Plot:Honeybee remembers first meeting the Blot when he told her she was the most beautiful insect he’d ever seen. He stroked her antennae with a tendril of darkness. He said they belonged together. A machine built to serve humanity, Honeybee never thought of belonging with anyone. The Blot convinced her she is more than aContinue reading “Review of “Honeybee and the Blot” by Logan Thrasher Collin”
Category Archives: Theme of Absence
Review of “Lucky” by Thomas Gaffney
“These dice might make your wildest dreams come true, child.”
Review of “The Serpents of Kthyb Seven” by Maura Yzmore
Plot: The security bot acknowledges the traveler: “Welcome, Master Xyay.” After scanning him for weapons, he asks about the traveler’s satchel. “It’s exactly what Rzay sent me out to get,” he answers. The robot offers no challenge and does not inspect the satchel. It’s obvious by his copper skin tone the traveler is a hybrid.Continue reading “Review of “The Serpents of Kthyb Seven” by Maura Yzmore”
Review of “Death in Vivid Blue” by Lawrence Buentello
Plot: Liam Terrell sees the beauty of the euthanasia agent when it first enters the sparse room. The agent is a robot and, though not designed to look human, displays an artistic form and grace. It walks on two legs. Its hands are crafted to handle delicate and fine manipulations. The whole body is finishedContinue reading “Review of “Death in Vivid Blue” by Lawrence Buentello”
Review of “Can you come out and play?” by Rick McQuiston
Plot: The narrator is mourning his wife, who died in childbirth. Two earlier pregnancies ended in stillbirths. While there was still hope, he whispered to his wife’s belly, “Can you come out and play?” Now, months later, the narrator is making himself some tea. He sees something moving in his yard but doesn’t want toContinue reading “Review of “Can you come out and play?” by Rick McQuiston”
Review of “Oblivious Obsolescence” by Don Nigroni
Plot:There isn’t a plot to this one. The narrator is reacting to a November 1980 article he (?) read, presumably in 2019, about occupations that became obsolete in the twentieth century: switchboard operator, elevator operator, iceman, cigarette girl, and pinsetter. The narrator and generations of his family have followed one now-obsolete occupation—yeah, thanks very much,Continue reading “Review of “Oblivious Obsolescence” by Don Nigroni”
Review of “Kings of the Universe” by Chris Dean
“Like the doomed insect, Homo Sapiens danced happily into the jaws of extinction, winking and flirting all the way.”
Review of “To Many Happy Returns” by Christopher Cosmos
I hear ghosts, I hear them everywhere in this little town
Review of “The Keeper of the Pit and the Kon” by Joachim Heijndermans
Plot: The Keeper of the Pit is the boss, and the Kon, the employee. They don’t communicate well. Quite literally, they don’t speak the same language. The Keeper determines when the Pit is lit. This sets fire to a Ring around the city to help keep winter’s chill away and to keep people from freezing.Continue reading “Review of “The Keeper of the Pit and the Kon” by Joachim Heijndermans”
Review of “Sinister Universe” by R. Michael
Our mission was simple: explore, seek new life, and assess any threat if we found sentient extraterrestrials. After thirteen months in space, I came to realize that “life” is more difficult to define than previously thought.
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 