★★★☆☆ Average
(Slipstream) The teenage narrator’s room was wrecked when a giant robot arm fell from the sky and demolished part of her house. (4,425 words; Time: 14m)
"Not Now," by Chelsea Muzar (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 140, published on May 1, 2018.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The best thing about this story is the narrator’s voice. She’s so earnest and serious about fixing her impossible situation. And it’s very sad when her best friend turns on her.
Obviously it’s an allegory for some type of discrimination, probably discrimination against refugees. (The blown-up house fits that idea well.) Or perhaps the fate of ordinary people in a country like Iraq when forces beyond their control destroy their homes.
Con: It just ends with the narrator fantasizing about another robot arm falling on the people who’ve treated her family so poorly. Nothing ultimately happens.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 140)
Chelsea Muzar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Obviously it’s an allegory for some type of discrimination, probably discrimination against refugees. (The blown-up house fits that idea well.) Or perhaps the fate of ordinary people in a country like Iraq when forces beyond their control destroy their homes.
Con: It just ends with the narrator fantasizing about another robot arm falling on the people who’ve treated her family so poorly. Nothing ultimately happens.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 140)
Chelsea Muzar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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