★★★☆☆ Average
(SF Adventure) Four kids in a cancer ward on a space station decide to go on an adventure while the adults are preoccupied with a meteor emergency. (5,345 words; Time: 17m)
"Abigail Dreams of Weather," by Stu West [bio] (edited by Dominik Parisien), appeared in Uncanny Magazine issue 24, published on September 1, 2018.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2018.511 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The kids get their adventure with no casualties. Even though they didn't do anything but go up on the roof to watch the ships trying to destroy the meteors, it was quite an effort for them, and it was good to see how they supported each other doing it. Lei ends up with something very interesting to tell Simon about.
The story does an excellent job of giving each child a unique personality.
Con: Even though no one dies, the specter of death hangs over the story, making all the events look very small by comparison. I felt almost unbearably sad at the end. (Full disclosure: during the 1980s, when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, I watched my entire cohort of friends die from AIDS. It’s possible this story might not affect others quite the same way.)
It makes no sense that they’d use manned spacecraft to deal with incoming meteors. A fleet of unmanned craft would be far more useful.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 24)
Stu West Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The kids get their adventure with no casualties. Even though they didn't do anything but go up on the roof to watch the ships trying to destroy the meteors, it was quite an effort for them, and it was good to see how they supported each other doing it. Lei ends up with something very interesting to tell Simon about.
The story does an excellent job of giving each child a unique personality.
Con: Even though no one dies, the specter of death hangs over the story, making all the events look very small by comparison. I felt almost unbearably sad at the end. (Full disclosure: during the 1980s, when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, I watched my entire cohort of friends die from AIDS. It’s possible this story might not affect others quite the same way.)
It makes no sense that they’d use manned spacecraft to deal with incoming meteors. A fleet of unmanned craft would be far more useful.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 24)
Stu West Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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