Comments for The Political Prisoner

The Political Prisoner: 08/18/08

"The Political Prisoner" by Charles Coleman Finlay in the August 2008 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction is the sequel to "The Political Officer" (April 2002). Maxim Nikomedes returns a political prisoner to the political mess he helped create on a world founded by religious fundamentalists.

Try as I might, I just couldn't get into the story. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it more if I had read "The Political Officer." Although I found the comparison to the Amish interesting the concept wasn't enough to sustain such a long story. My enjoyment of "The Political Prisoner" was sabotaged by two similar but better stories: Persistence of Memory by J. M. Snyder and Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold.

To learn more about the author, please see Charles Coleman Finlay's website and blog or read his interview at the magazine's blog.

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