(Military SF) John bought a used interstellar warcraft and hacked the AI controller for mercenary work. He tells about the career he and she had and how it all went wrong. (5,427 words; Time: 18m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Perfect Gun," by Elizabeth Bear [bio] (edited by Jonathan Strahan), appeared in Infinity Wars (RSR review), published on September 12, 2017 by Solaris.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The story delivers a message against amoral warfare, and John gets his comeuppance at the end. Throughout, the descriptions of his battles are moderately interesting.
Con: John is a psychopath who never understands what was wrong with his actions. Accordingly, his abandonment and presumed death is unsatisfying.
The AI with a conscience is a little hard to believe, particularly given the changes John made.
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Elizabeth Bear Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: John is a psychopath who never understands what was wrong with his actions. Accordingly, his abandonment and presumed death is unsatisfying.
The AI with a conscience is a little hard to believe, particularly given the changes John made.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Elizabeth Bear Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Reprinted at Clarkesworld with podcast:
ReplyDeletehttp://clarkesworldmagazine.com/bear_11_19_reprint/