(Generation Ship) Aliens captured the Adastra years ago, but Asha and her boyfriend have a plan to escape and get a warning back to Earth. (5,931 words; Time: 19m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
"The Escape of the Adastra: Asha's Story," by James Gunn [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 05-06|17, published on April 20, 2017 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The plot itself is fine. All attempts to reason with their captors have failed, so Asha and Ren manage an escape, cleverly distracting the aliens by sending a smaller vessel to Earth while they chase the Adastra to the edge of the galaxy.
Con: The story is told almost entirely in narration. It reads like the outline of a story—not a real story.
Some of the science is pretty bad. For example, a red dwarf is not the result of a red giant collapsing.
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Con: The story is told almost entirely in narration. It reads like the outline of a story—not a real story.
Some of the science is pretty bad. For example, a red dwarf is not the result of a red giant collapsing.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 05-06|17)
James Gunn Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Yeah... this one was pretty bad. Sort of silly premise (alien bureaucracy just seems too much like hitchhikers) and a non-immersive writing style.
ReplyDeleteThe author is 94 years old. He's something of a living legend in SF. It's amazing that he's still writing. Unfortunately the stories he's writing are not so amazing.
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