Lightspeed #129, February 2021
“The Mathematics of Fairyland” by Phoebe Barton
“The Memory of a Memory is a Spirit” by A. T. Greenblatt
“Me Two” by Keith Brooke and Eric Brown
“Destinations of Beauty” by Alexander Weinstein
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are four original short stories in Lightspeed’s 129th issue, plus another four previously published stories.
“The Mathematics of Fairyland” by Phoebe Barton
Marigold has lost her lover in this delicate SF short. A warp drive has malfunctioned, throwing her partner beyond human reach. Now Marigold hopes that the fae can find her so Marigold can rescue her.
Marigold is a capable engineer and dedicates herself to the search for the fae, while others at the space station watch and wonder. Some try to help, but Marigold fears they only want to pull her back from her own precipice.
This was a deep story that dealt with handling personal loss. The story was intriguing, though it did not need the SF setting to tell its tale.
“The Memory of a Memory is a Spirit” by A. T. Greenblatt
After a twenty-year absence, Sumé returns to her island home in this short fantasy. The abandoned island is overgrown, and though she works hard at her caretaker role, the island’s spirits are slow to forgive Sumé for leaving them.
She does her best to explain why she went, how she wanted to bring visitors back despite their fear of the island’s ghosts. But the spirits continue to keep their havens closed to her. Sumé is sad, but what can she do to appease these restless spirits?
This easy-to-read character-centric story had a plot that lacked enough depth to be riveting.
“Me Two” by Keith Brooke and Eric Brown
In this short SF story, Danny from London has an alter ego named Cristina from Barcelona; or does it go the other way around? Either way, they each live alternate days remembering each other’s lives. They each have a family and live in very different circumstances.
In time, as adults, they try to meet several times, but without success. And detailed searches never reveal the other person, which leaves them longing to meet. Even a quantum physicist cannot help them. But through it all, they have each other and so are never alone.
And then, one day, things change.
The character-driven story was engaging and hard to put down before the endearing end.
“Destinations of Beauty” by Alexander Weinstein
A tour guide describes seven destinations on the eighth continent in this SF short. Set on a different planet, these seven places all have something unique about them. Each one represents some form of an enigma to the tourist.
One city uses sunlight to create rainbow patterns, though its citizens utterly distrust each other. Another destination is a charming café that can only found by the weary traveler lost to despair.
The author’s prose was good. But the plot lacked the one element that all tales need to be engaging. It lacked a story.