Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 228, September 2025 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Abstraction is when I design giant death creatures and Attraction is when I do it for you" by Claire Jia-Wen -- (5*) Smart worldbuilding and sneaky characterizations. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.


"Wireworks" by Sheri Singerling - (3*) Psychoanalysis in a cyberpunk world. It's okay.


"Four People I Need You to Kill Before the Dance Begins" by Louis Inglis Hall -- (4*) I think I wanted to like this more than I did, with all the SFnal trappings of paper people, assassination, and frankly, just growing up. I suppose I wanted some kind of real twist.

"Aperture" by Alexander Jablokov -- (5*) Great stuff. The worldbuilding is dense, clever, and after a moment's reflection, funny. It's how to literally and figuratively make an icebreaker. Two thumbs up. :)

"The Fury of the Glowmen" by David McGillveray -- (4*) Definitely a mood piece for vengeance and fear of AIs. Still, fun for what it is.

"Five Impossible Things" by Koji A. Dae -- (3*) It feels like I see a lot of these kinds of virtual end-of-life care stories. I'm not sure how this one ranks up, but it's kinda pithy. In general, the Vir idea for it seems like a good thing, but I keep seeing stories trying to show it in a bad light. Is that so important?

"A World of Their Own" by Robert Falco -- (4*) Solid post-humanity story with mechanical animals living their lives. I always appreciate this kind of thing. :)


Definitely enjoyed "Aperture" and "Abstraction is when I design giant death creatures and Attraction is when I do it for you" the most, this month.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com

View all my reviews