★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(SF Thriller) A young man spends all he has to care for his sister who lies in a coma. Or so it seems. (7,775 words; Time: 25m)
"The Ocean Between The Leaves," by Ray Nayler [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 07-08|19, published on June 15, 2019 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.371 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Up to the twist, the story is pretty ordinary. Yes, we’re in the future, if only because Istanbul is its own country now, and the remote-operated androids are interesting, but not really a big deal.
But that’s quite a twist! I remembered wondering how an orphan girl had a brother who cared so much about her. Once I realized it was really her, it made total sense that “he” was working so hard, keeping himself alive. And it was really cold the way the institute terminated the experiment. But that made the actual ending all the sweeter.
Con: It’s a little hard to believe that the hospital could hold the infection exactly in balance for so long, or that, given her condition, her brain could work well enough to operate the android body. It also seemed odd that being in the body would cause a massive personality change.
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Ray Nayler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Up to the twist, the story is pretty ordinary. Yes, we’re in the future, if only because Istanbul is its own country now, and the remote-operated androids are interesting, but not really a big deal.
But that’s quite a twist! I remembered wondering how an orphan girl had a brother who cared so much about her. Once I realized it was really her, it made total sense that “he” was working so hard, keeping himself alive. And it was really cold the way the institute terminated the experiment. But that made the actual ending all the sweeter.
Con: It’s a little hard to believe that the hospital could hold the infection exactly in balance for so long, or that, given her condition, her brain could work well enough to operate the android body. It also seemed odd that being in the body would cause a massive personality change.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Ray Nayler Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Reprinted online at Lightspeed 131 (Apr 2021): https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-ocean-between-the-leaves/
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