Saturday, November 21, 2015

At the End of Babel, by Michael Livingston

Tor.com, July 1, 2015; 7,659 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended  Recommended By: io9

In a future authoritarian America that doesn't tolerate cultural or linguistic diversity, Tabitha Hoarse Raven returns to the pueblo of Acona to finish the sacred dance her father died trying to complete.

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

Pro: There's a huge emotional payoff when Tsichtinako blasts the skiff with lightening. And another one when Joseph saves Tabitha with his shotgun. We were sort of expecting the miracle, but the human support came as a surprise. We'd expected Tabitha to die, and die alone, so it was a fairly happy ending after all.

Con: The evil government is an impossible-to-believe adversary. So much effort to track down the sole surviving speaker of a language makes no sense whatsoever. When we learn that the miracle persists and that people are returning to the mesa, it somehow cheapens the whole thing.

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