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PM's Outspoken Authors #2
The Lucky Strike
The classic and controversial story which Robinson has personally chosen for PM Press's new Outspoken Authors series begins on a lonely Pacific island, where a crew of untested men are about to take off in an untried aircraft with a deadly payload that will change the world forever. Until, that is, something goes wonderfully wrong. As a special addition, Robinson has also included an essay, A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions, which dramatically deconstructs history to explore what might have been if things had gone differently over Hiroshima on that fateful day in 1945.
Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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About the author
Kim Stanley Robinson
249 books7,514 followersKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer. He has published 22 novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his Mars trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award. The Atlantic has called Robinson's work "the gold standard of realistic, and highly literary, science-fiction writing." According to an article in The New Yorker, Robinson is "generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
September 5, 2020
"His hands were made of atoms. Atoms were the smallest building block of matter, it took billions of them to make those tense, trembling hands. Split one atom and you had the fireball. That meant that the energy contained in even one hand ... he turned up a palm to look at the lines and the mottled flesh under the transparent skin. A person was a bomb that could blow up the world."
This is one of those hidden gems, on which you stumble by chance. Structured in 3 parts, the book consists in the story, an alternate history about the bombing of Hiroshima, an essay in which the author draws a parallel between alternate history and quantum mechanics and an extensive interview with KSR. I must say all three are fascinating.
The Lucky Strike – tells the story of Captain Frank January, a bombardier which has been appointed to drop the bomb from ‘The Lucky Strike’ plane on 9th of August, following the crush of Enola Gay and the death of its pilot, Colonel Tibbett. After learning what the bomb is capable of, January starts having second thoughts about the mission and its repercussions. What follows are the global effects stretched forward into the history, based on a single man decision.
A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions - the title of the essay is the scientific term for the butterfly effect which is discussed in relation to the possible paths history could take following a single apparently insignificant step in another part of the world.
KSR also brings into discussion Feynman’s ‘sum over history’ on which when Pauli’s ‘exclusion principle’ is applied, ”it indicates that some possible paths cause interference patterns, and cancel each other out; other paths are phased in a reinforcing way, which makes their occurrence more probable.
Perhaps history has its own sum over histories, so that all possible histories resemble ours. Perhaps every possible bombardier chooses Hiroshima." Or not...
It explores the moral, ethical and historical implications of the decisions made to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaky.
"You are flying toward Hiroshima. You are the bombardier. You have been given the assignment two days before. You know what the bomb will do. You do not know what you will do. You have to decide."
One of the best essays I ever lay my eyes upon.
A Real Joy to be Had - was a real joy to read. The interview conducted by Terry Bisson in 2009 is very comprehensive and a great insight into the mind and work of KSR.
On writing The Years of Rice and Salt (which I think it's a masterpiece): “So, once I had the idea, I knew I couldn’t write it, that what it implied was beyond what I was capable of expressing. I wondered if I would ever be capable of such a thing (I have a couple of good ideas I’ve never written because I can’t think how to yet), but after the Mars novels I figured I had worked out the method, and I was feeling bold. I’m glad I wrote it when I did; I don’t know if I have the brain cells for it now. Although that’s partly that book’s fault, because I blew out some fuses writing that one that were never replaced.”
He wrote his PhD thesis on Philip K. Dick and when asked how he would fit into today’s market, KSR replied: “I guess he is “the SF writer” in American culture now. I think it’s fitting; we live in a PKD reality in a lot of ways, crazier than Asimov’s vision. So many of PKD’s visions now look prescient and like perfect metaphors for life now. He had a big gift that way.
Many of his novels were written in two weeks on speed, and it shows. In today’s market (especially if all his movies had been made) he would have been able to afford to slow down. He was skillful; if he had to start in today’s market, he would do okay; if he were still alive and had his real start, he would be huge.”
I rest my case. Just read this gem.
This is one of those hidden gems, on which you stumble by chance. Structured in 3 parts, the book consists in the story, an alternate history about the bombing of Hiroshima, an essay in which the author draws a parallel between alternate history and quantum mechanics and an extensive interview with KSR. I must say all three are fascinating.
The Lucky Strike – tells the story of Captain Frank January, a bombardier which has been appointed to drop the bomb from ‘The Lucky Strike’ plane on 9th of August, following the crush of Enola Gay and the death of its pilot, Colonel Tibbett. After learning what the bomb is capable of, January starts having second thoughts about the mission and its repercussions. What follows are the global effects stretched forward into the history, based on a single man decision.
A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions - the title of the essay is the scientific term for the butterfly effect which is discussed in relation to the possible paths history could take following a single apparently insignificant step in another part of the world.
KSR also brings into discussion Feynman’s ‘sum over history’ on which when Pauli’s ‘exclusion principle’ is applied, ”it indicates that some possible paths cause interference patterns, and cancel each other out; other paths are phased in a reinforcing way, which makes their occurrence more probable.
Perhaps history has its own sum over histories, so that all possible histories resemble ours. Perhaps every possible bombardier chooses Hiroshima." Or not...
It explores the moral, ethical and historical implications of the decisions made to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaky.
"You are flying toward Hiroshima. You are the bombardier. You have been given the assignment two days before. You know what the bomb will do. You do not know what you will do. You have to decide."
One of the best essays I ever lay my eyes upon.
A Real Joy to be Had - was a real joy to read. The interview conducted by Terry Bisson in 2009 is very comprehensive and a great insight into the mind and work of KSR.
On writing The Years of Rice and Salt (which I think it's a masterpiece): “So, once I had the idea, I knew I couldn’t write it, that what it implied was beyond what I was capable of expressing. I wondered if I would ever be capable of such a thing (I have a couple of good ideas I’ve never written because I can’t think how to yet), but after the Mars novels I figured I had worked out the method, and I was feeling bold. I’m glad I wrote it when I did; I don’t know if I have the brain cells for it now. Although that’s partly that book’s fault, because I blew out some fuses writing that one that were never replaced.”
He wrote his PhD thesis on Philip K. Dick and when asked how he would fit into today’s market, KSR replied: “I guess he is “the SF writer” in American culture now. I think it’s fitting; we live in a PKD reality in a lot of ways, crazier than Asimov’s vision. So many of PKD’s visions now look prescient and like perfect metaphors for life now. He had a big gift that way.
Many of his novels were written in two weeks on speed, and it shows. In today’s market (especially if all his movies had been made) he would have been able to afford to slow down. He was skillful; if he had to start in today’s market, he would do okay; if he were still alive and had his real start, he would be huge.”
I rest my case. Just read this gem.
July 18, 2022
Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded down because it's too little space to give it real, five-star OOMPH
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: A fifty-seven page novella of alternative developments on Tinian Island in the run-up to the atom bombing of Japan in 1945. A sixteen-page essay on the nature of alternative history and its quantum influences. And a twenty-page interview of author Robinson by fellow author Terry Bisson.
