Reactor, July 2024

“I’ll Miss Myself” by John Wiswell

“In the Moon’s House” by Mary Robinette Kowal

“The Angel’s Share” by Martin Cahill

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

This month’s issue offers readers a choice among science fiction, alternate history, and fantasy.

In “I’ll Miss Myself” by John Wiswell, the protagonist is able to communicate with parallel versions of himself over social media. Even though the program that provides this service blocks many of the messages going back and forth, he is able to help many of his alternate selves who are likely to harm themselves.

The story can be read as an allegory for the dangers of social media, even as it suggests that they can also be helpful. The premise is made plausible through the use of convincing dialogue among the various selves. The author manages to deal with depression, self-harm, and suicide without becoming overly melodramatic.

“In the Moon’s House” by Mary Robinette Kowal is one of a series of stories set in a version of the past in which multiple voyages to the Moon have taken place by 1960. An astronaut wonders why some of her colleagues make excuses to avoid socializing with her.

The plot depends on several of the astronauts being gay, in a society where knowledge of this would force them to leave the space program. I found it implausible that there would be so many closeted gay astronauts, that the space program would be ignorant of the orientation of its personnel, and that the astronauts would risk their careers by going to gay bars. More interesting and believable is a subplot about female astronauts dealing with menstruation.

In “The Angel’s Share” by Martin Cahill, a woman’s home is infested by angels who feed on suffering, while bringing good luck. An exorcist advises the woman that she must face the secret pain in her own life in order to free herself of the supernatural beings.

Despite a premise that might seem, at first, to be whimsical—the woman wins multiple lotteries because of the angels, for example—this is a very dark story, full of cruelty and abuse. The theme appears to be that seeking revenge on those who have harmed us only leads to our own suffering. Some readers may find the work excessively disturbing, with the main character often wallowing in self-pity and despair.

Victoria Silverwolf bought a 2019 Volkswagen Beetle today.