Asimov's Science Fiction January/February 2020 by Sheila Williams

Asimov's Science Fiction January/February 2020 Reviews

• 
  D Dyer

  A better than average issue. Some of my favorite stories were, “an alien on Crete” eight first contact story with a slowly building twist, “third shift” A very different sort of alien contact story featuring a non-binary character, “The palace of dancing dogs” which is a continuation of the adventures in “escape from sanctuary” which appeared in an earlier issue and The heartbreaking dystopian tail “you’ll live.”
• 
  Paul

  Not This Tide by Sheila Finch was amazing, my favorite novella of the year so far. It is a WWII story about a young girl who is trying to survive the bombing of London and her future self as an old woman being recognized for her efforts for peace. It also has her father manning an anti-aircraft gun in the English channel and the decisions he must make there. So good and emotional. - 5
  
  The Reflection of White Lies by Meredith Lozaga Really solid short story that had a killer ending. It centers around a family that is testing having an AI as a spouse. - 4
  
  A Pack of Tricks by Leah Cypress - A woman is a model for Renaissance painters and she meets someone from the future. Great story about cultural norms and accepting those norms or not. - 4
  
  I also liked Doug C. Souza's story The Kaleidoscope City and B.S. Donovan's depressing story You'll Live.
  
  Other stories were:
  Neal Asher An Alien on Crete
  Jean-Louis Trudel The Way to Compostela
  Timons Esaias Go.Now.Fix
  Dominica Phetteplace The Antidote
  Mar Catherine Stratford Third Shift
  
  Overall, it was a good issue. I didn't read the other novella by Allen M. Steele because it was a follow-up from the previous month's novella. This was my first entire Asimov's magazine edition and I'll definitely keep subscribing.
• 
  Gary

  "The Antidote" by Dominica Phetteplace is one of my picks for the Best Short SFF of January 2020:
  https://1000yearplan.com/2020/02/01/t...
• 
  Michael Frasca

  Here are my favorite stories:
  
  - The Palace of Dancing Dogs by
  Allen Steele. The continuing saga of the human settlers on Tawcenty and their ongoing low-level conflict with the indigenous Cetans. A human contingent makes a surreptitious ocean voyage from their Pale of Settlement to a more advanced city/state of the Cetans. Along the way, the humans discover more about how they came to be on this world. Steele avoids making this a travelogue while building up to climatic scene between two long standing rivals. Can you find the Grateful Dead Easter egg?

  
  - Not this Tide by
  Sheila Finch. “A thing that seems of enormous importance can amount to nothing in the grand sweep of history…And conversely, a little thing can bring down an empire” A wonderful story split between three settings: London - December 1944, Shivering Sands Maunsell* Army Fort in the English Channel - December 1944, and Oslo Noble Peace Prize ceremony December 2035. At first, you might not think this a science fiction or fantasy story, but little things start popping up and you’ll say “Ah Ha!” Pairs well with Black Out/All Clear by Connie Willis.


  * Be sure to check out Maunsell forts on Wikipedia.

  
  - An Alien on Crete by Neal Asher. A meteor fall in the mountainous interior of Crete…or was it something else? A British expat takes a hike, changing his life, and perhaps everyone’s life, forever.

  
  - A Pack of Tricks by
  Leah Cypress. Women during the Renaissance had three career choices - marriage, the convent or prostitution. Because of circumstance, Lucia seems destined for the last, but she seeks a fourth way as an artist’s model. “My beauty was my only possible path out of starvation.”
 However a Visitor has been hanging around the atelier.

  
  - Third Shift by
  Mar Catherine Stratford. A lonely diner just off the highway. The third shift. Strange violet lights in the desert mountains. A man who is not tall driving a black car. And two people who have escaped abusive situations, but may have been ‘taken.’ All it needs is some invisible pie. Pairs well with Welcome to Night Vale.

  
  - GO. NOW. FIX. by
  Timons EsaiasTimons Esaias. Over-powered smart devices to the rescue…led by a plushy! Give it a hug, because it deserves one.

  
  - The Refraction of White Lies by
  Meredith LozagaMeredith Lozaga. Whites lies in a constructed relationship…what could go wrong? If Lozaga pitched this idea to Rod Serling, it for sure would have appeared on The Twilight Zone.

