Friday, September 11, 2015

Like Native Things, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2015; ~7,700 words
Rating: 4, Recommended  Recommended By:   SFRevu:4

Tilda is a middle-aged German scientist researching technology to link human minds with animals--she's been very successful, but today something goes very wrong.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

A very realistic description of a man-animal interface. No notion of thought reading--just feelings and suggestions. The proposed applications for the technology seem quite realistic. And the way the researcher feels about her animals--even the octopus--ring true. People who work with animals, even when they care deeply about them,  rarely have the misconception that animals are human beings with fur or fins.

She's very pragmatic about using (and losing) her animals to defend herself and her work. That bothered me a little bit. We never quite learn why the bad guys are doing what they're doing--evidently from some group that disapproves. The ending is a bit abrupt, but perhaps there's nothing further to say at that point.

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