***AUGUST 2021 SCIENCE FICTION MICROSTORY CONTEST (Critiques Only)***

[J.F.]

I figure it might make it easier to focus on our various distractions this month.

Theme: Recreation.

Elements:
A flavor, an odor, a sound, a sight and a tactile sensation.

[Paula]

Re Thaddeus's excellently written, powerful story--yes, it's superb. I don't know if it's my own psych reactivity or the strength of the writing/story, but I find terrifying the idea of the woman who "once lived within the body suit [going] back into a state of waking terror. . . . all that she was had been replaced.
"A quirk of the software allowed her to continue to exist. . .. Her days were spent watching an alien intelligence" [take over her awareness, and at times (more and more?) she became only it.]
So--not a criticism, though.

[J.F.]

My random thoughts on this month's stories...

"Utopia is Coming" by Thaddeus Howz.
Alien spies plot a better society unaware a different POV is hanging around. A quick and fun ride, leaving a lot of big, heavy questions gratefully ignored.

"Burnout" by Justin Sewall
There's a time for every purpose, whether fighting conflagrations or getting some R&R, but some people just don't get that. A good read but I found it low on speculativeness, if that's a word.

"Winds of Change" by Chris Nance
Action-filled steampunk that makes seamless use of the sensory elements, written with the same breezy elegance as the scrollwork on a Victorian engine.

"Me or Not Me" by Kalifer Deil
Technology promises immortality, of a kind. Sci-fi asks the fundamental question, "What is the role of humans in a universe without gods?" and here the answer is we are not the gods but we can sort-of create one.

"Doctor Urschleim's Vacation" by Jeremy Lichtman
An interesting, well-depicted alien world; descriptions and info are interweaved nicely with action and dialogue. My favorite line: "Like everything else on Zerzara, nobody has bothered to study them in detail."

"The Drop" by Jot Russell
Moment-by-moment action is the heart of this story about a couple taking a thrill ride that the folks at Action Park would've thought too dangerous. Fun to read.

"Singles Cruise" by Greg Krumrey
Well-done story that actually makes an interspecies romance—what biologists might call a "symbiosis"—more sweet than creepy. This is how it's done, Guillermo del Toro!

"Fest on Harrow" by Paula Friedman
I may have gotten a little lost once the festival begins but I suspect that's the intent, as the vacationers become lost in exultation at a much-needed intergalactic festival after a long lockdown.

[Jot]

> Moment-by-moment action is the heart of this story about a couple taking a thrill ride that the folks at Action Park would've thought too dangerous. Fun to read.

Thanks Joseph. I used to love Action Park. That alpine slide was the best, not the mention the 20ft diving cliffs. Wheeeee

[J.F.]

>Thanks Joseph. I used to love Action Park. That alpine slide was the best, not the mention the 20ft diving cliffs. Wheeeee

I'm glad you survived it, Jot! I saw this documentary last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqg48...

[Paula]

Thanks, J.F. Actually, I wasn't clear enough, perhaps. The ending's not only the participants' joy--since the narrator and his family have been spreading (as foreshadowed in their gladness to attend though not yet 100percent cleared of) the viroids.

[Greg]

Thanks, J.F. I was definitely going for sweet rather than creepy. I'll post the rest in Comments.

[Justin]

Thanks for the feedback J.F.!