Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March/April 2021 by Trevor Quachri

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March/April 2021 Reviews

• 
  Oleksandr Zholud

  This is the March/April 2021 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the SF magazine, which is now 91 years in publication. As usual, the content is hard SF, several essays and stuff. Overall the stories aren’t very memorable, but several held nice ideas.
  
  The contents:
  
  Better than Being Fossilized [Editorial (Analog)] essay by Ian Watson a review of pills as a food source in SF, starting from 1894 essay for the world fair, via ideas of abolishing kitchen slavery to astronauts’ food bars. 4*
  Flash Mob novelette by Meg Pontecorvo near future, global warmings leads to squid migrations, a researcher with her young son tries to understand them better they flash in response to kid’s safe-jacket LEDs and this flashing gives them something like a hive mind 3.5*
  Mostly Hydrogen poem by Jack Martin (I) on ocean like space. 3*
  From Atmospheric Rivers to Super Typhoons: The Future Looks Bright for Weather Disaster Fans [Science Fact (Analog)] essay by Christina De La Rocha what global warming may bring (no one is sure). The idea of atmospheric rivers, how typhoons form, etc. 3.5*
  The Trashpusher of Planet 4 short story by Brenda Kalt alien ship comes to a planet and starts to terraform it. The protagonist is low in that caste society, but is quite bright and AI uses him to do stuff. 2*
  It's Cold on Europa short story by Filip Wiltgren two guys cut ice on Jupiter moon. To give them company, their constructs (androids) have uploaded personalities of their wives. The protagonist’s construct start acting strange, co-worker suggest to “look inside” but that violates privacy of personality upload, so our guy disagrees. 3*
  Tail Call Optimization novelette by Tony Ballantyne a nice start: “There are three of me in the assembly station”… a xeno species with multiple copies of mind upload scavenges an asteroid that was a space port for a vanished civilization. The protagonist has a virus in his software which slows his thinking. He finds a human upload, who are also scavenging. 3.5*
  The Acheulean Gift short story by Matthew Claxton kids in some kind of camp make stone tools. They are offspring of parents, who listened to frauds that called for gene hacks for kids that will ‘like in good old days’ make them want to be part of a family/tribe. Now older kids are taken away from such selfish parents. 3*
  If a Tree Doesn't Fall short story by Jerry Oltion a tree grew thru alien antigrav belt, and a guy finds that tree in the forest, tries to get the tech. 2.5*
  Rejuvenation and the DNA Methylation Clock [The Alternate View] essay by John G. Cramer what causes aging? Is it genetically determined? What if tweaking enzymes we can reverse old age – a lot of data about research on the topic. 4*
  Thh*sh*thhh short story by Aimee Ogden an old woman is asked to take part in the first ceremony of funeral of extremely long living aliens, kind a pun story, but doesn’t work for me. 1*
  John Henry Was a Steel Driving Man short story by Shane Halbach remake of a classic country song, but in space, where John drives bolts on an orbital station, saves the station. 3*
  Damocles novelette by Sean McMullen The most interesting story bin this issue. WW2 and British bomber pilot ordered to get info from his auntie, whose father in WW1 developed a kind of deathray, but afraid of its use, hid all research and died on front. 5*
  Recollection short story by Elise Stephens post-apoc reconstruction, a government agent visits settlements, shows them old 3D videos and decides whether to support them or relocate to larger cities. 2.5*
  The Burning Lands short story by Tom Jolly there are forest fires and an investigation finds out that they are caused by methane producing gene-mutated bugs based on bombardier bugs, created to collect gas but the firm went under and bugs got away 3.5*
  Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased short story by Ron Collins a finance guy finds how to get some funds from transactions he works on, FDI on his tail, he got to an experimental lab to hide, where they inadvertently uploaded his conscioius, which starts to change the world, while is is brain damaged, arrested, spends time in jail to get out to a better world. 3*
  I Have Loved the Stars too Fondly short story by James Van Pelt all homeless are collected to be sent to the moon, some afraid it is a hoax to kill them all. 2.5*
  The Pond Who Sang short story by Charles Hand a biome with neural network machine learning falls to a pool by accident and starts to investigate the surroundings, controlling local life, a music critic from nearby hears strange harmony in frogs’ songs. 4*
  Planet of Not? [The Alternate View] essay by John Vester [as by John J. Vester] what are definitions of a planet by astronomers and planetologists, what is Pluto? 4*
  First Scientist (?-?) poem by Jessy Randall 4*
  Second Hand Destinies short story by Marie Vibbert a girl Tatiana lives with her baba and brother in an abandoned spaceship, but she is something else… weird but not very coherent. 2*
  The Shadow of His Wings short story by Ray Nayler a boy and his older brother help Arab sheikhs, who hunt is karakum desert. The boy has a teaching oculus to learn English and it suddenly turns on and tells boy to run away, while sheikhs are kidnapped for ransom. A bleak future where hi-tech co-exists with poverty. 3.5*
  Problem Landing novelette by Sean Monaghan there are 6 persons on Mars mission, another 32 are to land, among them the protagonist’s sister. The ship lands badly and stops responding, the group tries to rescue. 2.5*
  Invasive Species novella by Catherine Wells a human mining colony on an alien world. Locals are chameleons, try to look like dominant species, in this case humans. The protagonist’s wife is missing and he goes with a Native guy to find her. 3*
  The Reference Library (Analog, March-April 2021) [The Reference Library] essay by Don Sakers some interesting books, e.g.
  Domesticating Dragons
  Brass Tacks (Analog, March-April 2021) [Brass Tacks] essay by various readers rage-quit about editorial that said that Tramp is not what the USA needs
• 
  Daniel