  
  - The Kaleidoscope City by
  Doug C. SouzaDoug C. Souza. Sometimes a loved one’s bucket list becomes your own. And that can be a good thing.
  
• 
  Gerhard

  Review to follow.
• 
  Amelia

  PandaPillow is the greatest hero of our time and deserves the world
• 
  Mark Catalfano

  I liked "An Alien on Crete" by Neal Asher
• 
  Antonio Ippolito

  "Not this Tide" by Sheila Finch. 80% romanzo storico e 20% fantascienza, la storia di copertina è senz’altro la più bella di questo numero. Il titolo è ispirato a una poesia di Kipling, dettata come altre dal dolore per il figlio perso nella I Guerra Mondiale. Il tema è appunto l’impatto della guerra sulle vite dei singoli, visto attraverso le esperienze (in parte autobiografiche) di una bambina che vive con la madre e la sorella nella Londra sottoposta ai bombardamenti delle V1 e delle prime V2, nel dicembre ’44, mentre il padre è stato richiamato in una postazione antiaerea nell’estuario del Tamigi. Un vivido racconto della vita quotidiana in questi due ambienti (i giochi dei bambini, con la curiosità macabra per case bombardate e aerei abbattuti; la noia della vita in una fortezza affollata dove non c’è poi davvero molto da fare..) si alterna con i preparativi per la consegna dei Nobel della Pace nel 2035.. sembrerebbe tutto realistico, se la piccola Rosemary non avesse un amico immaginario, proprio somigliante al Francis Drake dei suoi libri di scuola, che la avvisa dei pericoli peggiori; e anche suo padre, nella solitaria fortezza sulla Manica, incontra un commilitone che non sembra essere davvero parte della guerra.. tutto si legherà, alla fine; e il messaggio più importante è che è inutile vincere una guerra contro il Male se diventiamo Male anche noi: perchè davvero una guerra possa “metter fine a tutte le guerre”, come si era sperato durante la precedente “Guerra europea”, serve un approccio diverso. E chi pianterà i semi di questo approccio?
  L’idea fantascientifica non è originalissima ma usata con profondità. Della Finch Asimov’s aveva pubblicato un buon racconto weird 2 anni fa.
  
  "The Palace of Dancing Dogs" by Allen M. Steele.
  Questo episodio conclude la saga iniziata più di un anno fa con “Starship Mountain”: i nostri protagonisti, che all’inizio come tutti i terrestri vivevano confinati sull’isola di Santuario per volontà dei Cetani, ignorando tutto della loro storia ma anche del mondo intorno, ormai sanno di essere i discendenti di un’astronave precipitata secoli prima; e hanno capito che la scienza è più solida e seria della magia. Ora li aspetta la sfida più grande: attraversare l’Oceano su una nave di mercanti- contrabbandieri cetani per raggiungere un continente sconosciuto, ma di fatto ben più importante della loro isola d’esilio!
  Proprio qui questa serie mostra le sue debolezze, insieme ai pregi. Se indubbiamente Steele sa mantenere il ritmo e la piacevolezza di tutti i suoi romanzi, trovo che manchi il respiro e la fantasia visiva di “Coyote”: è significativo che della traversata di un Oceano sconosciuto nulla ci venga detto, ma si passi direttamente all’arrivo in porto! Quanti misteri si celavano invece nei fiumi e nei mari di Coyote!
  La sorpresa davanti alle imponenti costruzioni cetane, la vita di una capitale ben più raffinata di Landencite (il “Landing Site”, capitale di Santuario, volutamente tenuta arretrata dai Cetani), addirittura l’impensata presenza di umani! Sono tutte situazioni rese con “sense of wonder”; ma troppi fatti sono narrati o saputi indirettamente più che vissuti. La benevolenza della principessa Ikko verso gli umani, l’odio implacabile del Guardiano Bart verso il nostro protagonista, l’antipatia di questi verso la compagna di avventure Pilot.. restano sentimenti superficiali e non troppo spiegati, meno concreti dei contrasti tra i coloni di Coyote; un po’ da fumetto, senza voler parlar male dei fumetti.
  
