★★★★☆ Spectacular and Surprising
(Space Opera; The Family) Amanda James, unlikely survivor of a battle with slavers, finds herself in command of the largest remaining battleship in the Jovian system. But can she stay in command? (28,167 words; Time: 1h:33m)
Recommended By: 👍RSR+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)
This story simply continues the last installment. Readers interested in this series should start from the beginning.
"Girl with a Curl," by R. Garcia y Robertson [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 11-12|18, published on October 18, 2018 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2018.579 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: In this episode, the focus returns to Amanda (last episode focused on Cole), and she proves herself in the real world. The central plot is about ending the threat to Callisto, which requires regaining control of Valkyrie and dealing with the threat from Viking. One expects there will be a final episode in which Amanda and Princess Rylla take the fight to MIMIR.
It’s notable that Amanda avoids killing anyone up until she launches the nukes at Viking. It’s an intense moment, when we all believe Cole has died, and when she cries, it’s to mourn him and her own loss of innocence. So many people have died by this point that although we’re gratified to learn Cole is still alive, we were prepared to believe that he wasn’t. Anyway, it’s hard not to love Amanda.
The story is filled with bits of scientific, technical, and historical detail, nearly all of which is dead on. The inner and outer Lagrange points of the Jovian moons really are places a spaceship can orbit with the moon between them and the planet, and at Jupiter-Callisto L2, Callisto really is big enough to cover Jupiter with about a degree and a quarter to spare. (Unfortunately, that’s not really likely to help the ship avoid detection, since MIMIR isn’t actually on the surface of Jupiter, but still.)
Con: Previous episodes had enough humor to make the violence seem more slapstick than serious, but this episode is deadly serious.
Princess Rylla continues to be hard to believe. For some reason, she comes across as fake to me. I was ready to learn she was a computer simulation.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|18)
R. Garcia y Robertson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: In this episode, the focus returns to Amanda (last episode focused on Cole), and she proves herself in the real world. The central plot is about ending the threat to Callisto, which requires regaining control of Valkyrie and dealing with the threat from Viking. One expects there will be a final episode in which Amanda and Princess Rylla take the fight to MIMIR.
It’s notable that Amanda avoids killing anyone up until she launches the nukes at Viking. It’s an intense moment, when we all believe Cole has died, and when she cries, it’s to mourn him and her own loss of innocence. So many people have died by this point that although we’re gratified to learn Cole is still alive, we were prepared to believe that he wasn’t. Anyway, it’s hard not to love Amanda.
The story is filled with bits of scientific, technical, and historical detail, nearly all of which is dead on. The inner and outer Lagrange points of the Jovian moons really are places a spaceship can orbit with the moon between them and the planet, and at Jupiter-Callisto L2, Callisto really is big enough to cover Jupiter with about a degree and a quarter to spare. (Unfortunately, that’s not really likely to help the ship avoid detection, since MIMIR isn’t actually on the surface of Jupiter, but still.)
Con: Previous episodes had enough humor to make the violence seem more slapstick than serious, but this episode is deadly serious.
Princess Rylla continues to be hard to believe. For some reason, she comes across as fake to me. I was ready to learn she was a computer simulation.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11-12|18)
R. Garcia y Robertson Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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