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klaudiakoczi's review
5.0
I need my own love story like from A CATALOGUE OF SUNLIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD *in tears*
thesffreader's review
4.0
Original Fiction
"Octo-Heist in Progress" by Rich Larson ****
I really enjoy Rich Larson short fiction so I was anticipated this one and it delivered. It’s a heist story featuring an octopus in search of a lost pair of shoes and drugs. It’s fun, fast-paced and a good time.
"What the South Wind Whispers" by H. Pueyo **1/2
The main character is trans man operating shields on a remote island to protect humanity from an alien invasion. He suffers from autism and has trouble working with other people until one day he gets a co-worker, a woman who may finally understand his problems, at least, if the AI operating the station doesn’t convince him to shut the shield off.
Good ideas but the execution wasn’t done that well in my opinion, the last few scenes were rushed and the shift in the characters’s motivations was way to quick and didn’t really make sense which was a shame. It didn’t feel like a finished story, I think it would have worked better if a thousand or so words were added.
"Ghost Island" by E.E. King *** 1/2
Soldiers on an island start to go insane as their dreams start to show them alternate realities. Soon they don’t know who they are anymore, why they’re on the island and why the world is colorless and sad.
The premise was not that original but the execution and the pacing were well done. For how short the story was, it had quite the emotional impact.
"The Gift of Angels: an introduction" by Nina Allan *****
The Gift of Angels is set in a future version of Paris and follow a writer as he tries to discover who his mother, one of the first astronauts who died on a mission to Mars, was. He follows her step in Paris and he visits several museums, cafés and streets her mother once visited.
I really admire Nina Allan, she’s a great writer so I’m always looking forward to her stories. I’m also a bit biased because I studied and lived in Paris. I love this city and reading about streets and places I use to often go too is always a great experience for me so it made me enjoy this even more.
"The Love Letters" by Peng Simeng **
This one fell short, it’s a series of love letters written by an android as he searches for a rare metal by exploring asteroids. Maybe I would have enjoy this more if it had been a little longer but here I didn’t care.
Reprints
"Death on Mars" by Madeline Ashby *****
It’s my second favorite story of the issue, the title of the story is a bit misleading because I was expecting a war story or a military one set on Mars but it’s actually much quieter than that. It follows the crew of a spaceship studying samples from Mars and how their group dynamic is shattered when they learn about the illness of their leader.
It’s a poignant and sad little story and it left me in tears at the end. I read other stories by Ashby and I enjoyed them as well but this one is the best I read by her so far. I really need to check her longer works.
"A Catalogue of Sunlight at the End of the World" by A.C. Wise ****
An old man accounts of the departure of a generation ship. It was an emotional ride as the entire family of the man is leaving on the ship and we slowly learned why he doesn’t want to follow them. It’s a quiet story but it touched me more than I thought it would.
"Octo-Heist in Progress" by Rich Larson ****
I really enjoy Rich Larson short fiction so I was anticipated this one and it delivered. It’s a heist story featuring an octopus in search of a lost pair of shoes and drugs. It’s fun, fast-paced and a good time.
"What the South Wind Whispers" by H. Pueyo **1/2
The main character is trans man operating shields on a remote island to protect humanity from an alien invasion. He suffers from autism and has trouble working with other people until one day he gets a co-worker, a woman who may finally understand his problems, at least, if the AI operating the station doesn’t convince him to shut the shield off.
Good ideas but the execution wasn’t done that well in my opinion, the last few scenes were rushed and the shift in the characters’s motivations was way to quick and didn’t really make sense which was a shame. It didn’t feel like a finished story, I think it would have worked better if a thousand or so words were added.
"Ghost Island" by E.E. King *** 1/2
Soldiers on an island start to go insane as their dreams start to show them alternate realities. Soon they don’t know who they are anymore, why they’re on the island and why the world is colorless and sad.
The premise was not that original but the execution and the pacing were well done. For how short the story was, it had quite the emotional impact.
"The Gift of Angels: an introduction" by Nina Allan *****
The Gift of Angels is set in a future version of Paris and follow a writer as he tries to discover who his mother, one of the first astronauts who died on a mission to Mars, was. He follows her step in Paris and he visits several museums, cafés and streets her mother once visited.
I really admire Nina Allan, she’s a great writer so I’m always looking forward to her stories. I’m also a bit biased because I studied and lived in Paris. I love this city and reading about streets and places I use to often go too is always a great experience for me so it made me enjoy this even more.
"The Love Letters" by Peng Simeng **
This one fell short, it’s a series of love letters written by an android as he searches for a rare metal by exploring asteroids. Maybe I would have enjoy this more if it had been a little longer but here I didn’t care.
Reprints
"Death on Mars" by Madeline Ashby *****
It’s my second favorite story of the issue, the title of the story is a bit misleading because I was expecting a war story or a military one set on Mars but it’s actually much quieter than that. It follows the crew of a spaceship studying samples from Mars and how their group dynamic is shattered when they learn about the illness of their leader.
It’s a poignant and sad little story and it left me in tears at the end. I read other stories by Ashby and I enjoyed them as well but this one is the best I read by her so far. I really need to check her longer works.
"A Catalogue of Sunlight at the End of the World" by A.C. Wise ****
An old man accounts of the departure of a generation ship. It was an emotional ride as the entire family of the man is leaving on the ship and we slowly learned why he doesn’t want to follow them. It’s a quiet story but it touched me more than I thought it would.
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
Octo-Heist In Progress - Rich Larson ****
What The South Wind Whispers - H Pueyo ***
Ghost Island - EE King ***
The Gift Of Angels, an introduction - Nina Allan *****
The Love Letters - Peng Simeng, trans. S Qiouyi Lu ***
Death On Mars - Madeline Ashby ***
A Catalogue Of Sunlight At The End Of The World - AC Wise ****
What The South Wind Whispers - H Pueyo ***
Ghost Island - EE King ***
The Gift Of Angels, an introduction - Nina Allan *****
The Love Letters - Peng Simeng, trans. S Qiouyi Lu ***
Death On Mars - Madeline Ashby ***
A Catalogue Of Sunlight At The End Of The World - AC Wise ****
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