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Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December, 2016
Novellettes
PRODIGAL - Gord Sellar
BLACK ORBIT - Martin L. Shoemaker
Short Stories
LIKE THE DEADLY HANDS - Nisi Shawl
FERMI MEETS SAGAN - Robert Scherrer
JEWELS FROM THE SKY - Brenda DuBois
IN BOONKER'S ROOM - Eliot Fintushel
EVOLUTION - James C. Glass
SISTER: LOKI - Arlan Andrews, Sr.
CROWDFINDING - Eric James Stone
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF TOM CORBETT: SPACE CADET - James Van Pelt
Science Fact
THE NEW SPACE RACE - Christopher MacLeod, PhD.
Poem
WHAT FOSSILS DON'T TELL US - Manny Frishberg
PRODIGAL - Gord Sellar
BLACK ORBIT - Martin L. Shoemaker
Short Stories
LIKE THE DEADLY HANDS - Nisi Shawl
FERMI MEETS SAGAN - Robert Scherrer
JEWELS FROM THE SKY - Brenda DuBois
IN BOONKER'S ROOM - Eliot Fintushel
EVOLUTION - James C. Glass
SISTER: LOKI - Arlan Andrews, Sr.
CROWDFINDING - Eric James Stone
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF TOM CORBETT: SPACE CADET - James Van Pelt
Science Fact
THE NEW SPACE RACE - Christopher MacLeod, PhD.
Poem
WHAT FOSSILS DON'T TELL US - Manny Frishberg
112 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2016
9 people want to read
About the author
Trevor Quachri
100 books27 followersTrevor Quachri (b. 1976) has been the sixth editor of
Analog Science Fiction & Fact
magazine since September 2012.
Previously, he was “a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel.”
Quachri started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog. Former editor of Analog, Ben Bova, was an early influence.
Previously, he was “a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel.”
Quachri started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog. Former editor of Analog, Ben Bova, was an early influence.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 12, 2016
I thought this was a great issue. Favorite stories: Gord Sellar's "Prodigal", "Jewells from the sky", "Crowdfinding". I also loved "Black orbit" for the structure and inventiveness.
November 20, 2016
This is the final issue of "Analog" - As a monthly title. Starting next month, with the January/February 2017 issue, "Analog", like "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction", becomes a bi-monthly title. And rather than go out with a bang, the final monthly issue is a mixed bag of stories, but overall, a fairly decent edition.
Story highlights are the cover novella, "Prodigal" by Gord Sellar, "Crowdfinding" by Eric James Stone (which isn't too far-fetched technologically. Really, that story could almost happen today.) and "Black Orbit" by Martin L. Shoemaker.
Robert Scherrer's "Fermi Meets Sagan" was a cute little tale. I liked it well enough, while Brendan DuBois' "Jewels From the Sky" was fine, but I'm not sure I buy the ending of it. That seems to involve too many skill sets for Amy to have.
I wanted to like Nisi Shawl's "Like the Deadly Hands" more than I did, but it felt a bit disjointed to me. I also wanted to like "In Boonker's Room" (Eliot Fintushel's entry) more. Both stories seemed to be aiming for deeper meanings and I'm not sure I got what the authors were aiming for. James C. Glass' "Evolution" was also a bit on the philosophical side, but it worked better I thought.
"Sister: Loki" by Arlan Andrews, Sr. was good, but nothing special to me and I generally do like his work in the pages of "Analog". As for James Van Pelt's "The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet"? I'm not sure it really qualifies as science fiction. Maybe sf of "The Twilight Zone" type. It's well told and all, but it could easily be published in a non-genre book or magazine and fit there just as well in "Analog".
Really, this wasn't a terrible issue. But not necessarily a great one either.
Story highlights are the cover novella, "Prodigal" by Gord Sellar, "Crowdfinding" by Eric James Stone (which isn't too far-fetched technologically. Really, that story could almost happen today.) and "Black Orbit" by Martin L. Shoemaker.
Robert Scherrer's "Fermi Meets Sagan" was a cute little tale. I liked it well enough, while Brendan DuBois' "Jewels From the Sky" was fine, but I'm not sure I buy the ending of it. That seems to involve too many skill sets for Amy to have.