  Another overall impressive issue from Analog, which is nicely becoming more diverse and balanced in their offerings. I wouldn’t say they have lost the core mission of the hard SF that they tend to go for, but they have broadened the representation of authors and interpretations of what that means beyond what had in past become a somewhat cliched standard. A wider range of readers will find things to enjoy in issues these days.
  
  “Invasive Species” by Catherine Wells — The wife of a man goes missing on an alien world where humans are kept in a small enclave by the native intelligent population to limit human damage to the ecosystem (and also supposedly for human safety.) When the missing wife cannot be found anywhere, the man seeks permission to go search beyond the enclave’s walls, and takes in a native nanny to watch his newborn while off looking. The ideas in the story are wonderful, and it’s entertaining. However, by its end I was left wondering about the alien actions and I can’t help but think a lot of action/lack of communication occurred simply so the story could happen.
  
  “Flash Mob” by Meg Pontecorvo — Too much science fiction spends efforts being speculative or focusing on technology. I adore a nice story simply focusing on doing science. In this one, a researcher tries to balance single parenthood with the demands of academic research. Her research into squid behaviors allows an opportunity to observe a rare, inexplicable mass of Japanese squid gathering off the coast of CA. She thinks there may be something to their bioluminescent signaling. Fantastic ending for this as well.
  
  “Tail Call Optimization” by Tony Ballantyne — AI stories aren’t inherently my favorite. However, this one manages to put a spin and unexpected twists into the story to make it very entertaining and thought provoking. An apparently malfunctioning alien AI comes into contact with a human intelligence that forces reconsideration of the situation.
  
  “Damocles” by Sean McMullen — An alternate history story of higher technology in WWII, specifically an invention that could be a devastatingly dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. Those that like this genre of story will likely really enjoy this one. It’s written well, but didn’t really capture my interest.
  
  “Problem Landing” by Sean Monaghan — A story of Mars, drawing inspiration from private-funded space exploration corporation like Musk’s SpaceX. As the title suggests, landing on the red planet goes awry. The existing Martian colonists try and come up with a rescue plan for any survivors among the new arrivals. A classic sort of Analog story where human ingenuity is needed to solve a technical problem. It works well as that, but I didn’t find it as compelling on the level of the characters so much. Hard SF fans should really love it though.
  
  “The Trashpusher of Planet 4” by Brenda Kalt — Excellent story that balances seriousness and humor, the familiar and unexpected, with things alien and human. It’s told from the point-of-view of Awi Trashpusher Nonnumber, a lower caste worker on a spaceship traveling through our solar system. Though Awi sits as low-rung as one of his People can, he aspires to more. While his fellow species members give him no respect, the ship’s AI starts giving him greater tasks in secret. The protagonist may be alien in appearance, but the social and personal struggles of the tale are all very familiar to us humans.
  
