★★★☆☆ Average
(Post-Apocalypse) Xuming struggles through the desert to the ruins of Shanghai to deposit a special package in the ruins of the Oriental Pearl Tower (1,830 words; Time: 06m)
"Skyscrapers in the Sand," by Y.M. Pang [bio] (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 151, published on April 1, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.196 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Late in life, we often still have strong feelings for people we were close to in our youth, and when we learn they’ve passed away, it hits us hard—even if we haven’t seen or talked to them in decades. We’re at a loss as to what to do to get closure, and we look for a suitable gesture. Xuming has found an interesting one.
Con: The stakes in this story are very, very low, and it seems very unlikely that anyone will ever find the device Xuming left behind, much less that it will still work if someone does find it. Also, it’s hard to think what sort of disaster could bury a city under hundreds of meters of sand in a single human lifetime. (Xuming’s mom was born in Shanghai.)
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Y.M. Pang Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Late in life, we often still have strong feelings for people we were close to in our youth, and when we learn they’ve passed away, it hits us hard—even if we haven’t seen or talked to them in decades. We’re at a loss as to what to do to get closure, and we look for a suitable gesture. Xuming has found an interesting one.
Con: The stakes in this story are very, very low, and it seems very unlikely that anyone will ever find the device Xuming left behind, much less that it will still work if someone does find it. Also, it’s hard to think what sort of disaster could bury a city under hundreds of meters of sand in a single human lifetime. (Xuming’s mom was born in Shanghai.)
Other Reviews: Search Web
Y.M. Pang Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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