★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(Post-Apocalypse Adventure) In her old age, Mai tells the story of how she travelled across the Mediterranean to New Atlantis to see a working “Vault of the Ancients,” centuries after the collapse of civilization. (24,135 words; Time: 1h:20m)
Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)
"New Atlantis," by Lavie Tidhar [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 05-06|19, published on April 30, 2019 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.283 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The setting is the best part of the story. Mai’s people may not run the world anymore, but, as the robot in the ruins of Paris asks, “for how much longer?” They’re not savages. They do have technology. They know a lot of science.
The plot is nothing special, but it’s a solid journey story; Mai wants to travel to “New Atlantis” (somewhere in the ruins of London) to see her old friend (and former lover) Gawain. Other than the framing story, it’s about how young Mai made the trip and what she encountered there. There’s plenty of tension and excitement along the way.
Con: The characters are all rather flat, and it was hard to care a lot about any of them. Alim’s death was the closest it came to an emotional moment.
The ending seems very weak given the vibrant world and exciting journey.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Lavie Tidhar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The setting is the best part of the story. Mai’s people may not run the world anymore, but, as the robot in the ruins of Paris asks, “for how much longer?” They’re not savages. They do have technology. They know a lot of science.
The plot is nothing special, but it’s a solid journey story; Mai wants to travel to “New Atlantis” (somewhere in the ruins of London) to see her old friend (and former lover) Gawain. Other than the framing story, it’s about how young Mai made the trip and what she encountered there. There’s plenty of tension and excitement along the way.
Con: The characters are all rather flat, and it was hard to care a lot about any of them. Alim’s death was the closest it came to an emotional moment.
The ending seems very weak given the vibrant world and exciting journey.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Lavie Tidhar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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