(Near-Future SF) A refugee from a drowned island nation works on the Antarctic peninsula, where he studies mysterious stones with elven runes in his spare time. (7,100 words; Time: 23m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: GDozois:5 JStrahan"Elves Of Antarctica," by Paul McAuley [bio] (edited by Jonathan Strahan), appeared in Drowned Worlds (RSR review), published on July 12, 2016 by Solaris.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The story does a nice job of showing us what a beautiful world Mike lives in, and it tells how he eventually came to see that for himself. At the end, he baptizes himself in the cold water to cleanse himself of the old world.
Con: Although they are skillfully written, the quantity of infodumps in this story is very, very high, and there is almost no action at all.
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Paul McAuley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Con: Although they are skillfully written, the quantity of infodumps in this story is very, very high, and there is almost no action at all.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Paul McAuley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Sorry. This one bored me to tears.
ReplyDeleteThat can happen where there are lots of infodumps and little action. :-)
DeleteFor a much better story by the same author, on pretty much the same subject, I'd recommend Antartica Starts Here (Asimov's OCT/NOV 2012) FWIW...
ReplyDeleteI rate this story ★★, one less than RSR. I found it boring, and the industrialization of Antarctica -- though done in a "green" way -- and no mention of the endangered (extinct?) penguins a bit incongruous to the spirit of the story.
ReplyDelete