Reviews and Comments

Set in Iceland, the story leads a male witch on a trail to find his brother to inform him that he has been pardoned for a crime which got him exiled. But he finds the trail leads to a farm which tells him he has to deal with a volcano and obtain an elixir from it before he can talk to his brother.

An interesting story that weaves together magic, compassion for a lame, potentially sacrificial horse and the telling of riddles.

Isle of Happiness: a Russian tycoon who got rich on gaming and other activities finds happiness hard to achieve. So he jumps at the chance of an isle in the Middle East which claims to use AI to offer happiness. But appearance can be deceiving and happiness can be hard to find.

The Job Savior: in a future where most work has been taken over by AI, a company is tasked with find new avenues of employment for those whose jobs have now gone. But what happens when the company's own business is threaten by AI?

Quantum Genocide: a techno-thriller involving the stealing of Bitcoins that is the trigger for a series of global terrorist events started by one person who wants to get his revenge of humanity. It would take the efforts of an intelligence officer and a hacker to try to stop him.

Can be read on-line at [ www.tor.com/2021/06/23/the-red-mother-elizabeth-bear/ ]

A story of a boy who, while generally obedient, disobeys his mother's orders in small ways, like taking shortcuts to get back home. On one of these shortcuts, he encounters colourful African Masquerades who say they are his and follow him home.

Then the trouble starts, for his mother begins to make small requests, taking pieces from his Masquerades to put into her own designs to be sold. And one day, the boy decides to disobey his mother in a big way.

The Holy Driver: in Sri Lanka, a boy who is good at VR racing is given the chance to drive a VR car that feels almost real. Later, he will discover the purpose of the reality simulation and, in a crisis, having to take life or death decisions.

My Haunting Idol: a detective story set in a virtual world where a dead singing idol appears as a ghost to a fan who wants to solve the murder mystery.

A time-travel story told linearly from the point of view of the first-person narrator, who grows up hating the name (not said in the story) given to her by her mother. Then she learns of the time-travel machine maintained by her family for generations (and its limitations) and goes on a journey to discover herself and the reason her mother eventually leaves her.

As in most time-travel stories, it all comes back full circle once the narrator realizes what she wants and is willing to reconcile with her mother.

Can be read on-line at [ www.tor.com/2015/03/04/the-shape-of-my-name/ ]

Two technicians prepare a person for a one-way trip: being reduced to data and sent to a destination thousands of light-years away.

But discussions during the preparations and afterwards shows the doubts one technician has over the purpose of offering the trip to those who want to do it.

Can be read on-line at [ www.tor.com/2021/03/24/masquerade-season-pemi-aguda/ ]

Contactless Love: in this future, new variations of COVID-19 continue to appear. One woman isolates herself in her home to keep safe, and finds companionship online. But when her virtual partner tries to surprise her by turning up, but ends up falling ill, she has to fight her instincts to keep safe to be by his side before it is too late. She will also have to contend with contact tracing technology that will try to keep her away.

Set in a place that appears to be a sealed, biologically contained world, this is a story about two people in love who don't fit in the society of artistic giving and taking, who push at the boundaries which, biologically speaking, push back.

One person is interested in ancient artistic technologies and, through trial and error, produces a new form of artistic expression: paper. The other uses the paper to produce artwork that questions the existence of their enclosed world and asks what is outside it.

Both are dangerous questions to ask in this world and when the world pushes back at them, they know they have no choice but to push at the boundaries and see what lies beyond them.

Twin Sparrows: an interesting look at a future where custom AIs help to educate children and to direct their growth. The story concerns a pair of twins, each adopted by two families. Each twin has different personalities (one outgoing and competitive, the other withdrawn but artistic). But despite their different lives, they would be drawn back together in their time of need.