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Other Reviews: Fiction: Non-fiction: Clarkesworld<\/em> has been going for about a decade now and I\u2019ve been peripherally aware of it for several years, mostly due to its stories appearing regularly in the \u2018Best of the Year\u2019 anthologies. This is the first issue I\u2019ve read. This issue starts with The Algorithms of Value<\/em><\/strong> by Robert Reed. The central character is Parchment, a old woman who is famous in a world where everyone has a room that can provide all their desires. One day, outside in the streets, she meets a boy called Ink. The story details the development of their relationship as well as a backstory about her and her husband, and their development of the Algorithms of Value:<\/p>\n Safety was the first necessity. Surviving the next moment was paramount. For humans, nourishment and clean water were unimpeachable if rather less urgent rights. There also was the universal right to shelter. By law, every person was guaranteed a home and every home possessed at least one dependable room. Walls had to be ready to project any image, real or fictional. Rooms could sing any song and tell any story, calibrating versions according to the resident\u2019s desires. And of course every sentient voice had to be able to speak to everyone else, whenever they wished and without cost. Of course, of course.<\/em><\/p>\n Unfortunately, this doesn\u2019t really\u00a0go anywhere.<\/p>\n The Abduction of Europa<\/em><\/strong> by E. Catherine Tobler is a better effort. Two men on Europa, Bolaji and Kotto, are returning from a mission to rescue another team member. However, not only is he lost but so are their two ice-cats, leaving them on foot with some considerable distance to travel\u00a0to get back to base. On their journey home one of the men starts changing into the native alien life form. This narrative is broken up by passages detailing the transformation that the lost man, Marius, has already undergone.<\/p>\n Extraction Request<\/em><\/strong> by Rich Larson is the best story in the issue. This is a pretty grim and visceral account of\u00a0a combat team who are shot down on an alien planet. Their situation deteriorates further when their sentry cyclops detects an intruder:<\/p>\n \u201cPrentiss, there\u2019s a bogey heading towards you,\u201d he says. \u201cMight be mechanical. Get eyes on it.\u201d<\/em> This develops into a gripping account of their struggle to survive, which is not improved by the fact that their commander, Elliot, is a heroin addict. Even if you don\u2019t buy the issue it is worth a trip to the website to catch this one.<\/p>\n Next up is a novella by Bao Shu, Everybody Loves Charles<\/em><\/strong> (Science Fiction World<\/em>, September 2014), which has been translated by Ken Liu. I believe that the magazine currently has translated fiction in every issue (although there doesn\u2019t seem to be any in #113). This is an admirable aim as foreign SF, with its different cultural and social viewpoints, can only enrich the field. It is a pity therefore that\u00a0this offering is of such poor quality. Charles chuckled. \u201cI always pause the cast when I\u2019m sitting on the toilet. Nobody wants to deal with the smell. Trust me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Thanks for sharing. \u201cI asked you how it felt to tune into a livecast.\u201d There are other examples of this dull info-dump material throughout the story. I could go on and talk about the unbelievable characters and dialogue, the clunky prose, the fact it is far too long, etc., etc., but I\u2019ve probably said enough.<\/p>\n The magazine also has a couple of reprints every issue and editor Neil Clarke has subcontracted this job to Gardner Dozois, previously the long-time editor of Asimov\u2019s Science Fiction<\/em>. The first of his two choices this issue is The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale<\/em> by Robert Silverberg (Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance<\/em>, edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, 2009). The story is about a jaded sorceror-poet at the end of time who spends most of his time drinking wine and writing poetry to keep the ennui at bay. The bulk of the narrative is about three ne\u2019er do wells that come to his house to rob him. The story is rather slight but the enjoyment in this one is in the manner of its telling:<\/p>\n He set out a pair of steep transparent goblets rimmed with purple gold, murmured the word to the wine-flask that unsealed its stopper, and held it aloft to pour. As the wine descended into the goblet it passed through a glorious spectrum of transformation, now a wild scarlet, now deep crimson, now carmine, mauve, heliotrope shot through with lines of topaz, and, as it settled to its final hue, a magnificent coppery gold. \u201cCome,\u201d said Puillayne, and led his friend to the viewing-platform overlooking the bay.<\/em><\/p>\n The other reprint, Old Paint<\/em><\/strong> by Megan Lindholm, first appeared in Asimov\u2019s Science Fiction<\/em>, July 2012, and was subsequently reprinted in both Dozois\u2019 and David G. Hartwell\u2019s \u2018Best of the Year\u2019 collections. I question\u00a0the wisdom of reprinting it here as it is probably pretty well known, but I suspect the philosophy that pertains here is a millennial \u2018if it isn\u2019t on the internet it doesn\u2019t exist\u2019. \u201cHow smart is this car?