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cathepsut's review
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
3.5
STONES by Nnedi Okorafor
5790 words, 18 pages, ☄️☄️☄️☄️
“I don’t know if I can die. Maybe when this comet reaches the sun, I’ll keep right on being.“
Huh, strange. A very old and benevolent space traveler encounters Earth. Humans are not kind.
No, I still haven’t read Binti.
THE QUEEN OF CALLIGRAPHIC SUSURRATIONS by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
3890 words, 13 pages, 🐝
I don‘t think we‘ll become friends. I read some poetry by her that I didn‘t get and a short story that was just ok. This here is about creative writing with an AI. Is it still personal art? However, I just don‘t like her writing style.
A GUIDE TO MATCHMAKING ON STATION 9 by Nika Murphy
4020 words, 15 pages, 💍💍💍
“The number one thing to remember about matchmaking on Station 9 is to keep your hyper-synesthesia under control.“
The synesthesia was the most interesting part of the story. Talking about yourself in the 2nd person is odd. The story was cute in a way, but did not really do much for me.
AXIOM OF DREAMS by Arula Ratnakar,
22570 words, 76 pages, ➕➖➗✖️🟰
“Truth lives at the top of this mountain. Our floating fractal god, housed in a temple within the clouds.“
This is something for lovers of mathematics. And parallel universes. Fascinating idea, although the math went over my head a lot. I know a lot more about polyhedrons, Platonic solids and fractals than I ever did.
The author is a neuroscientist. I am pretty sure I will read more of her fiction.
THE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD WHALE by Djuna, translated by Jihyun Park and Gordon Sellar
4680 words, 16 pages, 🐋🐋🐋🐋
“The whale sat about ten kilometers away from our raft.“
We are on a tidally locked planet. The nightside means death by freezing, the Day side is death by heat. People live in the twilight zone, on the backs of whales. Cool idea. Unless your whale dies…
THE FIVE REMEMBRANCES, ACCORDING TO STE-319 by R. L. Meza
1910 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖
“The STEs—or the Salt-The-Earths—are deployed first for a reason: we are outdated. Once activated, we destroy everything in our path, leaving nothing behind.“
Left behind by it‘s army, this weaponized robot finds its redemption. Didn‘t do much for me.
UPGRADE DAY by RJ Taylor
2080 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖🤖
“Today is upgrade day and Gabriel, a model 2098 post-human intelligence robotic service assistant, wears an appropriately festive hat.“
Uploaded consiousness. Sweet, but sad.
BEYOND THE GODZILLA TROPE: RADIATION BIOLOGY by Julie Nováková
Non-fiction. Interesting. 🧬🧬🧬🧬
VIOLENT REVOLUTIONS: A CONVERSATION WITH S.L. HUANG by Arley Sorg
Non-fiction. Very informative interview. 💧💧💧💧
I pushed The Water Outlaws to the top of my TBR pile.
5790 words, 18 pages, ☄️☄️☄️☄️
“I don’t know if I can die. Maybe when this comet reaches the sun, I’ll keep right on being.“
Huh, strange. A very old and benevolent space traveler encounters Earth. Humans are not kind.
No, I still haven’t read Binti.
THE QUEEN OF CALLIGRAPHIC SUSURRATIONS by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
3890 words, 13 pages, 🐝
I don‘t think we‘ll become friends. I read some poetry by her that I didn‘t get and a short story that was just ok. This here is about creative writing with an AI. Is it still personal art? However, I just don‘t like her writing style.
A GUIDE TO MATCHMAKING ON STATION 9 by Nika Murphy
4020 words, 15 pages, 💍💍💍
“The number one thing to remember about matchmaking on Station 9 is to keep your hyper-synesthesia under control.“
The synesthesia was the most interesting part of the story. Talking about yourself in the 2nd person is odd. The story was cute in a way, but did not really do much for me.
AXIOM OF DREAMS by Arula Ratnakar,
22570 words, 76 pages, ➕➖➗✖️🟰
“Truth lives at the top of this mountain. Our floating fractal god, housed in a temple within the clouds.“
This is something for lovers of mathematics. And parallel universes. Fascinating idea, although the math went over my head a lot. I know a lot more about polyhedrons, Platonic solids and fractals than I ever did.
The author is a neuroscientist. I am pretty sure I will read more of her fiction.
THE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD WHALE by Djuna, translated by Jihyun Park and Gordon Sellar
4680 words, 16 pages, 🐋🐋🐋🐋
“The whale sat about ten kilometers away from our raft.“
We are on a tidally locked planet. The nightside means death by freezing, the Day side is death by heat. People live in the twilight zone, on the backs of whales. Cool idea. Unless your whale dies…
THE FIVE REMEMBRANCES, ACCORDING TO STE-319 by R. L. Meza
1910 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖
“The STEs—or the Salt-The-Earths—are deployed first for a reason: we are outdated. Once activated, we destroy everything in our path, leaving nothing behind.“
Left behind by it‘s army, this weaponized robot finds its redemption. Didn‘t do much for me.
