★★★☆☆ Mixed
(SF Adventure) Sisstiss assists the Terran artist Maga, who creates art from rubbish. The current planet is very dull, Sisstiss is secretly about to have children, and they’re haunted by a stalker. (4,997 words; Time: 16m)
"The Properties of Shadow," by Nina Kiriki Hoffman [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 05-06|18, published on April 27, 2018 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Sisstiss is a fascinating creature with an intriguing background. They and Maga clearly have an interesting history, which hints at an interesting universe too.
Con: The pieces don’t really come together. Tillart seems to just be crazy; there’s no way his actions could have ever led Maga to cooperate with him on anything.
It’s rather creepy that Sisstiss is using Maga to brood a clutch of young, even if it doesn’t seem to be having any obvious effect on her. That makes it hard to root for Sisstiss, since I continually kept thinking of them as a parasite.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 05-06|18)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The pieces don’t really come together. Tillart seems to just be crazy; there’s no way his actions could have ever led Maga to cooperate with him on anything.
It’s rather creepy that Sisstiss is using Maga to brood a clutch of young, even if it doesn’t seem to be having any obvious effect on her. That makes it hard to root for Sisstiss, since I continually kept thinking of them as a parasite.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 05-06|18)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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