★★★☆☆ Mixed
(SF Exploration) A human astronomer decides to investigate why some stars seem to be disappearing. (17,158 words; Time: 57m)
"Empress of Starlight," by G. David Nordley [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 11-12|18, published on October 18, 2018 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2018.561 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Some of the science in the story is decent (For example, bigger stars really do burn brighter.) The expedition’s goals of studying the spheres and bringing back a piece make good sense. The descriptions of what they found and what happened are interesting, and there are even tense moments.
Con: There’s no way someone as flaky as Dr. Cloud would be put in charge of an expedition like this. The whole crew seem astonishingly poorly selected—unless you're an author looking for causes of conflict.
Some of the science is awfully bad. Collecting frozen antimatter until just a tiny extra bit turns it into a star is hard to buy. Much harder to buy is the idea that this machine was collecting antimatter for eons and it just happened to ignite while a group of humans were visiting.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|18)
G. David Nordley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Some of the science in the story is decent (For example, bigger stars really do burn brighter.) The expedition’s goals of studying the spheres and bringing back a piece make good sense. The descriptions of what they found and what happened are interesting, and there are even tense moments.
Con: There’s no way someone as flaky as Dr. Cloud would be put in charge of an expedition like this. The whole crew seem astonishingly poorly selected—unless you're an author looking for causes of conflict.
Some of the science is awfully bad. Collecting frozen antimatter until just a tiny extra bit turns it into a star is hard to buy. Much harder to buy is the idea that this machine was collecting antimatter for eons and it just happened to ignite while a group of humans were visiting.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|18)
G. David Nordley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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