Rocket Stack Rank Cosmic Powers

Showing posts with label Cosmic Powers. Show all posts

Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Frost Giant's Data, by Dan Abnett

Cover illustration by Chris Foss — Find this book

(Military SF) Dwire needs to evade security and sneak into a data repository to extract details of a treaty whose terms might spell ruin for humanity. (4,947 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Generation Ship SF) The Fleet was still a few generations from the target star when the anomalies hit and stranded it in space. The narrator may just be a kid, but he/she has a plan to escape. (5,707 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(Far-Future SF) On the vast surface of a Dyson Sphere, the last man meets the last woman, and she proposes one last big adventure. (4,460 words; Time: 14m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

★★★★☆ Plenty of action, tension, and suspense

(Space Opera; Machineries of Empire) Rhehan used to be a Kel supersoldier before being kicked out. Now the Kel needs Rhehan for a dangerous mission—offering the only coin Rhehan might consider. (7,865 words; Time: 26m)

Recommended By: GDozois+1 RHorton+1 JStrahan+2

Although this story takes place in the world of "Ninefox Gambit," it stands alone perfectly.

(SF) 12-year-old Diamond gets involved with a licensed terrorist group and manages to drag her mother into it too. (7,203 words; Time: 24m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: RHorton:4

(Space Opera) As a child, Lan learned her family lost their world when a dragon came out of the sun, but now she wants to know the real truth. (3,806 words; Time: 12m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

(Space Opera) Nora and Doc bring their show to a Dyson Sphere, but their lack of funds forces them to sell some attractions to people they probably shouldn’t be dealing with. (5,251 words; Time: 17m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Fun and Exciting

(Far-Future SF) By the time Eos turned her light back on, Sagitta was an iceworld, so she sent an avatar to see if she could atone to any of the survivors. (8,089 words; Time: 26m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

(Space Exploration) A four-person prospecting crew stumbles on a giant alien ship. Should they explore it at risk of waking it up? (4,582 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

(Horror) Faster-than-light travel needs divine assistance, but the gods are capricious. A starship cast into unknown space has no choice but to try to deal with unknown gods—and they are usually the worst kind. (6,349 words; Time: 21m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Fascinating, Horrifying, and Unforgettable

(Space Opera) The narrator is a deckhand on a military vessel fighting a hopeless fight against aliens who are gradually destroying humanity. (4,945 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

★★★★★ Captivating and Thought-Provoking

(Space Opera) After its side won the space battle, an indentured robot with an uploaded intelligence finds an important refugee who makes a dangerous offer it can’t refuse. (6,289 words; Time: 20m)

Recommended By: GDozois+2 RHorton+1 NClarke+2 JStrahan+2

★★★★☆ Funny and Full of Surprises

(Space Opera Humor; Kango and Sharon) Sharon and Kango have to go back to their home worlds to capture an ultimate weapon that threatens the galaxy, or else they’ll never achieve their dream of opening a restaurant. (10,600 words; Time: 35m)

Recommended By: 👍BASFF.hm+1 👍GDozois.r+1 👍RHorton.r+1 👍RSR+1 (Q&A)

(SF) The theme of this anthology is stories about entities with godlike powers, similar to characters in some of the Marvel comics. (101,950 words; Time: 5h:39m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Rich in Great Stories

Tomorrow When We See the Sun, by A. Merc Rustad

Cover illustration by James Ng — Read this issue

(Space opera; Sun Lords of the Principality) Mere, an executioner android of the Principality, becomes curious about its barely-remembered past, putting itself in danger. (6,683 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended