★★★☆☆
(SF Adventure) Four children escape the destruction of their habitat and strike out across the surface of Mars to get help. (5,345 words; Time: 17m)
"Hanging Gardens," by Gregory Feeley [bio] (edited by Jonathan Strahan), appeared in Mission Critical (RSR review), published on August 15, 2019 by Solaris.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.453 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: This is a survival adventure, and the kids have to struggle across a hostile environment facing threats from nature and from other human beings.
It’s kind of funny at the end when the rescue team has to announce that rescuing the kids didn’t amount to an admission of liability on their part.
Con: The events are pretty random, and ultimately the kids don’t really do anything to save themselves; they wander around, lose two of their number, and then adults rescue them.
There are a number of sloppy things as well. E.g. “perigee” relates to Earth, not Mars. The equator is perpendicular to the axis, not parallel to it. And the Martian day would look just as bright as our day does because of the way the eye works. (Even daytime outdoors on Pluto is brighter than a brightly lit conference room on Earth.)
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Gregory Feeley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: This is a survival adventure, and the kids have to struggle across a hostile environment facing threats from nature and from other human beings.
It’s kind of funny at the end when the rescue team has to announce that rescuing the kids didn’t amount to an admission of liability on their part.
Con: The events are pretty random, and ultimately the kids don’t really do anything to save themselves; they wander around, lose two of their number, and then adults rescue them.
There are a number of sloppy things as well. E.g. “perigee” relates to Earth, not Mars. The equator is perpendicular to the axis, not parallel to it. And the Martian day would look just as bright as our day does because of the way the eye works. (Even daytime outdoors on Pluto is brighter than a brightly lit conference room on Earth.)
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Gregory Feeley Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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