Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Lightening Jack's Last Ride, by Dale Bailey

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2015; 9,519 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended

In the near future, during the second US Civil War, the narrator and his friends drive armored race cars to steal gasoline from the Federal government.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: It's well-written, and it has a proper (and surprising) ending.

Con: The scenario is very difficult to believe, and the political message is stifling. At the end, we never learn whether the US put itself back together or not. On the science end, the author seems unaware that batteries are making big progress and that domestic oil production is also way up. The idea that the air would be too thick for planes to fly in or satellites to see through (or even transmit radio through) is rather silly.

1 comment (may contain spoilers):

  1. I enjoyed this more thank I thought I would, good story with a twist end too. Scientific realism might be a far cry but IMO that’s not too bad in a Mad Max like world

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