(SF) A human science team studies the colossal wreck of an alien spacecraft. (4,493 words; Time: 14m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
Diving into the Wreck is a poem by Adrienne Rich (1929--2012).
"Into the Wreck," by June Oldfather (edited by Niall Harrison), appeared in Strange Horizons issue 02/22/16, published on February 22, 2016.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The university-sized expedition on a years-long mission makes a lot of sense. The way we gradually realize just how big the disaster was is excellent, even though it made it awfully hard to write a non-spoiler synopsis.
Con: There's not an actual story here. We meet Gwendolyn on a dive. She gets distracted. Yiwei rescues her. Along the way we learn most of what happened in flashbacks.
There are a number of trivial editing errors, mostly omitted words. Also, was the original mission seven years or just five? (The text says both.) Finally, it's a little hard to believe that all this sophisticated diving gear keeps working but they don't even have radios.
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Con: There's not an actual story here. We meet Gwendolyn on a dive. She gets distracted. Yiwei rescues her. Along the way we learn most of what happened in flashbacks.
There are a number of trivial editing errors, mostly omitted words. Also, was the original mission seven years or just five? (The text says both.) Finally, it's a little hard to believe that all this sophisticated diving gear keeps working but they don't even have radios.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites
I think it works well enough as a science fictionalisation of the poem. I assumed 5 years at the wreck and 7 years included travel there and back.
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