Interzone #267

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Rating: 3/5

An average issue with reasonable stories by Harmony Neal, Sarah Brooks, Rich Larson and David Cledem.

• “Alts” by Harmony Neal: in a comedic variation of HG Wells’ “The Island of Doctor Moreau”, a genetically engineered ‘person’ sits in on a group of similar altered people, trying to figure out what they are good or; or rather, what a military complex thinks they may be good for.
• “Dogfights in Olympus and Other Absences” by Ryan Row: a strange planet with a huge atmosphere becomes the backdrop for this dogfighting story around an ace pilot who only wants what’s best for his daughter. But then the daughter wants to become like him.
• “The Hunger of Auntie Tiger” by Sarah Brooks: in a desert future, two kids eke out a living among the wreckage of a city, being told tales of a hungry tiger. But will the tale become true when they are caught in a huge dust storm, and they see a familiar figure in the sand.
• “You Make Pattaya” by Rich Larson: sex, deception and money form the backdrop of this story of a future Thailand, when a man sees an opportunity for quick gains by exposing a celebrity secretly looking for adventure.
• “Rock, Paper, Incisors” by David Cledem: the story of a young girl tricked into become her tribe’s chosen hero / monster by transforming herself in one of three types of creatures to do battle with the other tribe’s hero / monster. But when she senses a connection with her enemy, she may be able to escape being killed and, perhaps, escape the constant strife between the tribes.
• “My Generations Shall Praise” by Samantha Henderson: a story about a prison inmate being signed up for a procedure to allow a dying relative take over her body in exchange for money for her children. But can she go through with it, especially when she realizes that doing so would make her children end up being effective body slaves to her relative in the future.

Magazine read from 2016/11/28 to 2016/12/08