In short, my little corner of Heaven delivered early.
I said some unkind things about talented writer Ian Tregillis's novel Bitter Seeds, having to do with that novel's use of superhero-y claptrap. Here is the diametric opposite of that novel, and thus the almost certain recipient of my most celebratory smiles. I'd probably give even a crummy alternative history novel, one presented in prose so wooden as to be describable as carpentered not written, three stars after that thoroughly disagreeable experience.
Happily, though, Robinson's accustomed prose mastery is intact and I needed no unhappy comparisons to convince me to award the story its four and a half stars. Frank January, bombardier of the Lucky Strike, is older than his crewmates, apart from them in social ways; they see him as Other, as he sees himself. Their responses to him help form his course of action when the Lucky Strike is called to duty as the carrier of the atomic bomb after the failure of the Enola Gay. Hiroshima is spared its place in history. Lives are lost, it's true, but January cannot bring himself to rain devastation down on the city most of us use in our mental inventory of metaphors as representative of annihilation.
The story ends as January's fate is decided. And, had there not been an essay called “A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions” included in the book, I might have given The Lucky Strike three and a half stars, because the implications of the events in the story are so, well, so monumental, so completely brain-bending, that leaving me where it did would produce readerly, ummm, well interruptus of literary sort, with attendant shouts of anger and dismay.
The essay goes into some very interesting and convincing philosophical explorations of the nature of alternative historical fiction, likening the course of history to the particle-and-wave nature of light. Robinson uses The Lucky Strike as his lens of explanation, running through many possible outcomes of the facts as presented in the story used to explain the butterfly effect, the great man theory, and other established formulations of the central conundrum of history: Why did that happen the way it did? It's a terrific essay, one I want to have for my personal tree-book library, and it's been a struggle against my inner book-Gollum not to keep the library book and say I lost it....
Finally, the interview. I enjoyed reading the author's thoughts on SF, on writing, on politics (we're close on this subject), and I found his assertion that science and leftism are closely allied perceptive and heartening, since I believe that science and logic will eventually grind superstition and conservatism under their boot-heels.
I sure as hell hope so, anyway, since I do NOT want to live in a future hag-ridden by viciousness.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: A fifty-seven page novella of alternative developments on Tinian Island in the run-up to the atom bombing of Japan in 1945. A sixteen-page essay on the nature of alternative history and its quantum influences. And a twenty-page interview of author Robinson by fellow author Terry Bisson.
In short, my little corner of Heaven delivered early.
I said some unkind things about talented writer Ian Tregillis's novel Bitter Seeds, having to do with that novel's use of superhero-y claptrap. Here is the diametric opposite of that novel, and thus the almost certain recipient of my most celebratory smiles. I'd probably give even a crummy alternative history novel, one presented in prose so wooden as to be describable as carpentered not written, three stars after that thoroughly disagreeable experience.
Happily, though, Robinson's accustomed prose mastery is intact and I needed no unhappy comparisons to convince me to award the story its four and a half stars. Frank January, bombardier of the Lucky Strike, is older than his crewmates, apart from them in social ways; they see him as Other, as he sees himself. Their responses to him help form his course of action when the Lucky Strike is called to duty as the carrier of the atomic bomb after the failure of the Enola Gay. Hiroshima is spared its place in history. Lives are lost, it's true, but January cannot bring himself to rain devastation down on the city most of us use in our mental inventory of metaphors as representative of annihilation.
The story ends as January's fate is decided. And, had there not been an essay called “A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions” included in the book, I might have given The Lucky Strike three and a half stars, because the implications of the events in the story are so, well, so monumental, so completely brain-bending, that leaving me where it did would produce readerly, ummm, well interruptus of literary sort, with attendant shouts of anger and dismay.
The essay goes into some very interesting and convincing philosophical explorations of the nature of alternative historical fiction, likening the course of history to the particle-and-wave nature of light. Robinson uses The Lucky Strike as his lens of explanation, running through many possible outcomes of the facts as presented in the story used to explain the butterfly effect, the great man theory, and other established formulations of the central conundrum of history: Why did that happen the way it did? It's a terrific essay, one I want to have for my personal tree-book library, and it's been a struggle against my inner book-Gollum not to keep the library book and say I lost it....
Finally, the interview. I enjoyed reading the author's thoughts on SF, on writing, on politics (we're close on this subject), and I found his assertion that science and leftism are closely allied perceptive and heartening, since I believe that science and logic will eventually grind superstition and conservatism under their boot-heels.
I sure as hell hope so, anyway, since I do NOT want to live in a future hag-ridden by viciousness.
June 19, 2020
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Πρώτη επαφή με το έργο του Κιμ Στάνλεϊ Ρόμπινσον και δηλώνω εξαιρετικά ικανοποιημένος. Πρόκειται για μια εναλλακτική ιστορία του βομβαρδισμού της Χιροσίμα, στην οποία ένα πλήρωμα μη δοκιμασμένων ανδρών σε ένα μη δοκιμασμένο σκάφος φορτωμένο με θανατηφόρο φορτίο, αναλαμβάνει μια αποστολή που μπορεί να αλλάξει την πορεία της ιστορίας. Όμως τα πράγματα δεν πάνε ακριβώς όπως θα ήθελαν οι πολεμοχαρείς στρατηγοί... Πραγματικά, το δυνατό στοιχείο της νουβέλας αυτής είναι η οξυδερκής και ρεαλιστική γραφή του Ρόμπινσον, ο οποίος καταφέρνει να περάσει πολλά μηνύματα σε λίγες σελίδες, ενώ παράλληλα προσφέρει και μια ενδιαφέρουσα και αρκετά δυνατή ιστορία που ίσως όλοι θα ελπίζαμε να ήταν αληθινή. Εξαιρετικές περιγραφές σκηνικών και καταστάσεων, φοβερή ατμόσφαιρα, ενδιαφέρουσες σκέψεις και μια κάποια φιλοσοφική διάθεση, και όλα αυτά σε λίγες σελίδες. Γι'αυτό και βάζω πέντε αστεράκια (τεσσεράμισι για την ακρίβεια), γιατί ο τρόπος γραφής του συγγραφέα πραγματικά με εντυπωσίασε και με συνεπήρε.
