Clarkesworld Magazine Issue #224

This is one of the first things I read each month. Here are my mini reviews for the latest issue.

“Brainstem Disco, 2191” by Angela Liu (1,640 words) — One of a pair of lovers interacts with the other’s post-mortem disembodied self, pining for them, wishing they hadn’t died. Lot’s of imagery, especially around sound. Unique and interesting story. (My Rating: 3/5)

“The Library of the Apocalypse” by Rati Mehrota (3,850 words) — The narrator leads a band of humans surviving in a shattered Toronto as they search each full moon for the titular library to escape briefly from their dark reality. Intriguing and well-written with a twist at the end. (My rating: 5/5)

“We, the Fleet” by Alex T. Singer (7,700 words) — A mother with inorganic children finds and saves a human woman by making her into a cyborg. A wonderful story of family and friendship told from a unique perspective. (My rating: 5/5)

“Descent” by Wole Talabi (21,240 words) — A man on a gaseous planet seeks to find the planet’s surface. It has lots of foreign/made-up words without definitions and that I found not easily understood from context. (My rating: 3/5)

“Oh Time Thy Pyramids” by Ann LeBlanc (7,430 words) — I found this one confusing to the point that I stopped reading at the first break. (My rating: 1/5)

“Proxima One” by Caryanna Reuven (4,020 words) — Silicos set out to search for life in the universe and end up considering whether to create it again. Very engaging concept without much of a plot. (My rating: 3/5)

“Yarn Theory” by Marie Vibbert (1,000 words) — A mathematician knits a pattern in yarn of a message received from aliens. I liked this very much. It ended too soon. I wanted more. (My rating: 4/5)

My average story rating for this issue: 3.43 out of 5.

Onyx Storm by Rebeccah Yarros

My partner had this book on pre-order. She read it when it first came out. I only got around to reading it. It was okay.

It continues the story of the relationship between Violet and Xaden and their dragons and how they are dealing with the turmoil caused by the dark wielders as well as trying to find a cure for Xaden’s situation. There are many adventures and mild twists and turns.

This edition of the Empyrean series didn’t do much for me. It wasn’t bad. It just didn’t hold my interest like the previous books in the series. I expect that I will read the next book to find out how the story unfolds. Eventually.

My rating: 3/5

In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré

I don’t recall when this book from 2004 first came to my attention or how. It was in the last few months. Driving to my most recent soccer tournament seemed like the perfect moment to take it in on audiobook.

The book starts with outlining how the world has sped up and how it is affecting us. Remember, this was published in 2004, before we had smartphones or Facebook or Instagram or any other social media. It was hard to tell that this book is more than twenty years old! After two chapters, the author delves into eight areas of life where he explores slowing down and talks to people doing just that. These areas are:

  • Food
  • Cities
  • Mind/Body
  • Medicine
  • Sex
  • Work
  • Leisure
  • Children

But I found the Conclusion the most valuable. Here is summarizes he message that the movement to slow down is not about trying to go backwards. Rather it is about learning how to choose when to go fast and when to go slow.

I really found this book valuable despite its age. He does make a lot of predictions about how the slow movement will not be going away. These feel dated in our world where everyone’s head is always looking down at a glowing rectangle they’ve pulled from their pocket. But the message itself is timeless and still provides a lot readers can put into practice to start taking back control of their lives.

My rating: 4/5