UPGRADE DAY by RJ Taylor
2080 words, 7 pages, 🤖🤖🤖🤖
“Today is upgrade day and Gabriel, a model 2098 post-human intelligence robotic service assistant, wears an appropriately festive hat.“
Uploaded consiousness. Sweet, but sad.
BEYOND THE GODZILLA TROPE: RADIATION BIOLOGY by Julie Nováková
Non-fiction. Interesting. 🧬🧬🧬🧬
VIOLENT REVOLUTIONS: A CONVERSATION WITH S.L. HUANG by Arley Sorg
Non-fiction. Very informative interview. 💧💧💧💧
I pushed The Water Outlaws to the top of my TBR pile.
sashas_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This was a great issue, imo! I ended up loving/liking all of the stories. I am very happy about this :)
“Stones” by Nnedi Okorafor – a mysterious and wondrous life-form travels the universe and encounters humans. A well-written, solid story. 4.0 stars.
“The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations” by D. A. Xiolin Spires – a breathtaking future take on aspiring authors, AI, and virtual reality. It’s gorgeously written. (Also, I interrupted my reading in order to resarch zhezhi and how it is different from origami. Fun!) The ending was way to abrupt, it left me wanting more. 4.3 stars.
“A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9” by Nika Murphy – heartbreaking, poignant, uplifting. There were glimpses of a world I wanted to see more of. I’ll be looking out for more stories by Nika Murphy! 4.9 stars.
"Axiom of Dreams" by Arula Ratnakar - Don't do strange experiments with brain chips! The characters, the dialogues, and the ending were not done well. But the neuroscience, the math, and the worlds were awesome! 4.2 stars
“The People from the Dead Whale” by Djuna – human colonists are trying to survive on a strange, tidally locked planet. There was a lot of world building going on in just a few pages! I liked the writing, too. 4.3 stars.
“The Five Remembrances, According to STE-319” by R. L. Meza – a discarded war robot does a humane and kind thing. It was quiet and lovely. 4.4 stars.
“Upgrade Day” by RJ Taylor – a story that wants to be wonderful and humane, but I am not sure what it wants to say. I wasn’t moved enough, I guess? Putting a human consciousness into a robot servant is a ghastly idea, though. 3.9 stars.
“Stones” by Nnedi Okorafor – a mysterious and wondrous life-form travels the universe and encounters humans. A well-written, solid story. 4.0 stars.
“The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations” by D. A. Xiolin Spires – a breathtaking future take on aspiring authors, AI, and virtual reality. It’s gorgeously written. (Also, I interrupted my reading in order to resarch zhezhi and how it is different from origami. Fun!) The ending was way to abrupt, it left me wanting more. 4.3 stars.
“A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9” by Nika Murphy – heartbreaking, poignant, uplifting. There were glimpses of a world I wanted to see more of. I’ll be looking out for more stories by Nika Murphy! 4.9 stars.
"Axiom of Dreams" by Arula Ratnakar - Don't do strange experiments with brain chips! The characters, the dialogues, and the ending were not done well. But the neuroscience, the math, and the worlds were awesome! 4.2 stars
“The People from the Dead Whale” by Djuna – human colonists are trying to survive on a strange, tidally locked planet. There was a lot of world building going on in just a few pages! I liked the writing, too. 4.3 stars.
“The Five Remembrances, According to STE-319” by R. L. Meza – a discarded war robot does a humane and kind thing. It was quiet and lovely. 4.4 stars.
“Upgrade Day” by RJ Taylor – a story that wants to be wonderful and humane, but I am not sure what it wants to say. I wasn’t moved enough, I guess? Putting a human consciousness into a robot servant is a ghastly idea, though. 3.9 stars.
atuin's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A very good Issue. My favorites were "Stones", a story about an alien beings first interaction with humanity, the good and the bad, "A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9" A story about a matchmaker coming to terms with her past while helping others, and "Axiom of Dreams, a longer story about exploring living beings inside of the brain, the ethics of brain chips, and mathematics.
justkyliep's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This issue was just okay for me, but I kind of suspected that would be the case going in. Though she's a lovely person and extremely intelligent, I find I disagree with Arula on the function of science fiction as a genre pretty fundamentally. Axiom of Dreams fell quite flat for me. With my very limited knowledge of higher math and a lack of compelling prose/complexity of characters, I found myself skimming large chunks of theorem waiting for it to get interesting. It mostly didn't. As the longest story in the issue, it dragged the whole experience down. That said, I think it's pretty clear a different kind of reader enjoyed it and there was certainly an interesting world to uncover there... so your mileage may vary!