  “It’s Cold on Europa” by Filip Wiltgren — Two isolated ice miners on Europa live with artificial constructs of their spouses, which have personalities/memories updated as part of the slow communication from their real counterparts based elsewhere in the solar system. The protagonist becomes increasingly concerned that her spousal construct is acting colder and distant, but she has no indications of why. A really fantastic story that postulates new iterations of time-old communication problems in relationships. It takes the concept of ‘ghosting’ and anxiety to larger scales.
  
  “The Acheulean Gift” by Matthew Claxton — A camp houses children born from a now defunct program that used genetic engineering to express genes of extinct humanoid species (like Denisovans and Neanderthals) in H. sapiens. It’s an interesting, and good, story that explores the biological basis of things like cooperation, tool use and problem solving, but also then of fear of the other and racism. I wish the story delved into the genetics in more detail with more believability though.
  
  “If a Tree Doesn’t Fall” by Jerry Oltion — A hiker in Wyoming comes across a floating tree, and he investigates how the heck this could possibly be happening. Nothing much to this short story at all, but a pleasant enough diversion.
  
  “Thh*sh*thhh” by Aimee Ogden — Another story with not much to it, but just the right amount given this is flash fiction. A human researcher (xenoanthropologist?) attends the exceedingly rare funeral for a member of an extremely long-lived (practically immortal) alien species. At this she learns the painful emotional downside to their exceptional life spans. High quality flash fiction.
  
  “John Henry Was a Steel Driving Man” by Shane Halbach — Another classic Analog problem-solving story, set on a space station, where workers have to deal with potential disaster. Complicating matters are divisions among the poorly treated workers who want to strike, and the corporate powers above them. Sometimes the actions of fellow co-workers can make the situation worse. If not great, a decent story that preaches the virtues of hard work that one takes pride in, and attention to detail, no matter the situation.
  
  “Recollection” by Elise Stephens — When the status and destination of many stories in Analog can be known from very early on, it’s nice to have a more slow building story included here that at first puts the reader in uncertain waters. Set in a barren dystopia, a government representative (Harvester) arrives in town to look into aid that they might need. A teenage girl there becomes intrigued by technology the woman uses that holds memory and images of the time before. An interesting look at the ethics of uneasy decisions.
  
  “The Burning Lands” by Tom Jolly — Strange, seemingly spontaneous wildfires are breaking out and killing people. A detective and arson investigator try and solve the mystery. For methanogenesis playing such a key role in this, was very disappointed archeaea were not properly discussed in such a ‘hard’ SF venue.
  
  “Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased” by Ron Collins — A former finance broker on the run decides to enter into a clinical trial to go off the grid with free room and board. The brain scans they do on him have unexpected consequences for someone trying to maintain a low profile. An ironic cyberpunkish kind of story that felt as jumbled by its end as the protagonist seems to be.
  
  “I Have Loved the Stars Too Fondly” by James Van Pelt — A very short story (flash?) where a social program provides the homeless with a new chance and home as lunar colonists. Among other possible interpretations, the tale illustrates how such programs can be mistrusted and also taken advantage of. Parallels to how different societal groups react to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination spring to mind.
  
  “The Pond Who Sang” by Charles Hand — Many have combined the mathematical aspects of music with concepts of neural networks (biological or other), such as Hofstadter. Here, Hand puts such musings into a very inventive short SF. I’m not sure this works as is without further development, beyond being intriguing and a speculative ‘mood’ piece.
  
  “Second Hand Destinies” by Marie Vibbert — SF with symbiotic creatures helping animate a humanoid body aren’t new, but Vibbert does interesting things with the concept in this story (more parasitic perhaps) of a small family eking out survival on a dilapidated space station. Vividly written and great characters.
  
  “The Shadow of His Wings” by Ray Nayler — Transfer of consciousness into animals (that still allows total control) forms the speculative crux of this story that explores issues of obligation and power. Strange, but written in a way that makes it seem completely ordinary.
  
