(SF Background) In which we learn the backstory of Trey, the intelligent machine whose quest on behalf of the frozen remains of the last survivors of its creators takes it to planet Terminal. (3,646 words; Time: 12m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
This is a background document, not a story, and it will most likely be of more interest to readers of the author’s “Transcendence” trilogy
"The Final Commandment: Trey's Story," by James Gunn [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 01-02|18, published on December 15, 2017 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: It’s a pretty good back story. The robot intelligences didn’t want to kill their creators (and they didn’t). After the war with the sea creatures, having only two survivors, they froze them and sent Trey off to find a way to breed more.
Con: Without having read the series, this background document is slow, dull reading; nothing but infodumps for page after page after page. The bad science doesn’t make me eager to read the series either. For example, land creatures kidnapped by sea creatures aren’t going to magically learn how to breathe water again. (Something the story contradicts itself : e.g. later on, when land creatures need special treatments to go underseas.) And land and sea creatures are definitely not going to be interfertile.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01-02|18)
James Gunn Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: Without having read the series, this background document is slow, dull reading; nothing but infodumps for page after page after page. The bad science doesn’t make me eager to read the series either. For example, land creatures kidnapped by sea creatures aren’t going to magically learn how to breathe water again. (Something the story contradicts itself : e.g. later on, when land creatures need special treatments to go underseas.) And land and sea creatures are definitely not going to be interfertile.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01-02|18)
James Gunn Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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