(SF) Ella comes to Earth to find peace after the death of her sister, and she joins a group of tourists recreating the Little House on the Prairie series. (6,080 words; Time: 20m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"The Laura Ingalls Experience," by Andrew Neil Gray [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 83, published on April 1, 2016.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The story is really about Ella coming to terms with how she helped cause her sister's death and her own maiming. From the things she says in her conversations with others on the tour, we know her choice, although the story doesn't make it explicit at the end. She chooses the upload because it both allows her to die for what she did and yet to continue to torture herself over it forever.
There may be a stronger connection with the Little House books. Perhaps someone who has read them can comment on that.
Con: Although we know that she's made her choice, there's no strong feeling of closure here. We don't really sympathize much for Ella, since her behavior towards the other people (not to mention her sister) seems completely selfish, and that makes it hard to feel happy or sad at the end. In a certain sense, we don't much care what her choice is.
On the technical side, it's hard to believe they don't have the technology to just regrow the missing body parts.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 83)
Andrew Neil Gray Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
There may be a stronger connection with the Little House books. Perhaps someone who has read them can comment on that.
Con: Although we know that she's made her choice, there's no strong feeling of closure here. We don't really sympathize much for Ella, since her behavior towards the other people (not to mention her sister) seems completely selfish, and that makes it hard to feel happy or sad at the end. In a certain sense, we don't much care what her choice is.
On the technical side, it's hard to believe they don't have the technology to just regrow the missing body parts.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 83)
Andrew Neil Gray Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Only connection I can see is the obvious space frontier compared to American frontier. But I haven't read the Little House books since I was a kid.
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