★★★☆☆ Average
(Dystopia Vignette) Maya and her young boyfriend attend a performance by one of the few people in the city who can still dream her own dreams. (5,552 words; Time: 18m)
"A Dreamer Arrives in the Occupied City," by Malcolm Devlin [bio] (edited by Andy Cox), appeared in Interzone issue 281, published on May 15, 2019 by TTA Press.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.299 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The biggest charm of the story is the way it gradually lets us know that something isn’t quite right here. The author does a nice job of introducing information just a little bit at a time. The background to the story (as much as we learn, anyway) is fascinating.
Young, innocent, considerate Anton makes a great foil to the jaded, cynical older people he admires—including Maya.
Con: This is a vignette, so there’s no plot by design, but it’s a rather disturbing place to set a vignette.
The background to the story is seriously incomplete, and that’s a serious failing in a vignette, since the setting is all there is.
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Malcolm Devlin Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The biggest charm of the story is the way it gradually lets us know that something isn’t quite right here. The author does a nice job of introducing information just a little bit at a time. The background to the story (as much as we learn, anyway) is fascinating.
Young, innocent, considerate Anton makes a great foil to the jaded, cynical older people he admires—including Maya.
Con: This is a vignette, so there’s no plot by design, but it’s a rather disturbing place to set a vignette.
The background to the story is seriously incomplete, and that’s a serious failing in a vignette, since the setting is all there is.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Malcolm Devlin Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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