Andromeda Inflight Spaceways Magazine: Oct/Nov 2005
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine: Oct/Nov 2005
The only reason I picked up this issue (rather, had this issue mailed to me where it promptly got munched on by the post office demon) was because a good friend of mine had a story published in it! Huzzah! Anyway, I decided to be good and read the whole kit and caboodle, so here be the reviews:
"Between a Rock and God's Place"
by Lazette Gifford
This is a cute story with a fun premise, where everyone owes everyone and nothing can get accomplished until everyone pays each other back. Nice example of the kind of plotting where a character has a problem, tries to solve it, fails, the problem gets worse, character tries to solve it, fails, the problem gets worse… you get the picture.
Tone-wise, the writing was a bit too light and casual for me, but it fit with the story, so it’s forgivable. And I didn’t get why Dave looked a lot like Wallon. That seemed to be a bit of an extraneous detail.
"Get Pookie"
by Brendan Duffy
I had so many issues with this piece that I don’t know where to begin: omniscient point of view is hard to do well, and it’s not done well here; the whole frame story of the dream baffles me (I’m sure the symbolism is there, but I was too distanced for it to effect me), and it really needed a break on page 15 to differentiate from the dream to reality; there is no such thing as a Floridian accent. People in FL come from all over the US and Mexico and the islands, so there is no native accent. To suggest one is ludicrous. And then I thought maybe the writer meant a SOUTHERN accent, but I couldn’t even read the dialogue with a Southern accent either, so it just comes off as bad and pulls me out of the story because the details just aren’t right.
And Grigor speaks a broken English. So he’s Russian, but his broken English sounds Asian and the actual Chinese character speaks perfect English. I’m being picky, I know. There were lots of little things in this story that yanked me out and kept me from enjoying it.
On a larger level, the story is far too ambitious. It could’ve been cool if it’d focused on Fatima’s point of view and we could’ve gotten a lot of the info-dumped history and personal beliefs as she reacted to what was going on, but instead, the story hopped around and fed me too much info. It needed focus. The premise of sterile dogs and breeding them to be resistant to viruses was interesting, but what could’ve been a serious story delved into comedy in an unsatisfactory way, especially with the Mexican stand-off at the end. Speaking of the end, cute thing about Pookie. That’s about the only thing I enjoyed in this piece.
"Disposable Heroes"
by Jason S. Ridler ( Odyssey Writer)
Ridler’s story is the sole reason I ordered this issue, and this is my second read of it. And I still find it a delightful premise with endearing characters and a moving plot. This story manages to suckerpunch you at the end, which is great. The light, comic tone of this compliments the more serious issues for the characters, but it doesn’t overpower them, which is why the ending works. Definitely worth reading, and while I have seen past reviews criticize the use of profanity in this piece, trust me when I say the profanity fits the characters and isn’t overdone at all. I'll admit I might be biased, but regardless, this is a very enjoyable, clever read.
"MarsSickGirl"
by Jennifer Pelland
I really, really enjoyed this story. The concept of unloading dreams to the internet to be downloaded and reviewed (which reminds me of how fan-fiction works) was fabulous, and I loved the premise of her selling out and what she decides to do with it. The culture clashes work wonderfully too to fuel the social strife, and I love the revolution by the end. In fact, my only complaint is that in a bigger story, Vienna would be a high-profile target. By showing her face, anyone could wipe her out, let alone DreamWeave Corp, who knows everything about her. Hell, I’d expect the promised ship mentioned at the end to be rigged with explosives. Course, this is also coming from someone who was an avid fan of Alias, so it makes sense that I expect such twists. And for a short story, the optimistic ending works well. As a novel, I would think it would have to go much deeper and much further in terms of the violence and such.
But it’s not a novel. And it’s a great story. :) Definitely would like to read more of Pelland’s work one day.
Edit: The author has informed me that ASIFM cut out the last bit of the story. In the comments, she links to the full ending, for any of you who are inclined.
"Invictus"
by Dirk Flinthart
Well this was an interesting piece. At first, when I saw they were at Glastonbury, I was a little afraid we were reaching too far into Avalon mythology, but the piece turned out different enough to enjoy. I’ve never heard of the historical figure Grace O’Malley (though I may have and not realized it), and I’m tempted to take up the author’s invitation to learn more about her. But as for the story, it was nice to see some magic and mythology reaching from Irish history. And a Pirate Queen! Even though this is actually rooted in history, I adore the concept, as it’s not something I hear very often. So it’s an enjoyable story, though I wondered why Grainne kept provoking the Lady. No matter. It ended well, and it even had a song about fishing poles. :)
"There"
by Ben Payne
This story has a really lovely poetic voice to it, and the scenario is lovely, though familiar to me, somehow. Maybe it has something to do with the voice. I think, while I enjoyed the writing itself, that I wanted something more of this story. A chance to see the different versions of the narrator with the different versions of the girl. I wanted to know why the narrator kept leaving, though if I think about it, I guess it’s because the girl isn’t the same version he originally fell in love with. And I’m not sure what happened to that original. I think she died, but I could be wrong. But it would’ve been nice to see more of his search, to see the different versions of the girl and to learn why he couldn’t stay, or if maybe he was unwillingly pulled back by cosmic forces. That would’ve been interesting.
"The Clockwork Soldier"
by Stuart Barrow
This is a nice little tale of friendship, but between a man and a clockwork soldier. The tone of this was nice, very much a fairy-tale feel, and while characters are simplified, I think it’d be hard to not enjoy this story for its heart.
"Elwin's House"
by John Borneman
I don’t get this piece. Not only does it seem to contradict itself (the narrator can’t remember anything, but clearly remembers the murder of his wife and child), but I simply don’t understand: why does the narrator have memory loss? What purpose does it serve? And if there are clearly other races in this world, just how human does the different race look? Based on the description of the wife, and based on the fact that she was Elwin’s daughter, and Elwin talks about humans as humans, then I’m guessing not much, which makes the big reveal of the murder more confusing that shocking. Killing the half-breed baby? If the other race looked radically different from humans and considered humans horrible and ugly, then maybe it’d make sense. But it doesn’t. Nor does the fact that Elwin still socializes with the narrator, a human who he clearly must’ve despised. Perhaps if the daughter had been human and NOT the daughter, and the narrator had been Elwin’s son instead, it would’ve made a little more sense. But alas, that’s not the case, and I’m still scratching my head.
"The Chill of Eternity"
by Ian Nichols
Hmmm. The story got curiouser and curiouser as it went along, and I was very well aware of the fact the author was holding back information about the circumstances surrounding him being the last human alive, especially in regards to what everyone else is. What I liked in this story was his relationship to his wife, as well as the acknowledgement from Charlie that as immortal post-humans, life has lost its purpose, because there’s nothing to strive for, no deadline. What I didn’t like was the fact that by the end of this story, the big decision becomes meaningless, though not surprising. Charlie’s revelation about the post-humans on slowships (a concept I liked very much) made me realize that there was no way this narrator would be able to say no. Great title though, as it very accurately reflects the mood and core of the story.
Let's see...I really enjoyed 3/9 stories. The stars of this issue were definitely Ridler's "Disposable Heroes" (I'm not being biased) and Pelland's "MarsSickGirl". I also enjoyed Payne's, Barrow's, and Nichols pieces, but they didn't quite grab me like the other two did.