Reviews and Comments

Another fascinating story set in the same setting (but after the events) of the author's story, "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", this one has two agents of the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities looking into the possible haunting of an aerial tram car. But what starts off as a possible 'simple' possession by a djinn evolves into something much darker, as further investigations start to reveal the true nature of the spirit occupying the tram car.

Woven into the tale is a background of female emancipation with a vote to be taken to give women the vote, which would give the agents more food for thought in the involvement of women in their work in the future. Quite a number of interesting secondary women characters are in the story, providing some humour and alternative viewpoints.

In the end, the agents solve the case, but not without some dramatic crisis points in the story.

A fantastic book on the Rosetta space probe and its mission to explore comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) from its conception, the launch, the actual mission itself and the discoveries of the comet that the mission has revealed, so far.

The book starts with a history of what we know about comets from ancient times to now, based on observations from Earth. It then covers some early space mission to explore various comets like Comet Halley. The concept and planning of the Rosetta mission is then covered, followed by the initial attempt to launch it to explore comet 46P/Wirtanen that was aborted, after the failure of a rocket that would have been used to launch Rosetta.

After an examination of the various options, 67P was chosen as the new target for Rosetta and the mission was on its way. But it didn't get there directly: Rosetta had to flyby the Earth and Mars several times to get enough velocity for the rendezvous, and it was tasked to examine other targets (like asteroids) during the journey.

Then, Rosetta arrived at 67P and, following an examination of the comet, the Philae lander was released. Rosetta then followed 67P as it approached and then left the vicinity of the sun. Finally, Rosetta itself was made to land on 67P, ending the mission. But it's not the end of the book. Based on the data from the mission, a summary of what is known about how 67P came about and how it is now is presented in fascinating detail.

If you are looking for a book that covers in detail the management and planning of the Rosetta mission, technical detail on the instruments on the probe and the running of the mission itself (including dealing with the various problems encountered during the mission), this is the book to read.

An interesting story set on a lunar colony, Artemis. The main character, Jazz Bashara, is introduced as a smuggler involved in getting minor prohibited items (like cigars) into the city for her clients. We soon learn that she has apparently made some bad life decisions early in her life that has led her to become estranged from her father and people who thought she would make something of her life due to her high intelligence.

She also has a past debt to pay off, and one day she is given the opportunity to pay if off when one of her clients proposes an audacious sabotage attempt by her in order to corner a market on Artemis. But the attempt goes wrong, and Jazz now finds herself not only a fugitive from the law, but also a target of a mob that is very angry at the sabotage. Running for her life, she has to discover who is after her and the connection to an item that she saw earlier in the story.

More of an SF thriller than a Hard-SF story like the author's previous book, "The Martian", this story also has lots of technical details, but they form more of a background to the story and illuminate how life might be like on a lunar colony. The character of Jazz is shown as not only a smart ass, but also very intelligent, and she would require her quick thinking to save herself from some life-threatening situations. But the solution to the final crisis in the story may well need her to do the ultimate sacrifice to save the city.

The story ends with a short Q&A session with the author, as well as some notes on the economics behind Artemis and getting people to the moon.

An interesting fantasy story that takes its time setting the scene before it starts to introduce its fantasy elements. The main story is told from the point of view of the grandson, whose grandfather came from Pakistan. Via the story, we learn of the grandfather's past and his relationship with a former Princess who ran a small tea stall at a eucalyptus tree, rumoured to be inhabited by a Jinn from the ancient past.

But tragedy would strike (literally) after a boy gets hurt after a fall from the tree. Amid calls to remove the tree as a menace to the community, it get destroyed by lightning, including the stall and the Princess moves away, while the grandfather gradually migrates to the US after adventures in various other places, gradually losing his memory of events apparently due to senility.

All this sounds like a perfectly normal non-Fantasy story until the second half after the grandfather passes away and the grandson gets possession of his grandfather's hidden diary. In numerous strange entries, he learns the apparent real history of his grandfather and his relationship with the princess. Determined to get to the truth, he journeys back to Pakistan.

And there is where the Fantasy start. For upon finding the original place where the eucalyptus tree used to be, he discovers himself in possession of an ancient artefact that may have come from the dawn of time and space and possessed his grandfather. And now he has to choose what is to become of it.

A well told tale that takes its time building up the story, to immerse the reader in the situation before the fascinating revelation.

