(Alien Invasion) Only juvenile aliens are capable of original thought, so we can't even tell the adults that they're destroying our world. Reaching the juvenile's means going deep inside the enormous females. (6,546 words; Time: 21m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
"Terra Nullius," by Hanuš Seiner [bio] (translated by Julie Novakova, edited by Niall Harrison), appeared in Strange Horizons issue 03/20/17, published on March 20, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The concept is pretty cool. Alien young learn in a simulation, and then they're able to learn new things. Adults simply do what they're programmed to do.
Con: The execution of that idea is awful, and the whole story is a confused mess. If the narrator is trying to talk to the juveniles, we never see him do it. And Taira's role is unclear. Is she real when the narrator meets her or is she part of the simulation? If so, how can she talk?
At the end, the narrator seems to think he made some unexpected discovery--surprised that there's a simulation of aliens mating for some reason. Then it just ends.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 03/20/17)
Hanuš Seiner Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The execution of that idea is awful, and the whole story is a confused mess. If the narrator is trying to talk to the juveniles, we never see him do it. And Taira's role is unclear. Is she real when the narrator meets her or is she part of the simulation? If so, how can she talk?
At the end, the narrator seems to think he made some unexpected discovery--surprised that there's a simulation of aliens mating for some reason. Then it just ends.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 03/20/17)
Hanuš Seiner Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Well, I'm totally lost.
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