What do you think?
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 121, October 2016
FICTION
“The Next Scene” by Robert Reed
“One Sister, Two Sisters, Three” by James Patrick Kelly
“The Calculations of Artificials” by Chi Hui, translated by John Chu
“Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home” by Genevieve Valentine
“Rusties” by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu
“Old Domes” by JY Yang
“The Very Pulse of the Machine” by Michael Swanwick
NON-FICTION
“Méliès to Bonestell: Relevancy and Realism in Cinematic Science Fiction” by Mark Cole
“Jazz Music and Greek Myths: A Conversation with Peter S. Beagle” by Chris Urie
“Another Word: The Ship’s Voice: A Risk Analysis and Modest Proposal” by Fran Wilde
“Editor's Desk: A Decade” by Neil Clarke
PODCASTS
The Next Scene
by ROBERT REED, read by KATE BAKER
One Sister, Two Sisters, Three
by JAMES PATRICK KELLY, read by KATE BAKER
The Calculations of Artificials
by CHI HUI, read by KATE BAKER
Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home
by GENEVIEVE VALENTINE, read by KATE BAKER
Rusties
by NNEDI OKORAFOR AND WANURI KAHIU, read by WANURI KAHIU
Old Domes
by JY YANG, read by KATE BAKER
The Very Pulse of the Machine
by MICHAEL SWANWICK, read by KATE BAKER
ART
Samyaza, Angel of Pride
by PETER MOHRBACHER
“The Next Scene” by Robert Reed
“One Sister, Two Sisters, Three” by James Patrick Kelly
“The Calculations of Artificials” by Chi Hui, translated by John Chu
“Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home” by Genevieve Valentine
“Rusties” by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu
“Old Domes” by JY Yang
“The Very Pulse of the Machine” by Michael Swanwick
NON-FICTION
“Méliès to Bonestell: Relevancy and Realism in Cinematic Science Fiction” by Mark Cole
“Jazz Music and Greek Myths: A Conversation with Peter S. Beagle” by Chris Urie
“Another Word: The Ship’s Voice: A Risk Analysis and Modest Proposal” by Fran Wilde
“Editor's Desk: A Decade” by Neil Clarke
PODCASTS
The Next Scene
by ROBERT REED, read by KATE BAKER
One Sister, Two Sisters, Three
by JAMES PATRICK KELLY, read by KATE BAKER
The Calculations of Artificials
by CHI HUI, read by KATE BAKER
Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home
by GENEVIEVE VALENTINE, read by KATE BAKER
Rusties
by NNEDI OKORAFOR AND WANURI KAHIU, read by WANURI KAHIU
Old Domes
by JY YANG, read by KATE BAKER
The Very Pulse of the Machine
by MICHAEL SWANWICK, read by KATE BAKER
ART
Samyaza, Angel of Pride
by PETER MOHRBACHER
148 pages, ebook
First published October 1, 2016
About the author
Neil Clarke
422 books418 followersNeil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning
Clarkesworld Magazine.
Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a ten-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form (winning once in 2022), three-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. In the fifteen years since Clarkesworld Magazine launched, numerous stories that he has published have been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, BSFA, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Read
March 2, 2017*** The Next Scene - Robert Reed
Our alien overlords have taken over - and demanded to be entertained by humanity. Those who are deemed interesting are rewarded with regular deposits into their bank accounts. The new system is, of course, wholly run by the unseen extraterrestrials.
It makes sense that in the new order, trained actors have a natural leg up over the rest of us... but that's just the beginning of the implications here.
**** Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home - Genevieve Valentine
More traditionally sci-fi than I expected from Valentine, but I also think this might be my favorite piece that I've read from her so far. The epistolary format of the story presents missives from the different members of a research team stationed on 'Themis.' But not all is as it seems...
Adventure sci-fi morphs into an exploration of ethics concerning new technology, and it's done quite well. Close to 5 stars, but the mix of p.o.v.s seemed a bit unbalanced, and the end didn't have quite the emotional impact it was intended to, for me at least. Still, an excellent SF offering.
Our alien overlords have taken over - and demanded to be entertained by humanity. Those who are deemed interesting are rewarded with regular deposits into their bank accounts. The new system is, of course, wholly run by the unseen extraterrestrials.
