~ “A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers” Alyssa Wong
Cover Illustration by Rovina Cai

wow. exactly what I can't read in a story. DNF

Others have said "stream-of-consciousness type of narration." Yeah, agreed! ( )

Fine words, but the story still needs to be told, and for me it got a bit lost in the telling. ( )

Absolutely loved it! Succinctly captured what took Ken Grimwood longer in his novel "Replay" or Ted Chiang did in his short story "Time of Your Life." Captures the angst, beauty, and fatalism of alternative timelines, relationships, and pre-destination.

I'm going to need to read more by Alyssa Wong. ( )

Absolutely loved it! Succinctly captured what took Ken Grimwood longer in his novel "Replay" or Ted Chiang did in his short story "Time of Your Life." Captures the angst, beauty, and fatalism of alternative timelines, relationships, and pre-destination.

I'm going to need to read more by Alyssa Wong. ( )

There was nothing phoenix-like in my sister’s immolation. Just the scent of charred skin, unbearable heat, the inharmonious sound of her last, grief-raw scream as she evaporated, leaving glass footprints seared into the desert sand.

If my parents were still alive—although they are, probably, in some iteration of the universe; maybe even this one—they would tell me that it wasn’t my fault, that no one could have seen it coming. That she did this to herself. But that kind of blame doesn’t suit me. Besides, they had always been exceptionally blind to matters regarding Melanie.

This opens with a bang and the writing is gorgeous, but the story spun around and around (not a metaphor) too fast for me to catch ahold and really love it. I couldn't make the necessary connection to have the heartbreak I am always craving from a story. (I will probably reread this at a later date to see if its better than my first reaction; it seems like it should be. It certainly would be better if some of the other Tor shorts were not so freaking extraordinary, but really, why would I want that?)

If you'd like to give it a try yourself, you can give it a read for free at Tor:
http://www.tor.com/2016/03/02/a-fist-of-permutations-in-lightning-and-wildflower... ( )