  Includes science fact article “From Atmospheric Rivers to Super Typhoons: The Future Looks Bright for Weather Disaster Fans” by Christina De La Rocha and poems “Mostly Hydrogen” by Jack Martin and “First Scientist (?-?) by Jessy Randall. With guest editorial “Better Than Being Fossilized!” by Ian Watson, The Alternative View by John G. Cramer and Guest Alternative View by John J. Vester. Reference Library by Don Sakers and Upcoming Events by Anthony Lewis.
• 
  Fernando Goulart

  A good edition, lots of diverse tales, and an awesome novella, Invasive Species. My favorite stories were:
  
  - “Invasive Species” by Catherine Wells
  - “Recollection” by Elise Stephens
  - “Second Hand Destinies” by Marie Vibbert
  - “Tail Call Optimization” by Tony Ballantine
  - “The Thrashpusher of Planet 4” by Brenda Kalt
  - “It’s Cold on Europa” by Filip Wiltgren
  - “If a Tree Doesn’t Fall” by Jerry Oltion
  - “The Shadow of His Wings” by Ray Nayler
  - “Damocles” by Sean McMullen
  - “Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased” by Ron Collins
• 
  John Loyd

  9 • Flash Mob • 14 pages by Meg Pontecorvo
  OK/Good. Emilia, postdoc, single mom, squid researcher, notices squids reacting to life vest lights, but didn’t get a video of the vest. She would only sound crazy if she pushed too hard with only her word.
  
  32 • The Trashpusher of Planet 4 • 10 pages by Brenda Kalt
  OK+. Trashpushers are considered unable to do other than menial jobs. Awi's test scores aren't even graded. Awi wanders into a restricted area and the AI puts him to work.
  
  42 • It's Cold on Europa • 7 pages by Filip Wiltgren
  Good+. Jem is working on Europa. The Aliza construct is distant not like Aliza at all. Did something happen to the programming? But checking on that would be an invasion of privacy.
  
  49 • Tail Call Optimization • 11 pages by Tony Ballantyne
  Good+. Finn, one body of Finn, while searching for salvage finds a processing space. Finn can’t think straight because of the Fibs spawning processes. Vivian was hidden in that processing space and helps Finn think clearer.
  
  60 • The Acheulean Gift • 9 pages by Matthew Claxton
  Good+. Jo is at camp with Auggie where she can exercise the hunter gatherer genes she has in abundance. The sons of Seth don’t like the Acheuleans. The camp is always on guard against attacks.
  
  69 • If a Tree Doesn't Fall • 6 pages by Jerry Oltion
  Good. While hiking Vance sees a floating tree. Are the branches intertwined with neighboring trees? It doesn’t look like it, and besides they couldn’t bear that much weight anyway.
  
  78 • Thh*sh*thhh • 2 pages by Aimee Ogden
  OK/Good. A near immortal alien race is having a funeral on Earth.
  
  80 • John Henry Was a Steel Driving Man • 8 pages by Shane Halbach
  Good. John is a worker on a space project. He saves Reggie who wasn’t using all of the safety protocols. Reggie still wants to revolt against the company. Then a solar flare hits. To save themselves they need to use the thrusters that Reggie sabotaged.
  
  88 • Damocles • 12 pages by Sean McMullen
  Good/VG. Anna has been held by the government without trial for twenty-eight years because they want her to reconstruct the weapon her brother built. She won’t do it because unleashing the kind of destructive force is too dangerous. Now they have brought her nephew Brian around to see if he can get the secrets from her.
  
  100 • Recollection • 10 pages by Elise Stephens
  Very Good. Zafera is in Intazar to meet with their elders. To gather and relay their requests to Harvest, the central ruling authority in this ravaged world. Sixteen year old Jumina is enthralled when she sees the images from the echo tin Zafera brought with her.
  
  110 • The Burning Lands • 10 pages by Tom Jolly
  Good/VG. Jonah is brought in to solve the mystery of the fires. Nice blend of sci-fi thrown into the mystery with pleasant characters.
  
  120 • Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased • 9 pages by Ron Collins
  VG/Good. Charles gets stung ending up on the street where being a test subject for seventy-five dollars a day is attractive. The tests result in a second story line.
  
  129 • I Have Loved the Stars Too Fondly • 3 pages by James Van Pelt
  Fair/OK. The homeless people are being shipped to the moon. Some say it's like Australia, others say Auschwitz.
  
  132 • The Pond Who Sang • 4 pages by Charles Hand
  OK/Fair. A research chemist creates a neural network to be used in space. A sample crashes into a pond near a retired musicology professor. Why is the chemist depressed? Seems like he should be joyful that they wanted his work. Were all his eggs in one basket?
  
