Wednesday, March 2, 2016

A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers, by Alyssa Wong

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(Magical Realism) Hannah watched her sister Melanie die, incinerated with her own magic. Hannah can't accept that and sets out to use her own magic to put things right. (3,477 words; Time: 11m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
Recommended By: SFEP Nebula

"," by (edited by Miriam Weinberg), published on by .

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

Pro: Hannah's various attempts to change the past reveal a lot of her and Melanie's history without any need for infodumps. In particular, it seems that Melanie was a transgendered person who committed suicide because her parents couldn't accept her for who she was.

Con: The story doesn't have an end. Hannah doesn't appear to have given up, nor does it seem she's even learned anything.

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4 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. The ending did seem abrupt. However, I think the fact that Hannah just calls instead of flying out this time shows that she's starting to let go, but it will be a while before she moves on.

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  2. This was not a straight-forward read in terms of the timeline. The main character was re-living the time her sibling died in order to prevent it.

    It does make me wonder why she didn't get her sibling to move out sooner as a way of preventing the end problem. She moved out, and it felt like they were close in age for the sibling to do so as well.

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  3. I don't mind stories that begin and end in the same place, but I didn't feel any attachment to the characters here. I also didn't understand what was stopping the protagonist from saving her sister. From the sound of it, she can travel through time, so why not just go back and prevent her sister's death?

    2/5

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, most people with time-travel ability aren't shy about using it.

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