Redstone Science Fiction #24, May 2012

“Imagine Cows on Mars” by M. Bennardo
“Into Place” by Alter Reiss

Reviewed by Jo-Anne Odell

In “Imagine Cows on Mars” by M. Bennardo, our hero escapes an overcrowded Earth by paying a smuggler to drop him onto Mars.  The red planet has been terraformed, but isn’t yet open to immigration.  A lucky survivor, he is rescued by a settler, and moves in to stay.  There he discovers both the good and the bad of living on the frontier. 

This story is well-written, but wouldn’t take much to recast, say in Tibet, without a spec element.  In fact, doing so might create a less passive protagonist.  Personally, I prefer that the spec in spec fiction be more than window dressing.  If you’re into literary fiction, you might enjoy this.

Lamarr has a job to do in “Into Place” by Alter Reiss.  He’s supposed to find a woman, Anne Marion.  Lamarr’s job is to render her catatonic for a period of time.  Her estranged husband is paying for the service.  His goal is simple, to ensure he gets custody of their child.  If she isn’t conscious, she can’t fight it. 

This tale is also written in clear, well-structured prose.  It’s an interesting idea, an unusual take on the use of mind control.  In my opinion, it would have been a far more powerful story had it dealt with the ramifications of imposing this choice on someone without their knowledge or consent.  It seems to gloss over that.  Perhaps ironic for a tale that deals in images and color, I found it dull and flat.