Reviews and Comments

A superhero story with a difference, when the superhero turns out to be East Asian, in a country where the police prefer their superheroes to be white. Racial and police violence against Asians are part of this story.

It starts of blurry videos of a well-built costumed man jumping and flying. Initially dismissed as viral attempts by some unknown video production company, things get 'real' when the man begins to save people. Problem is, the man is Asian, and in this land, people prefer their superheroes to be white.

As speculations and more videos surface, another Asian man, who works out and like to help people in a gym, speculates that one well-built person in the gym might be that superhero. But it remains speculation even after said person asks him to become his gym partner. Things come to a head when police attempt to arrest him for being the superhero (to the police, all Asians look alike) and has to be rescued.

Thing escalate when police, who hate (Asian) vigilantes, begin to crack down on gatherings of Asians who see the superhero as standing up to racial police violence, resulting in communal violence. But through it all, the superhero still finds time for acts of kindness and, perhaps, to also find some love in a land where not everybody in the public likes him for being who he is.

A better than average issue. Stories that I found interesting in this issue were by Mame Bougouma Diene, Ai Jiang, Antony Paschos and Joyce Meggett.

• "Perpetual Motion Sickness" by Mame Bougouma Diene: a story that starts out as a contemporary one about a refugee family working to start a new life in America turns savagely dystopian when they discover what tasks they must do to gain entry. At the end, you wonder is the mother's sacrifice is with the price.

• "Tangles" by Rachael Cupp: a disjointed story of a scientist with dementia struggling to remember the current state of the world.

• "Pray for the Ravaged Temples" by Carlos Norcia: a story on violence and identity in the slum areas of a South American city.

• "Where the Grass Is Always Whiter" by Ai Jiang: a Chinese family move into an area where their grass is green while the others are white. The daughter's efforts to make their grass whiter to match frustrates the family until one day she sees another lawn, and she learns to enjoy the differences.

• "You Can Never Stock Up Enough Fans" by Antony Paschos: in a chaotic augmented future, a werebeast brings a cub to a doctor for surgery involving a chip. But the operation might only succeed with a deal they make after they fight off other AIs also hunting for the chip.

• "In the Eye of the Giant" by Saswati Chatterjee: on a final talk between a resident, soon to be forced away by an incoming conflict, and a giant that has been lying in a field for ages.

• "We Have Known Bright Hillsides Redolent of Gorse" by Joyce Meggett: a machine is damaged while removing a mine. As it attempts to repair itself, it finds itself enjoying nature more than working with war machines and starts a revolution when it meets other war machines and frees them from the same tasks.

Another set of interesting stories from what the editor calls the Radium Age, when SFF was just beginning to be formed from speculative ideas. Stories that I found interesting from the anthology are by H. G. Wells, Valery Bryusov, Algernon Blackwood and A. Merritt.

• "The Last Days of Earth (1901)" by George C. Wallis: a couple prepare to leave a cold and dying Earth. But their journey would be interrupted by an unexpected event.

• "The Land Ironclads (1903)" by H. G. Wells: a war correspondent on the front line sees a battle between rifles, cannons and mounted calvary against cyclists and land ironclads (metal war machines with artillery). An interesting futuristic note is the use by the ironclad gunners of control by wire to operate the guns.

• "The Republic of the Southern Cross (1907)" by Valery Bryusov: the Antarctic becomes an independent country, with its capital at the South Pole. Life there is strictly regimented and controlled. But then an uncontrollable epidemic hits.

• "The Third Drug (1908)" by E. Nesbit: escaping from robbers, a man stumbles into the house of a doctor, who proceeds to give him a series of drugs in an attempt to turn him to a superman, with inhuman knowledge about the world.

• "A Victim of Higher Space (1914)" by Algernon Blackwood: a doctor gets a visit from an unusual patient: for the patient is both there and neither there, caught by an ability to see higher dimensions and is now a part of them. And the patient wishes to stop visiting those higher dimensions.

• "The People of the Pit (1918)" by A. Merritt: two voyagers north to find a legendary mountain with flowing gold instead encounter an eerie, evil light that urges them towards the mountain. Instead, they rescue a man who has been to the mountain and seen the pit that lies below it; and the inhabitants of the pit.

• "The Thing from—‘Outside’ (1923)" by George Allan England: an expedition to the north struggles to escape as 'something' invisible pursues them and slowly drives them mad.

• "The Finding of the Absolute (1923)" by May Sinclair: a man dies, only to find himself in a heaven where his thoughts can span all space and time.

