Fun With Evil Swords
Fun with evil swords and less than solid science.
Review: Analog Science Fiction & Fact January/February 2024
Whatever Trevor’s theme is this time, it’s on the dark side. A lot of these stories are a bit negative and depressing. I suppose concentrating them all in one issue keeps things hopeful elsewhere. Unusually, there’s nothing in here longer than a novelette.
The best stories in my opinion were “You’re 16” by Steve Ingerman, “Tepid War” by Jay Werkheiser” and “Hull Run” by David Goodman. But everything in it was solid, with no major disappointments. Oh, and I also got some entertainment from “A Vintage Atmosphere” by Huw Steer. It both makes a lot of sense and doesn’t at the same time…
A solid issue.
Review: Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology, ed Wole Talabi, Android Press
Shared worlds are always interesting, and Mothersound is no exception. Furthermore, there’s a coherence to this that reminds me of Thieves World. In a good way. 14 stories, 14 authors, one story. Talabi’s notes for each story help, placing them in temporal, spatial, and cultural context.
It’s full blown science fantasy, although I enjoyed the more fantasy leaning stories more than the more science fiction leaning ones on the whole. I don’t, though, have a favorite story. That’s because this read almost like a fix up novel. These authors have chemistry that I haven’t seen in a while. It’s really quite beautiful.
Highly recommended, and read the entire thing. In order.
Note: This book nightmare fueled me for the first time in years. Of course, it’s going to be something not horror that gets me.
Copy provided for review and award consideration purposes.
Review: Overlord by James Fullilove (Atmosphere Press)
CW: Racial slurs. CW: Animal death (so much animal death). CW: …science.
So, as an exploration of white supremacy and just how screwed up America is, this book really works. The author is Black and he pulls absolutely no punches. He shows just how close we are to dictatorship…but also implies that it might be necessary. Or is it? (It’s clear from the ending that more books are planned).
As science fiction, unfortunately, it does not. So, here are the problems:
1. The North Atlantic plate somehow sinks. I don’t quite get the mechanism. I’ll kind of give him this one as it was necessary for the plot, but it bothered me.
2. There’s an earthquake and California falls into the sea. We all know this won’t happen. I give it to him more because it’s such a known trope. I feel a rant coming on here. There may be a longer rant, but the worst case scenario is flooding the central rift valley. Which would be bad. But no, California is not going to fall into the sea.
3. Cleveland is now on the east coast. No. No. No. Basic geography! Cleveland is a port on the Great Lakes. Also, the Appalachians are not a very high mountain range. They are still a mountain range. They are between Cleveland and the East Coast. If the water was high enough to overtop them, then we’d be left with pretty much the Rockies. Even saying Cleveland didn’t sink as much doesn’t help. If, instead, the Hudson overtopped into the Great Lakes, which certainly would happen, Cleveland would be, well…gone. Sorry. I justcan’t give him this one.
4. Sea water resistant gold. I hope I don’t even need to say more.
I mean, I enjoyed it. Great characters, really good action and, again, at the political and sociological level it worked. But there is no such thing as sea water resistant gold…because all gold is sea water resistant.
Sigh.
Recommended for people who can overlook science errors and enjoy a good political thriller.
Copy provided for review and award consideration purposes.
Review: The Demon Sword Asperides by Sarah Jean Horwitz
This YA fantasy novel is just…fun. Nack was born to be a knight, born to one of the clans, and trained to eventually wield an angel blade and protect the living from the, well, not living. Instead, he finds himself bound to the demon sword Asperides.
Who is utterly evil and made to be so. Yes, this is a magic sword story, and yes, the sword talks, but Horwitz plays with the trope by making the main arc the sword’s story. And it’s a redemption arc, which I will never tire of.
Nack’s own arc is all about realizing his family aren’t…what he thought they were, but Asperides is the more interesting character, ultimately.
It’s darkly humorous and a quick read…and definitely worth appreciating by adults as well as teens. Get it for your kid…and sneakily read it first yourself.
Copy provided for review and award consideration purposes.
Review: Analog March/April 2024
The anchor story of the issue is a novella very much in conversaion with Heinlein. In “Ganny Goes To War,” David Gerrold writes what almost feels like a sequel to The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress except it’s actually standing in stark opposition to it. At the same time, the characters and the family dynamic, not to mention the name “Hazel,” all feel very Heinlein. I see what you did there, David.
A lot of the shorter stories somehow feature “deities,” including “Gab” by Adam-Troy Castro and “Ramanujan’s Goddess” by Naim Kabir. But I more enjoyed “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts” by Sean Monaghan, even if the ending disappointed me somehow.
My biggest disappointment, however, was the editorial that seemed to support the use of AI in creating fiction. I don’t want to share a TOC with a robot until the robot can enjoy the creative process. I think, though, the tide is turning against AI. The science article was more interesting, although slightly out of date…we now can clone healthy animals that don’t end up like poor Dolly.
Overall an enjoyable issue with some very interesting stories.
Review: The Ghost Job by Greg Van Eekhout
This is a cute YA story about some kids who die in a chemistry lab explosion, become ghosts, and are taught to be thieves by a medium. Psst, she’s evil. Obviously.
Their goal is to get their lives back, but of course, they come to understand it’s not so bad being ghosts. Adorable, and I think I would have appreciated this one more at the right age. That said, them being ghosts avoids a lot of the “where are the adults” problems inherent to certain types of MG/YA adventure fiction and the characters are all worth getting to know.
Copy provided for review and award consideration purposes.