Tight Squeeze

by Dean Charles Ing

He knew the theory of repairing the gizmo all right. He had that nicely taped. But there was the little matter of threading a wire through a too-small hole while under zero-g, and working in a spacesuit!

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1955

Reviews

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. It had an interesting story that kept me involved and invested in the outcome right to the end.

There is even a bit of classic Pulp drama at the end where McNamara passes out, and we are left wondering....will he die? Oh! He's the narrator of the story, so I guess he doesn't.

But what had me chuckling was, as McNamara was desperately trying to fix the problem, little annoying mishaps kept on happening. Like when he dropped his pliers, or he got bumped by moving machinery, or when he had to ad lib his repair job with the only tools on hand.

Being someone who has had to do countless repair jobs at home and at work, I can wholely sympathize with the fustration he was going through. It's like, what is supposed to be a simple repair, suddenly becomes a case of averting a major disaster, as one new complication after another keeps popping up, solely with the express purpose of making you want to scream in fustration!!! Nice bit of writing there.

And speaking of good writing, I like how all three of our characters, McNamara, Ruiz and Logan are nicely fleshed out and feel like full, substantial characters simply with a few bits of description and little character moments. They felt like real people.

An enjoyable read. A little technical but recommended for those who like that kind of stuff.

[Craigjtmp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tight Squeeze by Dean Charles Ing. A short story about the isolation of a space repair technician. Some dude has to do repairs in space, his recorded voice checklist drives him crazy and his tanks run out and he almost dies. Can he get the job done? Can they squeeze him through the airlock during the rescue? Can he save the station? Will the pressure be too much?

[IMHO · Rating 4 out of 5]

RECOMMENDED

Tight Squeeze by the Master of Story Telling Dean Ing is a little outdated because of it's age
but it is still a gem in short story form.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci fi short.

Dean ing freebie from 1955 magazine. Suitable for teens and adults. A story about emergency repairs on the way to a space station.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science Fiction , rocket , procedural, repair in space

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mac goes through his preflight safety inspection with a fine-tooth comb. He tell the others: we don't wasn't another Wyld, the ship that crashed with such disastrous results.

While Ruiz and Logan poke fun, Mac continues to inspect.

This is an old fashioned space tale, with more servos and activators (but oddly no guns) than women.

Please read the full review here.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of how even the most inspected ship can still fail and the troubles with in flight repairs.

Well recorded and read, a good voice.

I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.

[Chris Aldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of “short science fiction collection vol. 003 - LibriVox “. Problem for an astronaut/ maintenance engineer while attempting to dock with a space station. Pretty good and well narrated. Also in 013 narrated by Greg Margarite. 34:32

[Veronnica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short read about a spaceship internal adventure.