Redstone Science Fiction #8, January 2011

“Bloodtech” by Rhiannon Held
“Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359?” by Ken MacLeod (reprint)

Reviewed by Jo-Anne Odell

In “Bloodtech” by Rhiannon Held, Lin attends a fan convention with her partner, Jaymes. Lin specializes in security software. She notices a trend among other attendees, the use of what she assumes to be makeup, simulating the effect of nano-generated skin. Nanotechnology repairs traumatic injury, but its use seems a cure worse than the disease.  

When Lin heads off to make minor fixes to her costume, she’s accosted by a stranger. She soon finds herself immersed in a conspiracy.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, though I found some descriptions vague. The plot is complex enough to hold my interest, but it needs some tweaking to make it convincing.

Still, I’d recommend the story as worth a read.

“Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359?” by Ken MacLeod is reprinted from The New Space Opera, edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan (2007) and as such will not be reviewed here.