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A review by richardleis
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #229 by Theodore McCombs, Scott H. Andrews, R.B. Lemberg
4.0
It took me a little while to get into "A Portrait of the Desert in Personages of Power, Pt. 1" by Rose Lemberg, but it eventually worked its magic. The characters, especially the protagonist, are so compelling and I was won over by the complex interpersonal relationships against the complex universe that surrounds them. The final scenes of Part 1 as characters begin to recognize the assumptions they have made about each other were really powerful and left me excited to jump into Part 2, which I will do very soon…
"Ora et Labora" by Theodore McCombs is a powerful story set in a fully-realized world in which mathematics and religion construct a barrier–perhaps a protective one despite all of its horrors–around society’s castoffs. There are hints about some of the story’s secrets early in the piece, but I glossed over them because I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from such a dangerous tale. As the truth is revealed, the story comes into sharp, visceral focus even as the future is left ambiguous. The end comes with lots of ramifications to think about.
Other elements I enjoyed about this story: the imagery and beautiful language to describe an awful circumstance; the way my sympathies as a reader changed as more information was revealed; the use of religious jargon (lots of words I had to look up, but I found that really fun); the characters and how they are revealed in small details that take on greater meaning later in the story.
"Ora et Labora" by Theodore McCombs is a powerful story set in a fully-realized world in which mathematics and religion construct a barrier–perhaps a protective one despite all of its horrors–around society’s castoffs. There are hints about some of the story’s secrets early in the piece, but I glossed over them because I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from such a dangerous tale. As the truth is revealed, the story comes into sharp, visceral focus even as the future is left ambiguous. The end comes with lots of ramifications to think about.
Other elements I enjoyed about this story: the imagery and beautiful language to describe an awful circumstance; the way my sympathies as a reader changed as more information was revealed; the use of religious jargon (lots of words I had to look up, but I found that really fun); the characters and how they are revealed in small details that take on greater meaning later in the story.