Reviews and Comments

An above average issue, with interesting stories by R.H. Wesley, D.A. Xiaolin Spires and a striking Philip K. Dick type tale of altered reality by Tade Thompson.

• "The Stone Played at Tengen" by R.H. Wesley: an interesting story about a Go board made up of stars that suddenly appear in the sky. In Japan, a Go master and a group of intellectuals believe somebody in space is challenging them to a game. The Go game starts with an unusual position that the Go master is familiar with. As the game proceeds, the group eventually realise they are dealing with a true Go master in space.

• "Jade Fighter" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires: a person enters a VR world to do taichi exercises, only to discover that one of the NPCs (non-player characters) inhabiting the world has more agency than expected. She strikes up a friendship with the NPC and together, they will discover more of themselves and the possibilities of inhabiting other virtual and the real world.

• "The Apologists" by Tade Thompson: a striking Philip K. Dick like story that starts with a cold-blooded murder of a mother and child, which is investigated by a detective. As we follow the detective's investigation, it becomes clear that something is off with the London she inhabits, with people unconsciously avoiding the Underground, and periodically plugging their ears against strange sounds. It is only when a violent confrontation between the detective and the murderer occurs do the pieces fall into place about this world that is not what it seems, and who the Apologist in the title may be.

• "Trees at Night" by Ramiro Sanchiz, translated by Sue Burke: a person arrives at a sanitorium on another planet for therapy to become who he used to be.

• "Prerequisites for the Creation of a Possible Predicted World" by Chisom Umeh: a company that recreates historial periods of earth prepares to reveal one based on a World's Fair. But something apparently goes wrong during the recreation, and it would require the imagination of a person to help convince visitors to keep 'alive' the recreation.

• "Ratlines" by Brent Baldwin: a 'brain in a box' controls a spaceship that carries criminals, flees from pursuit. But when they are caught, the brain has to decide whether it wants to carry out one final order.

• "The Fire Burns Anyway" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: a person who creates imaginary worlds for sale contemplates whether to give it up for a better paying job or not.

An interesting story of the usual parent who has to handle a kindergartener, while navigating the politics of being an accepted member of a new school and its Parent Teacher Association. Only here, the kindergartener got turned into a werewolf, and the other kids and parents are magical beings or can use magic, making the 'mundane' parent even more stressed out. And it doesn't help when, of course, there is a prophecy hanging over the town and signs point to the kindergartener being involved in it. And as with any school, it would also involve parents who are overbearing, anxious, and might do anything to ensure their child succeeds.

Humour runs through the situation but for the first half of the book, it doesn't overcome the stressful situation the parent finds herself in: handing both wolf and human form of her child (who also suffers from bullying), trying to 'fit in' the new school and her role in the Parent Teacher Association, and getting sideline by parents who look down at her.

It is only in the second half of the book, when she eventually breaks out and seeks new friendships, and accepts help and guidance from them and her partner, does the situation lighten up, and the book really begins to shine. She also starts to take charge of finding out more about the prophecy, and discovers how it might have been manipulated to discredit her and the discoveries she makes about goings-on in the school from her role in the Association.

Unlike another series of fantasy books featuring a boy-wizard at a wizarding school (which also gets a brief mention here), the magical world here is more in-tune with the modern world. Wizards use smartphones and organise activities via WhatsApp. I got a laugh when they discover the location of a magical person by doing a Google image lookup on a picture obtained by magical means.

In the end, the parent and her kid discover that they can make a difference, and prophecies may not be as important as some people make them out to be.

An interesting mystery set in a fantasy world. Featuring two characters, Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol, that contain mixed features of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Here, they are investigating the mystery of a man killed when a tree grew out of his body. Solving this actually takes only a few chapters: it is the ramifications of the murder and further discoveries that would take up the rest of the book, and test the abilities of the two characters (and the reader) to solve it.

In this fantasy world, Ana is the detective, making deductive leaps based on the evidence gathered by Dinios. Dinios is an engraver, a person modified via chemistry (made from the flesh of leviathans) to be able to recall every detail seen. But Dinios has a secret recall ability that would also prove crucial in the investigation. Both are living in an Empire, made up of people modified to be stronger, faster, more intelligent, etc., but all driven to protect the empire from the attacks of leviathans from the sea, who emerge every wet season on to the Empire's land. The leviathans, and the protections thrown up to shield the empire from them, would form the world building background to the story.

During the course of the investigation, this reader managed to deduce some points in the investigation and the true identity of one suspect. It would also implicate people who are willing to sacrifice people and entire regions for personal gain, and motivate others who want to get revenge for such abuses.

