(SFF) Ugo can “remember” things from the future, which he shares with Cynthia—including the fact that she’ll be his wife someday. (7,210 words; Time: 24m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Ugo," by Giovanni De Feo [bio] (edited by John Joseph Adams), appeared in Lightspeed Magazine issue 88, published on September 1, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Cynthia is a well-developed character, and we share her desire not to be dominated by Ugo’s visions. The story is interesting all the way to the end.
Con: The conclusion powerfully suggests that this was entirely mainstream and that the apparent fantasy element was just a hallucination. That's barely better than ending with "and then I woke up and it was all a dream."
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Giovanni De Feo Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The conclusion powerfully suggests that this was entirely mainstream and that the apparent fantasy element was just a hallucination. That's barely better than ending with "and then I woke up and it was all a dream."
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 88)
Giovanni De Feo Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
It's not that he was actually a hallucination. But that he decided he would change the future and he came undone. He didn't do it to save the middle school classmate who was hit by the truck, but he did it for her.
ReplyDeleteI gave it the benefit of the doubt, but, as a rule, I don't like stories that leave the reader with the option of interpreting it as strictly mainstream.
DeleteI refuse to give in to the mundane explanation! :) Even so, there's a little too much bitter in the bittersweet here.
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