(Near-Future SF) A “sasquatch” is pregnant, and that’s a big problem. (8,914 words; Time: 29m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Streams and Mountains," by Nick Wolven [bio] (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 128, published on May 1, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The lead up to telling us that these “sasquatches” are devolved human beings is well done. The revelation of how it was done is disturbing enough to almost make this a horror story..
Con: It defies disbelief that someone could do that much genetic manipulation to human beings and still get it to produce the right result on the first try.
The ending is too upbeat for what’s still pretty horrible. It's pretty hard to imagine any elected government encouraging people to mutilate themselves this way.
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Con: It defies disbelief that someone could do that much genetic manipulation to human beings and still get it to produce the right result on the first try.
The ending is too upbeat for what’s still pretty horrible. It's pretty hard to imagine any elected government encouraging people to mutilate themselves this way.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 128)
Nick Wolven Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
It's pretty much a one-note story stretched out, but it's an interesting note.
ReplyDeleteAgree that the reveal of what the sasquatch were was nicely done. I then expected that the baby would be sasquatch too. They had obviously been too thorough in the details to accidentally leave them fertile. It does stretch belief that it would work first try and that those behind it wouldn't be monitoring it themselves. (Plus, keeping it from outside discovery before knowing its success.)
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