Scientists in Australia investigate a plague of very peculiar ants. (13,232 words; Time: 44m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
"Season of the Ants in a Timeless Land," by Frank Wu [bio], appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 11|15, published on August 24, 2015 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Nice concept: alien stranded on earth gains control of ants and gets them to return it to space.
Con: Unfortunately, the story is riddled with editorializing, info dumps, POV shifts, etc. The characters are never very important to the story, and toward the end it's nothing but pages of pure narration. The final result--that the alien was from the moon--is really hard to believe knowing what we know about the moon.
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Con: Unfortunately, the story is riddled with editorializing, info dumps, POV shifts, etc. The characters are never very important to the story, and toward the end it's nothing but pages of pure narration. The final result--that the alien was from the moon--is really hard to believe knowing what we know about the moon.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites
I'm glad I'm not the only one bemused by this story. There was an early section where the plot was advanced by the Competent Scientist not actually being competent, and from there on in I was pretty unimpressed.
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