REVIEW: “Rafi” by Amal Singh

Review of Amal Singh, “Rafi”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

I’ve read this author before, and have always enjoyed his work. Happily, this story is no different. He really does write grief and anguish very well. Whenever music plays a part in an uprising, it always brings me joy. Here, in the thought-policed dystopia of the story, singing itself is as an act of rebellion. A story with depth and great prose, particularly in these aforementioned moments of pain.

And of course, my personal heritage bias means I will always be appreciative of a story set in India or by a writer of Indian origin. It’s so lovely to see people of your culture represented in media.

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REVIEW: “A Series of Endings” by Amal Singh

Review of Amal Singh, “A Series of Endings”, Clarkesworld Issue 183, December (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

If you’re immortal for long enough, you realize that nothing really matters, and certainly doesn’t matter more than the present. Or at least Roopchand Rathore does. And he would know, having had many lives – maybe with different endings but always the same hazy sort of beginning.

A story where spaceships and aliens, backwater boat races and Ghalib, all feel right at home.

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REVIEW: “A Home for Mrs. Biswas” by Amal Singh

Review of Amal Singh, “A Home for Mrs. Biswas”, Clarkesworld Issue 176, May (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Our protagonists travel between worlds, Earth and Mars and back again. It was written by an Indian author, and being Indian myself, I absolutely loved the representation, not least because this was a beautiful story.There are Hindi words and references scattered throughout, and it made me inordinately happy.

Coming back to the story, it was thoughtful and quiet with restrained emotion. Past lives, memories and the draw of love across generations, millennia and planets make this a heartwarming story of love and hope.

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REVIEW: “Professor Strong and the Brass Boys” by Amal Singh

Review of Amal Singh, “Professor Strong and the Brass Boys”, Apex Magazine 119 (2019): Read Online. Reviewed by Joanna Z. Weston.

Lispector Strong seems fairly content with ris life as a history professor, until one of ris students ask what rhe does for leisure. Under the rules of their society, droids like Professor Strong are not allowed leisure. This leads rhim to a lot of soul searching, and eventually to music, and an understanding that droids are perhaps not treated fairly under the current laws.

This story deals with art and justice, two concepts that the people within it would argue apply only to humans. It is a surprisingly gentle story, because Professor Strong is, at heart, a gentle being. Logical, kind, yet determined, rhe senses that there must be a better way, and is determined to do what rhe can to get humans to see the other droids as something other than servants. Rhe does not go about this through battle, either verbal or physical, but through music.

The end is more ambiguous than I would have preferred, but I don’t know that any other ending would have felt genuine. This story is asking big questions, and a neat ending might imply an easy solution. I respect the emotional honesty of the ending, which leaves the consequences of Professor Strong’s actions still unknown. What matters – what makes the ending work – is that Professor Strong acted. Rhe made a decision, and accepted the risks.

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