  139 • Second Hand Destinies • 6 pages by Marie Vibbert
  Very Good. St. Vitus is a small station run by Baba with her grandchildren Gronk and Tatiana. Tatiana who is now an alien. A ship is approaching maybe an opportunity for profit.
  
  146 • The Shadow of His Wings • 10 pages by Ray Nayler
  Good+. Is Bashim being punished? His brother tells him to sleep outside the camp tonight. His Top Hat Avatar, teaching device, wakes him and starts giving him directions.
  
  156 • Problem Landing • 14 pages by Sean Monaghan
  OK/Good. Chee and the other scientists await the arrival of a ship bringing thirty-two people to the startup colony that neighbors their outpost. One of those people is Chee’s sister Gail.
  
  170 • Invasive Species • 29 pages by Catherine Wells
  Very Good/Excellent. Rash works for the security company contracted by the mining operation on Parsa. His wife disappeared months ago. The company wouldn’t let him in on the search and now they are giving up. He is going to take some time off and search for her. Outside the Zone if the Parsans give him permission.
• 
  Michael Goodine

  Quite a sold issue. As usual, there are just a few standout stories, but I think the average quality is quite high here. No duds this month. As an earlier reviewer here noted, the magazine is "nicely becoming more diverse and balanced in their offerings." I think that really brings up the per-story average.
  
  A few years ago Greg Hullender said of Analog that it "frequently sacrifices writing quality for the sake of cool scientific/technical ideas." But maybe that's a bit less apt nowadays. We'll see how the rest of 2021 unfolds.
  
  This month I quite liked "Invasive Species" by Catherine Wells and "I Have Loved the Stars Too Fondly" by James Van Pelt. Marie Vibbert's "Second Hand Destinies" was also quite good (and unsettling).
• 
  Timo Pietilä

  Flash Mob • novelette by Meg Pontecorvo
  A young single mother studies squids. A species that usually lives on the coast of Japan is swarming on the US pacific coast. They use light flashes to communicate. She notices the squid response to light stimulus but doesn’t succeed in recording it. An ok story where science fiction content was very scant. ***½
  
  The Trashpusher of Planet 4 • short story by Brenda Kalt
  An alien generation ship is approaching a solar system. The culture and biology of the aliens are based on rigid castes. One individual has been born between castes and is scorned. The ship AI has a task for him, he should repair a partly destroyed shuttle and examine the fourth planet of the system - it might be habitable. A fairly good story from an alien point of view, but I wonder what happens with the inhabitants of the third planet? ****-
  
  It's Cold on Europa • short story by Filip Wiltgren
  A woman is living on Europa moon mining ice. As a companion, she has an android version of her wife. The android's memory and personality are updated regularly. After the last update, the android behaves rather coldly towards the main character. It would be easy to hack the personality profile, but would that be ethical. It is a pretty good story, but the ending was worse than the first half of the story and it was too abrupt. ***+
  
  Tail Call Optimization • novelette by Tony Ballantyne
  A mechanical construct has a cloned mind. There are other similar constructs with similar minds, or at least they are supposed to be similar. His mind seems to work worse, there is a computer worm eating his processing space and his body is in very poor condition mechanically. He is digging up the remains of a mystical high-level civilization for valuable parts. One day he finds a processing space that contains a human mind. A pretty good story, might have been in a little longer format, the end felt a bit rushed. Also, it took some time to really get what the word ”ve” meant, it was apparently used to replace he/she. ****-
  
  The Acheulean Gift • short story by Matthew Claxton
  Children with genes of cavemen have been created by genetic manipulation. There has been a backlash and, apparently, the company that created the children has gone bust. The children have trouble adjusting and are on a summer camp of sorts, where they split flint for arrowheads among other things. They work together very well. A pretty good story but I don’t believe human genes would allow so highly instinctive behavior – up to being an extremely talented stone worker. ***+
  
  If a Tree Doesn't Fall • short story by Jerry Oltion
  A man finds a floating tree in a faraway forest. Is he hallucinating? A simply implausible story, pretty subpar for Oltion. (There is an antigravity vest tied to the tree - how to get it to civilization?) ***-
  
  John Henry Was a Steel Driving Man • short story by Shane Halbach
  Welders who are building a space station are going to go on strike due to poor work conditions. Just when the strike is starting there is an alarm of a solar storm. Surely that is just the management scheming? (As a worker sabotaged the station, it takes a suicide mission to save all lives. Also, the company is guilty of stupid - far too stupid to believe - cost-cutting.) A fairly ordinary analog-style story about solving a dangerous situation. ***
  
