Analog Magazine April 2016

Seven Ways of Looking at the Sun-Worshippers of Yul-Katan by Maggie Clark - 020/150/2016 - I really don't know what to make of this opening story.  At first, I felt as if I might be missing something, as if this might be a recent installment in a series of stories.  It was very much in the Space Opera genre in that there were multiple cultures, religions and points of view.  Much like Star Wars there was one overarching governmental power, the Allegiance.

A small scientific crew hears an old distress call from the small moon they are surveying.  They discover it is coming from a pod, containing a sun-worshiping cleric, who is many star systems removed from where he should be.  Trying to solve the mystery of how he got to where he is proves dangerous and complex.

My Star Wars reference was intentional; just like that movie, the reader is given a bit of background and then dropped in the middle of a story.  It's a small story that takes place in a large universe filled with societies, religions, politics and danger.

After chasing the author down to her website I discovered this was her intention from the start, to make the reader feel that the story takes place in a vast and complicated world.  The only only aspect of the story that I struggled with is that I am attracted to science rather than theology.  Although there was a lot in the story that I did like; small exploration ships, a space-based military establishment, large space cruise ships, long-duration stasis pods, large economies and rules of law.  The religious framing of the story made me impatient.

In my case, the story may benefit from being reread.

Maggie Clark - https://respace.wordpress.com/

Soap Opera by Edward M. Lerner - 021/150/2016 - Set in a Manhattan radio station in the 1920's the engineer is asked to help a lovely young actress stop the unwanted advances of a sponsor.  It was a charming story and I loved the nostalgia of the period.  It came complete with a high-tech solution too.

Edward M. Lerner - http://www.edwardmlerner.com/

Alloprene by Stephen R. Wilk - 022/150/2016 - Hmm.  It's an interesting story about a man who is recounting his experience in a lab experiment which included social interaction with a robot.

I'm not sure I really get this one, other than what is presented. Perhaps it's trying to answer the question of how to best integrate machines into our lives.  I liked it.

Stephen R. Wilk -  http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?192332

Early Warning by Martin L. Shoemaker - 023/150/2016 - A man goes back in time where he feels his life pivoted by making the wrong decision.  He warns himself to change his decision.  I loved how the advice was followed.  Wonderful and unexpected.

Martin L. Shoemaker -  http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?159203

Sleep Factory by Rich Larson - 024/150/2016 - A beautiful, dark and sad story.  Two co-workers are in love and planning for the future.  This was a fully-realized world that grabbed me in seconds, was over in just a few minutes and stayed in my mind for days. The best one so far.

Rich Larson -  http://richwlarson.tumblr.com/

Most Valuable Player by Eric Choi - 025/150/2016 - This was another heart-warming, human story.  Being a baseball fan, I enjoyed it very much.  I am not entirely sure it's science fiction but I am happy it has seen print.  It can easily be submitted to other fiction publications.  

Choi has a gentle way of telling this story. Well done.

 Eric Choi - http://www.aerospacewriter.ca/

Diamond Jim and the Dinosaurs by Rosemary Claire Smith - 026/150/2016 - With a title like that I was expecting an irreverent action story, why I got was Jurassic Park coupled with time travel.  For some reason this story simply did not work for me.

Rosemary Claire Smith -  https://rosemaryclairesmith.wordpress.com/

Playthings by Stephen L. Burns - 027/150/2016 - This is my favourite genere: SF Detective fiction.  In a rigid, class-based society we follow Officer Blank as he is assigned to uncover the recent murders of local "regulators" those individuals who offer services from lower classes to upper classes.

The mystery Blank is assigned to solve is intersting in and of itself, but it is the uncovering of the world Officer Blank lives in.  Navigating this strict society was fasinating to me.

I would love to think that this short story will serve as an introduction to a novel.  I woukd love to dig into that.  I envisioned the Los Angeles of the movie Blade Runner for the look and feel in this story.

An excellent read.

http://www.hillwoman.com/stephenl.htm

Analog Science Fiction and Fact - September 2013

After a rocky start to the issue I came enjoy it every time I picked it up.

The Whale God by Alec Nevala-Lee -

Golly, what a bad start to the issue.  Set in Vietnam during the American involvement, a US military doctor gets involved in a local village's event when a whale is found beached.  After an attempt to rescue it fails three more whales are found and the "mystery" of why this is occurring is pursued.

Honestly this was a weak story with only a hint of technology and zero sense of wonder.  As a matter of fact it felt like this event could already have occurred. I really don't know what it was trying to be but science fiction it was not.

Full Fathom Five by Joe Pitkin -

Marooned under the ice sheet of Europa?  Now that is science fiction.

Maria is a scientist living in a submarine together with the AI that controls the ship. In flashbacks we learn that Maria made it to Europa as part of a crew of ten. Once in orbit a tragic accident occured. 

In an effort to survive the tragedy she pursues the science mission under the ice. 

This was a very interesting story.

The Oracle by Lavie Tidhar -

Three pages in and I gave up. Tidhar was so intent on world building that the STORY was lost. 

Perhaps the author is trying to condense a novel into a short story but by introducing concepts with strange names and not having the space to explore them only makes the story confusing. 

Next!

Life of the Author Plus Seventy by Kenneth Schneyer -

What a fun story!  An author takes out his own book from the public library. And forgets to return it. 

What follows is comedy of trying to avoid an overdue fine for decades. 

A very well told story that had me chuckling out loud a few times. 

Creatures from a Blue Lagoon by Liz J. Andersen -  

This was a cute an funny story about a reluctant "space" veterinarian who must treat a large and grumpy farm animal on an other planet.  There are some good bits when the vet argues with her various AIs.

Murder on the Aldrin Express by Martin L. Shoemaker -

This was the last and best story in the issue.  It hit all the marks for me; it was set on a ship in space, it involved exploration, it dealt with humans with all their faults and it had a mystery.

I love it when authors bled two genres; Mysteries and Science Fiction work very well together.  In what I felt was a tip-of-the-hat to Rex Stout and his Nero Wolfe stories the captain of the ship takes on the Nero Wolfe role while his second in command takes on the Archie Goodwin role.

The story was well told and I look forward to reading more from Shoemaker.