\u201d Ben demanded. <\/em> It tells of the family\u2019s subsequent relationship with the car, and climaxes with the events that occur when all fully automated cars on the road are infected with a virus. An affecting story, particularly so for those with a soft spot for cars and partially-sentient AI.<\/p>\n As to the non-fiction, one thing I will say is that the covers for Clarkesworld<\/em> are of a high standard, and that applies to both the artwork and the design.2<\/sup> The latter is uncluttered and they have stuck with the same clean layout since the magazine was launched. A very mixed bag, but it is worth catching the Rich Larson and Megan Lindholm stories.<\/p>\n Other Reviews: Gardner Dozois, Locus Online Greg Hullender\u00a0and Eric Wong, Rocket Stack Rank Kevin P. Hallett, Tangent Online Sam\u00a0Tomaino, SF Revu Mark Watson, Best SF Various, Goodreads Fiction: The Algorithms of Value \u2022 short story by Robert Reed \u2665 The Abduction of Europa \u2022 short story by E. Catherine Tobler \u2665\u2665 Extraction Request \u2022 novelette […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clarkesworld"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Pcj7-pJ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1595"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1607,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595\/revisions\/1607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfmagazines.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGardner Dozois, Locus Online<\/a>
\nGreg Hullender\u00a0and Eric Wong, Rocket Stack Rank<\/a>
\nKevin P. Hallett, Tangent Online<\/a>
\nSam\u00a0Tomaino, SF Revu<\/a>
\nMark Watson, Best SF<\/a>
\nVarious, Goodreads<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Algorithms of Value<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 short story by Robert Reed \u2665
\nThe Abduction of Europa<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 short story by E. Catherine Tobler \u2665\u2665
\nExtraction Request<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 novelette by Rich Larson \u2665\u2665\u2665+
\nEverybody Loves Charles<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 novella by Bao Shu (translated by Ken Liu)
\nThe True Vintage of Erzuine Thale<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 reprint novelette by Robert Silverberg \u2665\u2665\u2665
\nOld Paint<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 reprint novelette by Megan Lindholm \u2665\u2665\u2665+<\/p>\n
\nCover<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 by Julie Dillon
\nOur Future is Artificial<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 science essay by Sofia Siren
\nPainterly Cyborgs and Distant Horizons: A Conversation with Julie Dillon<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 artist interview by Chris Urie
\nAnother Word: Let\u2019s Write a Story Together, MacBook<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 science essay by Ken Liu
\nEditor\u2019s Desk: The 2015 Reader\u2019s Poll and Contest<\/em><\/strong> \u2022 by Neil Clarke<\/p>\n
\nBefore I get to the fiction, a quick recap for anyone who, like me, has been on a different planet for the last decade. Clarkesworld<\/em> began as an online magazine in late 2006; since then it has published monthly and not only makes its fiction and non-fiction available on its website for free but also produces ebook and print editions and compiles yearly anthologies of its stories.1<\/sup> It has also won a handful of Hugos for best semi-prozine.<\/p>\n
\nJan\u2019s reply crackles. \u201cHard to miss,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s fucking glowing.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cAnd what is it?\u201d Elliot says. \u201cYou armed?\u201d <\/em>
\nJan\u2019s reply does not come by channel, but his howl punctures the still night air. Elliot is knocked back as Noam barrows past him, unslinging her gnasher and snapping the safety off. Snell\u2019s fast behind, and then the others, and then Elliot finds himself rearguard. He\u2019s still fumbling for his weapon when he rounds the back of the downed [ship]. <\/em>
\nHis eyes slip-slide over the scene, trying to make sense of the nightmarish mass of bioluminescence and spiky bone that\u2019s enveloped Jan almost entirely. His night vision picks out a trailing arm, a hip, a boot exposed. The creature is writhing tight around Jan\u2019s body, spars of bone rasping against each other, and the glowing flesh of it is moving, slithering. The screams from inside are muffled.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe story itself is about Charles Mann, who is an aviator, writer and livecasting star: his life is transmitted via a biological implant to the world twenty-four hours a day with one or two small exceptions, as he explains to a reluctant date while they are having dinner:<\/p>\n
\nThe story starts with him competing in a Pacific sub-orbital race and subsequently being arrested by the Japanese police. After his lawyer arranges for him to be released without charge, he pressures the female arresting officer into having dinner with him. Their relationship develops and she eventually convinces him to stop livecasting when they are together. Cue another entry by his lawyer and the start of a ludicrous megalomaniac conspiracy plot about (spoiler) the biological livecasting implants giving the evil corporations physical control of\u00a0the users.
