Strange Horizons, October 2, 2017

“Krace is Not a Highway” by Scott Vanyur

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Slightly over one thousand words long, “Krace is Not a Highway” by Scott Vanyur is told from the point of view of a highway inspection robot. Slowly the reader learns that society has been disrupted by war. The robot’s limited understanding of the situation makes the story seem distant and uninvolving, although there is some emotional appeal at the end. The machine-like narrative technique would be annoying in a longer story, but is tolerable at such a short length.

Victoria Silverwolf doesn’t like to drive.