Aurealis“The Palm Leaf” by Deborah Sheldon
“Dreams of you” by John Davis
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” by James Milton
Reviewed by Mina
This issue brings us a blend of suspense, horror, grief and pain. Um, enjoy?
In “The Palm Leaf” by Deborah Sheldon, the author is emulating 19th century ghost stories, firmly anchored in the mundane but with a growing sense of menace, and she does it well. It begins with an ordinary housewife, Fay, who literally cannot take a second longer of her carefully regimented existence that revolves around caring for her husband’s two-piece suits. It’s not the murder that creates the slow build-up of horror, but the way the suits take on a life of their own. Death by cotton-wool-poly-viscose-silk-linen blend?
“Dreams of you” by John Davis follows a grieving woman, Jessica, desperate to reconnect with her dead husband and child. She considers being put into an artificial coma, where she will live in a simulation in which she and her husband can watch their daughter grow up. The story is heavily influenced by the films The Matrix and Reminiscence, and Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life,” but it’s well done, particularly the moment that helps Jessica make her decision.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” by James Milton is a true horror story. We accompany the protagonist, Hope Nazarenko, in a brief period of lucidity where they remember that an AI “medical” system polices their every thought, deleting anything inappropriate, which turns out to be every free thought or feeling. It’s like a mix of Big Brother, a constant adaptive lobotomy and sedatives. And there is no escape. It’s written in the second person, which can be irritating but works well here. Not for the faint-hearted.
Mina notes that this issue includes an interesting article on “cosy catastrophes.”