Kaiju Reviews > Recent Status Updates

Took a long time to get through Dreamquest... but worth it

Last Hunt had a nice setting, but predictable. Searching for Commander Parsec unusual in approach, almost seemed like a gag story, but somehow still compelling.

Exclusion of Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, with its countless references to other Lovecraft tales, among other things, seems a dubious choice at best. So far, the annotations haven't been worth the new edition.

A thousand nights until morning is the dumbest story i've ever read. If I hadn't subscribed to this magazine for as long as I have, I'd cancel my subscription until Sheila Williams is replaced.

Pollen from a Future Harvest I found extremely difficult to follow. Schools of Clay I liked so much more, but it too was a difficult read. Ultimately, I feel like the complexity here overshadowed what ultimately were thin characters.

Rudy Rucker just isn't for me. The Petrogylph Man isn't a bad story, but there isn't much there to like either. It's a time pass more than anything.

Franzen may come across smug and self absorbed, but he can definately create fascinating characters. When he's not writing paragraph after paragraph of details, and lets the characters come out to play, it is truly captivating stuff.

Acres of Perhaps. Better than average story. Very strong beginning. Takes a melancholic and personal turn toward the end. And finishes a little flat. Worth the read though.

David Gerrold story is fun, though nothing to write home about. Don't read if you have the ingredients for Martini's in the house... might lead to some imbibery.

Not a promising start. Mary Robinette Kowal's 'Like Native Things' has a cool premise, but flat characters and an extremely thin plot. The bulk of the story is just a blow by blow of meaningless fisticuffs, with a cope out ending tossed on for good measure. Terrible story.

bleh

Mutability by Ray Naylor is one of the better stories I've read in Asimovs in a long time. Maybe since Man Who Bridged the Mist.

Two more not great stories: How to Walk Through Historic... by Fran Wilde has a good premise, but is too cumbersome to read to get to the promising characters. The Sentry by Frank Smith is stronger, with some world building details overshadowing what would otherwise be a solid character driven tale.

Willing Flesh was a great story. And relevant.

The Gun Between the Veryush and the Cloud Mothers is virtually incomprehensible. I have no problem with a serious challenge, especially if there's a good payoff. I'd be suprised if any reader was able to 'get' this story, and even more suprised if they could still recommend it. Not sure why this was even included in this issue.

Tom Purdom's 'Day Job' rushes to the end a bit quickly, but is a solid read. From multiple viewpoints, he explores a potential future of invasive psychological treatments (electroshock?) and the results of near constant stimulation. Subtly creepy.

meticulous and well thought out details, but ultimately too low on humanity to support the for the length.

of a future where this isn’t addressed, making for some fascinating speculations. However, the emotional context was almost completely missing, which left the story ultimately cold and clinical. The man character Tess isn’t strong enough to carry the story, and her reactions are so controlled that any growth she achieves through her journey is dialectic rather than felt. A lot of potential here, especially with the m

The first of the two novella’s in this issue is ‘The New Mother’ by Eugene Fischer, and also I believe the first Fischer I have read. The plot involves a disease that causes its female hosts to become impregnated with only their own eggs (this information is available immediately, so isn’t a spoiler) that result in a female clone of the mother. Fischer spends much of the length delving into the potential consequences

'Forgiveness' - meh. Had a ton of potential and didn't follow through. Jane Yolen poem was good.

This is a very realized world, but ultimately, not my cup of tea.

'Rattlesnakes and Men' by Michael Bishop was just bad. Stupid gun legistlation allegory. 'Ghost Colors' had a nice feel, but not a lot of substance. Love Kunksken's 'Jars of Clay' a few issues back. 'No Decent Patrimony' and 'Red Legacy' both pretty solid, though both have somewhat weak endings.

Solid start. Especially for an Amazon title.

The story of Jen and Eric is definitely growing as they uncover the mystery. The story of S. has it's ups and downs, but has a nice cliffhanger at the end of this chapter.