Power of Music and Love

“You hiss: “I joined the rebellion so my fate wouldn’t be decided by men like you.”

 3/5

Stats

Kindle Edition, 41 pages

Published July 12th 2017 by Tor Books

Original Title

Waiting on a Bright Moon

ASIN

B0717436NW

Edition Language

English

URL

https://www.tor.com/2017/07/12/waiting-on-a-bright-moon/

Literary Awards

Locus Award Nominee for Best Novelette (2018)

Book Synopsis

“Xin is an ansible, using her song magic to connect the origin world of the Imperial Authority and its far-flung colonies— a role that is forced upon magically-gifted women “of a certain closeness”. When a dead body comes through her portal at a time of growing rebellion, Xin is drawn deep into a station-wide conspiracy along with Ouyang Suqing, one of the station’s mysterious, high-ranking starmages”

My Thoughts…

Waiting on a Bright Moon is a short story written by author J.Y Yang, and they are known for their Tensorate series.

This isn’t a bad story at all. It is about Xin, an ansible. In this story, an Ansible is a person who is using song and music magic can connect vast distances. It is a role forced upon some woman who a talent for music magic. There are some intrigue and romances. Honestly, though, the issue I had with the story is that in this short story format, the worldbuilding and story did not have a chance to develop a clear picture in my mind. I was often confused and detached from the story, and had to go back and read multiple passages so that I understood what was going on.

I do commend the author on their use of language, though. They have a way of describing moments in a lush prose-like style that I appreciate. The lyrical style of it flowed from line to line.

Even now, the role of an Ansible is vague to me. I think with an extended format into novelette size; this would be a much more intriguing story. As it is, it was only midgrade for me.

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About The Author

JY Yang is the author of the Tensorate series of novellas from Tor.Com Publishing (The Red Threads of Fortune, The Black Tides of Heaven, and two more slated for 2018 and 2019). Their short fiction has been published in over a dozen venues, including Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and Strange Horizons.

In previous incarnations, they have been a molecular biologist; a writer for animation, comics and games; and a journalist for one of Singapore’s major papers. Currently they are a science communicator with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

JY identifies as queer and non-binary.

Where to Find Them

Find them online at http://jyyang.com or on Twitter as @halleluyang