Strange Horizons, March 18, 2019
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
A comet threatens to end all human life on Earth in “Truth+” by Jamie Wahls. A government scientist calculates that the odds of sending colonists to another planet in time is less than one in one hundred. The narrator is a government spokesperson. Together the two come up with a plan to present information to the public in the best way.
The author raises important ethical questions about the frequent conflict between truth and happiness. Humanity’s impending doom and the relationship between the two characters both deal with this issue. Although written in a clear, informal style, the melodramatic premise never becomes fully convincing.
Victoria Silverwolf is currently reading a collection of the early stories of Truman Capote.