Eden is a 20-something news reporter in a US dystopia. She and some college friends plan a long weekend at a festival in Austin, TX, but Eden has bigger ideas. (10,500 words; Time: 35m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆, Not Recommended
"Festival," by Christopher Brown (edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell), appeared in Stories for Chip (RSR review), published on July 1, 2015 by Rosarium Publishing.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The author does a good job of making his dystopia real. The mention of the destruction of the White House ten years ago gives us some insight into how very strong security measures got passed. And yet the security measures don't dominate either her life or the lives of her friends.
Con: There is no story arc. Eden's actions never make sense. It's credible that she'd miss her plane to hang out in Texas, given that she works from home and there's a story anyway. But infiltrating the base? Heck, infiltrating the hotel makes little sense. It's not clear at all what she was hoping to accomplish in her assault on Beltran, but given the outcome of her assault on the base, I wouldn't expect much.
A minor but annoying thing is corporate armies as a cardboard villain.
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Con: There is no story arc. Eden's actions never make sense. It's credible that she'd miss her plane to hang out in Texas, given that she works from home and there's a story anyway. But infiltrating the base? Heck, infiltrating the hotel makes little sense. It's not clear at all what she was hoping to accomplish in her assault on Beltran, but given the outcome of her assault on the base, I wouldn't expect much.
A minor but annoying thing is corporate armies as a cardboard villain.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
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