A Solitary Crane Circles Cold Mountain, by Gregor Hartmann

[F&SF]

★★★★★ Cool characters in a chilling setting.

(Dystopia) Lili’s Foundation is close to launching their generation ship if Lili can figure a way to make the society stable and if the world government can be convinced it doesn’t undermine harmony. (6,025 words; Time: 20m)

Each Cell a Throne, by Gregor Hartmann

[Interzone]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama; Zephyr) Phillipa Song tries to convince a dying aristocrat that the mind-transfer technology he wants to use is really a fraud. (5,932 words; Time: 19m)

Birds Of A Feather, by Gregor Hartmann

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Kind of fun

(Hard-SF Adventure) A scientist has a great idea for a revolutionary new space telescope, but he can’t get approval to build it. (4,320 words; Time: 14m)

A Hand at the Service of Darkness, by Gregor Hartmann

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Thriller; Zephyr) Officer Philippa Song is dragged into a covert operation with an operative who seems to reject all principles of decent police work. (5,968 words; Time: 19m)

Heaven Looks Down on the Tomb, by Gregor Hartmann

[Interzone]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Post-Apocalypse) A few hundred years after the biowarfare that ended humanity on Earth, a team of young people from the lunar colonies come back to collect samples of the surviving life. (9,718 words; Time: 32m)

The Unbearable Lightness of Bullets, by Gregor Hartmann

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Mystery; Zephyr) Inspector Song investigates the murder of an interstellar-currency speculator. (6,171 words; Time: 20m)

This is set in the author’s Zephyr universe, but it’s fine to read this story before reading any of the others, since only the setting is shared.

Inscribed on Dark Water, by Gregor Hartmann

[Interzone]

★★★★★ Good characters, Cool Setting, Great Story

(Colony SF; Zephyr) Olani’s internship is a disappointment. She’s a glorified janitor, her boss is a religious fanatic, and now a crew of inspectors may shut the whole operation down. Which might also be an opportunity. (8,205 words; Time: 27m)

Although the author has many other stories set on planet Zephyr, this is a completely stand-alone story; you lose nothing by reading this one first.

Emissaries from the Skirts of Heaven, by Gregor Hartmann

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Religious SF) A theocracy called the Diversity rules most of human space, but it’s threatened by a schism, and a Sister raised up from poverty may hold the key to finding peace. (7,360 words; Time: 24m)

What the Hands Know, by Gregor Hartmann

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(Far-Future SF; Franden) Franden goes to a fight club to get some ideas for characters in his stories. A peaceful sort, despite his size, he has no intention of actually participating. (5,965 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

A Gathering on Gravity's Shore, by Gregor Hartmann

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(Far-Future SF; Franden) When Franden’s upper-class friend asks him to speak at his ascension party, he knows he’ll be out of place, but the opportunity to meet the “Upheld” in their own environment is too good to pass up. (4,614 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Although this is the third Franden story, no familiarity with the first two is required.

Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, by Gregor Hartmann

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Hard SF Humor) Jimmy's first project as an engineer at a Silicon Valley startup involves crazy bosses, an electron beam gun and unexpected blue smoke. And that's before things go wrong. (6,444 words; Time: 21m)

The Man from X, by Gregor Hartmann

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(Far-Future SF; Franden) Franden wants to be a writer, but he's hoping to immigrate to a less populous, less competitive world. If he can just fool immigration into believing he's really an artist. (2,194 words; Time: 07m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: SFRevu:4

Into the Fiery Planet, by Gregor Hartmann

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(Far-Future SF; Franden) Young man helping terraform a volcanic planet gets a chance to show he can do more than grunt work. (4,778 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average