Asimov's Science Fiction, April/May 2013 by Sheila Williams

Asimov's Science Fiction, April/May 2013 Reviews

• 
  Jim

  Somewhat uneven story selection this month. Standouts amongst the short stories were
  
  The Oracle by Ken Liu
  Gray Wings by Karl Bunker
  The Wall by Naomi Kritzer
  
  Robert Silverberg's article My Desk was a nice read, but of course he's Robert Silverberg, so it would be expected. Also, Sheila Williams' editorial TFNG has a nice tip of the hat to the American astronauts we lost in 2012, as well as to the 35 astronauts selected to the Space Shuttle training program in 1978, which included Sally Ride, whom the editorial focuses on.
• 
  Kam Yung Soh

  A thick double-issue packed with stories, with interesting stories by Neil Asher, Joel Richards and Naomi Kritzer. Ken Liu's tale gives a nice, interesting answer to the question of how you should behave if you are able to know one moment in your future, especially if it is a bad moment, like killing somebody you love.
  
  - "The Other Gun" by Neil Asher: a rip-roaring tale about a cybernetically enhanced man on a mission (along with a bounty hunter turned into a dinosaur trodon) to gather back the parts of a weapon for the Client (a hive-like mind) to wage war on the alien prador who have wiped out the Client's species. As the story progresses, he starts to wonder about what his mission actually is and who he would use his own weapon (his 'other' gun) on.
  
  - "Through Your Eyes" by Linda Nagata: a tale about a teenager equipped with built-in recording and transmitting equipment who gets involved in a large demonstration against the War Machine corporations who are running the economy and sending to faraway wars. As he is arrested and roughly interrogated by the police, who don't know about his recording equipment, he has to choose what to do with the footage he has collected.
  
  - "Writing in the Margins" by Joel Richards: a thoughtful tale about a future where people can experience their past lives via a biological procedure, leading to more violent crimes by people who believe their future lives would be better. A detective is given a new lead in an old murder investigation via such a procedure and also protect his now paraplegic wife who he believes might kill herself. Yet, as the tale reveals, what you think about a person and what the person actually does may be very different.
  
  - "Indefensible Disclosures" by William John Watkins: I don't usually mention poetry (because I don't quite 'get it') but this one about the potential bad influence of poetry spreading strikes a good, humourous, note.
  
  - "Gray Wings" by Karl Bunker: a girl with nano modifications to fly crashes into the home of a poor native in Africa. As she heals, she wonders about the vast difference in culture and wealth between her and man who is helping her to get better.
  
  - "Julian of Earth" by Colin P. Davies: one man, as a boy, claims to have been captured by the legendary Julian and escapes to tell the tale, leading to a steady income later in life as a guide on Julian's life. But when his grand daughter apparently arrives to retrace the tale as a documentary, he has to decide whether to continue the tale or to tell the truth.
  
  - "The Wall" by Naomi Kritzer: a girl's future self arrives to urge her to go to West Berlin to watch the Berlin Wall fall. As she struggles with her studies and deciding whether to go, her future self re-appears time and again. But is the urging by her just to see a dramatic act of history take place or to make a more personal change in history?
  
  - "Spider God and the Periodic Table" by Alan Wall: a scientist is unexpectedly found murdered at his desk. But the way the murder was done leads the investigator to pair up with a pathologist (who was also a lover of the married scientist). The unsatisfying ending ends up in a confusion of metaphysics about how knowledge gets into the minds of great thinkers and who might be the one planting the knowledge.
  
  - "Distant Like the Stars" by Leah Cypess: in the future, Doors enable instant transport from one place to another, eliminating distance and the ability of teenagers to 'get away' from it all. One teenager, whose ability to 'open' the Doors wants to get away; and does so by joining an interstellar ship. But when the occupants decide that they also want a Door to join with the Earth, she has to decide whether to sabotage it to preserve her desires. In the end, a different solution would present itself to her.
  
  - "The Oracle" by Ken Liu: a device enables you to see one moment in your future; causing anguish to those that see their loved ones killed, and the setting up of a 'pre-crime' prison for those who see themselves murder someone in the future. One such 'pre-murderer' is visited by a member of a group who tries to record down his life and to convince him that, while the future may be set, the path to it is not. The closing argument used is rather unconventional but appropriate in the context of the story and provides a nice closure to the story.
  
  - "Warlord" by Tom Purdom: a continuation from the author's early story, "Golva's Ascent", this story tells the tale of a city inhabited by intelligent aliens (tree people, cat-like Warriors) and a few humans who have escaped from a tyrant ruling their colony. Only now, the tyrant has come looking for them and plans to invade their city with the help of other another city. Can they fight off the invasion and, if not, what would they do next?
• 
  Ron

  A nice big double issue, a fistful of reading. A novella, 4 novelettes, and 5 short stories along with a bunch of poems and several columns. Kind of a cool cover for Neal Asher's novella "The Other Gun".
  