I wanted to like Nisi Shawl's "Like the Deadly Hands" more than I did, but it felt a bit disjointed to me. I also wanted to like "In Boonker's Room" (Eliot Fintushel's entry) more. Both stories seemed to be aiming for deeper meanings and I'm not sure I got what the authors were aiming for. James C. Glass' "Evolution" was also a bit on the philosophical side, but it worked better I thought.
"Sister: Loki" by Arlan Andrews, Sr. was good, but nothing special to me and I generally do like his work in the pages of "Analog". As for James Van Pelt's "The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet"? I'm not sure it really qualifies as science fiction. Maybe sf of "The Twilight Zone" type. It's well told and all, but it could easily be published in a non-genre book or magazine and fit there just as well in "Analog".
Really, this wasn't a terrible issue. But not necessarily a great one either.
May 2, 2017
8 • Prodigal • 14 pages by Gord Sellar
Good+. A childless couple have Benji sentientized (increased mental capacity and vocal changes so they can talk). They love their dog and we follow them along. They miraculously have a baby and start explaining things to Benji. Then there are external influences--TV shows for dogs, other sentietized dogs. I tried to read this vicariously and was a bit put off because it wasn't what I'd do. When I put more distance between me and the characters then enjoy the story more.
30 • Like the Deadly Hands • 12 pages by Nisi Shawl
OK/meh. Carpenter Marie has been a prisoner aboard a ship. She is now going to be downloaded into the body of a trustee and sent to the settlement of Jubilee. Wayna is a prisoner already in Jubilee. We hear and then find out that life on planet is dangerous, but the plans and motives of Wayna and Carpenter Marie are never given. We have no background on these people.
42 • Fermi Meets Sagan • 2 pages by Robert Scherrer
OK/good. A race of genocidal aliens picks up communications from Earth.
44 • Jewels from the Sky • 9 pages by Brendan DuBois
Good+. Amy is working for a salvage company that brings down satallites and retrieves them when they come to earth. We find she was originally with a group that got to the downed satallites first. On their last raid the company caught them and kidnapped her into working for them in space.
54 • In Boonker's Room • 8 pages by Eliot Fintushel
OK. E.W. Boonker shows Saul a game. A box that can show the universe anywhere from the big bang onward with a zoom level from quarks to everything. A lot of talk of cosmological constants and forces.
62 • Evolution • 5 pages by James C. Glass
Good/OK. Tobi starts out as a household cleaning controller, on to a math tutor program, and over hundreds of years evolves.
70 • Sister: Loki • 5 pages by Arlan Andrews
Fair/poor. Loki lives in a war torn society. She is a mercOp linking remotely to her skel. A decent job of world building, but we only follow Loki through one day.
75 • Crowdfinding • 7 pages by Eric James Stone
Very Good+. A drone operator catches a kidnapping as it's taking place. Many other citizens get involved in finding the boy. Then there is a second crime for which the first may have been a diversion. Good mystery element set in a not too distant future that is slightly more connected.
82 • The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet • 8 pages by James Van Pelt
Excellent. Tomika is teased by her grandfather because she has the same name as a fictional hero. When she is old enough she reads some of these stories and takes the nickname to heart. She applies herself dreaming of the time when she can join the Space Academy.
90 • Black Orbit • 14 pages by Martin L. Shoemaker
Very Good/Excellent. An undercover agent in the Jupiter system has the incriminating evidence but her cover is blown and it is going to be a struggle to get the data back to her supervisor.
Good+. A childless couple have Benji sentientized (increased mental capacity and vocal changes so they can talk). They love their dog and we follow them along. They miraculously have a baby and start explaining things to Benji. Then there are external influences--TV shows for dogs, other sentietized dogs. I tried to read this vicariously and was a bit put off because it wasn't what I'd do. When I put more distance between me and the characters then enjoy the story more.
30 • Like the Deadly Hands • 12 pages by Nisi Shawl
OK/meh. Carpenter Marie has been a prisoner aboard a ship. She is now going to be downloaded into the body of a trustee and sent to the settlement of Jubilee. Wayna is a prisoner already in Jubilee. We hear and then find out that life on planet is dangerous, but the plans and motives of Wayna and Carpenter Marie are never given. We have no background on these people.
42 • Fermi Meets Sagan • 2 pages by Robert Scherrer
OK/good. A race of genocidal aliens picks up communications from Earth.