Πρώτη επαφή με το έργο του Κιμ Στάνλεϊ Ρόμπινσον και δηλώνω εξαιρετικά ικανοποιημένος. Πρόκειται για μια εναλλακτική ιστορία του βομβαρδισμού της Χιροσίμα, στην οποία ένα πλήρωμα μη δοκιμασμένων ανδρών σε ένα μη δοκιμασμένο σκάφος φορτωμένο με θανατηφόρο φορτίο, αναλαμβάνει μια αποστολή που μπορεί να αλλάξει την πορεία της ιστορίας. Όμως τα πράγματα δεν πάνε ακριβώς όπως θα ήθελαν οι πολεμοχαρείς στρατηγοί... Πραγματικά, το δυνατό στοιχείο της νουβέλας αυτής είναι η οξυδερκής και ρεαλιστική γραφή του Ρόμπινσον, ο οποίος καταφέρνει να περάσει πολλά μηνύματα σε λίγες σελίδες, ενώ παράλληλα προσφέρει και μια ενδιαφέρουσα και αρκετά δυνατή ιστορία που ίσως όλοι θα ελπίζαμε να ήταν αληθινή. Εξαιρετικές περιγραφές σκηνικών και καταστάσεων, φοβερή ατμόσφαιρα, ενδιαφέρουσες σκέψεις και μια κάποια φιλοσοφική διάθεση, και όλα αυτά σε λίγες σελίδες. Γι'αυτό και βάζω πέντε αστεράκια (τεσσεράμισι για την ακρίβεια), γιατί ο τρόπος γραφής του συγγραφέα πραγματικά με εντυπωσίασε και με συνεπήρε.
April 17, 2012
Picked this up on a whim at the library today (4/6/12). Lord knows I have enough on the TBR shelf but it's short and looks intriguing.
____________________________________
The only other Kim Stanley Robinson work that I’ve read is The Years of Rice and Salt and while I liked it well enough, I have to say that it captured my brain but not my heart.
And the same is true with the novella included here (“The Lucky Strike”) and why I don’t have any strong desire to read much else by this author (even if he is friends with Ursula K. Le Guin). The problem in my case is that the idea of the alternate history* overwhelms an interesting story or character(s). I remember reading TYORAS and being interested in the implications of a far more lethal plague virus that wiped Western Christendom off the map but there was no story nor were there any memorable characters (the only scenes I remember – and then only in the vaguest terms – are the opening one, where a nomad from Central Asia scouts in a deserted Europe, and an episode where a Chinese mandarin is experimenting with the pyrethrins found in chrysanthemums).
The same is true here: The idea that a bombardier with a conscience (against orders) drops the A-bomb on an (largely) uninhabited region of Japan just outside of Hiroshima and the fallout (couldn’t resist, sorry) from that simple action is intriguing and well thought out here. But there’s no engagement with the characters. When I was 15, the idea would have been enough but now I need more.
More interesting is the nonfiction essay, “A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions,” which explores how random and/or (apparently) irrelevant factors have enormous implications (e.g., Robinson spins out the events from the novella to construct a scenario where the Suez Canal crisis of 1956 leads to WW III). And entertains the notion that, even if we could go back in time and alter events, the end result (our present) wouldn’t look all that much different.
The final two sections of the book are an interview with Robinson and a bibliography of his writings.
I liked the ideas Robinson raises in the essay but I’m not a fan of his writing, and I can only recommend the novella to his fans.
* In contrast, look at Meljean Brook's Iron Seas books, where the idea of the alternate history takes a backseat to the story and the characters, or the quintessential alternate history, Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle.
____________________________________
The only other Kim Stanley Robinson work that I’ve read is The Years of Rice and Salt and while I liked it well enough, I have to say that it captured my brain but not my heart.
And the same is true with the novella included here (“The Lucky Strike”) and why I don’t have any strong desire to read much else by this author (even if he is friends with Ursula K. Le Guin). The problem in my case is that the idea of the alternate history* overwhelms an interesting story or character(s). I remember reading TYORAS and being interested in the implications of a far more lethal plague virus that wiped Western Christendom off the map but there was no story nor were there any memorable characters (the only scenes I remember – and then only in the vaguest terms – are the opening one, where a nomad from Central Asia scouts in a deserted Europe, and an episode where a Chinese mandarin is experimenting with the pyrethrins found in chrysanthemums).
The same is true here: The idea that a bombardier with a conscience (against orders) drops the A-bomb on an (largely) uninhabited region of Japan just outside of Hiroshima and the fallout (couldn’t resist, sorry) from that simple action is intriguing and well thought out here. But there’s no engagement with the characters. When I was 15, the idea would have been enough but now I need more.
More interesting is the nonfiction essay, “A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions,” which explores how random and/or (apparently) irrelevant factors have enormous implications (e.g., Robinson spins out the events from the novella to construct a scenario where the Suez Canal crisis of 1956 leads to WW III). And entertains the notion that, even if we could go back in time and alter events, the end result (our present) wouldn’t look all that much different.
The final two sections of the book are an interview with Robinson and a bibliography of his writings.
I liked the ideas Robinson raises in the essay but I’m not a fan of his writing, and I can only recommend the novella to his fans.
* In contrast, look at Meljean Brook's Iron Seas books, where the idea of the alternate history takes a backseat to the story and the characters, or the quintessential alternate history, Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle.
November 15, 2018
"Savaş, tuhaf uğraşlar yaratır." Sf:9
"January'nin içinde bu bombayı tasarlayan bilim insanlarına karşı büyük bir öfke kabardı. Bunun üzerinde bir yıldan fazla bir süredir New Mexico'da çalışıyorlardı, içlerinden bir tanesi bile bir an durup ne yaptıklarını düşünmemiş miydi?" Sf:33
"January'nin içinde bu bombayı tasarlayan bilim insanlarına karşı büyük bir öfke kabardı. Bunun üzerinde bir yıldan fazla bir süredir New Mexico'da çalışıyorlardı, içlerinden bir tanesi bile bir an durup ne yaptıklarını düşünmemiş miydi?" Sf:33
June 29, 2018
3.5 stars for the short stories, 5 stars for the interview. Good read all around.
November 8, 2018
Alternatif bir ikinci dünya savaşı kurgusu. Altmış sayfada ‘tarihin açıklanabilirliği’ üzerine ‘insan faktörü’ soslu bir kısa öykü. Bambaşka bir kafanın ürünü. Mutlaka şans verilmeli.
December 31, 2024
Rec. by: PM Press' booth at the Festival Formerly Known as Wordstock
Rec. for: Members of the January Society
The Lucky Strike Plus... was only the second entry in PM Press' long-running "Outspoken Authors" series. It's very short, too—comprising just one short story, "The Lucky Strike," along with one later metafiction about that story, and an interview that series editor Terry Bisson conducted with Kim Stanley Robinson back in 2009. I picked up my copy of this slim trade paperback (along with entry #30, Jonathan Lethem's The Collapsing Frontier Plus...) a couple of months ago, and once I got around to reading it, I finished in just a couple of hours... but they were, I must say, a few really good hours.
Like Gaul, The Lucky Strike Plus... is divided into three parts:
"The Lucky Strike"
Lucky Strike was a brand of cigarette that made its way into many soldiers' kits during WWII. It was also a good name for an airplane carrying a kind of bomb never before used in warfare... and although the Lucky Strike and its bombardier Frank January were not General LeMay's first choice for the secret mission to fly "the gimmick" over Japan and end the war with one stroke, they would have to do, after the grandstanding Colonel Paul Tibbets managed to crash the Enola Gay on takeoff.
