★★☆☆☆
(Modern Fantasy) Toozen and the other “Septembers” suffer discrimination for being different, but only when some of them gained powers did people start trying to kill them. (4,294 words; Time: 14m)
"Outer," by Hollis Joel Henry [bio] (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 161, published on February 1, 2020.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2020.078 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Toozen comes across as a really nice guy, and his attempts to fit in despite the persecution he and his people face are heartbreaking. It’s hard not to see a parallel to the experience of gay people, where many of us can “pass for straight” and, in the bad old days, often did find ourselves persecuting our own people in an attempt to fit in.
Con: There’s not much of a story here, and what there is is mostly told through narration. At the end, the message is a counsel of despair: it says that if you’re different, there’s no hope unless you can kill everyone else.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Hollis Joel Henry Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Toozen comes across as a really nice guy, and his attempts to fit in despite the persecution he and his people face are heartbreaking. It’s hard not to see a parallel to the experience of gay people, where many of us can “pass for straight” and, in the bad old days, often did find ourselves persecuting our own people in an attempt to fit in.
Con: There’s not much of a story here, and what there is is mostly told through narration. At the end, the message is a counsel of despair: it says that if you’re different, there’s no hope unless you can kill everyone else.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Hollis Joel Henry Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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