(Dystopia) You're a girl being raised to be a slave, but someone sees potential in your musical talent. But potential for what?
(2,802 words)
Rating: 3,
Powerful, but has some rough edges
Helio Music, by Mike Buckley, appeared in the July 2016 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine (Issue 118), published July 1, 2016.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The basic story, of a slave girl who escapes her captors and returns for vengeance, is a very powerful one. After this terrible vengeance--killing guilty and innocent, abusers and victims--we understand why the narrator keeps calling her "killer."
Con: Several belief-busting elements detract from the story. Not enough to ruin it, but enough to lessen it. It makes no sense for a corporation to raise people for use as food--especially protein paste. Second, it's hard to see how musical ability would translate into ability to manage weaponry. Third, there's no way the fleet commander would allow such a powerful entity to just wander off. It's also not possible to drill a hole through a planet; gravity would squeeze it shut.
Con: Several belief-busting elements detract from the story. Not enough to ruin it, but enough to lessen it. It makes no sense for a corporation to raise people for use as food--especially protein paste. Second, it's hard to see how musical ability would translate into ability to manage weaponry. Third, there's no way the fleet commander would allow such a powerful entity to just wander off. It's also not possible to drill a hole through a planet; gravity would squeeze it shut.
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