This is an alternity, you see—a counterfactual, nothing but the pure product of Robinson's imagination: what if the flight crew who dropped the first atomic bomb (well, not the first, but the first used in anger) had included someone more introspective, with more of a conscience—someone who might decide not to do that terrible thing after all?
Then, in "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" (or, as the title on p.59 would have it, "A Sensitive Dependence on Iniitial Conditions"—ack!), Robinson second-guesses himself, playing out the consequences of a whole host of alternative scenarios for January, and Tibbets, and the Bomb... but it makes sense that he would feel the need to do so. As in one of the most memorable televised Star Trek episodes ("The City on the Edge of Forever," scripted by none other than Harlan Ellison), it's not a foregone conclusion that someone's pacifist impulse would result in the best possible outcome.
And, finally, in "A Real Joy to Be Had"—Kim Stanley Robinson gets interviewed by Terry Bisson, and makes a whole lot of sense in the process:
All in all, The Lucky Strike Plus... punches well above its weight... and as a harbinger of things to come, this early installment works very well as an introduction to the way PM Press went about—and still goes about—its worthwhile business.
Rec. for: Members of the January Society
The Lucky Strike Plus... was only the second entry in PM Press' long-running "Outspoken Authors" series. It's very short, too—comprising just one short story, "The Lucky Strike," along with one later metafiction about that story, and an interview that series editor Terry Bisson conducted with Kim Stanley Robinson back in 2009. I picked up my copy of this slim trade paperback (along with entry #30, Jonathan Lethem's The Collapsing Frontier Plus...) a couple of months ago, and once I got around to reading it, I finished in just a couple of hours... but they were, I must say, a few really good hours.
Like Gaul, The Lucky Strike Plus... is divided into three parts:
"The Lucky Strike"
Lucky Strike was a brand of cigarette that made its way into many soldiers' kits during WWII. It was also a good name for an airplane carrying a kind of bomb never before used in warfare... and although the Lucky Strike and its bombardier Frank January were not General LeMay's first choice for the secret mission to fly "the gimmick" over Japan and end the war with one stroke, they would have to do, after the grandstanding Colonel Paul Tibbets managed to crash the Enola Gay on takeoff.
This is an alternity, you see—a counterfactual, nothing but the pure product of Robinson's imagination: what if the flight crew who dropped the first atomic bomb (well, not the first, but the first used in anger) had included someone more introspective, with more of a conscience—someone who might decide not to do that terrible thing after all?
The mind struggles longer in its traps than any fox.
—p.38
Then, in "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" (or, as the title on p.59 would have it, "A Sensitive Dependence on Iniitial Conditions"—ack!), Robinson second-guesses himself, playing out the consequences of a whole host of alternative scenarios for January, and Tibbets, and the Bomb... but it makes sense that he would feel the need to do so. As in one of the most memorable televised Star Trek episodes ("The City on the Edge of Forever," scripted by none other than Harlan Ellison), it's not a foregone conclusion that someone's pacifist impulse would result in the best possible outcome.
And, finally, in "A Real Joy to Be Had"—Kim Stanley Robinson gets interviewed by Terry Bisson, and makes a whole lot of sense in the process:
"What's been set up and is playing out now is a Huge World Historical Battle between science and capitalism. Science is insisting more emphatically every day that this is a real and persistent danger. Capitalism is saying it isn't, because if it were true it would mean more government control of economies, more social justice (as a climate stabilization technique) and so on. These are the two big players in our civilization, so I say, be aware, watch the heavyweights go at it, and back science every chance you get. I speak to all fellow leftists around the world: science is now a leftism, and thank God; but capitalism is very very strong. So it's a dangerous moment. People who like their history dramatic and non-utopian should be pleased."
—Robinson, p.101
All in all, The Lucky Strike Plus... punches well above its weight... and as a harbinger of things to come, this early installment works very well as an introduction to the way PM Press went about—and still goes about—its worthwhile business.
October 22, 2014
A well-written alternate ending to World War Two. The angst and actions of the protagonist are convincing even though the after effects seem contrived. We wish it might have been so, but I can't see Joe Stalin signing up to put that genie back in the bottle.
A good read.
A good read.
July 7, 2021
slightly dry, engaging enough, the analysis of history and the covering-law model was p interesting though
September 1, 2023
The Lucky Strike is a really masterful short story on war resistance and alternative history. The interview and essay about the butterfly effect were also compelling. A great example of the PM Press Outspoken Author series.
February 2, 2019
Bu seride okuduğum diğer üç kitap gibi bunu da beğendim. Oldukça güzel bir öykü Luck Strike. Alternatif bir İkinci Dünya Savaşı hikayesi. Söyleşi kısmı da çok güzeldi. Ayrıntı iki aydır yeni kitap çıkarmıyor bu seriden. Umarım devamı gelir.
November 4, 2019
This is my first KSR book and it won't be my last! This book contains the eponymous short story by KSR (which strongly evokes The Man in the High Castle in that it is an alternative future novel), an essay called 'A sensitive dependance', and an interview of KSR by Terry Bisson.
I didn't actually know what the short story was about going in until I read 'Enola Gay' and honestly it was all fun from there. I also enjoyed the essay, which was a description of certain aspects of chaos theory. This is a topic I'm already very familiar with but I like KSR's effort to link it to historical topics. He wrote his PhD thesis on Man in the High Castle and it shows in his fluency with this complex material.
I adored the interview. The questions are written by Bisson, so someone who is also intimately acquainted with publishing and science fiction and it shows. There was a broad range of questions, from his work & method, to his personal reading history, to his ultra-minimalist hiking. I really love this series of books, they're a great introduction to an author (as I've found with KSR) or offer an interesting supplement to a well-loved favourite (my experience with the Ursula Le Guin book). Highly recommended!
I didn't actually know what the short story was about going in until I read 'Enola Gay' and honestly it was all fun from there. I also enjoyed the essay, which was a description of certain aspects of chaos theory. This is a topic I'm already very familiar with but I like KSR's effort to link it to historical topics. He wrote his PhD thesis on Man in the High Castle and it shows in his fluency with this complex material.
I adored the interview. The questions are written by Bisson, so someone who is also intimately acquainted with publishing and science fiction and it shows. There was a broad range of questions, from his work & method, to his personal reading history, to his ultra-minimalist hiking. I really love this series of books, they're a great introduction to an author (as I've found with KSR) or offer an interesting supplement to a well-loved favourite (my experience with the Ursula Le Guin book). Highly recommended!
January 29, 2020
This special collection from the Outspoken Authors series has one novelette and one short story, along with an interview with the author.