  "An Alien on Crete" di Neal Asher. Un inglese espatriato a Creta vive, tra fascino e timore, un primo contatto con un alieno oggettivamente orrendo. Trama non originalissima ma molto ben narrata: i sentimenti del protagonista, la sfida con l’esercito che vorrebbe appropriarsi dell’essere..
  "A Pack of Tricks" di Leah Cypess. La Cypess, versatile e simpatica autrice di racconti, ci porta questa volta in una non precisata città dell’Italia rinascimentale, dove una giovane modella per sopravvivere nella competizione con le altre (non è nata povera e pronta a tutto come le altre: è caduta in miseria da una buona condizione sociale, quindi non vuole fare l’amante o la prostituta..) decide di affrontare il rischio di farsi ritrarre dal grande artista Don Taorzi, che però ha rapporti con i misteriosi e malvisti Visitatori. Scoprirà che essi vengono dal futuro per studiare gli snodi fondamentali della storia dell’arte; in questo caso i rapporti tra Taorzi e il suo discepolo. Saprà che il ritratto che le verrà fatto le darà fama immortale, e che il discepolo la desidera.. il racconto però termina senza chiarire se i pittori in questione erano figure storiche, se il ritratto in questione era uno di quelli che ammiriamo nelle nostre pinacoteche, qual era il mistero indagato dall’Inviato, se c’era un’altra inviata che lo spiava..
  
  
  "Third Shift" di Mar Catherine Stratford. Anime perdute si scambiano confidenze durante il turno di notte di un locale tra le montagne dell'Arizona. Rapimenti alieni e successivi sogni/memorie come trasparente metafora delle conseguenze dei traumi che la protagonista ha subìto a opera del suo violento ex fidanzato, nonché quelli che l'amic* Rattlesnakes (indicat* nell’originale con il pronome “they” in quanto probabilmente in transizione sessuale; così come “zir” sostituisce “her” o “his”) ha ricevuto da parte della famiglia da cui è fuggit*. È il racconto di come vengono superati i traumi, ma vale soprattutto per la bella atmosfera alla Edward Hopper in cui si muovono i tre personaggi (contando Miguel, il cuoco marxista).
  
  Gli altri racconti costituiscono una stimolante panoramica della vita del prossimo futuro:
  "The Antidote", di Dominica Phetteplace, ci mostra il futuro prossimo della danza: impianti bionici e sensori aptici dànno una dimensione alla danza, ma solo per chi ha alle spalle famiglie che li possono finanziare. La protagonista per sbarcare il lunario lavora come hostess in una spa che offre trattamenti personalizzati (“percorsi di benessere e rinnovamento” su misura del proprio DNA), finchè non viene convinta a fare il doppio gioco da un inventore di molecole.. Scritto con brio e ironia, ci dà un’altra vista sul futuro del mondo del lavoro e dei servizi.
  "GO. NOW. FIX." di Timons Esaias è il primo racconto scritto dal punto di vista di un collare da aereo, però smart: coordinandosi con gli altri dispositivi presenti su un aereo passeggeri, dagli orologi ai carrelli delle bibite, riusciranno a soccorrere e salvare molti passeggeri. Davvero brillante lo svolgimento con numerosi protagonisti digitali.
  "The Way To Compostela" di Jean-Louis Trudel. Anche qui abbiamo una danzatrice, ma soprattutto cervelli in affitto. Anche per i geni della matematica il futuro è gramo: ognuno ha bisogno di uno sponsor che paghi i supercomputer che tramite miliardi di iterazioni verificheranno le loro intuizioni; per esempio, su come imbrigliare la forza di gravità. Oltre tutto, se si è sulla buona strada, c’è il rischio che le industrie degli attuali propulsori spaziali vogliano toglierti di mezzo: meglio trovarsi un altro sponsor e tornare sulla Terra, dove è meno facile morire (c’è aria dappertutto, per dire). Ma dopo una lunga permanenza sulla Luna, l’organismo va riabilitato alla gravità terrestre: ecco quindi la geniale invenzione del treno circolare, che percorrendo un binario chiuso e inclinandosi gradualmente permette di ricreare una forza di gravità maggiore e, nel giro di qualche settimana, mettere in grado i passeggeri di tornare al pianeta d’origine. Ma anche in questo ambiente chiuso può nascondersi un sicario: e in questa situazione da Agatha Cristie, il nostro fisico cercherà anche l’amore.. o gli costerà la vita?
  "The Refraction of White Lies" by Meredith Lozaga. Vita coniugale di una famiglia tipo, raccontata dal marito.. piccolo dettaglio: come lui spiega, lei è un’androide, e la loro vita un esperimento di particolare successo che prosegue ormai da molti anni. Ma le cose non sono sempre come sembrano al narratore.. quando Philip Dick incontra il Mulino Bianco, detto con simpatia.
  
