Jeremiah Tolbert

Strange Horizons Fiction: Where We Live, by Daniel J. Pinney

Grim, grim, grim–as I’ve come to expect from Strange Horizons lately. A future with­out hope, and yet, the char­ac­ters them­selves con­tinue to exist. This story is full of telling details. I didn’t have to read the author’s bio to know that he had lived in the Middle East. Every descrip­tive line speaks with authority.

The character’s life unfolds slowly, in a non­lin­ear fash­ion, mov­ing back and forth through time. The pro­tag­o­nist moves through life, ever for­ward, never hes­i­tat­ing, never despair­ing, despite the appar­ent end of the world around him.

The ending–I have to men­tion the ending–fucking per­fect. Absolutely god damned per­fect. The scene before it, even more so. I don’t want to spoil it for any­one who might read it, and if you read this, go read it.

It builds slow, sets the stage, fleshes it out, piece at a time. It’s hor­rific, and beau­ti­ful. And hope­ful. Did I say that?

More, more of this, please. Daniel J. Pinney is going on my “to watch” list, you can bet on that.

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Tags: SF, Short Story, strange horizons