Monday, September 25, 2017

The Fall of the Mundaneum, by Rebecca Campbell

Riverhome by Veli Nystrom
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(Historical Fantasy) In the first days of World War I, young Oskar is left to manage the Mundaneum as the Germans approach. He’s nervous, but hopeful they’ll respect the institution and its priceless artifacts. (5,185 words; Time: 17m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

"," by (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in issue 235, published on .

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

Pro: The Mundaneum is a physical Wikipedia which people access by post. Even the way that it’s increasing in size on a daily basis parallels Wikipedia. And the frivolous questions people ask remind one a lot of Wikipedia as well.

Con: It’s not clear what any of this is supposed to mean. The bag from Köln full of war debris from the future, the Germans who can’t seem to see him, the London office that’s just starting up—none of it ever comes together.

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Rebecca Campbell Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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1 comment (may contain spoilers):

  1. Not sure what the point is either. We just see Oskar plugging away at the Sisyphean task of bringing order to this chaos. Even after fleeing his mission, he's still trying to separate the facts from the fantastical rumors of the other refugees.

    The Mundaneum was real. Here, appropriately enough, is its Wikipedia entry:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundaneum

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