Tor.com, September 2023
“The Passing of the Dragon” by Ken Liu
“The Tale of Clancy the Scrivener” by Ramsey Shehadeh
“FORM 8774-D” by Alex Irvine
Reviewed by Mike Bickerdike
Tor.com offers two novelettes and a short story this month, and all three pieces are recommended reading.
“The Passing of the Dragon” by Ken Liu is a thoughtful and well-constructed novelette that explores the meaning and misappropriation of art. A struggling artist visits the home of her favourite, long-dead poet, and while there she has a remarkable vison of a dragon. Her attempts to paint the dragon result in a painting that is meaningful to her, but which is ultimately completely misunderstood and misappropriated through social media. The tale tells us something about the risks of following social media memes and strident opinions. It also subtly explores the way in which the ‘magical’ in the world can be recorded or appreciated by an artist on a personal level that might require unusual insight to properly understand; in essence we should try to avoid projecting our interpretations of artists and writers if we wish to properly appreciate it. All of which may sound rather dry, but the prose and structure here are good and after a somewhat slow start Lui’s tale effectively pulls the reader into the narrative.
“The Tale of Clancy the Scrivener” by Ramsey Shehadeh is an interesting and original story. Set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future that is more fantasy than SF, the tale recounts a brief period in the life of an apparently immortal, but old, monastic scribe. The scribe (or scrivener) works alongside his peers, soberly recording all written material they can find from pre-apocalyptic times, from bus timetables through to old ‘Atari’ magazines. The old man acts as a guardian of sorts to a mute young girl and recalls events from more than a century in the past. The author manages to make the story accessible and engaging, despite explaining very little explicitly. Withholding explanations can often be a frustration in speculative fiction, but here the uncertainties—such as the nature of the plague that precipitated the fall of civilisation, and the relationship between the man and the girl—actually add to the feel of dislocation from the here-and-now in an effective manner. Hard to classify, this tale has elements of horror and urban-fantasy, as well as strange SF reminiscent of Ellison.
The title of the novelette “FORM 8774-D” by Alex Irvine refers to a US government form for the application and classification of people with mutant superpowers. The protagonist—a likeable woman who steadfastly insists she has no superpowers herself—works in a government building processing superhero application forms. It’s a neat and enjoyable concept, told with verve and humour. Who knew the bureaucratisation of superheroes could be such fun?
More of Mike Bickerdike’s reviews and thoughts on science-fiction can be found at https://starfarersf.nicepage.io/