Black Friday by Alex Irvine

December 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Black Friday by Alex Irvine
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (18 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In a dark future America where consumerism and gun culture are unchecked, a young family teams up to celebrate the first shopping day of the Christmas season in the most patriotic way possible … in Alex Irvine’s Tor.com Original short story, Black Friday.

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I never would have thought to combine firearms with the tradition of Black Friday sales. These two things occupy such separate corners of my mind that I was mystified at first by how they could possibly be related. With that being said, the author did an excellent job of figuring out all of the stuff that both of them share in common. I was regularly surprised by just how many similarities they had, especially once I realized what the characters were actually doing at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving.

The ending felt a little abrupt to me. So much time was spent building up to it that I was surprised by how quickly it arrived. There were just enough loose threads left dangling by the time that scene ended that I didn’t feel comfortable choosing a full, five-star rating. With that being said, this was still something I enjoyed reading quite a bit.

This was one of the most intense stories I’ve read in ages. There was just as much action in the plot as there were science fiction themes, and that was an excellent choice for this universe. Caleb and his family lived in an incredibly dangerous world where someone’s fate could change in an instant. It made a great deal of sense to show what these experiences were like for these characters by throwing them into a situation where they had no idea what would happen next and where there was no such thing as finding a safe place to hide and catch one’s breath.

Whether you love, loathe, or are indifferent to the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States, Black Friday should be read by anyone who has any opinion on this topic at all.

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The Ghosts of Christmas by Paul Cornell

December 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Ghosts of Christmas by Paul Cornell
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (34 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Which is harder: seeing your own future — or truly knowing your past? A science fiction tale of Christmases past and yet to come.

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Time travel is one of those topics I always enjoy reading about. The most interesting part about it in this story in particular was that it happened within the mind of a character who explored her memories of her past and future. She felt as though she was fully present in those times in her life, and yet her physical body never left the lab where she and her fellow scientists were testing the limits of the human mind.

There was so much going on in the plot that I had trouble keeping up with all of it. Sometimes the characters made references to things that had never been fully explained to the readers earlier. These moments were important ones for the storyline, so the fact that I didn’t interpret them the same way the characters did made it hard to understand why certain events happened later on in their adventures. As much as I liked the premise, these issues prevented me from choosing a higher rating.

The ending fit the tone of this tale perfectly. After the confusion I felt earlier, it was nice to reach a scene that made sense to me. I also appreciated the way the narrator tied all of the important themes together in the final scene. It gave me a sense of satisfaction and made me curious to see what else Mr. Cornell has written.

If you’ve ever wondered what the future might hold or what really happened during a fuzzy childhood memory, The Ghosts of Christmas might be right up your alley.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Overtime by Charles Stross

December 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Overtime by Charles Stross
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (30 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Introduced to readers in the novels The Atrocity Archive and The Jennifer Morgue, the Laundry is a secret British government agency charged with preventing dark interdimensional entities from destroying the human race. Now, in “Overtime,” the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the Thing That Comes Down Chimneys. Written especially for Tor.com’s holiday season, Charles Stross’s novelette is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award.

Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the “Merchant Princes” series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless.

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Bob was an intelligent and sensible main character. I especially liked how cautious he was once he realized that the Christmas shifts he’d been assigned to take at his job weren’t going to be as quiet as he’d hoped. He took even the slightest whiff of danger seriously, and that’s something I always appreciate. There’s something to be said for a character who planned his moves out strategically instead of assuming that he had all of the information he needed thirty seconds after he realized something had gone horribly wrong.

As much as I enjoyed the time travel elements of the plot, I also found them confusing at times. A few key scenes were shared at times when I didn’t yet understand their full significance. Since they weren’t necessarily shared in order either, this only made me more uncertain about what was going on and when it was happening. It would have been really nice to have more direction from the narrator about how all of these pieces of the puzzle fit together.

The villain in this tale was deliciously frightening. Their backstory was as complex as it was relatable. While I can’t go into any detail about their identity or what their motives were, it was nice to meet an antagonist who was so interesting. Would I want to meet them? No, but I was intrigued by who they were and how much effort Mr. Stross put into given them a three-dimensional personality.

This story is part of a series, but it can be read on its own or out of order.

Overtime should be read by anyone who will be working over the holiday season.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Typecasting by Harry Turtledove

November 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Typecasting by Harry Turtledove
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (36 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Being Governor of Jefferson has its particular perks, and its particular challenges. Particularly if you’re a member of this Pacific Northwest state’s most famous ethnic minority…with all the extra height and hair that implies. Typecasting, a Tor.Com Original from fantasy and SF mastermind Harry Turtledove.

