Thursday, November 2, 2017

Who Won the Battle of Arsia Mons?, by Sue Burke

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(Military SF) Four international teams develop combat robots to stage a fight on Mars—televised live, of course. (10,316 words; Time: 34m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

"," by (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in issue 134, published on .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: This curious piece (with a plot but no protagonist) works surprisingly well. The essential plot is “get to Mars and put on a good show.” As it happens, the show is beyond all expectations. The stakes go up from “win the battle” to “save native Martian life.”

The big fight scene is worth waiting for.

The story does a great job of foreshadowing.

Con: Suspension of disbelief is fragile with this one. Why would organized crime care about this? Would Martian life really emit oxygen? Would Hollywood drop a billion dollars for such a spectacular waste of money?

Although there is a huge cast of characters, none is particularly central, and none really engages our emotions.

The epilogue goes on way too long.

Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 134)
Sue Burke Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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1 comment (may contain spoilers):

  1. This was fun -- I thought the journalistic style was nicely done.

    ReplyDelete