★★★★☆ Recommended
(Hard SF; Sam Gunn) When Song-li arrives at near-Earth asteroid 94-12 to claim it for China, she's surprised to find the notorious Sam Gunn is already there. (5,400 words; Time: 18m)
"Rare (Off) Earth Elements (A Sam Gunn Tale)," by Ben Bova [bio] (edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt), appeared in Mission: Tomorrow (RSR review), published on October 15, 2015 by Baen Books.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2015.059 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The science is reasonable. The partisan Chinese POV is amusing. And Sam Gunn is charming and entertaining as always.
We're told at length that NEOs are rare, but the plentiful resources of the belt are out of reach, so the fact that Sam's rocket is a game-changer is set up well in advance.
Con: There's no surprise in the outcome. Song-li must be really dumb not to have realized that a fusion drive would make the asteroids in the belt available.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Ben Bova Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The science is reasonable. The partisan Chinese POV is amusing. And Sam Gunn is charming and entertaining as always.
We're told at length that NEOs are rare, but the plentiful resources of the belt are out of reach, so the fact that Sam's rocket is a game-changer is set up well in advance.
Con: There's no surprise in the outcome. Song-li must be really dumb not to have realized that a fusion drive would make the asteroids in the belt available.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Ben Bova Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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