X6 review – Cat Sparks

Keith Stevenson’s X6 novellanthology which includes my story Heart of Stone scored a damn fine review from Richard Larson over at Strange Horizons. Here’s my bit:

"Heart of Stone," by Cat Sparks, features journalist Jade Stone on an investigation of strange occurrences most likely related to the presence of aliens. The questions raised here are grand and existential: "What if we are alone? How’s that for a terrifying thought. One tiny planet brimming with life, a good whack of it hurtling down the road to extinction. What price do you put on life when there’s nothing and no-one else out there?" (p. 314) The story has a dark, noirish feel as Jade questions a variety of people related to a series of strange deaths. She soon discovers that there has been a massive cover-up on the part of mysterious authorities, and her investigation becomes extremely personal when she is targeted by the aliens, who have proven not to have humanity’s best interests at heart. She begins to wonder, "Is any of this for real?" (p. 340) And this question widens beyond the scope of just the results of Jade’s investigation. What starts off fairly formulaic and extremely reminiscient of The X-Files becomes something altogether different by the end: an investigation into what we know of ourselves, where we come from, and where we’re going. "Her utter terror as she glimpsed what sat beyond the layers. Nothing. Not darkness, not even an impenetrable void. When the mask was gone, nothing would remain. Not even memory, so it seemed" (p. 361).

Cat Sparks is already a well-established talent, and here she captivatingly co-opts genre clichés and turns them inward, transforming a standard genre plot into a journey of self-discovery.