On the shorter side, I really enjoyed how much of a punch some of the remaining stories packed. People from the Dead Whale, The Five Remembrances, and Upgrade Day were an incredibly strong run of bites into fascinating worlds with an emotional kick. I'm really enjoying short, short powerful stories like these these days. Matchmaking on Station 9 was decently interesting, but not particularly memorable to me just a week or so later. Stones, as is usual to my experiences with Nnedi Okorafor, wasn't something I felt I had a great handle on, but I enjoyed the writing and world nonetheless. Calligraphic Susurrations, meanwhile, is mostly confirming my bad opinion of AI fiction.
The non-fiction was decent this month! I particularly enjoyed the insight into The Water Outlaws—a book that's been on my TBR so long I'd forgotten what it was about. I'm definitely anxiously awaiting that hold now.
On the shorter side, I really enjoyed how much of a punch some of the remaining stories packed. People from the Dead Whale, The Five Remembrances, and Upgrade Day were an incredibly strong run of bites into fascinating worlds with an emotional kick. I'm really enjoying short, short powerful stories like these these days. Matchmaking on Station 9 was decently interesting, but not particularly memorable to me just a week or so later. Stones, as is usual to my experiences with Nnedi Okorafor, wasn't something I felt I had a great handle on, but I enjoyed the writing and world nonetheless. Calligraphic Susurrations, meanwhile, is mostly confirming my bad opinion of AI fiction.
The non-fiction was decent this month! I particularly enjoyed the insight into The Water Outlaws—a book that's been on my TBR so long I'd forgotten what it was about. I'm definitely anxiously awaiting that hold now.
howardgo's review against another edition
4.0
Issue 204 is the September edition of Clarkesworld Magazine. Below are my brief reviews of the included fiction.
The issue starts strong with "Stones" by Nnedi Okorafor. A creature "born" on a comet explores the universe for millennia before encountering humans. A tale of alien life learning and exploring and finding out that humans are fearful creatures who respond with violence. And finding one who responds with kindness and care. (My rating: 4/5)
Next up is "The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations" by D.A. Xiaoline Spires. A calligrapher uses an AI-driven digital brush to write a story for submission that is refused for using AI despite the AI only assisting. Interesting in the way it approaches the dilemma of where AI-written is different from AI-assisted. I didn't care for the writing style. It felt flowery and poetic in a way that didn't add to the story but instead bogged it down. (My rating: 3/5)
In "A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9", an empathic Jewish matchmaker with synesthesia living on a space station consults her ex-lover while making a few final matches before joining her daughter and newborn granddaughter on another space station. Nika Murphy's story is rich with so many layers for its brevity. Subtle. Much is explored without coming right out and saying it. This story really sank into me. (My rating: 5/5)
The longest story in the issue is "Axiom of Dreams" by Arula Ratnakar. A young woman explores her dreams in an attempt to solve a complex math problem to get into a PhD program. Very math-y in a way that may not be for everyone. A fascinating exploration of the nature of reality. (My rating: 4/5)
The most disappointing story for me was "The People from the Dead Whale" by Djuna, translated from Korean by Jihyun Park and Gord Seller. It takes place on a tidally locked planet that humans have colonized. They live on "whales" in the ocean between the scorching hot Day and freezing cold Night sides of the planet. A tribe of refugees from a dead "whale" seeks a new home. It's a very interesting world. This story is more of a tease or an introduction to even more. I'd be interested in more stories in this setting. (My rating: 3/5)
In "The Five Remembrance, According to STE-319" by R.L. Meza, a dying robot built to kill rescues a small girl on a battlefield. The remembrances are essentially statements that would only apply to humans, but yet are demonstrated by the robot. A critique of war, it is told from the perspective of the robot. (My rating: 4/5)
The issue concludes with an emotional bang with "Upgrade Day" by RJ Taylor. A person who sold their after life for a successful first life struggles as a post-human robot that is slowly growing obsolete. His owners can't afford to keep upgrading him. They offer to do the unthinkable while he stays on to care for the girl as she grows up. A poignant tale of sacrifice and dedication and learning the costs of our decisions. (My rating: 5/5)
Overall, my rating for this issue is 4 our of five stars. Clarkesworld seems to have consistently excellent stories. I always look forward to each issue.
techxplorer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
djwudi's review against another edition
3.0
Standout stories this month are Djuna’s “The People from the Dead Whale”, RJ Taylor’s “Upgrade Day”, and Arula Ratkanar’s “Axiom of Dreams” (which also introduced me to some mathematical concepts I didn’t know about).
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