Wednesday 8 January 2020

Ten Days Up by Curtis C. Chen - A Short Story Review

I will say, in this first sentence, the story did not work for me.

It was very well written, I loved the story about two workers on a routine run up and down a space elevator.

Things go wrong on the way up and one of the crew is trapped outside with an oncoming solar storm making things worse.

Man vs environment is a terrific plot construct but sadly there was just too much channeling of MacGyver for me to believe in the plausibility of it.

I think the author tried very hard to amp up the danger when he did not have to.  Being stuck outside, in a hard vacuum, with a solar flare en route was plenty of peril for one person to deal with.  Adding orbital mechanics to it was just a bit too much for me.

Everything else about the story was excellent, I loved the interaction with ground control and the worn-in routine of working on a space elevator. 


Curtis Chen is an author to look for.

Curtis C Chen's website - https://curtiscchen.com/

Curtis C Chen

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