★★★☆☆ Average
(SF Thriller) Fresh from an interstellar assignment, Ngozi doesn’t expect the operators of one of Earth’s space elevators to ask him to diagnose a problem for them. (2,449 words; Time: 08m)
"Repairs at the Beijing West Space Elevator," by Alex Shvartsman [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 05-06|19, published on April 19, 2019 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.235 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The space elevator isn’t the only thing that’s broken; Ngozi himself can’t handle being around crowds of people. The problem with the elevator is more political than physical, and as an engineer and an outsider, ironiclly, he's better positioned to fix that than the local engineers. It’s only fitting that the space elevator people find a way to fix him too.
Con: We don’t learn enough about Ngozi to really like him enough to feel happy for him at the end.
It’s hard to believe that it’s actually better politically to have an outsider tell them they have to shut down the elevator. The truth of the level of neglect seems bound to come out.
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Alex Shvartsman Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The space elevator isn’t the only thing that’s broken; Ngozi himself can’t handle being around crowds of people. The problem with the elevator is more political than physical, and as an engineer and an outsider, ironiclly, he's better positioned to fix that than the local engineers. It’s only fitting that the space elevator people find a way to fix him too.
Con: We don’t learn enough about Ngozi to really like him enough to feel happy for him at the end.
It’s hard to believe that it’s actually better politically to have an outsider tell them they have to shut down the elevator. The truth of the level of neglect seems bound to come out.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Alex Shvartsman Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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