An interesting tale that starts out like a fantasy story of a lowly Princess asking for the aid of a wizard to fight a demon. But when the viewpoint switches to that of the wizard, we learn that he's actually a very lonely off-world anthropologist studying the culture on a colony world and despairing at getting contact with his own home world.

In a collision of culture and world-views about magic and technology indistinguishable from magic, they (and a few others) would forge a bond as they confront the demon, which the wizard assumes is 'just' a local bully with advanced tools scavenged from the colony's initial technological days. But both would learn that the demon is more than it seems and some magic may be that: magic and not just advanced technology.

Resolving the problem of the demon may be anticipated by attentive readers, but the ending is still a nice touch as the relationship between the Princess, the wizard and the culture he is studying would change.

A nice, average issue with fun stories by Andrew Peery, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Larry Hodges, J. Scott Coatsworth, Eleanor R. Wood, Janis Ian and Mike Resnick. Between the stories are appreciations by numerous writers about Mike Resnick's influence on themselves and the SF community.

• "Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine" by Gerri Leen: it's the end of the world and for two people who knew each other for a long time and then separated, it was time to get together again and enjoy each other's company one last time.

• "Thank You For Your Service" by Andrew Peery: people line up to send their loved ones through an alien machine that can cure them of illness. But not everyone makes it through. And for two of them, the journey would end in both happiness and sadness.

• "Petra And The Blue Goo" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: a librarian at the front desk has to deal with numerous aliens who enter her library for a scavenger hunt. But it all goes wrong when the aliens say they want her books, while she will do whatever she can to stop them from doing so, despite all the blue goo and other nasty things they may do to her books.

• "The Opposite Of Ghosts" by Morgan Welch: an investigator enters a ship that disappeared for days but appears to have been lost of centuries. There's she discovers a man who is no longer a man, having lived for centuries, but who now escapes. And it is her job to hunt him down, using (or by not using) her special talents to see humans by their ethereal form.

• "Biding Time" by Robert J. Sawyer: a murder is committed on Mars. The method is clear (incineration by a rocket blast) but the motivation would only be clear at the end although, like any proper detective story, it would be clear to the reader by the time the suspect is revealed.

• "Blood Wars" by Larry Hodges: a humorous tale of a time when vampires rule the world and human are little more than blood-providing stock. Actual Vampire corporations strive to get their blood-based products on the market and be a hit to vampire consumers. But when the original Dracula gets fed up with rival companies eating into his business, it may need some quick thinking by subordinates to figure out what to do.

• "The Starry Night" by Eric Leif Davin: a fictional tale about a certain painter who paints a certain starry night sky.

• "The Altar" by Eric S. Fomley: a wealthy family in the countryside needs an altar built before tomorrow. But then the builder discovers the reason behind the altar and has to decide whether he should save the family against their wishes; and possibly doom the world.

• "Cadmus P.I." by Philip Brian Hall: a retelling of the founding of Thebes in Greece from the point-of-view of a Greek Private Investigator.

• "Complete Sentence" by Joe Haldeman: a man is sentenced to a hundred year of virtual prison time, equivalent to a physical day. But his lawyer has to race against time to get him out when his appeal is approved. But the question becomes whether he now wants to be free.

• "I Am Salvador" by George Nikolopoulos: a short short about Salvador Dali, his older brother who died young and a fantastical reason for the origins of his surrealist paintings.

• "Eventide" by J. Scott Coatsworth: a man wakes up in an unexpected place, speaking to a woman who turns out to be not human. As they talk, we learn about their past and what may be in store for his future.

• "Lux Nocturna" by Eleanor R. Wood: a horrifying scream echoes through the house every hour, but its owner, a piano teacher, does not know why; not until a certain night when a battle between music and a beast must take place.

• "His Sweat Like Stars On The Rio Grande" by Janis Ian: a story of an America that has build a Wall to isolate itself. Within it, a community of labourers work to harvest the food. But times become hard as their birthrate drops, and the solution would be one of less free will and more effort.

• "Gods Playing Poker" by Alex Shvartsman: periodically, the top gods come together to play a game of skill and chance and to regale each other with tales of their tricks played on humanity. But the greatest trickster god is never present, and never mentioned for he does not exist and even considered a myth by the other gods; or is he?

• "Distant Replay" by Mike Resnick: an entertaining story of an old man who meets with a younger girl who looks and acts much like his wife, who passed away several years ago. As they meet and talk about the strange coincidences, he learns that she isn't happy with her current relationship and can't decide whether to end it or end up in a loveless marriage. The answer would make the old man do one last effort to ensure her happiness before his impending death.