Rocket Stack Rank™ (RSR) aims to help casual SF fans find and discuss great original short fiction. It reviews science fiction and fantasy short stories, novelettes, and novellas, and publishes articles of interest to fans.
Showing posts with label Tom Purdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Purdom. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2020
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Afloat Above a Floor of Stars, by Tom Purdom
(SF Adventure) Revali and Kemen are on a 36-year mission to be the first people to view the Milky Way from well above the galactic plane. Their mission is scientific, but also symbolic, and it’s the latter that’s problematic. (7,190 words; Time: 23m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Labels:
2017,
Asimov's Science Fiction,
Rating: 3,
Review,
Sheila Williams,
Short Story,
Tom Purdom
Monday, January 9, 2017
Fatherbond, by Tom Purdom
(Planetary SF) After taking fifty years to reach planet Kendavala, colonists are disappointed to find strict regulations on where they can settle. But is anyone actually going to enforce those rules? (12,109 words; Time: 40m)
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement
Labels:
2017,
Asimov's Science Fiction,
Novelette,
Rating: 1,
Review,
Sheila Williams,
Tom Purdom
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Day Job, by Tom Purdom
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, April/May 2015; ~8,800 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story
Len has empathy problems, so after losing yet another job, his girlfriend gets him to go to a clinic where they can fix things like that--most of the time.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The concept is nice, but this piece is about tension. It builds a bit at a time. Hints that law enforcement worries about guys like Len. That is treatment isn't working right. Meanwhile Toni keeps irritating him. He comes close to using force in bed. We know he's got the sword. At the end, it's super intense when we wondering if Len is going to kill Toni.
Con: But the ending is a letdown. All the energy goes out with a whimper, not a bang. We're left wondering if the story was really meant to be about Rafe (as the title suggests), but in that case, what is it trying to say?
Con: But the ending is a letdown. All the energy goes out with a whimper, not a bang. We're left wondering if the story was really meant to be about Rafe (as the title suggests), but in that case, what is it trying to say?
Labels:
2015,
Asimov's Science Fiction,
Novelette,
Rating: 3,
Review,
Tom Purdom
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