(SF) You are the first space-bred human to try to walk on Earth since independence, and dealing with gravity turns out to be a lot harder than you’d expected. (3,580 words; Time: 11m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Planetbound," by Nancy Fulda [bio] (edited by David Brin and Stephen W. Potts), appeared in Chasing Shadows (RSR review), published on January 10, 2017 by Tor.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The narrator’s people have become alien to Earth folks not just because of growing up in zero-g but also from their heavy use of brain-implant-driven networking, which Earth people don’t use much. As a result, she doesn’t realize how much some Earthers hate the “Floaters.”
But the assassin’s message of hate fails, and he’s defeated by the Floaters themselves. The final scene shows the survivor walking outside to cheering Earth people and feeling the presence of cheering Floaters too.
Con: The narrator doesn’t seem to have come to change anything; he/she came to produce what amounts to a documentary, but the only thing he/she really seems to be trying to do is walk. This makes him/her a rather unsatisfying protagonist. The story is told almost entirely through narration, and despite the violence of the attack, there’s no tension to it either.
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Nancy Fulda Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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But the assassin’s message of hate fails, and he’s defeated by the Floaters themselves. The final scene shows the survivor walking outside to cheering Earth people and feeling the presence of cheering Floaters too.
Con: The narrator doesn’t seem to have come to change anything; he/she came to produce what amounts to a documentary, but the only thing he/she really seems to be trying to do is walk. This makes him/her a rather unsatisfying protagonist. The story is told almost entirely through narration, and despite the violence of the attack, there’s no tension to it either.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Nancy Fulda Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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