It makes sense that in the new order, trained actors have a natural leg up over the rest of us... but that's just the beginning of the implications here.
**** Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home - Genevieve Valentine
More traditionally sci-fi than I expected from Valentine, but I also think this might be my favorite piece that I've read from her so far. The epistolary format of the story presents missives from the different members of a research team stationed on 'Themis.' But not all is as it seems...
Adventure sci-fi morphs into an exploration of ethics concerning new technology, and it's done quite well. Close to 5 stars, but the mix of p.o.v.s seemed a bit unbalanced, and the end didn't have quite the emotional impact it was intended to, for me at least. Still, an excellent SF offering.
October 23, 2017
Review for “Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home” by Genevieve Valentine
It starts as a colonization story of Themis, a planet of Proxima Centauri (very funny this first part, I snorted a few times), but develops in something completely different – I simply loved the twist!
It starts as a colonization story of Themis, a planet of Proxima Centauri (very funny this first part, I snorted a few times), but develops in something completely different – I simply loved the twist!
"The sun’s different than back home—they told us about particles and turbulence on the way over and I was too stupid to understand it and too afraid to tell them, so just pretend I explained and you were really impressed."The whole story is written in epistolary form (letters or reports of the colonization crew, which I very much liked), and it poses some good questions about VR/gaming and especially ethics.
July 8, 2016
Review solely for these two stories. Rating is for the Swanwick.
"The Very Pulse of the Machine" (1998) by Michael Swanwick. An explorer discovers an unusual life form on Io. Won the Hugo award for best short story, 1999. 4+ stars. If you haven't read this, you should. Formerly had its own title entry. Direct story link: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swan...
"One Sister, Two Sisters, Three" by James Patrick Kelly. Two sisters growing up in an odd, restrictive religion. The prettier one gets a boyfriend from the Thousand Worlds. Complications ensue. A slice of life. Good work from a master writer. 3.4 stars.
"The Very Pulse of the Machine" (1998) by Michael Swanwick. An explorer discovers an unusual life form on Io. Won the Hugo award for best short story, 1999. 4+ stars. If you haven't read this, you should. Formerly had its own title entry. Direct story link: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swan...
"One Sister, Two Sisters, Three" by James Patrick Kelly. Two sisters growing up in an odd, restrictive religion. The prettier one gets a boyfriend from the Thousand Worlds. Complications ensue. A slice of life. Good work from a master writer. 3.4 stars.
December 31, 2022
I recently found this online magazine with a full roster of scifi when I was looking for a short story that got featured in Netflix's Love, Death and Robots.
This particular issue tackled about the dangers of AI — and how it touches / lives side-by-side with humanity. I've only read two short stories on this issue, and both houses the themes of us people communicating with these artificial intelligence that we use not only to create bots or automation skills, but also as to how they converse to us in creative ways like letters and poetry.
The other work I read, titled Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home is a cautionary tale of people traversing an otherworldly terrain, with no beginning or end, no protagonist and no drama. And somehow, there's no scientific documentation about their study, only letters. Little do you know that the very same characters you have seen at the beginning are somewhat AI-generated codes that was a big contributor in a grander landscape. Or scheme, if you tell me.
I am not much a very fan of Scifi that circles around on hard science, so forgive me for a messy book review of sorts. But if it helps, I'd rather recommend other issues of the Magazine as you venture into the adventures that are beyond the contemporary fiction and sagas and what have you.
This particular issue tackled about the dangers of AI — and how it touches / lives side-by-side with humanity. I've only read two short stories on this issue, and both houses the themes of us people communicating with these artificial intelligence that we use not only to create bots or automation skills, but also as to how they converse to us in creative ways like letters and poetry.
The other work I read, titled Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home is a cautionary tale of people traversing an otherworldly terrain, with no beginning or end, no protagonist and no drama. And somehow, there's no scientific documentation about their study, only letters. Little do you know that the very same characters you have seen at the beginning are somewhat AI-generated codes that was a big contributor in a grander landscape. Or scheme, if you tell me.
I am not much a very fan of Scifi that circles around on hard science, so forgive me for a messy book review of sorts. But if it helps, I'd rather recommend other issues of the Magazine as you venture into the adventures that are beyond the contemporary fiction and sagas and what have you.
