Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 222

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Issue can be read on-line: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_222/

Rating: 4/5

An interesting issue, with good stories by Ryan Cole, Anna Burdenko, Yukimi Ogawa and Koji A. Dae.

• “From Enceladus, with Love” by Ryan Cole: a spaceship on its way to Enceladus has two stowaways: one is a girl, hoping to reunite with her mother there, while the other is a new ‘intelligence’ that wants to play games with her. A crisis emerges when the stowaway is found and the intelligence wants her back.
• “Pollen” by Anna Burdenko, translated by Alex Shvartsman: on a new planet, one girl attempts to survive while waiting for rescue. For while the planet is suitable for human life, it has one lifeform that produces hallucinogenic pollen as a way to attract prey. The tricky thing is for the girl (and the reader) to distinguish between what is real and what is just a trick of the mind while waiting.
• “Mindtrips” by Tlotlo Tsamaase: a woman with emotional problems is required to take pills that open up her internal mental states in an attempt to get her to confront her inner demons. But the people giving her the pills may have another reason for doing so, related to a murder investigation.
• “Those Uncaring Waves” by Yukimi Ogawa: a curious story about artists on an island who have the ability to ‘paint’ patterns on people, and through those patterns and the ink used, influence the body. One day, the artist discovers her paint is not as she expected. Tracing the source of the contamination would lead her to a woman with mental problems and even stranger body problems. Resolving the woman’s problems would lead her to another person who has a secret related to the use of patterns and government attempts to change society.
• “Hook and Line” by Koji A. Dae: on a generation ship in space, one of the few remaining spiritualist struggle to pass on her ability to connect with the spirits of those left behind on Earth. In the end, a compromise would be reached between her and the people on the ship who now know little of Earth.
• “The Sound of the Star” by Ren Zeyu, translated by Jay Zhang: a visitor travels to many worlds, encountering strange sound scapes.
• “Funerary Habits of Low Entropy Entities” by Damián Neri: on the many ways death is honoured; from a planet with cicada-like forms to a concious photon.

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