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The world building was really well done. While I’m sure many viewers will be able to figure out quickly what sort of mythical creature is the focus of this story, I’ll avoid referring to it by name in case anyone prefers to be surprised. What I will say is that I loved seeing Mr. Turtledove’s vision of what American society would be like if this creature not only existed but is in the process of being fully integrated into human society. He had some incredibly creative ideas about the logistics of creating everything from furniture to laws that would be fair for both species.

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the conflict. Even with all of the development of the backstory and setting, I finished this tale wishing that the characters could have had bigger problems to wrestle with. The things they worried about were so ordinary that they felt a bit out of place given how wildly different their world was from our own. Had a little more attention been paid to this area,

The ending left me wishing for a sequel. While the main conflict was wrapped up satisfactorily, it hinted at parts of this universe that I’d sure like to see explored in a sequel. There were still plenty of things the main character, Bill, still had to learn about living alongside a species so different from his own. If the author ever decides to revisit Bill’s life, I’d be excited to see what else is happening in it.

Typecasting should be read by anyone who enjoys cryptozoology.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard

November 28, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Length: Short Story (16 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charlotte died to shore up her master’s house. Her bones grew into the foundation and pushed up through the walls, feeding his power and continuing the cycle. As time passes and the ones she loved fade away, the house and the master remain, and she yearns ever more deeply for vengeance.

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Charlotte was such a sympathetic character. This is never something I thought I’d say about a ghost who had homicidal urges, but she had excellent reasons for behaving the way she did. The people who took her life did so in such a despicable way that I couldn’t help but to hope that she’d find some way to make peace with it. She was young, poor, and defenceless when she died. Any one of those would have made me feel sympathy for her, but for it to happen to someone who fit all three of those groups only increased my urge to find out what her ultimate fate would be.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with the ending. The final scene was by far the most exciting part of the plot, so I was a bit surprised by how abruptly it ended. It would have been nice to know how that scene turned out even if the narrator wasn’t planning to tell the audience anything else about how she planned to get her revenge for her murder.

This was one of the most grisly things I’ve read this year, and that was a good thing. Charlotte’s death was bloody, violent, and honestly disturbing at times. Learning about why it happened only made me more eager to find out if anyone would ever pay for what they did to this poor girl. I wanted her killers to deal with the consequences of their actions almost as much as she did! It was the only way she’d ever find peace. Knowing how horribly her life had ended was an integral part of understanding why her afterlife was so restless and full of justified anger.

Lullaby for a Lost World was deliciously scary. Anyone who loves their horror grim and ghastly should check it out.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado

November 26, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The Kite Maker is Brenda Peynado’s science fiction novelette of how humans cope with alien contact.

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There are many different types of prejudice out there. Is it any wonder that humans might be prejudiced against aliens, too, if we ever met them?

The main character was someone I related to quite a bit because of how gentle and kind she was when the opening scene began. It was hard to imagine someone like that carrying a dark secret around with her, but as soon as I learned about the existence of it I wanted to know more about her past. There were parts of her story that didn’t seem to fit together at first. More than anything, I wished to find out how they were all related to each other.

It would have been helpful to have more time dedicated to the final scene. As much as I liked the imagery in it, I did have some trouble tying it to what had happened before. There simply weren’t enough hints earlier on that this would be the way things would be wrapped up, so I was left trying to fit what I did know together without being entirely sure it was what the author had intended for the audience to think.

This tale had some interesting things to say about xenophobia and how it can blind someone to the truth. The best part of this message for me was how subtle it was. The plot always came first in the narrator’s mind, but it carried along with it little reminders of the damage hatred does not only to the target but to the people who have chosen to or been taught to hate as well. I can’t say much else about this without giving away spoilers, but I was pleased with how the author decided to broach such a complex topic without resorting to stereotypes.

I’d recommend The Kite Maker to anyone who wishes they could change something about the past.

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Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry

November 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (24 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sarah McCarry’s “Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light” is about a lonely young woman, recently moved to the big city, who is looking for love. What she finds is a friend and confidante who is much older and wiser than she.

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The sarcasm in this story made me smile. It existed for a specific reason, and it served that purpose well. I especially liked how it poked fun at a specific fantasy sub-genre while also wandering into that type of storytelling at times and when necessary. The contradiction between these two things was as unexpected as it was amusing.

This tale could have been interpreted in one of two contradictory ways. While I can’t go into detail about what those ways were without giving away spoilers, I do wish the narrator had given the audience more hints about both options. I adore ambiguous fiction, but I prefer to be able to point out multiple parts of a text that make it sound like a specific theory could be the right one. There weren’t quite enough examples of this for me to go for a five-star rating even though I loved the concept in general.

