AustLit
Latest Issues
Contents
- Colours of the Soul, single work short story science fiction (p. 5-24)
- Queen of Soulmates, single work short story fantasy (p. 25-48)
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The Measure of Eternity,
single work
short story
fantasy
Leaving the house of the courtesan she serves, a servant comes across a beggar who has discovered the concept of zero.
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Hard Cases,
single work
short story
A story about a group of people taking a hard stand against the kind of people who refuse to believe in global warming.
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The Precedent,
single work
short story
science fiction
'The carbon of the guilty was returned to the Earth.' People are being charged with crimes against the environment and all those born before the year 2000 are automatically labeled a climate criminal.
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The Twilight Year,
single work
short story
fantasy
historical fiction
A story of the latter years of Roman colonisation in Britain, c.600CE (at the beginning of the Saxon period). Strongly historical, mildly fantastical.
- The Cascade, single work short story science fiction (p. 129-144)
- The Engines of Arcadia, single work short story science fiction (p. 145-158)
- Spacebook, single work short story science fiction (p. 159-178)
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The Empire of the Willing,
single work
short story
science fiction
An alien is sent to Washington DC to determine how its bureaucracy works, with a view to invading the planet. He finds he is not the only alien civilisation with this plan–and none of the others can work out Earth bureaucracy, either.
- Unthinkable, single work short story science fiction (p. 195-200)
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The Mask of Terminus,
single work
short story
science fiction
In a society where adjustments to DNA can allow people to live indefinitely, reproduction is severely controlled. After witnessing the death of an illegally conceived citizen, Jason finds himself restless–and, more worryingly, his DNA begins to alter.
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Mother of Champions,
single work
short story
science fiction
'Apparently the DNA of all cheetahs alive today is so similar that they appear to be identical–all of the thousands of them out there. The basic trope is that the cheetahs of the world have almost identical DNA because they have driven out all of the imperfect members of the species. What is fun, and what the author does very well, is to extrapolate from this to the idea that the cheetahs are actually the dominant life form on earth, and the rest of us are being ignored by, or entertaining them.
'Kudos to Mr. McMullen. He goes even further than this with interesting ideas; he invents an ecological foundation that uses DNA alteration to save wildlife, causing trouble as when "the bile from bears that's used in traditional Chinese medicine, suddenly becomes toxic to humans." And even more clever touches such as the cheetah protagonist of the story playing with her human victim, much as a house cat toys with a captured mouse.'
Source: Tangent (http://www.tangentonline.com/print–bi-monthly-reviewsmenu-260/interzone-reviewsmenu-59/1249-interzone-222-june-2009). (Sighted: 20/2/2014)
- Nine Hundred Days, single work short story (p. 243-260)
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Enigma,
single work
short story
science fiction
A crew of chimera from Earth locate a planet that appears to be an enigma: no continents, only caves of metal and wind.