★★★☆☆ Average
(Hard SF Adventure) The crew of a starship returns to Earth after 66 years to find that, thanks to an immortality drug, all their friends and relatives are still alive. (7,877 words; Time: 26m)
Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)
Showing posts with label J.T. Sharrah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.T. Sharrah. Show all posts
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Monday, January 7, 2019
A Message From Our Sponsor, by J.T. Sharrah
★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
(SF Legal Thriller) Jason has been getting tired of intrusive advertisements for a while, but when they start invading his dreams, he decides to fight back. (5,796 words; Time: 19m)
Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)
Sunday, November 4, 2018
The Light Fantastic, by J.T. Sharrah
★★★☆☆ Average
(SF Adventure) A Mr. Clarke tells the story behind a beautiful crystal sphere filled with a shimmering light that never goes out and which he just gave to grieving parents who’d lost their son. (3,469 words; Time: 11m)
Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)
Saturday, May 21, 2016
The Nult Factor, by J.T. Sharrah
(SF Humor) Quigby's philosophy is to find employment that will let him spend the rest of his days doing nothing as enjoyably as possible. A little philosophy can be a dangerous thing. (2,966 words)
Rating: 3,
Amusing, but nothing special
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Malnutrition, by J.T. Sharrah
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, January/February 2015; ~15,100 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended
Kadija is the first Umabari diplomat to meet with human beings. Umabari have a taboo against eating in public, and there are unexpected translation difficulties.
Rating: 2, Not recommended
Kadija is the first Umabari diplomat to meet with human beings. Umabari have a taboo against eating in public, and there are unexpected translation difficulties.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The basic idea of the story is pretty good. Simply keeping Kadija alive is going to humiliate him, but no one knows how to talk to him. Didn't really expect him to just die, though.
Con: The story depends too much on unbelievable levels of ignorance on the part of the humans. Enough humans have been to Umabara that there should be plenty of data on their eating habits, their food, their anatomy, etc. The ending isn't very believable either. Why would Hardesty let Yulix get rich off of this? Why not send a proper diplomat?
I suppose it's fair that even Yulix wouldn't know how hospitals on Umabara work, but it's hard to believe that the rules are not relaxed in such places. How else would they function?
The writing has intermittent problems. The narration gets side-tracked repeatedly. There's a paragraph about robot testimony. There's a paragraph that explains how clocks work. etc. None of this has the least bearing on the story.
The dialogue has lapses into the unnatural. Both the mayor and the doctor use "clever" phrases that no one would ever really say.
Con: The story depends too much on unbelievable levels of ignorance on the part of the humans. Enough humans have been to Umabara that there should be plenty of data on their eating habits, their food, their anatomy, etc. The ending isn't very believable either. Why would Hardesty let Yulix get rich off of this? Why not send a proper diplomat?
I suppose it's fair that even Yulix wouldn't know how hospitals on Umabara work, but it's hard to believe that the rules are not relaxed in such places. How else would they function?
The writing has intermittent problems. The narration gets side-tracked repeatedly. There's a paragraph about robot testimony. There's a paragraph that explains how clocks work. etc. None of this has the least bearing on the story.
The dialogue has lapses into the unnatural. Both the mayor and the doctor use "clever" phrases that no one would ever really say.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)