★★★☆☆
(Space Opera; The Partnership) Someone killed the last member of an intelligent species, and Greysl investigates on behalf of the human-led Partnership. (14,868 words; Time: 49m)
Recommended By: 👍KBurnham+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)
"To Catch All Sorts of Flying Things," by M.L. Clark [bio] (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in Clarkesworld issue 156, published on September 1, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.504 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle of who killed the last Obys, which makes for a nice story. The aliens involved (except for the Saludons) are quite imaginatively alien. Each step in Greysl’s investigation turns up more clues and educates us more on the environment.
The solution to the mystery isn’t a big surprise; the Saludon’s are right when they say that an infant that’s the sole survivor of a race would be in an awful spot. It was nice to see that addressed and not just swept under the carpet.
Con: The biggest problem with the story is that I really didn’t like Graysl very much. I found him arrogant and condescending. His as-you-know-Bob dialog was actually believable from someone with so little regard for the people/creatures he worked with.
Also, although Space Opera doesn’t try for a lot of scientific accuracy, the story had lots of howlers in it. Like the idea that alien species would use DNA.
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M.L. Clark Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle of who killed the last Obys, which makes for a nice story. The aliens involved (except for the Saludons) are quite imaginatively alien. Each step in Greysl’s investigation turns up more clues and educates us more on the environment.
The solution to the mystery isn’t a big surprise; the Saludon’s are right when they say that an infant that’s the sole survivor of a race would be in an awful spot. It was nice to see that addressed and not just swept under the carpet.
Con: The biggest problem with the story is that I really didn’t like Graysl very much. I found him arrogant and condescending. His as-you-know-Bob dialog was actually believable from someone with so little regard for the people/creatures he worked with.
Also, although Space Opera doesn’t try for a lot of scientific accuracy, the story had lots of howlers in it. Like the idea that alien species would use DNA.
Other Reviews: Search Web
M.L. Clark Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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