44 • Jewels from the Sky • 9 pages by Brendan DuBois
Good+. Amy is working for a salvage company that brings down satallites and retrieves them when they come to earth. We find she was originally with a group that got to the downed satallites first. On their last raid the company caught them and kidnapped her into working for them in space.
54 • In Boonker's Room • 8 pages by Eliot Fintushel
OK. E.W. Boonker shows Saul a game. A box that can show the universe anywhere from the big bang onward with a zoom level from quarks to everything. A lot of talk of cosmological constants and forces.
62 • Evolution • 5 pages by James C. Glass
Good/OK. Tobi starts out as a household cleaning controller, on to a math tutor program, and over hundreds of years evolves.
70 • Sister: Loki • 5 pages by Arlan Andrews
Fair/poor. Loki lives in a war torn society. She is a mercOp linking remotely to her skel. A decent job of world building, but we only follow Loki through one day.
75 • Crowdfinding • 7 pages by Eric James Stone
Very Good+. A drone operator catches a kidnapping as it's taking place. Many other citizens get involved in finding the boy. Then there is a second crime for which the first may have been a diversion. Good mystery element set in a not too distant future that is slightly more connected.
82 • The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet • 8 pages by James Van Pelt
Excellent. Tomika is teased by her grandfather because she has the same name as a fictional hero. When she is old enough she reads some of these stories and takes the nickname to heart. She applies herself dreaming of the time when she can join the Space Academy.
90 • Black Orbit • 14 pages by Martin L. Shoemaker
Very Good/Excellent. An undercover agent in the Jupiter system has the incriminating evidence but her cover is blown and it is going to be a struggle to get the data back to her supervisor.
January 6, 2019
There were a lot of short stories in this issue, which is a pretty average one.
Prodigal • novelette by Gord Sellar
Dogs are being augmented for sentience and greater intelligence. A childless family gets a smart dog, but the wife gets pregnant soon after. The dog and the child first live as “siblings”, but then the dog starts to question certain things – like killing of the dogs in shelters. A fairly good story – the writing was okay. The radicalization of the dog was not portrayed well enough. The story happens to have some similarities to a Rick & Morty episode I just chanced to watch. ***+
Like the Deadly Hands • shortstory by Nisi Shawl
A woman is apparently uploaded to some sort of host body in a struggling colony or something. There is a shortage of food, stampedes of wild animals, and so on. A very fragmented and hard to follow story – I didn’t get it at all. **½
Fermi Meets Sagan • shortstory by Robert Scherrer
A short short about an alien invasion which was narrowly avoided. ***
Jewels From the Sky • shortstory by Brendan DuBois
A Company (which apparently is practically all-powerful) rescues derelict satellites and sends them to Earth for recycling. (A practice which doesn’t really make any sense – the amount of valuables certainly wouldn’t cover the costs. And as the company has a space station, it would make vastly more sense to recycle satellites in orbit. The cost of sending things into orbit is vastly more than the actual cost of the raw materials itself). The woman who is preparing the satellites is finishing her training. She used to live on Earth, but then something happened. A fairly good story, but the corporation was unreasonably and unnecessarily evil. ****-
In Boonker's Room • shortstory by Eliot Fintushel
An alien – or a god (?) plays a game with a high school kid. It is a simulation (?) where you can see everything anywhere in the universe and fiddle with all constants of the nature and see if life will exist. More of a treaties of things which have different sorts of effects on the universe. ***-
Evolution • shortstory by James C. Glass
A story of how robotic helpers slowly evolve to be more and more helpful for humanity, which is ultimately extremely helpful. Another very short story which is pretty good, but it might have been slightly more detailed and longer. ***+
Sister Loki • shortstory by Arlan Andrews, Sr.
