Item 202

Recommended

Carrie Vaughn’s latest is a first contact story, one that takes a scenario used hundreds of times before, then adds a rather unusual and ingenious wrinkle that makes for a thoughtful and exciting read. The protagonist, Mal, is chosen for the one-on-one meeting with a representative of a newly arrived alien race known simply as the Mapmakers. Mal is chosen because the Mapmakers insist on meeting with someone who is not in any way a “leader”, and the Mapmaker Summit Committee decided Mal was the best choice because, “she’s kind, she listens, and everyone likes her”. Mal is rehearsed and fed a lot of talking points they want her to cover (the usual stuff about technology, etc.). But the Mapmaker representative has a different idea of how they want the conversation to go. Vaughn, one of the most efficient storytellers in SFF, offers just the right amount of buildup before throwing the reader a curveball, one that is by turns intriguing, understandable, and kind of hilarious. I really enjoyed the effort Mal and the Mapmaker put into trying to have a natural conversation, even while many of the nuances in such an exchange are difficult to delineate. Another excellent story from a genuine pro.