★★★☆☆ Average
(Utopia) The narrator works with people having trouble adjusting to utopia, but she has trouble counselling one of the men who brought utopia about but now wants to kill himself. (4,886 words; Time: 16m)
This story is a follow-up to “The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes,” but there’s no need to read that story first.
"The Narrowest Eye," by Howard V. Hendrix [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 01-02|19, published on December 15, 2018 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.012 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The narrator wants to figure out Dr. Hanlan’s problem, but in their course of their discussion and their walk outside, she learns a great deal more.
The basic problem with utopia—that people really aren’t equipped to cope with it—doesn’t really get answered here, although I get the impression the machines are sending all the people who aren’t content with empty lives to explore the stars.
As a bonus, The story is loaded with literary, political, and historical allusions.
Con: There’s not much substance to the story per se. None of the characters is developed, and the narrator is so one-note (albeit by design) that she’s annoying.
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Howard V. Hendrix Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The narrator wants to figure out Dr. Hanlan’s problem, but in their course of their discussion and their walk outside, she learns a great deal more.
The basic problem with utopia—that people really aren’t equipped to cope with it—doesn’t really get answered here, although I get the impression the machines are sending all the people who aren’t content with empty lives to explore the stars.
As a bonus, The story is loaded with literary, political, and historical allusions.
Con: There’s not much substance to the story per se. None of the characters is developed, and the narrator is so one-note (albeit by design) that she’s annoying.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Howard V. Hendrix Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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