\nThere is also another narrative strand which gives us the point of view of one of the livecasting \u2018viewers\u2019. Naoto has an implant that enables him to spend nearly all his time plugged into Charles\u2019s livecast, except when he is sleeping, working or being bothered by his single female neighbour Takumi-kun, who thinks he should get out more. When Charles stops constantly livecasting, Naoto and Takumi-kun start to spend more time together and she asks him about the livecasting technology:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAn interesting question.\u201d Naoto pondered his answer. \u201cAt first, you go through a period of adjustment\u2014that happens no matter whose livecast you tune into. The beginning is a bit frustrating: the colors and sounds all feel wrong somehow, as though you\u2019re watching some 2-d film from the twentieth century. It\u2019s just odd. Although all human beings share similar biological sensory organs, there are subtle differences in the neural wiring, and so you have to put in an effort to interpret the signals being projected into your brain, and all subtleties are at first lost. For several days you\u2019ll feel as though you\u2019re perceiving everything through a film, and nothing feels immediate or real. But then, one day, you\u2019ll have a breakthrough and\u00a0everything will feel just like your own senses.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe story itself is a pretty good one about a single mother, her son and her daughter. Narrated by the latter, it tells of the mother inheriting a number of things after her grandfather\u2019s death including a semi-autonomous car:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSmart enough,\u201d she said. \u201cHe can take himself to a fueling station. Knows when his tires are low on air, and can schedule his own oil change. He used to talk to the dealership; I wonder if it\u2019s even in business still. He\u2019s second generation simulated intelligence. Sure fooled me, most of the time. He has a lot of personality customization in his software. My grandpa put in a bunch of educational stuff, too. He can speak French. He used to drill me on my vocabulary on the way to school. And he knew all my favorite radio stations.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cBack then, people wanted their cars to be their friends. He sure was mine.\u201d <\/em>
\n\u201cThat\u2019s whack,\u201d Ben said solemnly.<\/em>
\n\u201cNo, it was great. I loved it. I loved him.\u201d <\/em>
\n\u201cLove you too, Suzanne,\u201d the car said. His voice was a rich baritone. <\/em>
\n\u201cYou should sell this thing, Mom,\u201d Ben advised her wisely. <\/em>
\n\u201cMaybe I should,\u201d Mom said, but the way she said it, I knew that we had a car now.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAs for the columns: Our Future is Artificial<\/em><\/strong> by Sofia Siren is an article about three recent AI projects; Another Word: Let\u2019s Write a Story Together, MacBook<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by Ken Liu is about computer programs writing novels; Editor\u2019s Desk: The 2015 Reader\u2019s Poll and Contest<\/em><\/strong> by Neil Clark uses the editor\u2019s space for a list of fiction for the annual readers\u2019 poll, as well as reproducing last year\u2019s covers; finally, there is an interview with the cover artist Julie Dillon.<\/p>\n\n
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\nYou can find all of this magazine\u2019s covers at the Clarkesworld<\/em> cover gallery<\/a>.
\nMatt Dixon\u2019s website is here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n![\"rss\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfmagazines.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/16x16\/rss.png?resize=16%2C16&ssl=1\" "\\"Subscribe")
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