"The Lucky Strike" is a story I've read before and loved, but forgot who had written it, so reading this collection again was a pleasant surprise, especially as I had last read this probably 18 years ago. It's an alternate history tale where instead of Col. Tibbets and the Enola Gay dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, it's a fictional character named Capt. January who agonizes over the atomic bomb. It's well-written and, if I ever met the author, the most likely story for me to talk about with him, as it deals with issues of morality and choices and pain. "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" is the other story in this collection, and it's less of a story than musings about laws of history and the impact of history, using 3 or 4 examples (including Capt. January's story from "The Lucky Strike"). It's pretty good, too! The interview with the author (by Terry Bisson) is also excellent, and I think I'd rather like Robinson in person.
"The Lucky Strike" is a story I've read before and loved, but forgot who had written it, so reading this collection again was a pleasant surprise, especially as I had last read this probably 18 years ago. It's an alternate history tale where instead of Col. Tibbets and the Enola Gay dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, it's a fictional character named Capt. January who agonizes over the atomic bomb. It's well-written and, if I ever met the author, the most likely story for me to talk about with him, as it deals with issues of morality and choices and pain. "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" is the other story in this collection, and it's less of a story than musings about laws of history and the impact of history, using 3 or 4 examples (including Capt. January's story from "The Lucky Strike"). It's pretty good, too! The interview with the author (by Terry Bisson) is also excellent, and I think I'd rather like Robinson in person.
November 2, 2018
"Şafak tüm gök kubbeyi pembeye boyamıştı. Işıldayan renk peş peşe değişerek yavaşça lavanta tonuna ve maviye geçiş yaptı. Altlarındaki okyanus kabarık pembe bulutlara benzeyen mermer damarlı desenleri olan parıltılı mavi bir düzlük gibiydi."
Misillemeler, savaşları ve saldırıları beraberinde getiriyor ancak her insan dünyanın sahip olduğu güzelliği yok edebilir ya da insanları öldürebilir mi? Savaşmak zorunda mıyız, gerekli mi? Bir eylemde bulunmadan önce sonuçlarını düşünmeliyiz diyor yazar. Kitap alternatif tarih sayılabilir ve sonunda Başlangıç Koşullarına Duyarlı Bağlılık adında oldukça ilginç bir yazı var.
Misillemeler, savaşları ve saldırıları beraberinde getiriyor ancak her insan dünyanın sahip olduğu güzelliği yok edebilir ya da insanları öldürebilir mi? Savaşmak zorunda mıyız, gerekli mi? Bir eylemde bulunmadan önce sonuçlarını düşünmeliyiz diyor yazar. Kitap alternatif tarih sayılabilir ve sonunda Başlangıç Koşullarına Duyarlı Bağlılık adında oldukça ilginç bir yazı var.
December 14, 2022
Robinsonun bitirebildiğim tek kitabı oldu. Bunda içindeki öykünün 50 sayfa olmasınında etkisi büyük.
Kitap 50 sayfalık bir 2nci dünya savaşı alternatif kurgusundan oluşuyor. İlave olarak yazarın alternatif tarih konusunda bir yazısı ile yazarla yapılan bir röportaj yer alıyor.
Kitap 50 sayfalık bir 2nci dünya savaşı alternatif kurgusundan oluşuyor. İlave olarak yazarın alternatif tarih konusunda bir yazısı ile yazarla yapılan bir röportaj yer alıyor.
July 15, 2024
I thought this was kind of monumental - what starts as a simple alt history thought experiment ripples into a beautiful statement on the radical, revolutionary human spirit against the waves of history and imperialism. My favorite kind of scifi story - clinical language and cold figures belie a thoughtful, warm, angry soul.
April 7, 2025
I got so swept by this alternate history so much I had to double check that there wasn’t a Frank January in real life. Humanist as always, Robinson is a consistent voice of sanity in our crazy world. Also great interview afterwards. Learning his process and insights to his life is a joy.
December 16, 2021
Brilliant.
May 22, 2022
Γενικά ότι έχει να κάνει με επιστημονική φαντασία και εναλλακτική πραγματικότητα μου ήταν πάντα ενδιαφέρον και ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου είδη ΕΦ.
Στην μικρή αυτή νουβέλα, ο γνωστός συγγραφέας ΕΦ Κιμ Στάνλεϊ Ρόμπινσον μας αφηγείται μια προσωπική ιστορία μέσα από μια συλλογική εμπειρία. Ο Ρόμπινσον ανασκευάζει ένα μικρό γεγονός, όπου το Enola Gay και το πλήρωμα του (που έριξε την ατομική βόμβα στο Ναγκασάκι) εκρήγνυνται στην πιλοτική πτήση του, αφήνοντας το δεύτερο πλήρωμα να πετάξει με το Lucky Strike.
Μέσα από τον τρόπο σκέψη ενός από το πλήρωμα μαθαίνουμε πως ένας άνθρωπος μπορεί όντως να κάνει την διαφορά και πως εν τέλει το συλλογικό καλό προέρχεται και μέσα από την ατομική βούληση για αλλαγή. Ούτως η άλλως είναι γνωστός ο συγγραφέας για την πολιτικοποιημένη ΕΦ που γράφει.
Διαβάζεται μονορουφι και με αμείωτο ενδιαφέρον.
Στην μικρή αυτή νουβέλα, ο γνωστός συγγραφέας ΕΦ Κιμ Στάνλεϊ Ρόμπινσον μας αφηγείται μια προσωπική ιστορία μέσα από μια συλλογική εμπειρία. Ο Ρόμπινσον ανασκευάζει ένα μικρό γεγονός, όπου το Enola Gay και το πλήρωμα του (που έριξε την ατομική βόμβα στο Ναγκασάκι) εκρήγνυνται στην πιλοτική πτήση του, αφήνοντας το δεύτερο πλήρωμα να πετάξει με το Lucky Strike.
Μέσα από τον τρόπο σκέψη ενός από το πλήρωμα μαθαίνουμε πως ένας άνθρωπος μπορεί όντως να κάνει την διαφορά και πως εν τέλει το συλλογικό καλό προέρχεται και μέσα από την ατομική βούληση για αλλαγή. Ούτως η άλλως είναι γνωστός ο συγγραφέας για την πολιτικοποιημένη ΕΦ που γράφει.
Διαβάζεται μονορουφι και με αμείωτο ενδιαφέρον.
August 27, 2017
I like this "Outspoken Authors" series a lot, though - gosh - they could use a bit more editing. I keep catching typos in these things!
Anyway, this one - like the Cory Doctorow one - is just super interesting cuz the subject (Kim Stanley Robinson) is super interesting. The format is the same: first, a short story by the author, and then a long interview. The short story was an alternative history of a WW2 bomber pilot struggling with his mission: dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It's fine, whatever.