A fascinating world that shows the investigative prowess of the two characters, but promises more revelations about the world they live in future books.

An interesting issue of Interzone, filled with 'weird' stories that stretch, but not quite, break credibility and only Interzone stories can. Good stories in this issue by Nathan Brown and Sasha Brown, Corey Jae White and Maddison Stoff, Humphrey Price, Eygló Karlsdóttir and Ashley Stokes, and Giselle Leeb.

• "The Chainsaw Surfer Against the Army of the Deep" by Nathan Brown, Sasha Brown: an accurate title for a fantastical story of an army from the depths of the ocean that rises to conquer New York, and it may be up to one surfer with a chainsaw on a surfboard to save humanity.

• "Do Motorcycle Centaurs Dream of Five Stars and a Tip?" by Corey Jae White, Maddison Stoff: a weird, but fun story of a 'centaur', an organism merged with a motorcycle, that makes a living delivering food. But its job may be cut short when a new company with a faster delivery system arrives that may render it obsolete. Then, a hostage situation gives it a chance to fight back, when the hostage taker makes a food delivery request: the delivery race is on.

• "Project Star Train Final Report" by Humphrey Price: the final report, written on a manual typewriter, of a mission to send a series of probes to a nearby star, the discovery of intelligent life on a planet orbiting the star, and the resulting mess that occurs when information was transmitted that would lead to a technological backlash.

• "Cautionary Pulses" by Eygló Karlsdóttir, Ashley Stokes: in a future when a gadget determines the relationships people may have with each other, two people bump into each other by accident and find each other sexually attractive, despite the gadget's insistence that they are totally incompatible.

• "Meat" by Rachael Cupp: a continuing series in life after a nuclear apocalypse, this one has a girl who manages to save and befriend a large wild cat, only for the friendship to be cut short.

• "The Canine Lodge" by Giselle Leeb: two cyclists rest at a lodge that also houses a group of fisherman who fish at night, but curiously at a lake that does not permit fishing at night. They sneak out at night to see what the fishermen do, only to discover the true meaning about the sign about a canine lodge that they saw earlier.

• "Bindweed" by Kat Sedia: a more contemporary story of the sexual meetings between two people high on drugs and on rough sex.

• "Bosch" by Ben Tufnell: a priest and a scout journey through a scorched land to reach a camp, where the priest discovers he has to perform a rite on the Captain of the camp.

• "Your Snow White Moment" by Leslie What: a woman recovering from an abusive relationship with her ex-husband and his daughter wander into another relationship, only this one involves ducks who demand more and more from her when she keeps feeding them.

• "Baywater" by Crystal Koo: a person is suddenly cleaved into two. Both portions then go on to lead their own lives, one following the path she has always followed, but now shunned because of her appearance, the other down an unknown path.

A fascinating book that looks that the beetles found in the world. Beetles are one of the largest group of insects known, mainly because many beetles are conspicuous with lovely colours and patterns and are the target of collectors, and this book covers all the groups of beetles.

The book starts with a general overview of the beetles, showing their anatomy, general behaviour and biology. Beetles start out as grubs, pupate, and emerge as adults. This way of living has given rise to a huge number of beetle species that has enabled them to spread out and occupy many ecological niches from the tropics to the polar regions.

Beetles have varied diets, feeding on plants, fungi and other animals, living and dead. This huge variety of diets means beetles can be found in almost every environment (including urban ones), where they can become beneficial or pests, depending on what they feed on and their relationship to man.

The book then proceeds to list down the beetles, arranged into families and subfamilies, listing down their major features, behaviours, ecology, and so on, of each family. Numerous superb photos of the beetles (both young and adults) are included, showing some beetles with splendid body ornaments, patterns and colouration. It is easy to see why many entomologists and collectors are enamoured with beetles.

This book is not the final word on beetles. Many beetle species, including their life histories, are still not known to science and future genetic studies may rearrange their taxonomy. But until the next edition of the book is released, this one sits as a good, general guide to the beetles of the world. A list of references is also given for those who wish to know more about the beetles.

An interesting book that looks at the field of experimental archaeology, or the practice of trying to recreate how people may have lived based on the available archaeological evidence, along with some speculation (necessary, since not everything ancient people did was preserved). The author is not satisfied with just observing such recreations, but also takes parts in them, leading to some interesting insights (and injuries). The author also includes fictional accounts of people living in those periods, giving readers a glimpse into how such people lived (and died). He also counters the various myths that have grown-up about the why of living of several prehistoric and historic peoples.