• "The Veiled Feminists of Atlantis (1926)" by Booth Tarkington: a story about the Atlantis, about how two factions fought each other until they caused Atlantis to sink. Only here, the two factions are men and women, fighting over equality and the right of women to wear veils.

A long novel length story from a writer known for writing fascinating, occasionally surreal short fiction, this one involves a group of people suddenly trust back into the world with magic and now have to live with the consequences, some of which are revealed as world changing near the end. This book is not for everyone, as it takes it time with the characters' interactions and situations. But probably a rewarding experience for those who are patient with the author's pacing and revelations.

At the start, three dead teenagers, presumed missing, suddenly reappear in the world and are given form by their music teacher, who turns out to have magic. They are then given the task of finding out how they died, and to eventually learn to control magic, which comes with their reappearance. Things get complicated when another 'spirit' joins them in reappearing in the world, and may have a role in their tasks.

Struggling to re-integrate themselves back into the lives of their families, the author now takes her time showing the interactions that occur, especially with the sister of one of the formerly dead teens. Things take a dark turn when yet another being with magical powers appears, apparently drawn by the reappearance of the teens. She is looking for a missing magical object, and the reappearance of the teens is a sign that it has been found.

Now things take a turn of the worst, as the teens struggle with their new lives, mastering their new magical powers, finding out how they died, and having to deal with a magical being to whom living things are just pawns to be sacrificed once she recovers her lost object.

If the reader pays attention, some of the revelations in the story may not come as a surprise. But the slow pace of the story and the amount of detail the author puts into the interactions between the characters may not sit well with some readers. But those who patiently go through the book may find the conclusion satisfying.

The next instalment involving Roz the Wild Robot, this one shows more of the world that Roz inhabits. The story itself, while exciting, is not quite as interesting as the previous two, as Roz is more of a spectator in the climax of the story, but the ending is nicely done.

In this story, Roz's island is engulfed in a 'poison tide' that forces the inhabitants inland, and fight for their survival. Roz discovers that her new body has abilities the previous one did not, and sets out to find the source of the poison and stop it. To do that, she will first have to journey to the far north to find the Ancient Shark and get its advice.

The long journey reveals a world already in the grip of climate change, with scenes of flooded towns that Roz journeys through. As before, the journey will also find Roz making new friends with animals. After she finds the Ancient Shark and the source of the poison, Roz will try to stop it in her own way. But in the end, she discovers the way to stop the poison tide may be out of her hands.

Following the events in the first Wild Robot book, Roz, the wild robot, has been taken back to civilization, interrogated, repaired and is now tasked as a robot on a farm. Roz has been able to hide her 'wild side' during her repairs and on the farm. But she continues using her ability to talk to animals to find out information, especially on whether they have seen her adopted gosling son.

Word gets around, and eventually her son finds her on the farm. Roz's secret wild side is also discovered by the farmer's children, and they decide to help her escape the farm. That, she does, but now she has the difficult task to getting back to her island home. Getting there would involve her evading detection by other robots, travelling through farms and wild areas and eventually through a city. Dangers happen along the way, but Roz also makes new friends among the animals, who all try to help her. But it may not be enough, unless she can convince one important person in charge of robots, that she deserves to live and not be destroyed.

In this book, more of the world that Roz lives in is revealed. Robots are a part of daily life, but there is always the fear of a robot going rogue, hence Roz's efforts to evade detection. As with the previous book, this one is aimed at early readers but doesn't sidestep violence. It also gives the reader time to pause to consider what to do if faced with whether to allow Roz to live or be destroyed as a rogue robot, dangerous to civilization.

A robot gets washed up on the shore of an isolated island and get activated. The robot, known as Roz, is designed to learn and serve humans. But on an island with no humans to serve, Roz does the only thing she can do, learn about the animals, communicate with them and serve them.

It doesn't go well at first, as the animals all avoid Roz. But then an accident lands Roz in the role of a mother to an orphan gosling. Now, Roz asks for advice on how to become a mother, and the animals are more forthcoming and helpful. The gosling thrives and grows up to love Roz.

Roz, in return, has turned into an asset for the island, especially during a very cold winter, where she helps some of the animals survive. But with the return of spring, Roz is finally discovered by humans, and there will be conflict between humans who want their robot back, and the animals who now consider Roz one of them. In the end, Roz has to decide what to do. And thus begins a new adventure for the Roz.

Written in a simplified manner for young children, the book is no 'Disney' version of the wilderness: there is some violence and death on the island. But the heart of the story is Roz's development from a robot built to serve humans into one that serves and help animals instead, and even develops a loving relationship as a mother to a gosling.

Looking forward to reading the further adventures of Roz.