The interview confirms much of what you imagine Kim Stanley Robinson to be like: a curmudgeony, cranky dude who lives in a utopian commune (!) in Davis, CA, is best buds with a Marxist prof, used to write his mind-blowing sci-fi in cafes all the time, hates all the descriptors they've used of his work ("humanist" - bah! "hard sf" - hum bug!) and now goes on hyper-minimalist treks through the Sierras. Like... yeah, of course he does. I was VERY intrigued by the suburban utopians, where do I sign up!? I was also intrigued by his acumenly insight that "hard sf" is often code for "right-wing sf that hates poor people". Gosh, that is kinda true. I also liked that KSR found sci-fi late-ish in life, cuz that "I grew up with sci-fi, I read Asimov in the cradle, check out my bonafides" bullshit is so tiresome sometimes, yes.
Also, sigh, Kim Stanley Robinson - YOU SO SMART. RED MARS IS SO GOOD. Even 2312 had such smart moments! This just made me get pumped about the new book about a flooded NYC.
OH YES, and he had a WONDERFUL point where he was bah-humbug-ing the way his work has been labelled, and he said, "utopian sf - but that's just me, you, and Ursula". YES! I was just like, YES YES OMG THAT'S SO TRUE THAT'S WHY I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. And when he spoke of how easy and lazy it is to write dystopias, but how hard and important it is to write convincing utopias!!!
And so I light another candle at my shrine to KSR. Ommmmm.
Anyway, this one - like the Cory Doctorow one - is just super interesting cuz the subject (Kim Stanley Robinson) is super interesting. The format is the same: first, a short story by the author, and then a long interview. The short story was an alternative history of a WW2 bomber pilot struggling with his mission: dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It's fine, whatever.
The interview confirms much of what you imagine Kim Stanley Robinson to be like: a curmudgeony, cranky dude who lives in a utopian commune (!) in Davis, CA, is best buds with a Marxist prof, used to write his mind-blowing sci-fi in cafes all the time, hates all the descriptors they've used of his work ("humanist" - bah! "hard sf" - hum bug!) and now goes on hyper-minimalist treks through the Sierras. Like... yeah, of course he does. I was VERY intrigued by the suburban utopians, where do I sign up!? I was also intrigued by his acumenly insight that "hard sf" is often code for "right-wing sf that hates poor people". Gosh, that is kinda true. I also liked that KSR found sci-fi late-ish in life, cuz that "I grew up with sci-fi, I read Asimov in the cradle, check out my bonafides" bullshit is so tiresome sometimes, yes.
Also, sigh, Kim Stanley Robinson - YOU SO SMART. RED MARS IS SO GOOD. Even 2312 had such smart moments! This just made me get pumped about the new book about a flooded NYC.
OH YES, and he had a WONDERFUL point where he was bah-humbug-ing the way his work has been labelled, and he said, "utopian sf - but that's just me, you, and Ursula". YES! I was just like, YES YES OMG THAT'S SO TRUE THAT'S WHY I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. And when he spoke of how easy and lazy it is to write dystopias, but how hard and important it is to write convincing utopias!!!
And so I light another candle at my shrine to KSR. Ommmmm.
December 15, 2013
Now this started off as a great book, and then seemed to be getting even better. Robinson's good "The Lucky Strike" (an alternate history about a WW2 bomber pilot deciding to sabotage the nuking of Hiroshima), which he wrote over twenty years ago, is followed by "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions", a wonderful poetic rumination on the nature of history, on the interplay between "historical laws" and unpredictable phenomena... this, i must say, was a treat, six-star material, and on its own it made this super-short book easily worth the read. Robinson's examples and wishes as expressed in this little reflection may be on the conservative end of Marxism, but his use of quantum vs. Newtonian physics as a metaphor for different ways history operates was dead on.
That's why the final section of the book, a lengthy interview, was such a disappointment. Only briefly touching on Robinson's ideas about history as expressed in his two pieces in the book, the questions seemed to alternate between the trivial and SF shop talk. When one inane question about Robinson's feelings about Pluto not being planet elicited a potentially interesting answer ("it's a good lesson in words"), there was no follow-up.
This is the kind of interview that would be really useful to a young person who is considering becoming an author, but which was really boring to me as someone who already enjoys Robinson's writing as a reader, and who is interested in his political ideas. Not in how he feels about being a political SF author, but about what his actual politics are.
This is all the more disappointing as PM is one of the most exciting new political publishers to start up in the past few years, and one would imagine that whoever was conducting the interview would have enough knowledge of Marxism, anarchism, and political origanizing to be able to "go there" with Robinson.
That's why the final section of the book, a lengthy interview, was such a disappointment. Only briefly touching on Robinson's ideas about history as expressed in his two pieces in the book, the questions seemed to alternate between the trivial and SF shop talk. When one inane question about Robinson's feelings about Pluto not being planet elicited a potentially interesting answer ("it's a good lesson in words"), there was no follow-up.
This is the kind of interview that would be really useful to a young person who is considering becoming an author, but which was really boring to me as someone who already enjoys Robinson's writing as a reader, and who is interested in his political ideas. Not in how he feels about being a political SF author, but about what his actual politics are.
This is all the more disappointing as PM is one of the most exciting new political publishers to start up in the past few years, and one would imagine that whoever was conducting the interview would have enough knowledge of Marxism, anarchism, and political origanizing to be able to "go there" with Robinson.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2015
Kim Stanley Robinson's alt-history of the bombing of Hiroshima, is a compact but powerful gem. Told in 57 pages from the perspective of backup bombardier, Captain Frank January, the story imagines what might have happened had the Enola Gay crashed during a practice run and a man of particular conscience been forced to make the run instead. January is a rich and interesting character struggling with a devil's choice, and the moral dilemma is detailed and realistic. But that is only part of why I loved this book. The story is followed by an essay… basically a study in the basics of alternate history plausibility with respect to the covering law model of historical explanation which was mind-bendingly fascinating. And after that: an illuminating interview with the writer. That interview (along with my growing love of his work with each story I read) has catapulted Stan to my literary heroes list.
I also want to call out , PM Press, the publisher of this book in particular and their Outspoken Author series in general, for launching such an innovative line. Featuring the work of Ursula K Le Guin, Karen Joy Fowler, Cory Doctorow, and Nalo Hopkins to name a few, each thin volume focuses on one of "today’s edgiest fiction writers" and showcases "their most provocative and politically challenging stories," including in-depth interviews, commentary, bio and bibliographic data." I cannot wait to read more. http://www.pmpress.org/content/articl...
I also want to call out , PM Press, the publisher of this book in particular and their Outspoken Author series in general, for launching such an innovative line. Featuring the work of Ursula K Le Guin, Karen Joy Fowler, Cory Doctorow, and Nalo Hopkins to name a few, each thin volume focuses on one of "today’s edgiest fiction writers" and showcases "their most provocative and politically challenging stories," including in-depth interviews, commentary, bio and bibliographic data." I cannot wait to read more. http://www.pmpress.org/content/articl...
January 9, 2016
I might have read at least some of this before. It's an alternate history story, where Col. Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, crashes his plane and dies a few days before he's supposed to fly the mission to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A backup crew flies instead. The outcome may be different.
