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SF/F Reading Log, 2–3 February 2021
Feb. 4th, 2021 11:55 am“The Night Sun” by Zin E. Rocklyn (Tor.com, 11 March 2020). Novelette. A white abusive husband and his Black wife visit the latter's ancestral cabin in the woods, which turns out to be part of a community of people of color with supernatural power. This is more about me than about the story, but I find it increasingly difficult to enjoy stories that involve asshole, but unpowered, humans getting their comeuppance from powers beyond their ken. Part of this is a natural inclination to empathize with the people who missed out on the cool upgrades (and the assholes in the stories I'm thinking of tend to be pretty low on the evil leaderboard compared to a Trump or a McVeigh); part of it is that I follow a lot of death penalty cases and one of the things you notice about the death penalty in America is just how arbitrary its application is. Ultimately I feel like this class of stories is trying to depict justice, but I end up reading it as vengeance (however righteous) instead.
“Anything Resembling Love” by S. Qiouyi Lu (Tor.com, 29 April 2020). An examination of rape and sexual assault in a society where arthropods emerge from one's body when one is touched uncomfortably.
“Beyond the Dragon’s Gate” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, 20 May 2020). An AI researcher is abducted by her government to investigate why spaceship AIs are destroying themselves when placed into a new, amorphous body. (Spoiler alert: qlfcubevn.)
“Open House on Haunted Hill” by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20). A mildly haunted house is for sale, and really just wants somebody to call it home.
“Of Roses and Kings” by Melissa Marr (Tor.com, 27 April 2020). Novelette. A Through the Looking-Glass fic in which Alice has taken the mantle of the Red Queen and her maid, a fellow native of the real world, is in love with her.
“We’re Here, We’re Here” by K. M. Szpara (Tor.com, 10 June 2020). Tyler, a trans man, greatly enjoys being part of a boy band, including the vocal implant—controlled by his manager—that improves his singing. But an onstage kiss with a bandmate contrasts with the wholesome image that said manager wants him to project.
“The Night Soil Salvagers” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Tor.com, 24 June 2020). An exploration, mostly told via anecdotes and scores, of the titular Salvagers and what they do in an age of plumbing.
“Anything Resembling Love” by S. Qiouyi Lu (Tor.com, 29 April 2020). An examination of rape and sexual assault in a society where arthropods emerge from one's body when one is touched uncomfortably.
“Beyond the Dragon’s Gate” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, 20 May 2020). An AI researcher is abducted by her government to investigate why spaceship AIs are destroying themselves when placed into a new, amorphous body. (Spoiler alert: qlfcubevn.)
“Open House on Haunted Hill” by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20). A mildly haunted house is for sale, and really just wants somebody to call it home.
“Of Roses and Kings” by Melissa Marr (Tor.com, 27 April 2020). Novelette. A Through the Looking-Glass fic in which Alice has taken the mantle of the Red Queen and her maid, a fellow native of the real world, is in love with her.
“We’re Here, We’re Here” by K. M. Szpara (Tor.com, 10 June 2020). Tyler, a trans man, greatly enjoys being part of a boy band, including the vocal implant—controlled by his manager—that improves his singing. But an onstage kiss with a bandmate contrasts with the wholesome image that said manager wants him to project.
“The Night Soil Salvagers” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Tor.com, 24 June 2020). An exploration, mostly told via anecdotes and scores, of the titular Salvagers and what they do in an age of plumbing.
