“Your Future is Pending”
Clarkesworld Magazine #158
Clarkesworld
Ed. Neil Clarke
November 1, 2019
English Language
ISBN 978-1642360332
Tangent Online 2019 Recommended Reading List, Finalist Clarkesworld Magazine 2019 Reader's Poll

Reviews

“This is an unrelievedly grim story, with no hope at all for the protagonist from the very beginning. Its account of a technologically advanced but failing society is a powerful one, depicted in a realistic way. Although reading it may be an unpleasant experience for many, its message of the gap between the elite and the commoners is an important one.” —Tangent Online

“It’s a bleak piece, dense and wrenching, where hope isn’t so much in escaping the system but in making sure it’s fully experienced by everyone… And it’s certainly a story that’s worth spending some time with. Indeed!” — Quick Sip Reviews

“I have a thing for dystopian fiction where the main character isn’t the Chosen One or the Hero but a random cog in the great capitalist machine who happens upon something dangerously destructive. Martha is that cog in Matthew Kressel’s intriguing tale. She’s a lowly tech for a virtual reality company in a world where AIs unofficially run the world. We like to believe that a future built on advanced technology will bring stability and security, but Kressel suggests it might be a less humane version of the mess we’re currently living in.” — Tor.com, “Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction: November 2019”