REVIEW: “Informed Consent Logs from the Soul Swap Clinic” by Sarah Pauling

Review of Sarah Pauling, “Informed Consent Logs from the Soul Swap Clinic”, Clarkesworld Issue 185, February (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

With an interesting concept of swapping your souls into other bodies, I was hooked from the beginning.

It was fun getting into the mindset of the technician, and the two swappers, RED and BLUE. While it was a good look into how people prioritize certain qualities and attributes, I ultimately felt it was an unjust and unfair conclusion, and I felt it could have been executed in a way that didn’t lead to one person getting misled into a disappointing existence.

Essentially, I liked the concept and prose, but not the unsatisfying conclusion that disregards the wishes of another human being on purpose, with no empathy shown towards their vision or goal.

** At the risk of a spoiler, I can only hope I misunderstood what happens to RED.

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REVIEW: “You’re Not the Only One” by Octavia Cade

Review of Octavia Cade, “You’re Not the Only One”, Clarkesworld Issue 185, February (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A very emotionally resonant story, and one that deserves to be read slowly and savored.

Set in the nebulous future, the story revolves around an astronaut and his friend, both dealing with their own disappointments. What I loved about this story was their sympathy for each other, and how they provided each other with space and dignity to handle grief in their own way.

I liked how the author portrayed in the children in this story as people capable of feelings, empathy, and curiosity. I genuinely believe that children are capable of a lot, and sometimes as adults we forget what it was like to be a child with questions and the burning desire for knowledge and understanding. I have rarely seen this level of respect for emotion and dignity in writing. For this alone, I want to read more of Cade’s work.

More than anything else, however, what I loved was how community-minded all the characters in the story were. For me, it was a dazzling display of humanity, and it felt both sad and natural that it would take a massive catastrophic event on a global scale for people to develop compassion towards each other. The people in this story truly understood that we’re all in this together. In this life, on this planet, in the decisions we take.

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REVIEW: “The Paleoneirologist’s Dreams” by Marc A. Criley

Review of Marc A. Criley, “The Paleoneirologist’s Dreams,” Tree and Stone 1 (2022): 29-31 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

If you don’t know what a paleoneirologist is (and are frustrated that no dictionary seems to know either), that’s okay, because Criley deftly tells you everything you need to know in this weird, waspish, biting little story. I really enjoyed it!

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REVIEW: “The Plasticity of Youth” by Marissa Lingen

Review of Marissa Lingen, “The Plasticity of Youth”, Clarkesworld Issue 185, February (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Jess is pregnant, and going to her scheduled doctor visit. She is stopped because of a raven that decided to eat her tires. Her daughter, when born, seems to be a bit different, but healthy. Over time, we learn that it’s not just tires; it’s just not ravens. A lot has started to charge.

I really like this type of story, where the world sort of changes without it having been done by humans. The humans are simply trying to navigate this world, just like everyone and everything else does.

It was strongly emotional, and I say this in the best possible meaning of the phrase.

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REVIEW: “For Whom the Psychopomp Calls” by Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko

Review of Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko, “For Whom the Psychopomp Calls”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

This story can be described by one of the few words that comes up in the story via the psychopomp: melancholy.

A story that keeps you on edge in a variety of ways. My only (minor) issue is that the human sometimes reacts in a heightened manner to things. A tad unrealistic, but then again, nobody’s perfect and maybe this particular human is like that? So, not really an issue with the story, just that aspect of the characters personality.

The writing style itself was on point for the kind of story it was. The great pacing added a lot, too.

Highly recommended. The ending is particularly heartbreaking.

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REVIEW: “The Soundtrack of Your Life” by Lesley Morrison

Review of Lesley Morrison, “The Soundtrack of Your Life,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Alcoholism.

The science in this SF story is the sort of boring, everyday, run-of-the-mill science that I really enjoy reading stories about. No rockets or robots or deadly weapons, just various mods that sound exactly like things people would actually try to build in reality, such as “a mod that curated a personal musical soundtrack,” the project that Janice, the narrator, works on — basically, Spotify but more personal, and more sophisticated. It’s a great premise — I’m sure we’ve ALL crafted (or tried to craft!) the soundtrack of our own lives — and the story is just good fun to read.

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REVIEW: “Last Letter First” by Kristina Ten

Review of Kristina Ten, “Last Letter First,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Pregnancy, abortion.

What started off as a fun little story about the intimacy of acquaintance — the way in which two strangers thrown together through coincidence can suddenly become friends, only to just as suddenly separate, to go their own way and never see each other again — segued neatly into unexpected depths. In a sense, the reader and the story are themselves like Duri and Margosha, thrown together by accident, revealing something of each other, and then passing on.

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REVIEW: “Learning to Hate Yourself as a Self-Defense Mechanism” by Andrea Kriz

Review of Andrea Kriz, “Learning to Hate Yourself as a Self-Defense Mechanism”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

The narrator’s friend made a virtugame that featured their relationship. It also included a slightly fictionalized version of the narrator, a hurtful one at that.

You know that moment when you discover that someone you thought of as a friend just thought of you as a means to an end, a joke, or perhaps both?

That’s what our narrator faces, and then makes a choice. An insightful story into interpersonal relationships, especially with people who think of you in a much different way than you think of them.

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REVIEW: “No One at the Wild Dock” by Gu Shi

Review of Gu Shi, “No One at the Wild Dock”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A timely, beautiful story. It was exceedingly well written. It’s stories like these that keep drawing me back to translated fiction.

The progression of AI from childlike curiosity and learning difficulties, to slowly gaining knowledge, skills and eventually sentience is lovely, with a perspective that I’ve rarely seen.

The depth of emotion, and subtle changes in interaction as the AI develops and grows are part of what made this story magical for me.

The story is truly poignant due to the commentary on the present state of humanity and our technological dependence inter-weaved with the staggering growth of AI’s abilities.

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REVIEW: “Bishop’s Opening” by R. S. A. Garcia

Review of R. S. A. Garcia, “Bishop’s Opening”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A 2022 Nebula Finalist novella with detailed world building and many characters – not an easy read, but an engaging one if you manage to get into the action. It took me a while to get invested in the story, but once I did it was a much quicker read.

I liked the parts with the starship crew more, probably because the Valencians seemed like a much greater, detailed world that we only got glimpses of. I still don’t fully understand the rules and technology of the world, which is probably just as well – it was part of the plot, but not the sole focus.

The characters were well defined and interesting. I also appreciated the diversity and queer representation. More than all that, I really enjoyed the prose. The author has a way of conveying emotion in just a few words, and I found myself re-reading particularly striking sentences and passages.

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