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Asimov's January/February 2024
Dec. 21st, 2024 01:49 pmWhat happened to September/October? Nothing made the cut.
What happened to November/December? It got eaten by the postal gremlins.
The highlight of this issue was "What the Frog's Eye Tells the Frog's Brain," by Beston Barnett. The title comes from a real-world research article written by Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana in 1959, and cited in the story. It's about a hostage situation with AI. The viewpoint character, having been captive for months, worries about what her daughter will make of her disappearance--but it's done in a way that feels realistic and "yeah, people would actually react like that," not heavy-handed We Must Introduce Family Stakes To Offset The Boring Science.
A couple other things I noticed: "Shadow of Shadows" by Frank Ward namedrops Medici's Pizza by the University of Chicago! :D He's either a local or did his research.
There was some nice humor in "Moon and Mars," a novella by James Patrick Kelly:
-The Quester/Family Person dichotomy trope is a criticism, not a frickin' how-to guide. And for goodness' sakes, I know you get a zillion submissions per issue, don't publish the same bleeping thing twice.
What happened to November/December? It got eaten by the postal gremlins.
The highlight of this issue was "What the Frog's Eye Tells the Frog's Brain," by Beston Barnett. The title comes from a real-world research article written by Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana in 1959, and cited in the story. It's about a hostage situation with AI. The viewpoint character, having been captive for months, worries about what her daughter will make of her disappearance--but it's done in a way that feels realistic and "yeah, people would actually react like that," not heavy-handed We Must Introduce Family Stakes To Offset The Boring Science.
A couple other things I noticed: "Shadow of Shadows" by Frank Ward namedrops Medici's Pizza by the University of Chicago! :D He's either a local or did his research.
There was some nice humor in "Moon and Mars," a novella by James Patrick Kelly:
"As you know, Spacer-Volochokova-who-is-not-paying-attention, the temperature must never vary from -196 Celsius. If it does it can affect..."
"...the post-thaw viability of the sperm," said Mariska, relieved she remembered this particular feed.
"Which should be between 40-60 percent, depending on the length of storage..." Lights fell into the familiar spacer "Quote the Manual" routine.
"...the record of which is forty-eight years..." Mariska picked up the thread.
"...held by Nobody Cares of West Outback in the Republic of Nowhere," Lights finished, grinning.
-Having read several more of the "novellas/novelettes that are part of a shared universe you haven't necessarily read the predecessors of," I think I'm getting better at realizing "some of these work okay without prior knowledge" versus "the fact that this one doesn't make sense isn't necessarily the fault of not having read the others, the author might just be bad.""...the post-thaw viability of the sperm," said Mariska, relieved she remembered this particular feed.
"Which should be between 40-60 percent, depending on the length of storage..." Lights fell into the familiar spacer "Quote the Manual" routine.
"...the record of which is forty-eight years..." Mariska picked up the thread.
"...held by Nobody Cares of West Outback in the Republic of Nowhere," Lights finished, grinning.
-The Quester/Family Person dichotomy trope is a criticism, not a frickin' how-to guide. And for goodness' sakes, I know you get a zillion submissions per issue, don't publish the same bleeping thing twice.
