Kaiju Reviews > Recent Status Updates

Sorry to state the obvious, but these poems are kind of blowing me away.

Total hogwash.

I'm not finished with this yet, but it's a strong contender for my fastest book to DNF competition held annually. How much of this do I have to read to tell my family I read it, thanks.

An example of the science: This flower is red. This flower is also red. All flowers must be red!

for i have lain me down was solid story

cody and iron shirts struck me as not belonging in this book

Randomly picking up this issue from my massive backlog, and I can clearly see that the universe is conspiring to have me read Dhalgren next... thanks Elizabeth Hand for your excellent review (and coincidentally, I just read the story in an old Nightmare Magazine by Hand as well... strange forces aligning)

Both Mrs. Piper and Grandma felt like sketches, or chapters in a bigger work. Both left me unsatisfied. The former with barely any story at all, the latter with good characters and a cool (if ridiculous) premise but too shallow. That said, neither story was bad. This is a case of potential diminishing the actual returns.

Both Somebody's Child and Same Old story did nothing for me. Excellent poem by Kristian Macaron though!

A weaker issue. Reading avant-garde drama doesn't have the same impact as experiencing it, and so far I've found the selections emotionally barren and only slightly stimulating intellectually.
'Puppet Theatre' - a good solid story
Dilemma - an excellent and thought provoking poem by Arthur Sze

I've liked stories by Alex Irvine in the past, but this one was terrible. No interesting characters, a boring plot, and laid out like a bad episode of action TV.

A Woman's Liberation & Old Music both struggle through a lot of exposition to expose the core political issues, but both come through strongly with character by the end. But weaker than some of the others. That said, Old Music had a moment within that I found truly remarkable and read out loud to my wife - all four pages.

All of these stories are dense, but excellent. A Man of the People may be one of my favorite stories of all time. This two volume collection is an absolute must read for any serious lover of literature.

Excellent story by Suzanne Palmer. And a standout poem about Wilbur... this is turning into a great issue

No Stone Unturned - Nick Wolven - a clunky portrayal of the protagonist sinks this derivative transporter error tale
Three-Day Hunt - Robert R. Chase - great potential sunk with a silly and irresolute ending

Another story or Fisherman of the inland sea: solid opening and a good solid story, I felt it decayed a little by the end. Unchosen Love, I loved this one. I love the sedoretu dynamics, and the way le guin paints these characters is so unique and beautiful. Mountain Ways: another great story of love on O. excellent.

Very strong start with A Rocket for Dimitrios. The next story, The fear of missing out, had potential but felt like more of a quick premise more than a completed story

The Word for World is Forest suffered for the message and Davidson, the antagonist. Missed opportunity to explore a cool planet and society.

Love the Shobies. Creepy story. Similar effects worked less well in Dancing to Ganam, and it's weak and sudden ending.

The Word for World is Forest is densely packed, fitting, and hard to stay focused on - - so far.

I remember liking Ventiforms. And went back and read Crimson birds, which wasn't good. But Marbles was the worst of the three. Bad dialogue. Bad and silly romance. Ridiculous and poorly imagined art installation. Utter nonsense. Yet another issue of Asimov's takes a nosedive.

This may be one of my favorite books of all time. A nearly perfect collection. Loved The Day Before the Revolution. Really liked Vaster than Empires. Liked Winter's King (updated version). The Dispossessed is a masterpiece of literature. A character study, hard SF, and social SF all together.

the dispossessed may be the best yet, but also the slowest to get going

mildly better now that they are actually at the site

Boring, methodical, repetitive.

The story also broke from its own internal logic - for effect - in the end. 1 star for pissing me off.

Though decently told, the Beast Adjoins is dependent on biocentrism, a sort of graduate area for flat-earthers that requires a fundamental misunderstanding of quantum physics, and frankly, the same mentality that leads to racial supremacists. The story itself offended me with its human centric perspective. This mentality is wrong and damaging, regardless of its entertainment value.