Riding Dragons and Punching Nazis, Alas Not at the Same Time
Reviews of Summoned By Dragons and Ethos and Cain, plus short fiction
Bonus fiction post because the only speculative fiction I’ve watched in a couple of weeks is the Doctor Who special
Review: Summoned By Dragons: Fire And Friendship by Joan Marie Verba
This is a very straightforward wish fulfillment narrative with a side of “I care about ecology.” Dragons suddenly start appearing and laying their eggs on farms all over the world…family farms. The hatchlings help keep vermin away until they grow wings, take off, and vanish…to their other world/planet/dimension.
Turns out that something called The Terror has been eating dragon eggs…shells and all…and they’ve been sending their eggs to Earth.
When I say wish fulfillment, it’s all people are basically good, dragonriding, and doing science. Cute, but a little lacking in depth. Recommended for people who want to ride dragons.
Review: Ethos of Cain by Seth W. James
This is the first in a series and it slightly shows…I was definitely left wanting to know what happened next. The book reminded me favorably of Morgan’s Thirteen/Black Man, but it felt almost as if the author read it and went “I want to do that but with less eugenics and fridging. And more Nazis.” I would have enjoyed it more of there had been more Nazi punching and if Cain’s ethnicity had come over a bit less…aesthetic. (I checked. The author appears to be white). But still recommended for people who like classic cyberpunk tech merc stories. With Nazis.
Short Fiction
Science Facts! by Sarah Pinsker (Lost Places, Small Beer Press)
I’m not generally fond of Pinsker’s short fiction because she drifts too experimental for me, but this is an entertaining light horror story about girl scouts on a camping trip…a little bit surreal and I’m not sure of all that happened, but a fun read.
Discord by John Wiswell
Another of Wiswell’s telepath stories, not much depth to it, really just about whether love is a good thing or not. Eros, that is, of course.
A Funeral by Thomas Broderick (The Piker Press)
A cute story about the consequences of not giving your generation ship AI enough to do. Don’t worry, it’s actually cute, not terrible.
Her Finished Wings by Marisca Pichette (Wilted Pages)
A darkly beautiful story about sapphic succubi…and becoming yourself. I don’t have much more to say that won’t spoiler it.
Human Beans by Eugen Bacon (Life Beyond Us)
This one is definitely wish fulfillment. Aliens start abducting people to take them to a better planet…people with “inconveniences.” Some of them are dying and can get healed, some are queer people who have been disowned, people trying to escape abusive relationships. The story is solely “They get out.” Pretty, cute…
Power Armor For Poltergeists! By Simon Christiansen
So imagine summoning your dead family into military grade robots. Then imagine how a typical western government would react. It’s actually quite a romp and I definitely recommend it for people who like this sort of story.
P.S., don’t put your dead wife in military grade power armor. Or maybe do. Depends on how jealous she is of your living one, right?
The Dead Planet by Liam Hogan (Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter)
Creepy. They check out the planet with satellites around it and it turns out every grain of sand on it is part of a eulogy.
Where are they now?
An Endless Sea of Diamond Dust by Deborah L. Davitt (Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter)
A bounty hunter discovers his target…okay, not much I can say on this flash piece that isn’t spoiler, but it’s oddly quiet and meaningful.
Quantum Love by Sylvia Heike (Flash Fiction Online)
There are just so many cute stories out there right now, and this one is cute. A quantum computer falls in love with one of its programmers…but the ending is not what I expected.
Pinnochio Photography by Angela Liu (Clarkesworld)
Reanimating the dead for one last photo. It should be gross and disgusting. Instead, it’s a sweet exploration of fatherhood. (And apparently I’m getting better, it would have made me cry a month ago. I miss my dad).
The Ocean Remembers the Wave by L Chan (Strange Horizons)
…Wow. I’m not a great connoisseur of wuxia, but enjoy it to the best of my knowledge. This story is science fiction wuxia with both sword battles and song battles (I’m a sucker for all things along those lines, from rap battles to flyting). Highly enjoyable. Recommended.
Hexagon 15
Nice issue that mostly focuses on the theme of water. Looks like some of the rejected stories from the water horror anthology made it here.
Anaximancy by Simon Christansen (Penumbric Speculative Fiction)
A story set in a reality where the Earth is a cylinder, Columbus sailed off the edge, and astronauts are going through the Moon. Not a typo. Based on the cosmology of an obscure Greek philosopher. The story itself is cute. The worldbuilding is fascinating.
Tantie Merle and the Farmhand by R.S.A. Garcia (Uncanny Magazine)
Woman is given a robot to help her with a recalcitrant goat. Reminds me of Number 5 in a good way…just a very cute story about awakening AI and relationships.
Axiom of Dreams by Arula Ratnakar (Clarkesworld)
This is another one that gave me a “wow” reaction, and you can read this entire novella for free. A woman gets a brain enhancement chip to try and help her solve a major mathematical problem. She’s told not to take drugs. She does anyway. This story is weird, surreal, delightful, and recommended.
All of these pieces were either available for free online or sent to me for review/award consideration purposes.