The Scribd book I read consisted of the long story The Lucky Strike, a speculative essay ("A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions"), and an interview with the author. I skimmed over parts of the essay first pass through, because it's a little difficult. But I went back and read it all, and liked it the second pass. The interview (by Terry Bisson, another writer I quite like) was good too.
I don't always get Kim Stanley Robinson, I think. I DNF The Years of Rice and Salt, even though that seemed like a really promising idea. But this was good.
The Scribd book I read consisted of the long story The Lucky Strike, a speculative essay ("A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions"), and an interview with the author. I skimmed over parts of the essay first pass through, because it's a little difficult. But I went back and read it all, and liked it the second pass. The interview (by Terry Bisson, another writer I quite like) was good too.
I don't always get Kim Stanley Robinson, I think. I DNF The Years of Rice and Salt, even though that seemed like a really promising idea. But this was good.
May 19, 2016
The Lucky Strike collects a short story and an essay about alternate history by Kim Stanley Robinson. At the end, readers are treated to an interview with the author. It is part of a larger series of publications that highlight “outspoken authors.”
“The Lucky Strike,” the short story, is an alternate history about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this world, however, Frank January chooses to drop the bomb early so as to minimize human casualties. He hopes that the Japanese will surrender when they realize the destructive power of atomic bombs.
Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
“The Lucky Strike,” the short story, is an alternate history about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this world, however, Frank January chooses to drop the bomb early so as to minimize human casualties. He hopes that the Japanese will surrender when they realize the destructive power of atomic bombs.
Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 21, 2012
Not really a book, just one story. Nice story. I could see myself getting back into science fiction a bit more.
The bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a thing that is just too big for history. We don't look directly at it very often. It still hurts the eyes. I was surprised, once this story veered off into the realm of alternate history, how desperately I was hoping for a happy outcome. It seems like maybe alt-history offers "fantasy" in the truest sense of the word.
The bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a thing that is just too big for history. We don't look directly at it very often. It still hurts the eyes. I was surprised, once this story veered off into the realm of alternate history, how desperately I was hoping for a happy outcome. It seems like maybe alt-history offers "fantasy" in the truest sense of the word.
April 27, 2020
This book includes the novella, "The Lucky Strike," along with an essay and an interview. The novella is an alternate history story, in which Col. Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, crashes his plane and dies a few days before he's supposed to fly the mission to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A backup crew flies instead. I can't say more about that, and exactly what changes, without giving too much away, but it's an excellent story. I have never read Robinson's short fiction before, but I was impressed.
Next is an essay, "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" that uses the novella as a jumping-off point to looks at different models of historical analysis, from the point of view of a world where the first story is the true history. This was pretty dense, but it was interesting.
There are some great bits in the interview. I liked what KSR had to say about writing The Years of Rice and Salt:
"It came to me in the late 70s and it was indeed a kind of AHA moment, in that I was thinking about alternative histories, wanting ideas, and thought of the one for The Lucky Strike, too, and looking over the alternative histories I decided what was needed was the most major change you could think of. that did not simply change the game so much that it wiped away everything... Because you want comparison. So I was thinking, well what would be the biggest change that would still work in terms of comparison to our history, and it seemed to me that Europe's conquering the world was so big that if it hadn't happened -- and then it hit me, and I said Wow and ran to write it down quick before I forgot it ... So, once I had the idea, I knew I couldn't write it, that what it implied was beyond what I was capable of expressing. I wondered if I would ever be capable of such a thing (I have a couple of good ideas I've never written because I can't think how to yet) but after the Mars novels I figured I had worked out the method, and I was feeling bold. I'm glad I wrote it when I did; I don't know if I have the brain cells for it now. Although that's partly that book's fault, because I blew out some fuses writing that one that were never replaced."
Next is an essay, "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" that uses the novella as a jumping-off point to looks at different models of historical analysis, from the point of view of a world where the first story is the true history. This was pretty dense, but it was interesting.
There are some great bits in the interview. I liked what KSR had to say about writing The Years of Rice and Salt:
"It came to me in the late 70s and it was indeed a kind of AHA moment, in that I was thinking about alternative histories, wanting ideas, and thought of the one for The Lucky Strike, too, and looking over the alternative histories I decided what was needed was the most major change you could think of. that did not simply change the game so much that it wiped away everything... Because you want comparison. So I was thinking, well what would be the biggest change that would still work in terms of comparison to our history, and it seemed to me that Europe's conquering the world was so big that if it hadn't happened -- and then it hit me, and I said Wow and ran to write it down quick before I forgot it ... So, once I had the idea, I knew I couldn't write it, that what it implied was beyond what I was capable of expressing. I wondered if I would ever be capable of such a thing (I have a couple of good ideas I've never written because I can't think how to yet) but after the Mars novels I figured I had worked out the method, and I was feeling bold. I'm glad I wrote it when I did; I don't know if I have the brain cells for it now. Although that's partly that book's fault, because I blew out some fuses writing that one that were never replaced."
November 21, 2025
Both stories are included in the 2010 short story collection 'The Best Of Kim Stanley Robinson' – which collects 23 stories – so if you have that, or plan to get it, the question is if that interview merits the purchase.
"The Lucky Strike" is an alternative history set at the end of World War 2. I enjoyed it very much, even though I accidentally read a huge spoiler on Goodreads. Mildly unfortunate, it also shows Robinson’s power: appreciation for this story doesn’t hinge on the power of surprise.
The story envisions an alternative course for the end of WW2: the Enola Gay crashes during an exercise, and as a result Little Boy will be dropped on Japan by a different crew. The bombardier becomes Frank January, instead of Thomas Ferebee.
‘Frank’ being a recurring name in Robinson’s oeuvre, here he’s a stand-in for the conscientious objector. Other stuff is recognizably KSR as well, like FDR worship, an emphasis on the astonishing nature of human beings, and great writing about the vastness of our planet.
With limited means, Robinson manages to paint convincing characters – young, tribal, testosterone military men with emotions that are understandable given the stressful war environment. His understanding of consciousness shows: “The mind struggles longer in its traps than any fox.” The story is nuanced, but at the same time I felt Robinson’s choice to portray Frank as reader a form of tribalism itself: team emphatic readers vs. team non-reader brutes.
Whether the attacks on the city centers were necessary is up for debate. There’s an interesting comment by Paul Burgess on kimstanleyrobinson.info about the matter. Yes, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings might have saved more lives than they costed. But remarks like that miss the point of this story – especially if you read it together with A Sensitive Dependence. The Lucky Strike isn’t so much about mapping out a valid, realistic leftist alternative history, but is about the choices we can make as individuals.
(...)
Full review on Weighing A Pig
"The Lucky Strike" is an alternative history set at the end of World War 2. I enjoyed it very much, even though I accidentally read a huge spoiler on Goodreads. Mildly unfortunate, it also shows Robinson’s power: appreciation for this story doesn’t hinge on the power of surprise.