The author starts in the prehistoric era in Africa, with hunter-gathering people, showing how they created stone tools by knapping, and the long-distance hunting of an antelope that gets diverted into the stealing of ostrich eggs. Next, a South American attempt to hunt game (including the formidable giant sloth) using atlatls is featured. Here, the author presents evidence that not all hunters were male, for females are also skilful at using the atlatl for hunting.

Life in Çatalhöyük, the first large inhabited area in Turkey, is then given. At the time, it was a very egalitarian life, with people considered equals and required to share. So the fictional story of a sister having to fight for the burial of a brother who was very possessive shows the conflicts such a lifestyle can have. Here, the author presents the long and arduous process of tanning hides into leather, which also involves using the brains of animals to tan their hides.

Moving on to Egypt, the author looks at the lives of people involved in building the pyramids and the efforts needed to organise and feed them. Bread and beer play a major part, as well the process of mummification. A major leap brings us to Polynesia and the lives of the people who navigate the open oceans, who look, and feel, for clues that land may be nearby.

The author then moves to Rome. Presenting the fictional lives of people living in Pompeii just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, he shows the life of a slave in a household of a Roman woman hoping to move up the social ladder. This would involve a dinner party, finery, glamorous hair and some intrigue.

In California, the fictional life of a Native American who seeks revenge on a rival shows how acorns, tattoos, weapons and the use of toxins are involved in their rituals and lives. Warfare does not let up, as the author next presents a Viking siege of a European monastery, a story that involves digging up bodies in bogs and the use of trepenation (surgery on skulls) as a way to treat head injuries.

Moving north, the author samples Inupiat food and the way they live, hunting for seals (and using their skins as a bag) and the way they cook food when there is little heating material. China is the next destination, where he looks at the lives of eunuchs, the use of weapons like the trebuchet, and the role that alchemy played in the lives of people.

Finally, the author looks at the Aztecs in Mexico, corn as their staple food, the role of human sacrifice in their lives and the impact of Spanish cannons had on the Aztecs.

A story set in a future where humanity has spread far and wide in the universe via work done a subgroup of humans (disparagingly called Geckos) to terraform the worlds. Due to their work, this subgroup has become toxic to the rest of humanity, being isolated by air filters and barriers.

As the story starts, a group of these people have revolted against their work conditions and hijacked a ship and a pilot to go to the planet Pandora. Things get complicated when the pilot develops feelings for one of the Geckos. But together, they have to crack the puzzle that is Pandora, for they need to access what Pandora has access to.

After solving the puzzle and getting access, they reach their target. And it is there that puzzles and mysteries about how the Geckos and the spread of humanity really happened start to be answered. And the answers they find are not expected, and will overturn their entire worldview and their own history: but it will show a way to reunite humanity again and remake their working conditions.

A good issue of Clarkesworld, with fascinating stories by Fiona Moore, H.H. Pak and Greg Egan.

• "Wire Mother" by Isabel J. Kim: in the future where parents can be biological or digital, one daughter is unable to form an emotional attachment to her digital mother.

• "The Cancer Wolves" by Fiona Moore: in a future after the collapse of civilisation, a village now finds its flock being eaten by wolves. But instead of killing the wolves, they come up with a solution to live with them and, in the process, learn to live with each other better.

• "Crabs Don't Scream" by H.H. Pak: a 'Clerk' assigned to record the last fifteen seconds of a person's life before the world ends instead finds himself falling in love with the person. But is really love if the emotion causes him to catapult through time and space instead? The only way to find out is to force himself to observe those last fifteen seconds; but they may turn out to be his last.

• "Understudies" by Greg Egan: a boy gets help from a study aid, and finds himself developing a strong aptitude for mathematics. But is it enough to live on, when others are getting enhanced via direct connections to AIs instead? Perhaps the only way to find out it to challenge the enhanced people to a match of wits and show that AIs can only do so much when it comes to lateral thinking.

• "Giant Grandmother" by Liu Maijia, translated by Blake Stone-Banks: in a future where genetic defects are common and humanity may be in danger of dying out, one person is preparing for a change in his genetics that may preserve humanity. But before that he must have one final meeting with his grandmother, who has already gone through such a genetic change, and it now a much bigger person.

• "The Job Interview" by Carrie Vaughn: the supervisor in charge of navigation on a space station is being frustrated in her job by endless memos as she tries to find out why communications are currently glitchy. When she finally overrides authorities to find out for herself, it might be too late for the station; but perhaps not for herself.

