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A review by mikewhiteman
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 125 by Neil Clarke
3.0
Assassins - Jack Skillingstead & Burt Courtier ***
A woman whose character in an online game/reality TV "experience" was deleted for lack of popularity begins killing off the most popular characters. Nice take on the real-world impact of celebrity.
Prosthetic Daughter - Nin Harris ***
Time-hopping identity theft when all memories are cloud-based. Thoughtful and considered on memory and identity when both can be removed and replaced.
How Bees Fly - Simone Heller ***
Post-technology creatures fear the human monsters hiding underground and incinerate any contamination. A midwife meets a pregnant couple and they offer each other protection and hope in different ways.
Rain Ship - Chi Hui ***
Easy space opera adventure with intelligent descendants of rats living in the ruins of a spacefaring human society. Not full of intrigue but enough twists and turns to keep the action going. Impressive imagery towards the end on the Rain Ship itself. Massive overuse of footnotes.
Dragon's Deep - Cecelia Holland **
By-the-numbers fantasy of a girl stolen by a dragon who forms a tentative bond by telling him stories. Her loyalties are tested when she returns to her feudal village.
The Dragonslayer Of Merebarton - KJ Parker ****
A detached and ironic tale of an old knight reluctantly being summoned to fight a dragon, resigned to his fate. Smoothly blends a modern tone with traditional fantasy elements.
A woman whose character in an online game/reality TV "experience" was deleted for lack of popularity begins killing off the most popular characters. Nice take on the real-world impact of celebrity.
Prosthetic Daughter - Nin Harris ***
Time-hopping identity theft when all memories are cloud-based. Thoughtful and considered on memory and identity when both can be removed and replaced.
How Bees Fly - Simone Heller ***
Post-technology creatures fear the human monsters hiding underground and incinerate any contamination. A midwife meets a pregnant couple and they offer each other protection and hope in different ways.
Rain Ship - Chi Hui ***
Easy space opera adventure with intelligent descendants of rats living in the ruins of a spacefaring human society. Not full of intrigue but enough twists and turns to keep the action going. Impressive imagery towards the end on the Rain Ship itself. Massive overuse of footnotes.
Dragon's Deep - Cecelia Holland **
By-the-numbers fantasy of a girl stolen by a dragon who forms a tentative bond by telling him stories. Her loyalties are tested when she returns to her feudal village.
The Dragonslayer Of Merebarton - KJ Parker ****
A detached and ironic tale of an old knight reluctantly being summoned to fight a dragon, resigned to his fate. Smoothly blends a modern tone with traditional fantasy elements.