(Surreal SF) Hadly explores an old derelict spaceship that orbits Neptune. It ought to be inert, but somehow something still functions. (4,956 words; Time: 16m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
"Mix Tapes From Dead Boys," by E. Catherine Tobler [bio] (edited by John Joseph Adams), appeared in Lightspeed Magazine issue 86, published on July 1, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
This experimental piece, full of impressions and emotions, simply doesn’t work for me. Is it science? Is it magic? Who knows? Bits that ought to be clear, aren’t. You can’t see an image in a spectrogram, for example, nor can you debug a communications protocol by extracting a glitch. By the end, it’s not clear what (if anything) has actually happened, and the experience is exhausting.
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E. Catherine Tobler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 86)
E. Catherine Tobler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
This "experimental" style seems to be a common go-to for the author. I'd be willing to dive deeper into her stories to see what I'm likely missing from a first reading, but details like those you point out don't allow me to trust that it will be worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's visceral; I'll give her that. Definitely the most experimental one I've read of hers yet. The bulk of the story seems to be visions occurring in the blink of an eye while Hadley is in the cockpit of the derelict. Visions of the future, the past, fever dreams, drug-induced hallucinations, who knows?
ReplyDeleteThe title had me expecting something very different since I'm of an age to have received mix tapes from boys (not dead, thankfully). It also made wonder how many younger people look at that title and think, "What the heck is a mix tape?" :) Or maybe a few older too, I suppose.
Dead people are cool. :-)
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