A cracking new issue of Parsec – why haven’t you subscribed yet?
If you want to be published in Parsec, the wait for a submissions window is likely to be a long one, as they are all booked up for some time, and judging by the quality of fiction in this edition, and the calibre of writers contained therein, it’s no wonder.
For me, the standout contributors in this issue are Adam Roberts, Michael Cobley, and because her story lingered in my consciousness for so long afterwards, Teika Marija Smits.
Roberts’ piece, called ‘Shrik’, is, as you would expect, full of philosophical ideas and weird science placed inside a fast-moving and humorous plot. The loquacious narrator recounts a bizarre tale sparked by an unusual email – that may be from the future – that is the only clue to the questionable nature of the world’s current timeline. Elizabeth must work out what on Earth is going on, and then quite literally set the world to rights, even if it means performing a heinous act. Not just entertaining but brain cudgellingly stimulating.
Michael Cobley’s ‘A Frank Exchange of Views in the Library of Man’ is also a fast mover, but a very different kind of world building. Set in an ancient and enormous institution or university somewhere in space where factions of different kinds of learning have become ritualised and religious. This story has a light touch but builds up a lot of background history and culture along the way, much of which the reader has to fill in the gaps for, but it’s well done and the setting feels really “lived in”. Rival factions battle it out for possession of the ‘cog,’ a sentient piece of the vast educational establishment which holds the key to… (that would be telling!). Needless-to-say, the consequences are catastrophic if said ‘cog’ falls into the wrong hands. Thankfully, Ashp the postulant has the foresight to swallow it, then bolt into the fabric of the building – pursued by the Newtonian Brotherhood. A fun and complex story.
‘Tending to the Tree of My Mother’ by Teika Marija Smits is an intimate and quite ‘fleshy’ coming-of-age story about mothers, daughters, marriage and desire. Told through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old girl it is deceptively simple, but with a folklore-informed (maybe even folk-horror informed) feel it becomes visceral and hard-hitting (not to mention a bit icky). As Em lies in a coma after a car accident, her daughter is given the opportunity to put her back together by tending a mysterious tree at the hospital. What happens next is life-changing, bringing them both a lot closer together, whether they like it or not. Memorable.
Dave Hutchinson’s ‘The Last Ambassador’ is another complex story richly situated within a seemingly ready-made history. It feels adjacent to Hutchinson’s Fractured Europe novels as it tells of Stravia, a fictional country somewhere in Eastern Europe that has mysteriously managed to avoid all conflict with its neighbouring nations for its entire history. In fact, once people have left Stravia they almost completely forget it exists, to the point where the British ambassador –Frank– becomes suspicious. What is Her Grace the Grand Duchess Zofia up to, and how has she managed to antoganise the Americans then send them packing without any repercussions? You’ll definitely want to find out.
‘The Big Outside’ by Anne Charnock is a fairly straightforward domed-city story, but with an important message. Citizens are given the opportunity to travel outside the dome they have grown up in, into the wild, untamed world. Most people are sceptical and happy to continue their lives inside, apart from teenager Rihon who dreams of joining the human pioneers who set off into space so long ago they have become legendary. He soon learns some truths much closer to home, to appreciate what he has, and to think about maintaining and regenerating the home they already have, rather than burning their bridges and moving on.
‘The Play of the Ashera Women’ by Steve Toase is a mystery which becomes even deeper the further you read. Marcus’s partner, Clara, has disappeared during a shady pilgrimage to an unknown destination. Repeated calls to the religious group responsible fail to reveal her whereabouts, so Marcus has no option but to attend the next pilgrimage in person and look for clues. What he discovers leads to a horrifying climax that is richly detailed. I particularly enjoyed the characterisation and sudden shift of mood toward the end from calm investigation to shocking terror.
‘Under A Bleeding Sky’ by Lyndsey Croal is set in the far future close to the end of humanity. Societies have ceased to explain the inexorable course of the universe using science, but have reverted to the language of mythology, attributing the terminal events of the dying sun as the actions of sky gods. A different and clever take on how humans might interpret world events in many years to come.
Gary Gibson’s ‘Disruptor’ is one of those stories – told in the second person present tense (I think), which gives narratives an exciting and urgent feel as the reader is placed in the position of protagonist. The revived clones of a long-dead mathematician hold a secret that the rich and powerful Lundberg is desperate to discover, but the original holder of the secret was struck down and killed before he could write it down. The secret is a mathematical equation which will lead to the construction of the Disruptor, a weapon beyond all imagination – and one that the calculating Lundberg very much wants to own. He repeatedly creates clones from the protagonist’s cryogenically frozen brain, in the hope they will complete their research. It falls to the latest clone to find a way to stop him and to escape into the solar system of the future. A good story from a seasoned SciFi specialist.
As ever, a varied and interesting collection of stories
Leave a Reply