Saturday, May 26, 2018

Yiwu, by Lavie Tidhar

[Tor.com]
★★★☆☆ Average

(Science Fantasy) In the future, lottery winners will get their hearts’ desire, whether it’s turning into a bird, going to Mars, or vanishing into thin air. (5,305 words; Time: 17m)


"," by (edited by Jonathan Strahan), published on by .

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

Pro: Presumably what Esham really needed was a companion. Isa’s heart’s desire, one gathers, was Esham himself. At the end, both seem to be on their way to happiness.

Con: Esham doesn’t really accomplish anything in the story. His one proactive action is finding out why Ms. Qiu’s ticket didn’t work, and he doesn’t do anything with that information.

If you really gave people their hearts’ desire, the results would be pretty terrible. E.g. what happens when you get a person who wants an entire ethnic group exterminated?

The technology is way too powerful for the world described in the story. Why are people still selling things from stalls on the street?

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Lavie Tidhar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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