Review: Unboxing by Lavie Tidhar

-

Review of Unboxing by Lavie Tidhar (2100 words)

Apex Magazine, Issue 136 : Purchase or Read Online

A timely, terrible tale about the (unfortunately common) unsupervised use of the internet by toddlers.

In itself, the idea is scary, because we know these kids channels can get really creepy, with the algorithms pushing viewers from one channel to another - we can’t anticipate where the suggestions will take us.

This is much more unsettling when it comes to children, and this story takes it a step further. The story quickly turned supernatural and sinister, but what scared me most is how many elements of the story were true to life.

Using the internet as a way to keep your child occupied is something almost all parents do on occasion, and if supervised, I believe it might still be okay - the world we live in is so interconnected it’s difficult to isolate your child from it. But watching these kind of videos that provide no education or value is, quite simply, bad. Their popularity is an unfortunate reality of our times. And this story takes that gap in parental attention and runs with it.

The result is a creepy story that will make you want to sanitize your internet habits, and terrify you even more if you have small children. I loved it. 

 

Support us on Ko-fi - https://ko-fi.com/ohjustbooks   

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: If We Live to Be Giants by Allison Mulder

-
Review of If We Live to Be Giants by Allison Mulder (997 words) Fireside Magazine, Issue 47, Sept 2017 : Read Online The gradual raising of stakes was beautifully showcased. The sense of relief the girls must have felt at the end was palpable, without diminishing the severity of what they went through over the course of the story. A lot packed into this flash fiction piece, not least the depth of narrative and choice of prose that elevate this story. Support us on Ko-fi -  https://ko-fi.com/ohjustbooks    
Read more

Review: Fried Rice by Shih-Li Kow

-
 Review of Fried Rice by Shih-Li Kow (996 words) Flash Fiction Online, February 2022 : Purchase or Read Online A beautiful concept, beautifully executed. I love how the dad's frustration was portrayed. The narrator, Marta, was equally in grief, but wanted dad to take the first step towards moving on. Cook's personality was also very well developed and I loved the conversation between Marta and Cook. The ending was poignant and touching. Lovely story. One of my favorites this year so far.   Support us on Ko-fi -  https://ko-fi.com/ohjustbooks
Read more

Review: That Story Isn't the Story by John Wiswell

-
Review of That Story Isn't the Story by John Wiswell (9033 words) Uncanny Magazine, Issue Forty-Three : Purchase or Read Online This Hugo and Nebula finalist and Locus Award winner novelette places a striking tale of trauma and recovery in an urban fantasy setting. The details are often left to our imagination, but as we have likely experienced in other stories, our imagination is quite capable of conjuring up horrors to fill the gaps. A supernatural creature holds sway over his familiars, symbolic of the less fortunate who are often preyed on by folks with bad intentions. Victims range from teens to immigrants to gay people - people in difficult situations who are likely to forget their own strength. And that brings us to the heart of the story - recovering your own strength. That journey towards recovery is exceedingly difficult to traverse, and it's made relatively manageable when you have a support system and a semblance of independence and the beginnings of a ...
Read more