Lightspeed Magazine, January 2013

My overall impression of this issue was a lot of good ideas that didn't quite turn into stories for me. I like stories with interesting ideas but I like them to affect me emotionally as well. I want to care about the characters. I like the plot and the themes to echo one another. I just wanted more, so on completing reading this issue, I felt a bit flat.

The Fear Gun by Judith Berman
Novella (Ebook Exclusive)

" 'Order,' she said, 'is not the same as civilisation. Order is about the strong controlling the weak. Civilisation is about protecting the weaker from the stronger, about us all living together in empathy, cultivating the connections between us--' ".

Aliens have landed, human civilisation splintered but we won in the end and now those who are left are trying to put life back together. In a small American town close to the site of a downed alien ship, different approaches to life after the alien invasion clash when the military roll in.

For some reason, this story reminded me of the TV series Jericho - I suppose because it is set in post-apocalyptic setting, but also because how it pokes into the lives and perspectives of different characters who all have conflicting ends, but are all sympathetic. The story is well-structured and the mechanism of how the story is told - dipping into the lives of an array of characters - supports the character-building and the themes of the tale.

In this rather disappointing issue, the novella was a definite highlight.

Impulse by Steven Gould
Novel Excerpt (Ebook Exclusive)

I've only seen the movie Jumper but this extract made me wonder whether the book was in fact much better than the movie. I like this take on how someone with supernatural powers would operate in our actual world. I think I may track this book down.

The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics by Daniel Abraham
Short Story: Fantasy

This was another highlight of this issue. As a student of economics, I was tickled by the series of conundrums faced by the Cambist. Due to its fairy tale structure, the story is told in a rather 'light' style and yet you feel deeply for the characters and some of the questions raised by the story are profound. The fairy tale feel, the characters, the themes and the plot all complement each other perfectly.

With Tales in Their Teeth, From the Mountain They Came by AC Wise
Short Story: Fantasy

This is where my disappointment with this issue started. After being unable to find closure in a relationship, a woman travels to a mysterious library to try and understand the magic of words. This story left me cold.

Daltharee by Jeffrey Ford
Short Story: Fantasy

A story of a city in a bottle in a world of shrinking rays and other such borderline-technology. I liked the style and there were some interesting ideas, but ultimately I didn't connect with the characters and found the plot itself unsatisfying.

Purity Test by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Short Story: Fantasy

I normally adore Rusch and I normally adore new takes on fairy tale or mythical themes. However, this didn't feel that original or interesting, and while I initially engaged with the protagonist and liked the structure of the tale, I ultimately didn't feel like the tale had an emotional pay-off.

The Sounds of Old Earth by Matthew Kessel
Short Story: Science Fiction

A man living in Old Earth's last days meets a group of teenagers that set him reminiscing about his own family. I liked aspects of this and it had some interesting ideas about our respect for the past and our modern 'throw-away' culture. Of all the stories, I wasn't mad about in this issue, this probably came closest to actually pulling together its structure, themes, characters and plot for a decent pay-off, but something made it fall just short.

Addison Howell and the Clockroach by Cherie Priest
Short Story: Science Fiction

The same story told in three different ways about a recluse who invents something outside of an American town in the eighteenth century. This story struck me as an attempt to be too clever by half. Ultimately, it had no characters and no themes. The structure undermined the plot - which I think was the point - but there was absolutely nothing of substance to this story. What was the reader meant to be left with?

Lifeline by Jonathan Olfert
Short Story: Science Fiction

The nebulous hope of meeting one's 'lifeline' brings two people from opposite ends of the economic spectrum together in a futuristic world. This one also had some interesting ideas and arguments, but what the author was trying to say about how the rich treat the poor and vice-versa didn't seem to be adequately served by the characters or plot.

Child-Empress of Mars by Theodora Goss
Short Story: Science Fiction

I also normally enjoy Goss and I almost enjoyed this. I liked the familiarity of the "sword and planet" tale, a la  Burroughs, combined with the contrast of how an alien life form sees it. These aliens have utterly different priorities and different way of looking at life, and Goss still makes it accessible. However, I thought the conclusion of the tale a bit trite and ultimately, the story didn't come together for me.