The story envisions an alternative course for the end of WW2: the Enola Gay crashes during an exercise, and as a result Little Boy will be dropped on Japan by a different crew. The bombardier becomes Frank January, instead of Thomas Ferebee.
‘Frank’ being a recurring name in Robinson’s oeuvre, here he’s a stand-in for the conscientious objector. Other stuff is recognizably KSR as well, like FDR worship, an emphasis on the astonishing nature of human beings, and great writing about the vastness of our planet.
With limited means, Robinson manages to paint convincing characters – young, tribal, testosterone military men with emotions that are understandable given the stressful war environment. His understanding of consciousness shows: “The mind struggles longer in its traps than any fox.” The story is nuanced, but at the same time I felt Robinson’s choice to portray Frank as reader a form of tribalism itself: team emphatic readers vs. team non-reader brutes.
Whether the attacks on the city centers were necessary is up for debate. There’s an interesting comment by Paul Burgess on kimstanleyrobinson.info about the matter. Yes, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings might have saved more lives than they costed. But remarks like that miss the point of this story – especially if you read it together with A Sensitive Dependence. The Lucky Strike isn’t so much about mapping out a valid, realistic leftist alternative history, but is about the choices we can make as individuals.
(...)
Full review on Weighing A Pig
May 6, 2021
This early 1985 short story by KSR is bound in a slim volume with "A Sensitive Dependence on Early Conditions" and "A Real Joy to be Had", which is an extended interview of KSR.
The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb, and it was Tibbetts who flew the B-29. In "The Lucky Strike" Tibbetts crashes his plane and crew days before the fateful flight, so that another crew with bombardier Frank January instead that carries the bomb. The way things work out, because January can't escape from the visions of what a 4mile kill radius means to a city, is skillfully painted and the rest, as they say, is history.
KSR then takes you to the uncertainties of quantum mechanics and historical events as phenomena in the unfolding of time lines, which is further explored in the second segment of the book. The challenge is whether a single small event will change things in large ways downstream in time, or whether indeed, no matter what small or large events occur, downtime events remain fixed. Whatever it may be, an action in itself faces an unknowable existential consequence, and yet one must decide.
The third segment is an interview with KSR which touches on his feelings about the responses of others to his particular mixture of people narratives with fact (or science) narratives, which he defends with some heat. This is coming from an author who has already received widespread accolade in the reading public (not just the SF public), and so he will continue.
I still believe that in fiction, which is by definition "made-up", that some care is appreciated if the author in narratives about non-people, takes some effort to help the reader distinguish what is reality (the moon revolves around the earth while keeping one face to it), and what is not real (time-travel), what is purely speculative (the wireless transmission of megawatts of power).
My key problem in this area is with the description of fiscal tools in "The Ministry of the Future" but thankfully, this slim volume offers no such challenges, so I was able to enjoy KSR's skillful story telling to the max.
The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb, and it was Tibbetts who flew the B-29. In "The Lucky Strike" Tibbetts crashes his plane and crew days before the fateful flight, so that another crew with bombardier Frank January instead that carries the bomb. The way things work out, because January can't escape from the visions of what a 4mile kill radius means to a city, is skillfully painted and the rest, as they say, is history.
KSR then takes you to the uncertainties of quantum mechanics and historical events as phenomena in the unfolding of time lines, which is further explored in the second segment of the book. The challenge is whether a single small event will change things in large ways downstream in time, or whether indeed, no matter what small or large events occur, downtime events remain fixed. Whatever it may be, an action in itself faces an unknowable existential consequence, and yet one must decide.
The third segment is an interview with KSR which touches on his feelings about the responses of others to his particular mixture of people narratives with fact (or science) narratives, which he defends with some heat. This is coming from an author who has already received widespread accolade in the reading public (not just the SF public), and so he will continue.
I still believe that in fiction, which is by definition "made-up", that some care is appreciated if the author in narratives about non-people, takes some effort to help the reader distinguish what is reality (the moon revolves around the earth while keeping one face to it), and what is not real (time-travel), what is purely speculative (the wireless transmission of megawatts of power).
My key problem in this area is with the description of fiscal tools in "The Ministry of the Future" but thankfully, this slim volume offers no such challenges, so I was able to enjoy KSR's skillful story telling to the max.
October 15, 2021
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
I just discovered this "PM Outspoken Authors" series of books (by PM Press) and as I am a tremendous fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's work, his was the first volume I chose to read.
This book, almost a chapbook really, contains Robinson's short story/novelette "The Lucky Strike" and his short story/essay "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" and an interview with Robinson, conducted by Terry Bisson. Both stories center around an alternate history idea of the dropping of the atomic bombs over Japan.
"The Lucky Strike" focuses on Captain Frank January, the bombardier on The Lucky Strike, which is scheduled to make the atomic bomb drop after there are problems with Enola Gay. But January learns of the destructive power of the bomb and has second thoughts about making the drop. One man's decision has massive, world-wide effects.
"A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" is a look at 'the butterfly effect' and its use in alternate history stories.
I enjoy listening to Robinson talk (I have heard him a couple of times, in person) and I really liked his reflection and comments in the interview with Bisson.
I don't know that this is a great reflection of Robinson's writing - I'd recommend either his Mars series or his West Coast series before I'd recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with Robinson's work. But for anyone who enjoys a good, solid science fiction story, as well as a conversation with an intelligent, out-spoken science fiction author, then this is a small volume that is worth reading.
Looking for a good book? Kim Stanley Robinson's The Lucky Strike, a part of the PM Outspoken Author's book series, could be a quick read, but the power in the short works leaves the reader with a great deal to think about.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
I just discovered this "PM Outspoken Authors" series of books (by PM Press) and as I am a tremendous fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's work, his was the first volume I chose to read.
This book, almost a chapbook really, contains Robinson's short story/novelette "The Lucky Strike" and his short story/essay "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" and an interview with Robinson, conducted by Terry Bisson. Both stories center around an alternate history idea of the dropping of the atomic bombs over Japan.
"The Lucky Strike" focuses on Captain Frank January, the bombardier on The Lucky Strike, which is scheduled to make the atomic bomb drop after there are problems with Enola Gay. But January learns of the destructive power of the bomb and has second thoughts about making the drop. One man's decision has massive, world-wide effects.
"A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" is a look at 'the butterfly effect' and its use in alternate history stories.
I enjoy listening to Robinson talk (I have heard him a couple of times, in person) and I really liked his reflection and comments in the interview with Bisson.
I don't know that this is a great reflection of Robinson's writing - I'd recommend either his Mars series or his West Coast series before I'd recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with Robinson's work. But for anyone who enjoys a good, solid science fiction story, as well as a conversation with an intelligent, out-spoken science fiction author, then this is a small volume that is worth reading.
Looking for a good book? Kim Stanley Robinson's The Lucky Strike, a part of the PM Outspoken Author's book series, could be a quick read, but the power in the short works leaves the reader with a great deal to think about.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
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