(SF) A disfiguring illness drove Lilly to leave Earth and live in a community of aliens who think she's beautiful. Trouble is, they like her too much. (6,200 words; Time: 20m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
Recommended By: GDozois:4"The Water-Walls of Enceladus," by Mercurio D. Rivera [bio] (edited by Andy Cox), appeared in Interzone issue 262, published on January 12, 2016 by TTA Press.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The concept is great, and has interesting parallels to the experience of any person on the receiving end of an unrequited love affair. (E.g. they'll do anything for you, but they'll lie to get you to stay around them.)
Con: The science is awfully bad. The Wergens "adjusted [the dog's] biorhythm to sync it to the Enceladan magnetosphere." It's a little too pat that Lilly's contract precludes any contact with anyone back on Earth; it feels like a self-evident plot device. Likewise the visiting rocket that crashes and kills the occupant but is otherwise miraculously undamaged. (And wouldn't authorities have come looking for that vehicle?)
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 262)
Mercurio D. Rivera Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Con: The science is awfully bad. The Wergens "adjusted [the dog's] biorhythm to sync it to the Enceladan magnetosphere." It's a little too pat that Lilly's contract precludes any contact with anyone back on Earth; it feels like a self-evident plot device. Likewise the visiting rocket that crashes and kills the occupant but is otherwise miraculously undamaged. (And wouldn't authorities have come looking for that vehicle?)
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 262)
Mercurio D. Rivera Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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