Interzone #284 (November-December 2019)

An okay issue of Interzone, with the more interesting stories by Joanna Berry, David Tallerman and Tim Chawaga.

• "The Kindest God is Light" by Joanna Berry: a story of alien contact about to be completed by 'scanning' the thoughts of a poet, in order to have a complete mental map of mankind's emotional makeup. But trouble looms when the scan does not complete, which is attributed to the poet's depression. But as time passes, the poet suspects a different source, and it would require the help of another alien being to make the poet see this.

• "She and I and We" by Timothy Mudie: a time travel story about a future self who travels back in time to save herself. But it is only towards the end do we really learn who she is trying to save herself from and the importance of being saved by the right person.

• "Dent-de-lion" by Natalia Theodoridou: on an alien planet, an explorer is searching for an alien plant with possible live saving properties. But what he finds is an improbable hybrid that would lead him on a search for the original source of the plant and the possible reason for it to be there.

• "Parasite Art" by David Tallerman: an artist's desire to produce excellent art leads him to a planet where a parasitic life form can be found that provide dreams that can be turned into art. But is the price of becoming tied to the parasite worth it to produce art that you may not care about?

• "The Duchess of Drinke Street" by Tim Chawaga: in a floating city, the owner of a small cupcake shop desperately needs a good review from a food blogger to drive up her business. But what she gets instead of a lesson in producing a kind of food that matches the place, rather than in producing good food.

• "Dream of the High Mountain" by Daniel Bennett: a story about living in a community in a future where life is slowly ending on the Earth as the seas continue to rise. A story that I did not find interesting.