S.A Reidman’s Reviews > Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 100, January 2015 > Status Update

Finished: Laika's Ghost - Karl Schroeder 4⭐
So eclipse season coming in hot with intense aspects and a couple days ago I felt the tug to be outdoorsreading in moonlight ...magic. I try to avoid reading about the suffering of the only space-dog in history. Poor Laika. Thankfully, this was not that. So, to my pondering- what if? A metal pyramid on that red planet - that would be something

Finished: The Wind Blowing and This Tide by Damien Broderick RIP 1944-2925 4⭐
Felt like a kid going to the observatory and gazing into space for the first time. In this short, there's a starship and they find it from the niggling sensations of the "secret" remote viewers (which reminds me to catch up on conspiracy theories channels - this one seems realistic.) and said starship is on Titan, the Titan.

finished: An Exile of the Heart 3.5⭐ by Jay Lake RIP (1964-2014)
Pistols At Dawn! Heya except it was in space and not at dawn so Pistols in Zero gravity. Who cares that was an epic opening. The gist of the story managed to yank me right out of the little English sleepy countryside mystery I had just finished. We have assassins, Kardasev Civilization 2, Arranged Weddings and pining for love. Scifi weekend yes

Finished: Ether by Zhang Rang 3⭐

Well, I quickly went from eeeeew to hhhhm🤔 in this short

"I feel strange tickling sensations—he’s drawing something on my palm with his finger. Surprised, I raise my head. In front of me is the fourth person in black, small and thin, his eyes covered by his hoodie. He rapidly sketches something out on my palm, then pats my hand. “Do you understand?”"

finished: The Apartment Dweller's Bestiary by Kij Johnson 4.5 ⭐ I would inhale a full length novel. It chronicles the journey of life in loneliness, being alone but not lonely, loving your quiet alone time and simultaneously yearning for more, for connection. All of it. Relatable Now, take that whole mess of feelings and put the cutest magical creatures that Fantastic Beasts wishes they had.

Finished: Cat Pictures Please - Naomi Kritzer 4⭐
An AI that wants, no Loves and needs Cat pictures is soo sweet I can't! You this short woke me up, I loved it. I've been sleep-reading through my cozy mystery and this witty yet innocent Helper-AI trying to solve human problems is exactly what I needed.
Humans move ridiculously slow when they're making changes, even when you'd think they'd want to hurry

Not Naomi Kritzer reigniting my interest in this issue of Clarkesworld. Bodard's Mindship in mourning was dour but missing something and Tang Fei's faux-epistolary was aggravating. This story "Cat Pictures Please" should have been the first one in the issue.

Finished:A Universal Elegy by Tang Fei1.5⭐
Not all cerebral scifi is created equally - I did not like this. I was disappointed by the half-arsed epistolary format, it was wordy. love epistolary books but this short was not it. Yes it's about a mental health disorder and someone moving into a psychotic break..Well I'm interpreting this character as schizophrenic 'cause if not, what a flaming green hot mess.

Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight - Aliette De Bodard
I can't get over this weird familiarity of the naming culture of the Mindships, I mean going all the way back to the Mindship in the first ADB book I read - The Tea Master and The Detective. The naming culture is also evident in Machine Mandate 1 series by Benjanun Sriduangkaew. I love the very clearly Vietnamese echoes in both series.