. The story begins with an account of how Shemi and her people, wartime refugees, were driven out of their land and forced to settle in a matriarchal, but decidedly puritanical society. There, Shemi’s People of the Butterfly are seen as second-class citizens, at best.  

Interesting though this part of the story is, however, it pales before the account of how Shemi came to accept her daughter for the person she is, something “new and strange and wonderful,” rather than the person Shemi once hoped Oya would become. But it’s not just the story itself that delights. Ogden’s language is beautifully poetic. At one point, for example, she describes her then unborn daughter as “a secret moon riding high in my belly.” At another, Ogden offers a convincing explanation for why Butterflies prefer one-night stands. If that doesn’t get you to read the story, I don’t know what will. 

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REVIEW: “To Balance the Weight of Khalem” by R.B. Lemberg

Review of R.B. Lemberg, “To Balance the Weight of Khalem”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 300 (March 26, 2020): read online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

Belezal—the name the narrator bestows upon themselves in the course of the story—is a student refugee on the strange world of Khalem, “a carven globe of gold floating in the sky, tethered to the ground with ancient linked chains.” They and their family had been allowed to enter Khalem only because “the government needed more people to balance the weight of the city on its chains.” Balance with their bodies, in other words.  

One evening, Belezal unwittingly discovers “a sidewise market” similar to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, but more fantastic. There he is given a magic onion and begins a journey during which he encounters many strange places and people, including Nayra, the woman who cooks, and most importantly, The Maid of Murur. This is a lovely, poetic story of people adrift and largely unwelcome but who are nevertheless determined to find a place for themselves. 

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REVIEW: “Bound by Sorrow” By Maurice Broaddus

Review of Maurice Broaddus, “Bound by Sorrow”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 300 (March 26, 2020): read online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

Thematically, this novella is about grief, death, and choices. It is also a story about the power of stories. Its main character, Dinga, and his wise-ass friend, Gerard, are on a quest to deliver Dinga’s dead sister to a city where gods reside, the Dreaming City. Along the way, their journey is interspersed by stories told by Dinga and others they encounter. These narratives give a story-within-a-story feel to the piece that help further illustrate Dinga’s life and mission while building a richly layered history and mythology. You may need to read the story twice to fully grasp all its nuances, but your time will be well spent. 

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REVIEW: “Uzimaki of the Lake” by Richard Parks

Review of Richard Parks, “Uzimaki of the Lake”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 300 (March 26, 2020): Listen online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

I gather Lord Yamada is a popular character who features frequently in Richard Parks’ stories, but this is my first exposure to Yamada. Here, at least, he seems to be a sort of Sherlock Holmes of the supernatural. Along with Kenji, his companion, he is tasked with investigating strange sounds, lights, and ghostly apparitions near a lake whose ownership, though legally settled, is still the source of friction between two rival daimyos. If you’re a fan of the Yamada series, or of Parks’ work generally, you’ll probably like this story. As a newcomer to the series, however, I found it somewhat amusing, but rather slight. 

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REVIEW: “Sweet Little Lies” by Lindsey Duncan

Review of Lindsey Duncan, “Sweet Little Lies”, Luna Station Quarterly 41 (2020): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really loved this story, one of the best in the issue. It was set in a richly, wildly full world (the opening scenes and characters felt like they could easily support a complete novel), and it was full of beautiful language and parts that made me laugh. This is exactly the sort of fantasy I want to read, and I look forward to reading more by Lindsey Duncan!

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