Saturday, May 6, 2017

A Place to Grow, by A.T. Greenblatt

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(High Fantasy) Lillian likes the most recent world, and she doesn’t want her uncles to tear it down. But they’ve already dismantled the sun, so she’ll have to move fast. (6,048 words; Time: 20m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Intricate and Satisfying

"," by (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in issue 225, published on .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: It’s a nice plot: Lillian and her friends save the world—even if it’s just a little world in a bottle. There’s plenty of mild tension as we wonder if her uncles will catch her. And a very satisfying ending, when we realize she hasn’t hurt them or even set them back by very much.

The setting is fascinating, and the author makes the different worlds seem very real. We’re sorry to see the world of snowy mountains collapse, because it was very beautiful.

We do sympathize with Lillian and the townspeople who are tired of moving from world to world. We're a little shocked that she just destroys her uncles' work, so it’s gratifying that she’s left them a treasure trove of building materials. Even that is nicely foreshadowed by Gil’s uncanny ability to extract material from the void.

It is very nice the both of her uncles are good men; they just have different priorities.

Con: Lillian never proposes to her uncles that she just work on her own. They might have supported her and even offered help.

We're a little surprised that Lillian is capable of this. The scenes focused on her uncles make it seem that world building is like engineering, not magic.

The descriptions of Lillian make her sound like a burn victim. Is there some point to telling us that her appearance is frightening?

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2 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. World-building within world-building! Such a cool setting.

    I didn't think Lillian was burnt. I thought she was actually a patchwork. Simon recalls sewing her back together, but he wasn't able to do the same for Aster.

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