When I bought this e-book, there was just one other review showing. It read, "too weird for my taste. too many new woeds [SIC] with unclear meanings. I like simpler reads."
At first, I'd assumed that reviewer must be daft, but having read this gem of a novella, I now understand where he was coming from. You see, this is one of those stories where the author thrusts you thousands of years into the future, and provides no glossary to help you understand the clipped speech, new technical terms, slang, and portmanteaus of future English.
Therefore, as the reader uses context clues to begin to understand what the new words mean, that process mirrors the way the story's meaning --as well as the truth the characters are searching for-- unfolds.
This is a wonderful story about a future in which endless war has so limited the scope of human experience that those serving on the front lines have been bred and devolved into purpose-built space warriors who are very good at engaging in combat, and not much good at anything else.
The central character, a soldier programmed to yearn for "the zap," begins the story in such a state of Pavlovian unconsciousness that she can't help but mutter "Zap, zap" under her breath when being scolded by her teacher. What does "the zap" mean? Firing upon the enemy, I think.
As the story progresses, her quest to be a better killing machine puts her on a journey that awakens her long suppressed humanity.
If you're a fan of Greg Bear's "The Way" series, you'll recognize a lot of familiar territory here. As in those books, the characters have implants that augment brain function, and they spend much time in virtual worlds within computer databases. Another familiar theme from the final book in the "The Way" trilogy is the idea that human and alien computers and code in the distant future might be sophisticated enough to bridge the gap between warring species and enable them to understand each other, especially in virtual spaces.
This book has much to say about the dehumanizing effects of endless war, but I won't presume to tell you what it means. What I can tell you is that it was a great little read.
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Reading this story as a young adult from a best of anthology changed my life.The art I shared is something I created after I read this again and couldn’t stop myself from lingering...you know how you discover a box of old pictures and start looking....and it’s hours later but it felt like minutes?Don’t read a synopsis. Knead the prose like dough...it is tea and your mind is the hot water.Some science fiction does not give you a primer, nor sprinkle exposition, nor create a frame or character to employ vast amounts of exposition (like the man from our time who is brought into the far future by the beings humans become in Silverberg’s “Sailing to Byzantium).If a stone mason from 1756 Boston would somehow plop next to you as an invisible entity who could not be seen or heard or speak, who were forced to float above your left shoulder and follow you around there would be no transition. You don’t constantly reference your phone, or door dash or a Blue Origin flight. Imagine the face melting future shock of this person in this example.You are the stone mason in this story.This is not appreciated for some readers. Some people watched Squid Game with a dub and don’t care what is lost in translation.Even in a genre where this is almost a trope....in medias res in a world that is so unlike yours that it takes time to get a footing. It feels like being forced to take a test in a language you don’t understand.“Terratisms” by Kathe Koja“Sister Alice” by Robert ReedThese stores also have a similar element to them....Koja’s story is so different with no actual science fiction elements that it is her prose that makes it the genre....prose so different it is as if pulled forth from the future or alternate reality.Even in a genre where there are other examples Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction mag still felt it necessary to include a Disclaimer......they didn’t do this for Terratisms which I felt was even more challenging in regards to the prose....take this into account.Set expectations.If it was a blistering hot day and you jumped into a lake that was glacier water cold the shock would be profound. But if you were warned ahead of time perhaps it would still be shocking, but because you were were prepared you pushed through and realized once you adapted it was refreshing.If you have yet to read these following gems seek them out:“Grist” by Tony Daniel“A Dry, Quiet War” by Tony Daniel“Rachel in Love” by Pat Murphy
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