Hodgepodge

A disappointing issue with two exceptions:

Broken Windchimes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch is a novella about a singer who leaves a life of perfection and discovers a whole new world of music. Touching, with a twist of irony. Rusch rarely writes a poor story and this is no exception.

Soulmates by Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn is a tale of a human befriending a robot and both of them growing out of the experience. Mike writes these kinds of story with insight and feeling that is not often seen in short fiction. If you see his name on the cover of an anthology or magazine - buy it. His writing is always excellent.

Corrected to add Lezli's name to Soulmates. I overlooked her name in the credit. My deepest apologies to Lezli and thank to Mike Resnick for pointing it out.

Unfortunately a very thin mix of stories. One of the two novelettes was interesting – California Burning  by Michael Blumlein – if it had had a stronger ending I would have added it to my Hugo list but a good read nonetheless.

Of the five short stories, only one was worthwhile. The Consciousness Problem by Mary Robinette Kowal is a wonderful tale about clones that examines the emotions in a powerful way. It is on my Hugo list and is worth buying the magazine for.

The other item of note in this issue is the results of the Reader’s Awards.

I have come to expect this kind of issue from Asimov’s. TO me they have fallen into the trap of publishing stories from authors that are known in the genre but the stories have no connection to the genre. A dangerous trend if you ask me. I for one will not renew if they continue down this path.

A better than average issue. My favorites:

Novelette - Controlled Experiment by Tom Purdom is a tale about NIMBY in the worst way. Good twist at the end.

Short Story - Cold Testing by Eric Brown is a story about love, androids and awareness. One the best I've read in a while.

Short Story - The Monsters of Morgan Island by Sandra McDonald is a fun story about labels, shy kids and point of view. I really liked the ending.

The other highlight is a James Patrick Kelly love fest by several authors who have been touched by Kelly. What prompted this is that ever year for the past 25 - Kelly has had a story published in Asimov's. There is a novelette by Kelly in this issue but it was so-so IMHO.

Novella

Act One by Nancy Kress – An interesting story of chemical terrorism and human genetics with a little person (dwarf) as the protagonist. Well researched and a slight twist. Kress always turns in a solid story. Possible Hugo nomination.

Novelettes

The Long, Cold Goodbye by Holly Phillips – A tale about evacuation and leaving behind those who cannot or will not go. A little confusing and really would have been better edited down to a short story.

Getting Real by Harry Turtledove – An alternate future (what else would you expect from Turtledove) that looks at a United States that has been reduced to subservience to the greater power of China. To maintain its grip, China has come up with a virtual reality ‘drug’ called Real. The story unfolds as a ‘these are the dangers of drugs’ cliché and while it has interesting moments, is a pretty pedestrian tale. Turtledove fans will enjoy it.

Short Stories

Intelligence by R. Neube – An odd story about an A.I that thinks it can beat the lottery. Interesting but not great.

Slow Stampede by Sara Genge – The best of the shorts and a close second to the Novella for best of issue. This story is set on a low gravity planet where massive elephant like creatures are used for transport. The protagonist is next in line for chief of the tribe who survives on robbing the caravans. He ends up getting more than he bargained for. Fast paced and creative.

Whatness by Benjamin Crowell – A very short story about awareness that lacked punch.

The Rest

The poetry was unspectacular, Brian Bieniowski’s editorial about revisiting a classic science fiction book he read as a child was interesting and Bob Silverberg wrote a fun tongue-in-cheek essay on the end of the solar system that was very entertaining. The other features were pretty standard.

Overall a better issue than the last few. I hope the trend continues.

My new subscription to both Asimov's and Analog finally started (I sent the order in with a check in August!), and so for those of you who are interested, I will post my quickie review each month as I finish them. Since I squeeze these in between novels, you will see a gap between the two magazines even tough they arrive on the same day.

Novelettes:
Lion Walk by Mary Rosenblum - A fair story about a game preserve in the middle of America in the future. Two recent killings of people by a lion cause the main game warden to investigate and finds out who is responsible. A little Jurassic Park and with a weird concept of death as entertainment.
Uncle Bones by Damien Broderick - An interesting story about living zombies and relationships that was good but lacked a killer ending.

Short Stories:
Passing Perry Crater Base, Time Uncertain by Larry Niven - A two page story that says a lot about where the space program is 40 years after landing on the Moon.
Bridesicle by Will McIntosh - The best story in the issue and on my possible Hugo list. The story is about a woman who is dead but is revived from time to time as a potential wife. A bizarre concept but the emotion at the end of the story overwhelmed me. Topnotch storytelling.
Five Thousand Light Years from Birdland by Robert C. Chase - A dull story about a human who ends up going to an alien world as a diplomat and passing a test. A few interesting scenes but overall left me flat.
Messiah Excelsa by E. Salih - A time travel story about a man who goes back to the renaissance and gets to meet Stradivarius and see the violins produced. If you are into fine musical instruments, you will probably love this story but for me it was just OK.
Unintended Behavior by Nancy Kress - A wonderful little story about a dog, a controlling souse and technology going a different direction than intended. I loved the ending. Also on the potential Hugo list.

Features:
Sheila Williams editorial on Worldcon was fun since I was there and Robert Silverberg's Reflections column deals with the concept of universal translators.

Overall a decent issue.