November 30, 2021
Rated for the haunting Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine and Swanwick's The Very Pulse of the Machine.
December 2, 2016
The Next Scene by Robert Reed 3*
What if AIs wanted to be entertained by humans melodrama ? That's the idea explored by Reed in this very interesting and unique short story. I usually like Reed shorts but it's true that I always have the same complain, I always think that the ideas behind his stories are good but I wish he explored them a bit more. The ending of this stry was really good but it could have expanded a bit. I want to try his novels to see if he has the same issue writing longer works.
One Sister, Two Sisters, Three by James Patrick Kelly 2*
This was my least favorite of the issue, its two main characters are sisters and they live on a remote island where technologies are seen as evil and dehumanizing. The inhabitants of the islands are seen as tourist attraction but then one of the sister falls in love with a tourist and dramas ensues. It wasn't particularly original and the ralationship between the two sisters wasn't really present enough which made some of the dramas a little boring. For what it was, it should have been a lot shorter.
The Calculations of Artificials by Chi Hui 4.5*
This is a very depressing story about the consequences of human violence and our need of mutual destruction. Wonderful little gem but it's pretty terrifying, chinese short stories usually are. :P
Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine 4*
What started out as what seemed a space colonization tale ended as something way different. This was probably even more depressing that the previous story. I didn't really enjoyed the first part of the tale but when you realize it's not what you expected at all, it became way more fascinating. Yes I know that this is an extremely vague blurb but you shoukd definitely go into this one blind.
Rusties by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu 5*
Definitely my favorite of the issue, you should listen to the podcast of this because it's going to turn this into a much more powerful experience. It's about Nigeria, people, an AI revolution and love. It was so easy to relate with the main character and the writing was spectacular. The more I read Okorafor, the more I realize how much of a great writer she is.
Old Domes by JY Yang 3*
Great concept but the execution was a bit lacking. It's based on the idea that each building has a guardian, a caretaker that needs to be put down if you want to destroy the building. It was interesting because it's set in Singapore and this context is really important to the story but it could have been so much more in my opinion.
The Very Pulse of The Machine by Michael Swanwick 4*
What started as pretty meh really ended in a suprising way. I don't want to say too much about this because the "twist" is so amazing that it shouldn't be spoiled. Let's just said it's about an astronaut stranded on Io who starts to hear voices coming from her dead friend's body. If that doesn't intrigue you I don't know what wrong with you ! :P
Overall a very strong issue really focused on AIs which is not surprising for Clarkesworld. After a couple of meh months, I stopped my subscription but I might start it again if next year if the next issues are as good at this one!
What if AIs wanted to be entertained by humans melodrama ? That's the idea explored by Reed in this very interesting and unique short story. I usually like Reed shorts but it's true that I always have the same complain, I always think that the ideas behind his stories are good but I wish he explored them a bit more. The ending of this stry was really good but it could have expanded a bit. I want to try his novels to see if he has the same issue writing longer works.
One Sister, Two Sisters, Three by James Patrick Kelly 2*
This was my least favorite of the issue, its two main characters are sisters and they live on a remote island where technologies are seen as evil and dehumanizing. The inhabitants of the islands are seen as tourist attraction but then one of the sister falls in love with a tourist and dramas ensues. It wasn't particularly original and the ralationship between the two sisters wasn't really present enough which made some of the dramas a little boring. For what it was, it should have been a lot shorter.
The Calculations of Artificials by Chi Hui 4.5*
This is a very depressing story about the consequences of human violence and our need of mutual destruction. Wonderful little gem but it's pretty terrifying, chinese short stories usually are. :P
Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine 4*
What started out as what seemed a space colonization tale ended as something way different. This was probably even more depressing that the previous story. I didn't really enjoyed the first part of the tale but when you realize it's not what you expected at all, it became way more fascinating. Yes I know that this is an extremely vague blurb but you shoukd definitely go into this one blind.
Rusties by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu 5*
Definitely my favorite of the issue, you should listen to the podcast of this because it's going to turn this into a much more powerful experience. It's about Nigeria, people, an AI revolution and love. It was so easy to relate with the main character and the writing was spectacular. The more I read Okorafor, the more I realize how much of a great writer she is.
