We Dragons by Tim Sevenhuysen - short story review

Nice.  Really nice.

A small team lands on a planet to survey it for possible terraforming.

The hope is to find the planet devoid of sentient beings; along the way they discover they are not alone.

The story works on lots of different levels; a strait SF tale of exploration but it's also a morality tale; what do you do when faced with a perceived failure?  How much can you trust those who surround you and you ultimately rely upon?  How do we really judge a hero?

There's quite a bit going on in this story - it could easily have been expanded to novella length and would have benefited by the extra breathing room.

And that is my only complaint - it was too short.

Keep an eye on this author.

The story can be found HERE

The author's website is HERE

For more SF goodness visit Raygun Revival

Estimated Time of Arrival by James Bambury - short story review.

Having seen most Star Trek shows I'm very familiar with the term "colonists."  Those plucky farmer types who just want to start a new life, living off the land of some far away planet.

This fun and quick story is aptly titled.  We all know how fast technology can change (anybody remember a 14.4 dial-up modem?)  In this story Moore's Law has a profound impact on their lives as a mysterious ship, from Earth, lands in the middle of the colony.  The captain of the new ship steps out and greets them by saying "Hello, bumpkins!  I just bought this planet."

From there on things happen quickly and I was reading it all with a smile on my face.  It was how Bambury handled the characters that made funny and serious at the same time.  Maybe funny is not the right word - absurd is a better choice.  You can see how the circumstances in the story happen now and have happened since the dawn of time.

I enjoyed this story.  It reminds me that there is still science fiction being written that I enjoy reading.

You can read the story on-line HERE

The author (a Canadian) can be found HERE.

You can enjoy new Space Opera at Raygun Revival HERE