★★☆☆☆
(Slipstream; State of Jefferson Stories) Merfolk are eating too many salmon at the mouth of the Klamath river, and the governor of Jefferson has to find a way to deal with the problem before the Federal Government gets involved. (6,033 words; Time: 20m)
Although this is just one of several stories about the sasquatch governor, there’s no reason to read any of the others first.
"Something Fishy," by Harry Turtledove [bio] (edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden), published on January 8, 2020 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2020.060 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: I’m calling this “slipstream” rather than alternate history/reality on the grounds that the point of the story is to amuse the reader by jarring him/her with the unexpected. Like the merfolk paying in clams. Or the Sasquatch people resenting the Indians as invading colonists. Or that despite all these changes, there’s still a 1980 election between Reagan and Carter. I wonder, though, how many readers remember who Ethel Merman was.
There really was an attempt to create a state of Jefferson on the border of California and Oregon (along the Klamath river) back in the 1940s, and the capital would have been at Yreka.
Con: It doesn’t go anywhere. Bill goes out to talk to the merfolk, they make some jokes that depend on the reader knowing about a 1959 musical, and then that’s pretty much it.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Harry Turtledove Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Pro: I’m calling this “slipstream” rather than alternate history/reality on the grounds that the point of the story is to amuse the reader by jarring him/her with the unexpected. Like the merfolk paying in clams. Or the Sasquatch people resenting the Indians as invading colonists. Or that despite all these changes, there’s still a 1980 election between Reagan and Carter. I wonder, though, how many readers remember who Ethel Merman was.
There really was an attempt to create a state of Jefferson on the border of California and Oregon (along the Klamath river) back in the 1940s, and the capital would have been at Yreka.
Con: It doesn’t go anywhere. Bill goes out to talk to the merfolk, they make some jokes that depend on the reader knowing about a 1959 musical, and then that’s pretty much it.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Harry Turtledove Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
No comments (may contain spoilers):
Post a Comment (comment policy)