• "In Luck's Panoply Clad, I Stand" by Phoebe Barton: after a nuclear exchange devastates the earth, one off-world human tries his best to help. But helping can be tough when the off-worlder is much bigger than earth people, but he is determined to do what he can, even when his world demands his return.A

A horror story that starts in a small town with the casual murder of five girls. As the story reveals, this is no ordinary small town, but one where that is a balance between predators (wolves) and prey (deer), with the townspeople taking on one of the roles by donning a 'skin'. But now, that balance is being threatened by a group of hunters.

Restoring the balance may require one girl who had a mystical grandmother, who had a role in keeping the balance in the past, subduing predators when required. And now, it may be up to the girl to do the same with the hunters, but doing so would require a sacrifice that only a wolf can perform.

The story skips back and forth in time around the time of the murder, slowly revealing the relationships between the girl, her grandmother and town people, and the role her grandmother did and which she now has to perform.

A fascinating book that looks that large variety of moths that can be found in the world. After beetles, the family Lepidoptera ('scaled insects') is one of the largest family of insects and this book covers all the major groups of moths except one: the butterflies, which have their own book.

The book starts with a general overview of the moths, showing their anatomy, general behaviour and biology. As caterpillars, moths are 'eating machines' while as adults, moths are 'reproductive machines', a specialisation that has enabled the group to spread out and occupy many ecological niches from the tropics to the polar regions. Moths are major pollinators (and pests of crops) and can be feeding on plants from the ground upwards, and even on aquatic plants. Some caterpillars are also predators, feeding on aphids. Moths are also a source of food for other animals (including humans), leading some to develop intimidating spines and venoms for defence.

The book then proceeds to list down the moths, arranged into families and subfamilies, listing down their major features, behaviours, ecology and so on of each family. Numerous superb photos of the eggs, caterpillars and adults are included, showing some moths with splendid patterns and colouration to rival that of the better known butterflies.

This book is not the final word on moths. Many moth species, including their life histories, are still not known to science and future genetic studies may rearrange the taxonomic family of moths. But until the next edition of the book is released, this one sits as a good, general guide to the moths of the world. A list of references is also given for those who wish to know more about moths from a specific region of interest.

A fascinating book that looks at the mathematics behind the operation of AM, FM and Single-Sideband radios to show how they work as transmitters and receivers. The book also goes through the history of such radios, from curiosities to hobbyists, to commercialisation and public broadcasting of radio channels and the creation of commercial radio shows.

Starting with the mathematics behind electronic components like resistors, inductors and capacitors, diodes, triodes, oscillators, amplifiers and so on, the author then uses mathematical identities and techniques (like the Fourier transform) to show how combinations of electronic components can be used to modulate an oscillating signal in various ways to produce an AM or FM signal. This modulated signal can then be received by a demodulator to extract back a representation of the information on the modulated signal.

The explanation for Single-Sideband Radio was interesting, as it is a topic mentioned during my engineering course but never fully explained. Here, the author first shows a brute-force method for a Single-Sideband Radio (using filters to remove a sideband) before showing other, more elegant techniques (using an 'all-pass' filter) for generating and receiving a Single-Sideband Radio signal. One interesting aspect here, that pops out of the mathematics, is that the receiver actually receives a 'scrambled' signal, where the phase components of the signal are shifted by different amounts depending on the original frequency. In practice, this phase shifting does not matter, as the human ear is able to compensate for it and still able to hear the signal.

While looking at the mathematics behind the various radios, the author also goes through the history of AM and FM radio. It starts with 'spark-gap' radios and crystal radios, which were sensitive and hard to operate and only appealed to hobbyist. The vacuum tube would herald the age of commercial radio, making radio receivers much easier to operate.

While the appeal of radio may now be less, due to the internet, it was an important technology that helped spread news and entertainment to the world, and it is good to have a book that shows how radios work mathematically, even if the actual components used to implement a radio now would be different from those used in the past.

A marvellous compendium of the wonderful lifeforms that can be found around the world. You can choose to read the book from cover or cover, dip into it randomly or by section, or search through the index for specific details. Either way, you'll discover fascinating facts and stories that will entertain you.

The book is divided into several sections, each covering a specific environment: forest, grasslands, mountains, deserts, water, cities and island. Each section contains descriptions and stories about many organisms, each one taking up about a page. Areas with interesting environments are also presented. In Atlas Obscura style, each description ends with brief information on how to see the organism or visit the area, if possible. The book also features many wonderful images, and occasional drawings, of the organisms and areas visited.

Definitely a wonderful, and concise, guide to some of the natural wonders that can be found in the world.