(Post Apocalypse) The Light is an addiction that afflicts telepaths. Colonel Chu hunts Zola, an addict who may hold the key to the problem. (34,516 words; Time: 1h:55m)
Rating: ★★★★☆ Recommended
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"The Burning Light," by Bradley P. Beaulieu [bio] and Rob Ziegler [bio] (edited by Justin Landon), published on November 1, 2016 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Chu wants to stop The Light. Zola wants to live in The Light. A strength of the story is that we find ourselves rooting for both of them, and in the climax where Chu will either shoot Zola and Joy or else join them, we're not sure whom to root for. Chu and "Grandma" seem remorseless and destructive, but The Light seems like it might be an extinction event for the human race.
Chu's love for her sister parallels Zola's love for Byron and Marco. Both mourn different kinds of loss. Chu's indifferent support from the government parallels Zola's struggle to get The Light to behave properly. Chu's success in getting Grandma to send a fleet of warcraft parallels Zola's success in getting the light to see that there is a WE as well as an I.
Con: The ending leaves us a bit in the dark as to what happened to Chu, Joy, and even Grandma. We also wonder if all the former addicts were as healthy as Zola seems to be. Also, the experience of belonging to The Light doesn't seem to be that different from what people felt before.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Bradley P. Beaulieu Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Rob Ziegler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Chu's love for her sister parallels Zola's love for Byron and Marco. Both mourn different kinds of loss. Chu's indifferent support from the government parallels Zola's struggle to get The Light to behave properly. Chu's success in getting Grandma to send a fleet of warcraft parallels Zola's success in getting the light to see that there is a WE as well as an I.
Con: The ending leaves us a bit in the dark as to what happened to Chu, Joy, and even Grandma. We also wonder if all the former addicts were as healthy as Zola seems to be. Also, the experience of belonging to The Light doesn't seem to be that different from what people felt before.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Bradley P. Beaulieu Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Rob Ziegler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
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