★★★☆☆ Average
(Dark SF Humor) In which we look closely at the plot of an alien-inspired SF thriller and discover something lurking in the hilarious plot holes. (4,810 words; Time: 16m)
"The Unnecessary Parts of the Story," by Adam-Troy Castro [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 09-10|18, published on August 16, 2018 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: It's remarkable how this little story manages to both point to the unbelievable behavior of the characters in a typical SF thriller movie and yet also give a plausible explanation to it all--at the expense of making the monster be the protagonist of the story.
Con: The combination of laughs and horror didn’t really work for me. Learning that all the too-stupid-to-live behavior of the characters was due to them being manipulated by the monster made the whole thing seem pointless. If the monster had that much control, why not just make them cheerfully escort it back to Earth in the first place?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 09-10|18)
Adam-Troy Castro Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The combination of laughs and horror didn’t really work for me. Learning that all the too-stupid-to-live behavior of the characters was due to them being manipulated by the monster made the whole thing seem pointless. If the monster had that much control, why not just make them cheerfully escort it back to Earth in the first place?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 09-10|18)
Adam-Troy Castro Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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