Status Updates From Asimov's Science Fiction Ja...

'You'll Live' B.S. Donovan *****
A short, sharp shock of a story. Social SF at its grimmest.

'The Kaleidoscope City' Doug C. Souza ***
'The Refraction of White Lies' Meredith Lozaga ***
'The Way to Compostela' Jean-Louis Trudel **

'The Way to Compostela' Jean-Louis Trudel **
'A Pack of Trucks' Leigh Cypress **

'Go. Now. Fix.' Timons Esaias *****
Wow, just wow!

'The Antidote' Dominica Phetteplace **
Ambitious high-concept, but I didn't really connect with the characters.

'The Palace of Dancing Dogs' by Allen M. Steele ***
A continuation from Nov/Dec, but smart enough to be understandable and to stand on its own. A perceptive and effective take on 'human rights'.

'Third Shift' by Mar Catherine Stratford **
Stock standard UFO abduction story that starts off promisingly about alienation, but then never quite lives up to that promise. This is a very, very difficult subject to make appear fresh in any kind of meaningful way.

'An Alien on Crete' by Neal Asher ****
A typically bleak Asher take on both First Contact and the post-scarcity world that SF upholds as the Holy Grail of social evolution. This is an ambitious story that is not entirely successful, especially the ending, but it is a fascinating read.