  "The Kaleidoscope City" by Doug C. Souza. Breve ma un po’ faticoso racconto su un intenso momento tra padre e figlia: lei porta lui (forse biologicamente già morto, ma ricostruito a sufficienza) a rivedere le caverne di Callisto dove erano vissuti come famiglia.
  
  
  
• 
  Boat Onion

  First issue Ive ever bought for a sci-fi periodical and has raised the bar immensely for me. The longer pieces weren't my favourites, but several of the short stories profoundly moved and captivated my attention. I dont have much sci-fi reading history to which I can compare originality or concepts, but I will treasure the stories within for a good while regardless. Imaginative, exciting, good reads.
• 
  Lee Pfahler

  I read the novella "Not this Tide" by Sheila Finch. It was really good.
• 
  Tad Kilgore

  Simply!y fantastic. Every story was compelling.
• 
  Denise Barney

  This issue has several stories that I loved, including a poem by one of my favorites, Jane Yolen ("Taking Care"). Ms. Yolen uses fairy tale and folktale tropes and gives them a fresh twist and this poem is no exception. It begins with an epigraph by Ursula K. LeGuin: "All wizards, including writers, are extremely careful about their spells." (What a great writing prompt!)
  
  Another favorite of mine, Allen M. Steele, makes an appearance with another chapter in his Tawcety series. The only catch was this was the previous chapter was in the November/December 2019 issue which I haven't read. So I found that issue, read the previous chapter, then returned to this one. I'm glad I did--the story made much more sense!
  
  "Not This Tide" by Sheila Finch is the second novella in this issue and combines two of my favorite subjects: history and science fiction. The story takes place in England during December of 1944 and alternates between Rosemary, living in London with her mother and older sister, and her father, a gunner on a Maunsell Fort (a real thing--there are some remaining) on the the water, guarding the entrance to the Thames, and (for good measure) Oslo in December of 2035. Rosemary's story is told in the present tense, her father's and the Oslo story in the past. This gives Rosemary's story that kind of immediacy that a nine-year-old would live in while the adults are more measured and a somewhat passive.
  
  The other stories and poems in this issue were excellent as well, with a nice variety of subjects and scenarios. One, "You'll Live," was really science fiction in setting only--the story was entirely human and contemporary.
• 
  Poetreehugger

  An Alien on Crete by Neal Asher: the creepiness of an alien life form was neatly conveyed in this story, and I liked how the alien's intelligence and personality (?) came through. Also, some good twists in the story.
  The Palace of Dancing Dogs by Allen M. Steele: a return to this world, good imagination of entire cultures and histories.
  GO. NOW. FIX.: by Timons Esaias: a very satisfying story, with a penetrating glimpse into the moment by moment heroics of an undervalued entity.
  The Refraction of White Lies by Meredith Lozaga: a surprise twist in the ending of this domestic cyborg (or robot?) story, reminiscent of the Twilight Zone type of story.
  All the stories in this issue are well worth reading.
• 
  Paul

  Ratings for this issue:
  
  A (excellent):
  
  The Palace of Dancing Dogs by Allen M. Steele
  Not this Tide by Sheila Finch
  An Alien on Crete by Neal Asher
  The Antidote by Dominica Phetteplace
  Go. Now. Fix. by Timons Esaias
  Editorial: Happy Birthday, Isaac Asimov! by Sheila Williams
  
  B (very good):
  
  A Pack of Tricks by Leah Cypess
  The Way to Compostela by Jean-Louis Trudel
  The Refraction of White Lies by Meredith Lozaga
  You'll Live B.S. Donovan
  Reflections: The Pharaoh's Trachea (non-fiction) by Robert Silverberg
  On the Net: Live Long & Whatever (non-fiction) by James Patrick Kelly
  
  C (average):
  
  Third Shift by Mar Catherine Stratford
  The Kaleidoscope City by Doug C. Souza
• 
  Rachel

  This was my first issue of Asimov's (I have a few on the 'to read' pile) and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's an interesting setup, with a mix of short stories, novelettes and novellas. All of the stories were really good and a number were excellent. I particularly enjoyed "An Alien on Crete" (creative and analytical), "Third Shift" (well-developed, flawed characters), "Go. Now. Fix." (incredibly creative and moving), and "The Way to Compostela" (cool world building / setting).
  
