Saturday, January 2, 2016

Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do? by Nick Wolven

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(SF) When "mediaterrorists" attack, the disrupt Caspar's comfortable life in a near-future where everyone is connected. (6,757 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average
Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:5

"Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do?," by , appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 01-02|16, published on by .

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

Pro: The impact of a targeted harassment campaign in an even-more-connected world reads very well. The way people eventually get tired of other people's problems (especially intrusive ones) rings true too. And the story even seems to have a happy ending.

Con: We're never told for sure that Caspar's new money was enough for him to hire someone to fix the problem. The fix pretty much comes by magic.

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7 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. I liked this clever satire, but the ending really rushed the job, so I'd have a hard time arguing with the rating. His "On the Night of the Robo-Bulls and Zombie Dancers" was more successful.

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  2. It's topical, but doesn't really go any further than "exaggerated portrayal of online media nuisance" -- so it feels to me kind of like an extended piece of net humor.

    I wish he'd go a little further afield, particularly as this story feels so very, very similar to his "We're So Very Sorry For Your Recent Tragic Loss" a few issues back.

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  3. Hmm, I preferred this to "We're So..." but it certainly wasn't up to Robo-Bulls for me - needed more gonzo. I wonder if after he sold that first story the editor said "more of the same, thank you"

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  4. My favorite story of his is "No Placeholder for You, My Love." http://www.rocketstackrank.com/2015/09/no-placeholder-for-you-my-love-by-nick.html

    By the way, if you click on the small label names at the very bottom of the review (e.g. "Nick Wolven"), Blogger will show you all the stories by him that RSR has reviewed.

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  5. Funny at first, but the joke got tiresome. And as you said, the problem just went away because...money?

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  6. Although you did feel for the guy when he was going through his issues, I thought that part was well done.

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  7. Catfish, agreed, it did a good job of portraying the character descending through horror into being almost desensitized to it all.

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