Monday, March 14, 2011

Saying the Names

Short Story by Maggie Clark
Published free, text & audio, at Lightspeed

A woman is called to an alien planet to act as a character witness in her father's murder trial. These aliens have the same philosophy of speaking as the Ents from Lord of the Rings, and so everything takes a long time. But they're more easily offended than the Ents, and you can't abbreviate anything. Clark describes the alien society, the trial happens, and there is some philosophizing about her father's not being there for her. Quite well written, but not terribly interesting. I feel like I've read this story before, but with a weaker style.

3 legal aliens out of 5.

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