Sunday, December 30, 2018

Written in Mud, by William F. Wu

[Asimov's]
★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Climate SF) When the Gulf of Mexico came up into Missouri, a group of farmers lost their land, but they’re determined to find something to do with rich cropland under a few feet of salt water. (6,664 words; Time: 22m)


"Written in Mud," by (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in issue 01-02|19, published on by .

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

Review: 2019.026 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: Ultimately, this is about the four of them searching for a way to rescue their farm. Their solution is unexpected, but consistent with the things we learn in the story along the way.

The argument with the fish is pretty funny.

Con: The setup is too ridiculous and keeps adding new ridiculous things too frequently to allow the reader to suspend disbelief. For example, sea-level rise isn’t going to affect Missouri. Nothing is going to cause an earthquake that sinks that much land either. People aren’t going to have nuclear-powered cars, particularly not ones powered by carbon-14. Talking fish aren’t likely to appear any time soon either.

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William F. Wu Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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