★★★☆☆ Average
(Virtual Reality) In a dying world, the narrator tries to turn a virtual child into a healthy adult, but the child is so damaged by his past that almost all roads lead to disaster. (6,408 words; Time: 21m)
"When You're Ready," by M. Ian Bell [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 110, published on July 3, 2018.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: By the end, we’ve learned what the narrator is trying to do: he can’t be with the one real love of his life, but he wants to build a version of himself that’s able to. He himself won’t ever be ready, but he thinks he can make a version that will be.
He fails, and, we suspect, he’ll always fail. None will ever be good enough to satisfy him, and even if they were, this really is not what Erik meant.
Con: Why is it important that the world is ending? Given that, the narrator seems to be insane; odds are his old boyfriend isn’t even alive anymore.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 110)
M. Ian Bell Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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He fails, and, we suspect, he’ll always fail. None will ever be good enough to satisfy him, and even if they were, this really is not what Erik meant.
Con: Why is it important that the world is ending? Given that, the narrator seems to be insane; odds are his old boyfriend isn’t even alive anymore.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 110)
M. Ian Bell Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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