★★★☆☆ Average
(Dystopia Romance) Maya’s drab life selling packaged air and sleeping in a capsule changes for the better when she meets a cute boy. (4,645 words; Time: 15m)
"Death of an Air Salesman," by Rich Larson [bio] (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 150, published on March 1, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.155 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Maya and Dima certainly make a cute couple, and in the course of their romance, we learn quite a bit about this rather nasty future society.
This is sort of a retro-dystopia, in that a future where people need masks to breathe due to the pollution was popular in the 60s and 70s but seems to have largely disappeared since then, probably due to the success of things like the Clean Air Act, which sharply reduced US air pollution starting in 1970.
Con: The stakes are very low. At the end, we realize they’re not even as poor as we thought, given that they can afford to take a vacation somewhere out of town.
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Rich Larson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Maya and Dima certainly make a cute couple, and in the course of their romance, we learn quite a bit about this rather nasty future society.
This is sort of a retro-dystopia, in that a future where people need masks to breathe due to the pollution was popular in the 60s and 70s but seems to have largely disappeared since then, probably due to the success of things like the Clean Air Act, which sharply reduced US air pollution starting in 1970.
Con: The stakes are very low. At the end, we realize they’re not even as poor as we thought, given that they can afford to take a vacation somewhere out of town.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Rich Larson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Loved the extreme contrast between the bright romance and the bleak setting.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good 3-star story. It is worth reading. I agree with Laura's comment about the romance.
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