  Damocles • novelette by Sean McMullen
  In WW2, a member of a fighter plane crew was ordered on a secret and urgent mission. Apparently, his late grandfather had invented a ray gun of sorts. His daughter (who was presumed dead) has been in captivity for years, and she hasn’t revealed the secret of the weapon. Maybe the main character might have some influence on her aunt? A very good cyberpunkish story about an invention that might be too dangerous to exist. ****
  
  Recollection • short story by Elise Stephens
  In a post-apocalyptic, rebuilding world, a government inspector comes to a small village. There is relatively little she can do, but at least something. She can’t help the well that is drying out though. There are rare recordings of the past. The inspector has some and according to a rumor, someone who recently died in the village did have one too. The background was scant, but it was a reasonably good story in spite of that. ***
  
  The Burning Lands • short story by Tom Jolly
  A detective examines strange fires. In one of them, several campers were killed, in other dead animals were found on site. Traces of methane were also found locally. Where could it have come from? (Genetically modified methane-producing bugs). A pretty basic story, but told well. ***+
  
  Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased • short story by Ron Collins
  A man who is hiding from police volunteers for a scientific study where he gets to stay at a faraway hotel for a long time. It turns out that his personality is recorded, and it eventually spreads around the internet. He himself isn’t the same anymore. A pretty good, surprisingly optimistic story. ***½
  
  The Pond Who Sang • short story by Charles Hand
  After an extremely unlikely accident mixes neural networks and special chemical switches producing something new. It is a pretty good story, but it is just too short and just a beginning for the real story. ***
  
  Second Hand Destinies • short story by Marie Vibbert
  A rundown space station has very rundown inhabitants, one is even dead and inhabited by a parasitic being. A visitor arrives - does she have money to pay for her visit. A decent story, once more a bit too glimpse-like to be really good. ***+
  
  The Shadow of His Wings • short story by Ray Nayler
  Guerilla-style fights are still going on somewhere in the Middle East. It is possible to upload one’s personality to the mind of an animal, for example, a falcon. A young boy gets involved with the rescue and capture of one such creature. A pretty good story, once again it was a bit too short. ***
  
  Problem Landing • novelette by Sean Monaghan
  A small Martian colony is waiting for the landing of the first colony ship - which has private funding. The landing fails and the ship falls down. There is no communications working to the ship and the landing site a good distance away. A pretty standard ”rescue” story, nothing which hasn't been seen dozens of times before in analog. As such the writing was ok, but there were no surprises of any kind anywhere. ***-
  
  Invasive Species • novella by Catherine Wells
  A man lives in a small restricted colony on an alien planet and works in security. The planet has natives, who are very peaceful and calm, but have very strict restrictions: humans are not allowed outside a very limited zone, and all flying reconnaissance is strictly forbidden. The aliens (who have some shape-shifting abilities, like most animals and plants on their planet) work at the base in menial jobs, delivering stuff, cleaning surroundings, and taking care of children. They have been very trustworthy and have never caused any kind of trouble. Inside the zone, humans are allowed to mine minerals. The main character’s wife has disappeared. The human zone has been thoroughly searched without any sight of her. He decides to ask permission to seek outside of the human zone, and to his and everyone else’s surprise, he is granted it. A very well-written and fairly good story. There are some problems with logic and there were some huge coincidences. In fact, I figured out how the wife disappeared a few pages into the story, but dismissed it as far too unbelievable and stupid (alien – human spontaneous hybrids?). In spite of the faults in logic, not a bad story at all. ****-
• 
  Jeppe Larsen

  This was a pretty good issue with a decent amount of entertaining stories. Also somewhat entertaining reading the letters from all the Trump supportes cancelling their subscription due to Trevors editorial a few issues back.
  
  The fiction starts with "Flash Mob" by Meg Pontecorvo following a researcher studying firefly squids. She struggles with balancing her research with also needing to take care of her baby son. It is a well told story with a realistic representation of present day field research, but it can only barely qualify as science fiction. It is just a story involving science and scientist.
  