The most interesting scenes to me were the ones that could have easily happened in the real world because they dealt with the main character’s crushing loneliness. This wasn’t something I was expecting the narrator to cover when there were so many other things going on for the characters, but it was handled beautifully. I could feel the protagonists loneliness growing heavier by the minute. It gave me a lot of sympathy for her and made me hope she’d figure out a solution to her problems soon.

Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light should be read by anyone who prefers their vampires dark and dangerous.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

November 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With all the places ghosts could go, why do they keep hanging around me?

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One of the most interesting parts of this story involved the way the ghosts behaved in it. Most of the paranormal fiction I read is about vengeful spirits, but that didn’t describe these characters well at all. Despite the fact that they were deceased, they behaved in pretty similar ways to how the living would act in the same situations. At first I was surprised by this change, but I soon grew to like it quite a bit.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with how the characters talked about the evil entities in this universe called Shades. Their descriptions of these creatures were deliciously frightening when they were talking about what Shades were capable of doing to humans. However, there wasn’t as much attention paid to the history of these things. It would have been nice to have a bit more information about where they came from and why they were so dangerous to the living.

The character development was strong. By the final scene, I was wishing that this had been the first chapter of a full-length novel instead so that I could continue to see how Jack evolved as a result of his ability to see and communicate with the dead. As satisfied as I was by how everything was wrapped up, I also saw so many exciting possibilities for future adventures for this character. Hopefully, the author will write them one day.

Ghost Hedgehog made me shudder in the best possible way. I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves reading about hauntings.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Reverse Documentary by Marisela Navarro

November 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Reverse Documentary by Marisela Navarro
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (31 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Dino is a documentary filmmaker, haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend who was killed in a car crash while with another man. As Dino shoots his latest documentary on the vandalism occurring in the woods of his hometown, he tries to move on from her unexpected death. But when his life starts to look up, the ghost encroaches on his property. The focus of the film begins to blur as the lens of the camera shifts onto Dino, the director succumbing to his ghostly obsession.

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The documentary style of storytelling was what first caught my attention when I read the blurb for this piece. It wasn’t something I’ve personally seen being used in this genre before, and I was curious to find out how Ms. Navarro was going to use that format in something that was intended to be read silently instead of watched on a screen. She found so many inventive ways to mix the two different styles together in ways that made sense and pushed the plot forward exactly when it needed a nudge. I was impressed with all of the tricks she came up with to appeal to book and film lovers alike.

I would have preferred to see more attention paid to the ghost’s motives for haunting Dino. Jennifer was simultaneously the most important and the least discussed character in this tale. Nearly everything I learned about her came from her ex-boyfriend’s ruminations about her death. Dino had such a narrow perspective that this didn’t give me all of the information I needed in order to figure out why Jennifer was behaving the way that she was.

While it wasn’t what I was expecting to find, the ending fit the unconventional tone of this story nicely. I appreciated the fact that the author was so creative when coming up with a satisfying resolution for the conflicts the characters were dealing with. She did a good job explaining why things ended the way that they did and hinting at what was to come for the main characters.

Reverse Documentary should be read by anyone who has ever lost someone they deeply cared about.

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Everything That Isn’t Winter by Margaret Killjoy

November 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Everything That Isn’t Winter by Margaret Killjoy
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (29 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Does a renewed world still have a place for those who only know how to destroy? While defending a tea-growing commune in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, one person seeks an answer.

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The world building was wonderful. I was delightfully shocked by how many details about the post-apocalyptic society Aiden and her people lived in were included in less than thirty pages of storytelling. It felt like I’d read an entire novel’s worth of descriptions and development instead of what is typically found in a short story. Based on Ms. Killjoy’s ability to create such a detailed world so quickly, I’m going to be keeping a close eye out for more stories from her.

Since the final scene could have been interpreted in two wildly different ways, it would have been helpful to have a few more hints about which one of those possibilities was actually the correct one. I was equally intrigued by both of the ways that scene could be understood. Had it been clearer to me which one I should be assuming was the correct one, I would have given this tale a much higher rating.

Aiden’s personality was well developed and fascinating. Just as I would have expected from someone who grew up experiencing uncertainty and violence, there were little hints in their behaviour and mannerisms that they’d experienced a lot of pain in their past. I was impressed by how much I figured out about their current emotional state even though something as simple as their gender was never revealed and this character only rarely mentioned their childhood at all. This isn’t something that’s easy to pull off, but the author made it look effortless.

I’d recommend Everything That Isn’t Winter to anyone who enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction.

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