★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
(Hard SF) Commander Krasniqi's ship has a malfunction during aerobraking, and she and the crew struggle to repair it before the ship enters atmosphere again. (4,855 words; Time: 16m)
"A Violent Wind," by Andrew Barton [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 07-08|16, published on June 2, 2016 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2016.548 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The technical problem is a real one. After aerobraking, a ship will be in an orbit with periapsis inside the atmosphere. It will have to make a burn at apapsis or else eventually burn up.
Con: The narration is almost all purple prose, and the dialogue is unnatural. The captain's behavior is irrational to the point where you wonder if she's lost her mind. The episode where the Chief Engineer dies is unbelievable for a different reason: no one seems to make any attempt to figure out what happened to him.
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Andrew Barton Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The technical problem is a real one. After aerobraking, a ship will be in an orbit with periapsis inside the atmosphere. It will have to make a burn at apapsis or else eventually burn up.
Con: The narration is almost all purple prose, and the dialogue is unnatural. The captain's behavior is irrational to the point where you wonder if she's lost her mind. The episode where the Chief Engineer dies is unbelievable for a different reason: no one seems to make any attempt to figure out what happened to him.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 07-08|16)
Andrew Barton Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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