The Menace from Farside, by Ian McDonald

[Single]

★★★★★ Lots of Fun and Excitement Once It Gets Going

(Hard SF Adventure; Luna) A teenage girl from a very non-traditional lunar family leads her siblings on a dangerous adventure to see the first footprint on the moon. (32,317 words; Time: 1h:47m)

This story has a bit of a slow start, but there’s plenty of fun and excitement once the kids get out onto the lunar surface. This is a good way to get into the author’s Luna series, which includes a number of novels and short stories, because this story is a prequel and pretty much stands alone. See related articles on Tor.com.

The Guile, by Ian McDonald

[Tor.com]

★★★☆☆ Mixed

(Near-Future SF) A once-great magician in Reno faces off against an obnoxious AI that claims to see through all of his tricks. (6,332 words; Time: 21m)

Time Was, by Ian McDonald

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Time Travel) Emmett buys an old book at a venerable book store’s going-out-of-business sale and finds a World-War-II-era letter from a young man to his lover. Trying to learn who the author was, he finds one surprise after another. (26,159 words; Time: 1h:27m)

This story may require two complete reads to grasp everything that’s in it. See related articles on Tor.com.

Women's Christmas, by Ian McDonald

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(SF; Luna) Five Irish sisters enjoy a celebration using money their aunt sends them from the moon. (2,245 words; Time: 07m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Recommended By: GDozois:5

Set in the universe of the author's Luna books.

The Falls: A Luna Story, by Ian Mcdonald

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(Hard SF; Luna) Interspersed with the narrator's account of her work on an intelligent AI for a Saturn mission, she describes how her daughter fell three kilometers on the moon. (6,800 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: GDozois:5

Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts By Ida Countess Rathangan, by Ian McDonald

[Anthology]

★★★★★ Award-Worthy

Lady Ida's visit to Venus was memorialized by the beautiful floral papercuts she made there, but this sensational story reveals the secret of the real purpose of her visit. (13,400 words; Time: 44m)

Recommended By: SFRevu+2 GDozois+2 RHorton+2 NClarke+2 JStrahan+2 Sturgeon+2 LTilton+2