★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(Colony SF) Quányuán colony struggles because the planet is much drier than expected, but the last colonist born on Earth likes taking walks outside, and she’s joined by a young girl who’s curious about her world. (3,452 words; Time: 11m)
"Water: A History," by K.J. Kabza [bio] (edited by Ruoxi Chen), published on October 9, 2019 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.591 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: It’s a nice story of an old woman making a connection with a young one and passing something on. The planet is an awful place, but at least the story explains it as a mistake. (I hate the ones where no one bothered to send a probe before they sent humans.)
Not much happens in this story, but it makes Quányuán very real.
Quányuán (泉源) is Chinese for “source,” but it can also mean “springhead,” which has a cute irony to it.
Con: It’s a suicide story. Beyond that, the stakes are very low in this tale. Marie isn’t trying to solve any problems and neither is Lian. It’s almost a vignette.
In a practical sense, how can a planet have a breathable atmosphere and yet be so hostile that 5 minutes is the limit of how long you can live on the surface? Where does the oxygen come from?
Other Reviews: Search Web
K.J. Kabza Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: It’s a nice story of an old woman making a connection with a young one and passing something on. The planet is an awful place, but at least the story explains it as a mistake. (I hate the ones where no one bothered to send a probe before they sent humans.)
Not much happens in this story, but it makes Quányuán very real.
Quányuán (泉源) is Chinese for “source,” but it can also mean “springhead,” which has a cute irony to it.
Con: It’s a suicide story. Beyond that, the stakes are very low in this tale. Marie isn’t trying to solve any problems and neither is Lian. It’s almost a vignette.
In a practical sense, how can a planet have a breathable atmosphere and yet be so hostile that 5 minutes is the limit of how long you can live on the surface? Where does the oxygen come from?
Other Reviews: Search Web
K.J. Kabza Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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