  The Other Gun • novella by Neal Asher
  Through Your Eyes • shortstory by Linda Nagata
  Writing in the Margins • novelette by Joel Richards
  Gray Wings • shortstory by Karl Bunker
  Julian of Earth • novelette by Colin P. Davies
  The Wall • shortstory by Naomi Kritzer
  Spider God and the Periodic Table • novelette by Alan Wall
  Distant Like Stars • shortstory by Leah Cypess
  The Oracle • shortstory by Ken Liu
  Warlord • novelette by Tom Purdom
  
  I like Neal Asher's stories. They are fun space opera. “The Other Gun” is set in his Polity universe and a little knowledge of that setting adds to the story I think, but not necessary since Asher slips in clues or explanations of all you need to know. This story has bits of action interspersed with a lot of description of stuff in this future universe. The story is nominally about searching for pieces of an ancient weapon called a farcaster, but the fun in the story is the characters and the quest which yields an unexpected but satisfying ending. Readers who enjoy this story will likely enjoy Asher's other work and vice-versa.
  
  Linda Nagata's “Through Your Eyes” may click with readers who just cannot wait for their own google glass. This story seems all about showing off possible near future tech, but gets serious with issues about individual freedoms and rights and the War Machine. I didn't really like it much however.
  
  I think my problem with “Writing in the Margins” by Joel Richards is that I couldn't buy the premise that some new process in the near future lets us tap into the memories of past lives and in fact pull them out onto a video recorder. Just too outlandish. As a result I couldn't go with the rather long and otherwise interesting story that played out.
  
  I had a problem with the next story, “Gray Wings” by Karl Bunker, as well. I don't find it believable that people (in the nearish future at least) are going to be able to be bioengineered into growing wings so they can fly off on races across continents. And do overnight nano repairs that heal skin piercing leg breaks. That said, efforts are made to make it believable and this managed to be a rather touching short story that interested me.
  
  I enjoyed “Julian of Earth” by Colin P. Davies. A man on a colonial planet gives tours and tells the legend of Julian. When a documentary crew comes to record this story and see the sites, hidden truths come to light. I thought the characters in this were well done for a novelette and I enjoyed it.
  
  Naomi Kritzer's "The Wall" was a short and enjoyable time travel story. Maggie is at college and gets repeated visits from her much older future self "Meg" encouraging her to travel to Berlin because the Berlin Wall is going to come down. Little life suggestions are tossed in here and there as well. Eventually Maggie goes despite not being able to afford it and we find out why she needed to go in this nice little tale.
  
  I liked “Spider God and the Periodic Table” by Alan Wall until the end, and it was an end that went on forever. A scientific murder mystery with a dusting of X-Files. Two scientists designing and patenting deadly weapons die mysteriously. The story played along fairly well but the end was unexpectedly strange and for me an incomprehensible gobbledygook letdown. Turned this into the weakest story.
  
  “Distant like the Stars" by Leah Cypress was a mildly interesting short story about doors that can transport you instantly somewhere else. As a young child Leah opens a door in her house that leads to Jerusalem for example. She is one of a gifted few who can open these doors.
  
  Another odd premise in Ken Liu's “The Oracle.” Some people get to see a minute of their lives in the future. People who see a criminal event are pre-judged. People react in many different ways to their glimpse of a defining moment. I liked this story.
  
  Tom Purdom’s “Warlord” is a follow-up to two earlier stories that I haven't read. It felt a lot like jumping in to the middle of a novel. Otherwise it was a modestly entertaining military space opera piece about an unusual alliance in war. I liked it.
  
  read in 2014
• 
  Denise Barney

  This is a "double issue," so there are some longer stories and novellas. I enjoyed the poem, "Indefensible Disclosures," which begins: "The Federal Center for Controlling Things/wishes to know where I contracted poetry." The novelette "Writing in the Margins" takes place in San Francisco--and the author, Joel Richards, lives in the Bay Area--points for geographical correctness! The novelette is also a police procedural--more points. I also liked "Julian of Earth" by Colin P. Davies, about the impacts of legends and how they begin. Those were probably my favorite overall.
  
  Still, a lot of sf bang for the buck!
• 
  Frankenoise

  Novella
  The Other Gun by Neal Asher (10/10)
  Novelettes
  Writing in the Margins by Joel Richards (6/10)
  Julian of Earth by Colin Davies (7/10)
  Spider God and the Periodic Table by Allan Wall (7/10)
  Warlord by Tom Purdom (/610)
  Short Stories
  Through Your Eyes by Linda Nagata (7/10)
  Gray Wings by Karl Bunker (6/10)
  The Wall by Naomi Kritzer (7/10)
  Distant Like the Stars by Leah Cyress (5/10)
  The Oracle by Ken Liu (6/10)
  Poems: 4/10
• 
  Sara

  The longer pieces dragged and were difficult to orient myself in, but Naomi Kritzer's short deserves five stars.
• 
  Jeremy

  Some really fun stories in this issue