Asimov’s, January/February 2025
“Moon and Mars” by James Patrick Kelly
“In the Splinterlands the Crows Fly Blind” by Siobhan Carroll
“Shadow of Shadows” by Frank Ward
“A Girl from Hong Kong” by Robert Reed
“My Biggest Fan” by Faith Merino
“Five Hundred KPH Toward Heaven” by Matthew Kressel
“What the Frog’s Eye Tells the Frog’s Brain” by Beston Barnett
“Through the Pinhole, or, the Origin of a Holostory” by Nikki Braziel
“Jilly in Right: A Thought Experiment” by Rick Wilber
“Completely Normal” by Jendayi Brooks-Flemister
Reviewed by Mina
“In the Splinterlands the Crows Fly Blind” by Siobhan Carroll takes patience to read. The world building is complex and initially confusing. The protagonist, Charlie, sets off to find his missing brother, Gabe, as well as Gabe’s girlfriend. There are some groovy invented words like Universe-shard, atmotech, Crowmind, Crowdogs and Vestigium — along with words from what seems to be a Cree dialect — they do eventually all make sense. Charlie finds himself a hero as he saves his fragment of world from destruction by the carelessness of “some rich guy stepping on butterflies.” Worth persisting.
“Five Hundred KPH Toward Heaven” by Matthew Kressel is set just after the heyday of lifts into space, reminiscent of train travel. They are being replaced by much faster, cheaper ships. In a final ascent party, Terese reminisces with other lift pilots and ponders on what is being lost — a sense of wonder and a sense of connection — “sometimes there’s benefits to going slow.”
“Shadow of Shadows” by Frank Ward is a pleasure to read because, once you reach the end, the title hits you with its full poignancy. This reader appreciates when an author does this so well. A washed-up research physicist stands at the threshold of finally finding proof for his theory of a “Many Worlds Interpretation.” The proof of alternate universes is, however, not without pain. A tale that explores not just quantum theory but also its emotional repercussions. I would read this twice.
The tension build-up in “What the Frog’s Eye Tells the Frog’s Brain” by Beston Barnett is incredible. One can only say: bravo! In this story, a desperate scientist, being interrogated and tortured by an AI courageously sets out to trick it into shutting down. The references to Linux, Hexspeak and ASCII are very satisfying for this linguist, for AI does indeed have its own language.
In “Through the Pinhole, or, the Origin of a Holostory” by Nikki Braziel, a holonovelist travels back in time to a Malta under siege by the Turks. Disillusioned by his failed marriage, he needs to write a bestseller. He falls in love with a shopkeeper, Imperia, but chooses to return to his own time for only a frozen love story can remain perfect. A competent but unremarkable tale.
In “A Girl from Hong Kong” by Robert Reed, Sister-Witch is hired by Quee Lee as security chief to accompany her on a tour of the Great Ship. We have flashbacks of the past explaining how Quee Lee became immortal, for example; we are told more about the Ship’s history; we meet some of its inhabitants and their societies. Sister-Witch recounts her meeting with Quee Lee’s husband, Perri. Slowly Sister-Witch learns what the real mission is: to access the Vault. There Quee Lee hears the voice — foe or friend? Questions are asked about Quee Lee’s role; some answers are given, some not. I found this tale frustrating because it doesn’t really have a beginning or an end — it builds on previous tales and is clearly leading into the next. For me, it did not stand on its own. There are too many details without any indication of which ones are important. The author is trying to be too clever at the cost of his reader.
“Jilly in Right: A Thought Experiment” by Rick Wilber reminded me of the premise behind the film Sliding Doors — what if you made a different decision, how would your life diverge from its original path? A driver in the rain gets caught in a tailspin and two versions of his life flash before his eyes: in one, he put his career first; in the other, his family. Baseball, meets Down’s Syndrome, meets Schrödinger’s Cat — the author makes it work.
“My Biggest Fan” by Faith Merino is a creepy and ultimately sad tale. The narrator grows up seeing the same woman and hearing the same tune at regular intervals; but she is always a different age. She leaves him notes signed “your biggest fan.” When he finally understands why their trajectories keep overlapping, it’s tool late: they have become each other’s hell, as Sartre would say. Quantum particles meet stalker meet Greek tragedy.
“Completely Normal” by Jendayi Brooks-Flemister is an amusing story. The narrator is talking to a fellow passenger at the bus stop and explaining his father’s obsession with tomato soup. Alien encounters mixed with OCD.
In “Moon and Mars” by James Patrick Kelly, we meet Mariska in her last of three tales, we are told by the introduction. Moon-settler Mariska is part of the crew on the Natividad, a colonists’ ship she has joined to be with her Martian boyfriend, Elan. It soon becomes apparent that those with vested interests in the anti-matter that will power the ship through a wormhole to the Destination planet on the other side are trying to stop the mission. Mariska, her mother and Elan are all part of a group determined to take off early before the mission can be stopped. The race against time is gripping but the author also spends time on Mariska’s relationships, in particular those with her mother, Elan and her first boyfriend, Jak. At first Mariska is unconvinced by the planned mutiny, but then she risks all to ensure its success. I enjoyed this story thoroughly and I applaud the author for writing it so that it stands on its own, without needing to have read the previous two tales. A feat many authors revisiting past creations do not manage. A great read.