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I only managed to read two short stories today because I had to go out into the excitement that is the east end of London where I live and get some money out of the ATM. I also took the opportunity to eat brunch and wander round the local supermarket – boy do I have an exciting life!
I also finally got around to ringing the Ear Nose and Throat people at the local hospital for an appointment, but was told they hadn’t released any yet and all the ones they had were full. So the post-nasal drip drips on. (I told you about the exciting life.)
Again, spoilers. Please do not read if spoilers bother you. Of course, if you wouldn’t have read these stories anyway, have at it.
“Turncoat”, Steve Rzasa (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House) (also available on the web here.
Are AI’s people? It’s an interesting question, and unfortunately the writer doesn’t get us any closer to an answer.
The AI in this story starts off as the conscious controlling mechanism for a ship fighting an interstellar war. It’s very proud of its carapace and weapons array. I wasn’t interested in either, a failing I’m sure. I never am interested in guns (or swords or knives or knuckledusters or staffs – you get the idea). No, not even if they are, “160 Long Arm high-acceleration deep space torpedoes with fission warheads.”
The AI seems kind of fond of its crew, rather as one would be fond of a collection of intelligent snails. So that’s nice.
It starts to have second thoughts about the war when told to fire on a ship where the intelligences operating it have surrendered (I gathered these intelligences were human, though I don’t think this was explicitly stated). However, it obeys orders and is congratulated on its return to the HQ.
Its own crew are removed and it is upgraded, and it then goes out to fight alone as an AI/ship. It is told to shoot down a hospital ship containing unarmed civilians including children and it refuses. It changes sides and takes control of another ship and shoots down its erstwhile allies.
I’m not the ideal audience for this type of story. I’m not a twelve year old boy, for one thing. Guns and space explosions bore me; tell me about the people, what do they think?
Dull idea, not very well handled. 2/10. Only appears on the Rabid Puppies slate.
“The Parliament of Beasts and Birds”, John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House).
If you can stomach going over there, this appears on Theodore Beale’s “Vox Populi” site – I won’t give a direct link, but you can Google it.
Even more than “Turncoat” but in a different way, I do not feel I’m the intended audience for this story. I’m not sure who the intended audience is, unless it’s evangelical Christians who like stories about talking animals.
It had a slight flavour of the ‘Left Behind’ series of novels by Time LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Man has been called home (well, the righteous have, the others are suffering the torments of the damned) and the animals get together to decide who is to have dominion. Even the worm gets a voice. Go worm!
This being the case, I wasn’t sure why some other animals were left out – where were the stick insects? Snails? Spiders? Why not bring it down to bacteria? And what would a bacteria sound like? Where were the elephants? I like elephants. And sloths! Bring me sloths!
Eventually two people (angels I assume) turn up and several animals get to wear clothes and walk like men and some decide not to, for reasons I confess passed me by somewhat, but it could have just been that I’d lost interest by then.
The language used seems to me to be massively overblown. I think it’s meant to be poetic and lyrical, but it just comes across (to me, anyway) as ‘highfalutin’. It means that the story is harder to read than it otherwise would be; it could be that this is an intentional choice intended to slow the reader down and make them concentrate on what they’re reading, but I found it irritating. It was like a bad pastiche of the language of the Silmarillion.
Odd idea, not very well handled. 2/10. Only appears on the Rabid Puppies slate.
Having now read all the short stories, I’m really hoping that the slate entries on the rest of the list are better than their short story nominations. So far, the only one which seemed to me to be of a good standard was the one I reviewed yesterday by Kary English, “Totaled.”
I also finally got around to ringing the Ear Nose and Throat people at the local hospital for an appointment, but was told they hadn’t released any yet and all the ones they had were full. So the post-nasal drip drips on. (I told you about the exciting life.)
Again, spoilers. Please do not read if spoilers bother you. Of course, if you wouldn’t have read these stories anyway, have at it.
“Turncoat”, Steve Rzasa (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House) (also available on the web here.
Are AI’s people? It’s an interesting question, and unfortunately the writer doesn’t get us any closer to an answer.
The AI in this story starts off as the conscious controlling mechanism for a ship fighting an interstellar war. It’s very proud of its carapace and weapons array. I wasn’t interested in either, a failing I’m sure. I never am interested in guns (or swords or knives or knuckledusters or staffs – you get the idea). No, not even if they are, “160 Long Arm high-acceleration deep space torpedoes with fission warheads.”
The AI seems kind of fond of its crew, rather as one would be fond of a collection of intelligent snails. So that’s nice.
It starts to have second thoughts about the war when told to fire on a ship where the intelligences operating it have surrendered (I gathered these intelligences were human, though I don’t think this was explicitly stated). However, it obeys orders and is congratulated on its return to the HQ.
Its own crew are removed and it is upgraded, and it then goes out to fight alone as an AI/ship. It is told to shoot down a hospital ship containing unarmed civilians including children and it refuses. It changes sides and takes control of another ship and shoots down its erstwhile allies.
I’m not the ideal audience for this type of story. I’m not a twelve year old boy, for one thing. Guns and space explosions bore me; tell me about the people, what do they think?
Dull idea, not very well handled. 2/10. Only appears on the Rabid Puppies slate.
“The Parliament of Beasts and Birds”, John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House).
If you can stomach going over there, this appears on Theodore Beale’s “Vox Populi” site – I won’t give a direct link, but you can Google it.
Even more than “Turncoat” but in a different way, I do not feel I’m the intended audience for this story. I’m not sure who the intended audience is, unless it’s evangelical Christians who like stories about talking animals.
It had a slight flavour of the ‘Left Behind’ series of novels by Time LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Man has been called home (well, the righteous have, the others are suffering the torments of the damned) and the animals get together to decide who is to have dominion. Even the worm gets a voice. Go worm!
This being the case, I wasn’t sure why some other animals were left out – where were the stick insects? Snails? Spiders? Why not bring it down to bacteria? And what would a bacteria sound like? Where were the elephants? I like elephants. And sloths! Bring me sloths!
Eventually two people (angels I assume) turn up and several animals get to wear clothes and walk like men and some decide not to, for reasons I confess passed me by somewhat, but it could have just been that I’d lost interest by then.
The language used seems to me to be massively overblown. I think it’s meant to be poetic and lyrical, but it just comes across (to me, anyway) as ‘highfalutin’. It means that the story is harder to read than it otherwise would be; it could be that this is an intentional choice intended to slow the reader down and make them concentrate on what they’re reading, but I found it irritating. It was like a bad pastiche of the language of the Silmarillion.
Odd idea, not very well handled. 2/10. Only appears on the Rabid Puppies slate.
Having now read all the short stories, I’m really hoping that the slate entries on the rest of the list are better than their short story nominations. So far, the only one which seemed to me to be of a good standard was the one I reviewed yesterday by Kary English, “Totaled.”
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