Old Domes by JY Yang 3*
Great concept but the execution was a bit lacking. It's based on the idea that each building has a guardian, a caretaker that needs to be put down if you want to destroy the building. It was interesting because it's set in Singapore and this context is really important to the story but it could have been so much more in my opinion.
The Very Pulse of The Machine by Michael Swanwick 4*
What started as pretty meh really ended in a suprising way. I don't want to say too much about this because the "twist" is so amazing that it shouldn't be spoiled. Let's just said it's about an astronaut stranded on Io who starts to hear voices coming from her dead friend's body. If that doesn't intrigue you I don't know what wrong with you ! :P
Overall a very strong issue really focused on AIs which is not surprising for Clarkesworld. After a couple of meh months, I stopped my subscription but I might start it again if next year if the next issues are as good at this one!
November 6, 2016
AI is the main protagonist in most of the stories. The podcasts are top quality with one surprise.
My three picks of this month are the
"The Calculations of Artificials" by Chi Hui
Which actually have many similarities with the newly produced series WestWorld. A world full of robots that don't know that they are real people they keep company to humans. Only the main protagonist can see the difference untill he find something strange...
"Rusties" by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu
This podcast is beautifully narrated by the Nigerian author which makes it sound more authentic.
"The very pulse of the Machine"
A thought provoking story about an alien AI trying to communicate with a "castaway" researcher.
My three picks of this month are the
"The Calculations of Artificials" by Chi Hui
Which actually have many similarities with the newly produced series WestWorld. A world full of robots that don't know that they are real people they keep company to humans. Only the main protagonist can see the difference untill he find something strange...
"Rusties" by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu
This podcast is beautifully narrated by the Nigerian author which makes it sound more authentic.
"The very pulse of the Machine"
A thought provoking story about an alien AI trying to communicate with a "castaway" researcher.
January 31, 2017
An excellent issue. My favorites were Valentine's surprising "Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home" and the creative Swanwick reprint "The Very Pulse of the Machine," but all were good reads. I also enjoyed Cole's essay on the early history of SF movies - highlights a couple of little-known gems and gives a sense of how astonishing 2001 would have been in context.
July 11, 2017
I do like Neil Clarke's choice of content.
January 3, 2018
oh no i cried
here
here
April 26, 2020
Review of Rusties by Nnedi Okorafor & Wanuri Kahiu.
Haven't read the rest of the issue.
Haven't read the rest of the issue.
Read
March 17, 2017"Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home" by Genevieve Valentine - Really enjoyed this story. Nice twist in that it starts out appearing to be one trope and turns out to be a completely different one. The extra layer of puzzling out the points-of-view created by the epistolary format kept things interesting. **** (3/16/17)
October 2, 2016
Terrifying and brilliant. Existential angst packed into a space horror story.
Read it here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swanw...
Read it here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swanw...
October 30, 2016
What a great, fantastic issue, filled with great stories about AI and many imaginative, entirely different visions of the future!
Read
July 16, 2023Rustie by N O .
msterpeace of gd sci-fic about what can be wrong.our robort and wrong data and that eyes that go far in novela of our N O
msterpeace of gd sci-fic about what can be wrong.our robort and wrong data and that eyes that go far in novela of our N O
March 24, 2017
My favorites here were The Calculations of Artificials by Chi Hui (going to prove this is an author I enjoy), Rusties by Nnedi Okorafor and Wanuri Kahiu (no one should be surprised I enjoyed the Nnedi Okorafor story), and The Very Pulse of the Machine by Michael Swanwick.
The essays and articles weren't as strong for me but I did really like Fran Wilde's 'proposal', and the Jazz Music and Greek Myths interview with Mr. Beagle was interesting enough that I may go pick up Summerlong at the library. I haven't read a Peter S. Beagle book in a stupidly long time, it seems a shame.
The cover, as always, is beautiful. Done by Peter Mohrbacher.
The essays and articles weren't as strong for me but I did really like Fran Wilde's 'proposal', and the Jazz Music and Greek Myths interview with Mr. Beagle was interesting enough that I may go pick up Summerlong at the library. I haven't read a Peter S. Beagle book in a stupidly long time, it seems a shame.
The cover, as always, is beautiful. Done by Peter Mohrbacher.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews