Sunday, September 20, 2015

Walking to Boston, by Rick Wilber

Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2015;  13,244 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story  Recommended By:  Locus SFRevu:4 SFEP

A man takes his Alzheimer's-afflicted wife to Boston to fulfill a promise he made when they were young.

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

We liked the fact that Harry considers all sorts of reasons why he might be experiencing this weird sort of time-travel--including the possibility that he's the one with Alzheimer's. It's also interesting that the story takes place in 1984, not 2015, which means (among other things) no cell phones and no Wikipedia.

Even though we've seen a little foreshadowing, the thing at the end with the sisters seems abrupt. Harry has certainly sinned in his life, but his punishment seems excessive. Harry isn't a hero (tragic or otherwise) who earns our respect, nor is he a villain whose demise we cheer.

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