Showing posts with label Mary Robinette Kowal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary Robinette Kowal. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Articulated Restraint, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Single]
★★★☆☆ Average

(Punchcard Punk; Lady Astronaut) After an accident in space, a crew in lunar orbit desperately needs Ruby and her team on Earth to work out an EVA to save the crew, so she hides the fact that she hurt her ankle badly the night before. (5,674 words; Time: 18m)

This story can serve as an introduction to the author’s “Lady Astronaut” series

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Sound and Fury, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Anthology]
★★★★☆ Fun character and lots of action.

(SF Adventure) Getting the giant robot down to the surface is critical to the diplomatic mission, but there’s one snag after another, and the chief engineer is running out of time and patience. (4,425 words; Time: 14m)


Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Nails in My Feet, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Uncanny]
Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream) A puppet dinosaur reminisces about its days in a major motion picture (447 words; Time: 01m)


Friday, July 6, 2018

The Phobos Experience, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[F&SF]
★★★☆☆ Average

(Punchcard Punk; Lady Astronaut) The director of the Mars colony sends three people to investigate Phobos, which is apparently hollow. (7,140 words; Time: 23m)

Recommended By: πŸ‘RHorton.r+1 (Q&A)


Thursday, March 8, 2018

Artisanal Trucking, LLC, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Asimov's]
★★★☆☆ Average

(Near-Future SF) In an era when nearly all road traffic is automated, Dude sells his services to people who want their stuff delivered by a human truck driver. This makes a difference when something goes wrong. (4,769 words; Time: 15m)


Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A Feather in Her Cap, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Find this issue
(Mannerpunk) Biantera doesn’t make enough in her hat business, so she moonlights as an assassin. A customer has stiffed her, so she decides to teach him a lesson. (4,541 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Saturday, July 8, 2017

The Worshipful Society of Glovers, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Read this issue
(Historical Fantasy) A young apprentice at making magic gloves considers breaking the rules to make a special pair to control his sister’s epilepsy. (10,070 words; Time: 33m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Hard, Cold, Effective

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Forest of Memory, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Find this story
(SF) A century or so from now, Katya sells 20th and 21st-century memorabilia. Walking through the woods after a purchase, she's kidnapped. But she has no idea why. (17,200 words; Time: 57m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

See related articles on Tor.com.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Rockets Red, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Collection]
★★★★☆ Sweet and Moving

(Punchcard Punk; Lady Astronaut) In 1974, twenty years after Mars was settled, Aaron tries to put on the first Martian fireworks display--despite his mother's attempts to help him. A sweet little story. (2,370 words; Time: 07m)

Recommended By: πŸ‘RSR+1 πŸ‘STomaino+1 (Q&A)


Friday, September 11, 2015

Like Native Things, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2015; ~7,700 words
Rating: 4, Recommended  Recommended By:   SFRevu:4

Tilda is a middle-aged German scientist researching technology to link human minds with animals--she's been very successful, but today something goes very wrong.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

A very realistic description of a man-animal interface. No notion of thought reading--just feelings and suggestions. The proposed applications for the technology seem quite realistic. And the way the researcher feels about her animals--even the octopus--ring true. People who work with animals, even when they care deeply about them,  rarely have the misconception that animals are human beings with fur or fins.

She's very pragmatic about using (and losing) her animals to defend herself and her work. That bothered me a little bit. We never quite learn why the bad guys are doing what they're doing--evidently from some group that disapproves. The ending is a bit abrupt, but perhaps there's nothing further to say at that point.