Some sort of virtual reality battle is apparently going on. A lot of sketchy backstory in a pretty confusing and hard to follow story – I didn’t really get into it. ***-
Crowdfinding • shortstory by Eric James Stone
A new technology with cameras everywhere is used to solve a kidnapping (and another crime) by crowd sourcing. A very short story, but not bad at all. ***+
The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet • shortstory by James Van Pelt
When Tomika Corbet turned ten, she learned who Tom Corbet was. She became a fan, which wasn’t always easy: it isn’t common that preteen girls are interested in ancient TV-shows. She is neglected by her parents and she hopes she could join the Space Cadets. And then the story turns to a wish fulfillment fantasy, a pretty good one, though. ***½
Black Orbit • novelette by Martin L. Shoemaker
An undercover agent gets vital information from a space station at a high cost. However, her handler must get her hands on the information for it to be of any use. And that isn't too easy, as the information is on an ore ingot floating in space. More of a scene than as a story - as there was little background, it wasn't easy to really care about the characters. The story starts in the middle of the story and ends in the middle of the story. The writing as such was totally adequate. ***
Prodigal • novelette by Gord Sellar
Dogs are being augmented for sentience and greater intelligence. A childless family gets a smart dog, but the wife gets pregnant soon after. The dog and the child first live as “siblings”, but then the dog starts to question certain things – like killing of the dogs in shelters. A fairly good story – the writing was okay. The radicalization of the dog was not portrayed well enough. The story happens to have some similarities to a Rick & Morty episode I just chanced to watch. ***+
Like the Deadly Hands • shortstory by Nisi Shawl
A woman is apparently uploaded to some sort of host body in a struggling colony or something. There is a shortage of food, stampedes of wild animals, and so on. A very fragmented and hard to follow story – I didn’t get it at all. **½
Fermi Meets Sagan • shortstory by Robert Scherrer
A short short about an alien invasion which was narrowly avoided. ***
Jewels From the Sky • shortstory by Brendan DuBois
A Company (which apparently is practically all-powerful) rescues derelict satellites and sends them to Earth for recycling. (A practice which doesn’t really make any sense – the amount of valuables certainly wouldn’t cover the costs. And as the company has a space station, it would make vastly more sense to recycle satellites in orbit. The cost of sending things into orbit is vastly more than the actual cost of the raw materials itself). The woman who is preparing the satellites is finishing her training. She used to live on Earth, but then something happened. A fairly good story, but the corporation was unreasonably and unnecessarily evil. ****-
In Boonker's Room • shortstory by Eliot Fintushel
An alien – or a god (?) plays a game with a high school kid. It is a simulation (?) where you can see everything anywhere in the universe and fiddle with all constants of the nature and see if life will exist. More of a treaties of things which have different sorts of effects on the universe. ***-
Evolution • shortstory by James C. Glass
A story of how robotic helpers slowly evolve to be more and more helpful for humanity, which is ultimately extremely helpful. Another very short story which is pretty good, but it might have been slightly more detailed and longer. ***+
Sister Loki • shortstory by Arlan Andrews, Sr.
Some sort of virtual reality battle is apparently going on. A lot of sketchy backstory in a pretty confusing and hard to follow story – I didn’t really get into it. ***-
Crowdfinding • shortstory by Eric James Stone
A new technology with cameras everywhere is used to solve a kidnapping (and another crime) by crowd sourcing. A very short story, but not bad at all. ***+
The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet • shortstory by James Van Pelt
When Tomika Corbet turned ten, she learned who Tom Corbet was. She became a fan, which wasn’t always easy: it isn’t common that preteen girls are interested in ancient TV-shows. She is neglected by her parents and she hopes she could join the Space Cadets. And then the story turns to a wish fulfillment fantasy, a pretty good one, though. ***½
Black Orbit • novelette by Martin L. Shoemaker
An undercover agent gets vital information from a space station at a high cost. However, her handler must get her hands on the information for it to be of any use. And that isn't too easy, as the information is on an ore ingot floating in space. More of a scene than as a story - as there was little background, it wasn't easy to really care about the characters. The story starts in the middle of the story and ends in the middle of the story. The writing as such was totally adequate. ***
December 22, 2023
Once again I'm in awe of the imaginations and storytelling abilities of current SF writers. My mind feels pleasantly stretched.
I especially liked "Prodigal", "Evolution" and "The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet."
I especially liked "Prodigal", "Evolution" and "The Continuing Saga of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet."
Read
March 16, 2017"Prodigal" by Gord Sellar - I thought I'd like this more than I did. The premise of uplifted dogs was intriguing, but the tragic misunderstandings that result are heart-breaking. That made a strange contrast with some scenes that seemed a little too cartoonishly silly. *** (3/14/17)
[This novelette was made available online as one of the finalists in the 2016 AnLab Readers' Awards.]
[This novelette was made available online as one of the finalists in the 2016 AnLab Readers' Awards.]
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews