* Bren MacDibble's "Taku Kinu" (flash fiction, science fiction, humor)

Tale of a stupid law enforcement officer.

Fact sheet.

First published: AntipodeanSF magazine, #117 (February/March 2008).
Rating: A
Download full text.

Note: Why is this post so short?

* Bren MacDibble's "For The Love Of Mike" (flash fiction, fantasy)

Tale of a woman deeply in (romantic) love.

Fact sheet.

First published: AntipodeanSF magazine, #114 (November/December 2007).
Rating: C
Download full text.

Note: Why is this post so short?

[1/3] AntipodeanSF magazine, #117 (February/March 2008): Annotated table of contents & review

20 tiny stories, 8 good. See opening remarks of #116 for any non-obvious conventions in the listing below. Full issue #117 is available here.

Story list (best first).

I was forced to split this post into 3 parts due to Blogger label length constraints. This is part 1 (stories ranked #1 to #8, all A-rated); go to part 2 (stories #9 to #13, all B-rated), or part 3 (stories #14 to #20, all C-rated).

1. Greg Wickenhofer & Rick Wickenhofer's "Orbiter's Reward" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction: Beware of "cute" & very useful robots; they can be very dangerous! Added to my best of the year 2008 list.
2. Brendan D Carson's "Spawnotrim!!!" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction, humor: "Spawnotrim" is the magical weight loss drug on the market, imported from the alien world "Beta VIIa". The capsules contain seeds of alien life that live inside you by slowly eating your innards! And they manipulate your nervous system to make you feel happy, & ready to welcome your new alien masters - while you quickly move towards death! Story has the feel of late night TV advertising in India - the kind selling cheap appliances over phone, with ads that last hours at a stretch on major channels (must be very profitable business)!
3. Bren MacDibble's "Taku Kinu" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction, humor: Tale of a stupid law enforcement officer.
   
4. Simon Petrie's "Field Dynamics" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction, humor: An alien scoutship is exploring earth for possible conquest. Only, the potential conquerers are so tiny - a human takes the ship for a kids toy! Some bafflement, & he finds it's too much trouble, & carelessly crushes it under his tractor tires! But aliens have not given up. Next scout ship is on its way...
5. David Conyers' "Redemption Slot Machine" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction: An AI psychiatrist cum memory surgeon, in return for $10, gives a man reason to live & find fulfillment rather than commit suicide.
6. Matthew Nicholls' "Turing Test" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction: An android indistinguishable from humans except in one test.
7. David McVeigh's "Man In Grey" (A); download; self-ref; non-genre: This is a political story about a current issue. An alien "Executioner" is meting out justice on earth. In the story, we see part of the hearing & then execution of the President of a rich country.

   Accusations include:

   1. "You ordered complex maneuvers to evade international law in order to transport political prisoners to places of torture".
   2. "Even now, you prosecute a war in a backward country on a very ... transparent pretext!"
   3. "your coercion of other, more moderate nations to your way of thinking."

   Accused's defense that didn't cut with the judge/Executioner includes:

   1. "We are a sovereign power protecting our security against terrorism."
   2. "We're world leaders. We brought peace. We raised backward nations to prosperity. We're strong. We protect the good nations... No one can survive without our democracy. The terrorists want to hurt our economy."
8. Charles Richard Laing's "The First Heartbreak" (A); download; self-ref; science fiction: An unconventional love story - from the time when sea animals were just getting out to land.

Continued to part 2 & part 3 for remaining stories...

Related: All stories from AntipodeanSF magazine.

Note: Links labeled "self-ref" are for my own administrative use - to let me link to a specific story from elsewhere when needed.

AntipodeanSF magazine, issue 114 (November/December 2007): Annotated table of contents

10 tiny stories, 2 good. See opening remarks of #116 for any non-obvious conventions in the listing below. Full issue #114 is available here.

Story list (best first).

1. Bart Meehan's "Heaven, As Built By Tackleby Ames" (A); download; science fiction, humor: Be prepared for unpleasant consequences if you don't keep the employees - engaged in building the machine to hold your uploaded consciousness - happy! Added to my best of the year 2007 list.
2. Shaun A Saunders' "I Spy" (A); download; science fiction: In a society of conformists with government snooping even in your most private spaces, a girl wants privacy & this expectation has her mother worried because she doesn't fit!
3. Peter Tennant's "The Death Of A Man" (B); download; science fiction: In a twist on Theodore Sturgeon's "More Than Human", we have a gestalt of telepaths called The Twelve. Among them is King, a brilliant "biogenticist". The gestalt has convinced King that they are now the highest form of life on earth, & must kill off all mere humans. King has developed a virus, to be released to wind, that will kill off anyone without telepathic gene. He is made to release this by gestalt - only he is the first one to die! Gestalt had convinced him that he was among them - to make him develop the virus.
   I failed to read the logic of telepaths. They themselves were not competent even to develop this virus or identify the "telepathic gene", & depended on a human; yet they wipe out all humans as if they will never need them again!
4. Robin Hillard's "Selling The Plan" (B); download, non-genre: Devil's contract with padre will make them both happy!
5. Matt Tighe's "Apocalypse...Now?" (C); download; fantasy: The "four horsemen" - Death, Famine, Pestilence, & War, were to meet to bring about apocalypse, but are forced to postpone because Pestilence cannot come to meeting now. I suppose "four horsemen" has some biblical significance; it didn't mean anything to me - though the story has the flavor of some similar stories in India.
6. Barbara J Holten's "Things That Make You Go MMMMM" (C); download; fantasy: A woman executive is magically transported from boardroom to magical lands, & then returns after some adventures.
7. Bren MacDibble's "For The Love Of Mike" (C); download; fantasy: Tale of a woman deeply in (romantic) love.
8. Amanda Pillar's "Wishes" (C); download; fantasy: A woman suffering from terminal cancer wishes there were a way to survive. A demon or something kills her, turning her into ghost so she can survive!
9. Carl Palmer's "Love Your Pet" (C); download: Probably intended to be read a humor, this light story is probably best called horror. A psychopath in the year 2099 is helping reduce the population of unwanted pets & uncaring pet owners - by shooting both the strays & their owners (strays have id tags identifying owners in this future).
10. Andrea Gawthorne's "Conversations At A Garden Party" (C); download: A society where it is fashionable for women to wear a little flower garden on their heads, instead of normal hair!

Related: All stories from AntipodeanSF magazine.