★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
(Multiverse) A young man’s death cast ripples across the multiverse because it touched every alternate reality at the same time. (11,380 words; Time: 37m)
"The Purpose of the Dodo is to be Extinct," by Malcolm Devlin [bio] (edited by Andy Cox), appeared in Interzone issue 275, published on May 15, 2018 by TTA Press.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The multiverse management agency that operates almost the same as any big company was amusing.
Con: The biggest problem with this story is that it has long, dull stretches of pure infodump.
Beyond that, the mirror universe at the end doesn’t describe what would really happen if time ran backwards. It’s a fantasy world when the events run backwards but people’s minds run forward. That’s at odds with the rest of the story, which pretended everything had a scientific explanation.
Finally, it was never clear why it mattered so much that Prentis died in every reality at once. It never seemed to be more than a curiosity that people were making too much out of.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 275)
Malcolm Devlin Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Con: The biggest problem with this story is that it has long, dull stretches of pure infodump.
Beyond that, the mirror universe at the end doesn’t describe what would really happen if time ran backwards. It’s a fantasy world when the events run backwards but people’s minds run forward. That’s at odds with the rest of the story, which pretended everything had a scientific explanation.
Finally, it was never clear why it mattered so much that Prentis died in every reality at once. It never seemed to be more than a curiosity that people were making too much out of.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 275)
Malcolm Devlin Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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