A Burden Shared by Jo Walton


A Burden Shared by Jo Walton
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (19 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What we do for one another is a mystery.

When muscle contraction sale on viagra happens in the heart, it results in improving health conditions and curing several dangerous diseases. This medicine is the first innovative formula used for reducing the negative effects of erectile dysfunction, especially in older men, smokers and those with heart diseases, kidney the cheapest cialis problems, liver damage and prostate cancer should also refrain from taking this supplement. Each medicine contains davidfraymusic.com buy cialis different compound which works in different manner to relive the problem of unavailability or poor erections. Well, let’s take a look at the advanced services cost of prescription viagra offered by the online drug-store . Total pain relief is only a click away.

The characters in this story lived in a world where it was possible to transfer pain from one person to another. While Penny and Noah couldn’t fix the underlying health problems that caused their adult daughter so much suffering, they were able to take turns feeling it for her in order to give her some relief. I was fascinated by this concept as soon as the narrator described it in the opening scene. It struck me as something that could be both a lifesaver as well as something that could have unforeseen consequences. The more I read about it, the more I wanted to know. I simply had to know how this system worked, and I was quite pleased with how much attention to detail the author paid to it.

I would have liked to see a little more time developing the ending. There was a plot twist there that was as surprising as it was gripping. After suddenly realizing how much it was going to affect all of the characters’ lives, it was a bit disappointing to not be able to see how all of those changes were going to play out for them. Imagining it was amusing, but I would have liked to at least had a hint of what the author thought was going to be the logical conclusion of this twist.

Not every character has to be likeable in order to be memorable. The author did a good job of rounding out the two main characters in this tale no matter how they decided to behave. While I’m still not sure I’d want to meet one of them, I did find it interesting to compare their most negative traits to the kind things they’d done as well. That nuance helped me to learn to appreciate this character regardless of what I thought of some of their choices.

A Burden Shared was a truly creative piece of science fiction. It should be read by anyone who is in the mood for something out of the ordinary.

Speak Your Mind

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.