  “It’s Cold on Europa” by Filip Wiltgren has an interesting premise I haven't seen before. The story follows to miners on Jupiters moon Europa and they each have an android version of their spouse with them. The robots gets regular updates with a mindscan from their wives, and they send updates back as well. Not surprisingly, one of the androids starts behaving strange and the plot escalates from there.
  
  Stories about AIs is really popular in the sf magazines these days. Often however, the AIs behaves more or less like humans anyways. “Tail Call Optimization” by Tony Ballantine manages to avoid that and gives us a really cool story about a robot that is not running efficiently anymore. Its processors is filled up with weird tasks it have no control over. It comes across a human that might be able to help. It is very techy since it is told from the perspective of this robot, which might not be for everyone, but I think it works really well and the plot goes in unexpected places towards the end. Ballantine has created a really unique and strange world for this.
  
  “If a Tree Doesn’t Fall” by Jerry Oltion is a charming story about a hiker discovering a literal floating tree in the middle of the wilderness. He finds indication of strange alien tech involved and he wants to take the device back to civilisation, but it isn't so easy.
  
  Sean McMullen sets his story “Damocles” in 1945 in England. A sergeant gets involved in obtaining possible knowledge of some highly advanced weapon - apparently from his aunt, but she has her own reasons for not revealing her secret. McMullen writes well and gives a believable representation of the world in the late stages of World War II, but the story is sort of a "closed loop" where nothing changes at the end, so it is not alternate history, just some speculative fiction set in 1945.
  
  “The Burning Lands” by Tom Jolly reads as a classic detective tale, but the "murderer" is strange wildfires appearing without any known natural cause. There is a rather neat explanation for this with a research-gone-wrong type scenario.
  
  “Hillman, Charles Dallas, Age: 35, No Partner, Parents: Deceased” by Ron Collins is an interesting story with a cyberpunk feel to it. The story follows Charlie who has stolen lots of money from his employer and now needs to disappear, so he volunteers to a scientific experiment on his brain to stay hidden for a couple of days. Unsurprisingly it has unintended side effects. The scope of this story starts rather small but gradually involves the rest of the world - without revealing too much. The shift is a bit weird to get your head around though.
  
  The novella “Invasive Species” by Catherine Wells is a great exciting story with a thriller plot and well developed aliens. It takes place on an alien planet were humans have been allowed a small zone for mining. The rest of the world is completely off limits, even for satellites and drones by agreement. A humans wife goes missing one day and the official investigation reveal nothing, so he sets out to do his own investigation. Problem is, he has an infant daughter and the aliens have never allowed humans outside the zone. These things get sorted along the way and we get an exciting adventure - though with a rather standard plot of greedy companies not respecting alien culture, but Wells develops the alien culture and personalities quite well and I really felt for this poor guy just wanting to relocate his wife as he gets spun into a plot a lot bigger than that.
• 
  Paul

  A (excellent):
  
  Damocles by Sean McMullen
  The Acheulean Gift by Matthew Claxton
  If a Tree Doesn't Fall by Jerry Oltion
  The Burning Lands by Tom Jolly
  
  B (very good):
  
  Invasive Species by Catherine Wells
  Problem Landing by Sean Monaghan
  The Trashpusher of Planet 4 by Brenda Kalt
  John Henry was a Steel Driving Man by Shane Halbach
  
  C (average):
  
  Flash Mob by Meg Pontecorvo
  Tail Call Optimization by Tony Ballantyne
  Its Cold on Europa by Filip Wittgren
  Recollection by Elias Stephens
  Hillman, Charles Dallas age 35, no partner, parents: deceased by Ron Collins
  I Have Loved the Stars too Fondly by James Van Pelt
  The Pond Who Song by Charles Hand
  Second Hand Destinies by Marie Vibbert
  The Shadow of His Wings by Ray Nayler
  
  D (poor):
  
  THH*SH*THHH by Aimee Ogen
  
• 
  Benn Allen

  Not a bad issue overall. While I liked "It's Cold on Europa", it still read like it was a Lifetime movie and "The Burning Land" reminded me of Thomas Page's 1970s novel, "The Hephaestus Plague", still and all, a good issue. Not really the usual set of stories "Analog" publishes.
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  Lee Pfahler

  Read the novella Invasive Species by Catherine Wells. Very good!
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  Mark Catalfano

  I liked "Invasive Species" by Catherine Wells