  Looking forward to reading the other issues on my stack!
• 
  Alex Zoubine

  The Palace of Dancing Dogs: 2/5
  Solid writing but I didn't end up caring much for the main character, the minor characters seemed to get a bit of a short shrift, and I have a pet peeve against stories that describe, at length, a piece of technology with which I'm intimately familiar (like a light bulb).
  
  Not This Tide: 4/5
  Really lovely writing, this story makes me care about the characters involved. There were 2 things that stopped me from giving this a 5/5. 1) I didn't quite get why the father's story line ended up mattering and why it needed to involve the time traveler. 2) The twist of why the time traveler was talking to Mary felt just a little too predictable for me.
  
  An Alien on Crete: 4.5/5
  I thought the writing and the detail on this were really great and I thoroughly enjoyed the story beginning to end. The story was clever throughout without being either hokey or obvious.
  
  A Pack of Tricks: 4.5/5
  Although this is a bit of a "typical" time traveler story, it feels very well written and thought-out. I also liked the moral questions it raises and forces readers to confront. Beyond that, it also raises a fascinating question: what would you want to find out about your favorite artwork and/or artist if you could? Would you even want to get the answer? Or is it better not to know?
  
  Third Shift: 5/5
  This is my favorite story of the issue. Although it is not long, the story masterfully weaves different strands of time together to create a deep and rich narrative. The characters are desperate, hungry, relatable. They don't have things figured out. They know it. We know it. And the scene it all paints, the setting - everything is just great!
  
  The Antidote: 3/5
  I felt this story was on the verge of being very good but was ultimately just a little too short. The main character's relationship with her parents was touching but not explored in enough depth for my liking and the ending felt like a bit of an afterthought.
  
  GO. NOW. FIX.: 4.5/5
  For a story that doesn't really contain many important humans, I thought this story did a great job keeping my attention and getting me emotionally involved. Very impressive and very engaging!
  
  The Way to Compostela: 3.5/5
  I felt like the longer I read this particular piece, the less sense it made to me. The story takes elements of Murder on the Orient Express and adds a scifi dimension to them. Unfortunately, the central question of the story doesn't seem to have a clear bearing on the conflict. Nevertheless, the language and execution of the story kept me reading avidly.
  
  The Refraction of White Lies: 3/5
  I think that overall, this story is written well but it doesn't quite explore its central mystery to my satisfaction.
  
  The Kaleidoscope City: 4/5
  This was a very, very touching story with a fantastic, off-world setting.
  The interplay between the setting, the characters, and the semi-mystery of what's going on weaves together into a really fantastic story.
  
  You'll live: 3.5/5
  Brutal. Interesting. Engaging.
  Sadly, the ending left me wanting a little more...and not in the good way.
• 
  Timons Esaias

  I have the very bad habit of not reading anthologies or issues of magazines in which my own stories appear. Note, also, that I am required by law and custom to give this issue a minimum of five stars, since I'm in it. Six stars would not be too few.
  
  This three-grimace (pp. 21,25,74) volume contains two novellas, both of which are entertaining, if you are willing to accept the premises. I did better with Allen Steele's than Sheila Finch's "Not This Tide" due to some personal fussiness over the details of V-2 rockets and time travel stories in general. Finch is drawing on childhood memories of London in WWII, though, so you can feel reality coming through the fiction. Quibbles aside, I recommend them both.
  
  Mar Catherine Stratford's first Asimov's appearance had my interest all along, so I recommend "Third Shift" and hope to see more from this author.
  
  The other two pieces I especially liked were Meredith Lozaga's "The Refraction of White Lies" (which is the other half of the podcast that my story is in), and Doug C. Souza's "The Kaleidoscope City."