(SF Horror) Beautiful Reva makes a forbidden visit to the God in the Pit to tell him he made a mistake choosing her plain sister for his bride. (5,700 words; Time: 19m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"You Too Shall Be Psyche," by Rich Larson [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 93, published on February 7, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Reva sets out to be his bride, and she succeeds, even though it wasn’t what she thought it would be. By releasing her sister, she sends a message to the villagers much stronger than anything she could have said. Reva is likely the last bride of the God in the Pit.
The discovery that they’re colonists on another planet—not people in a secondary world is amusing.
Con: The story seems to imply that they’re still on the generation ship, and yet that’s not consistent with them needing the “God” to make it rain.
Reva is so self-centered in the early parts of the story that it’s hard to believe in her change of heart at the end.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 93)
Rich Larson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
The discovery that they’re colonists on another planet—not people in a secondary world is amusing.
Con: The story seems to imply that they’re still on the generation ship, and yet that’s not consistent with them needing the “God” to make it rain.
Reva is so self-centered in the early parts of the story that it’s hard to believe in her change of heart at the end.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 93)
Rich Larson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Very disturbing and I'm left pretty baffled at what is really supposed to be going on here.
ReplyDeleteWell, what part did you not understand. I thought it was fairly clear. The "god" is an AI--an insane one. And they're all colonists on a new planet.
DeleteI got that much. I guess I'm just overthinking it. :)
DeleteAh, yeah, with a title like "You Too Shall Be Psyche" one would expect the story to have some symbolic meaning. But in the Cupid and Psyche Myth the god a) really is a god and b) he's a good guy, not a bad one.
DeleteEssentially the AI has made himself their god. Messing with the terraforming for so many generations that no one is aware they are originally from another system.
ReplyDelete