Sunday, October 12, 2008

"Still on the Road", Geoffrey A. Landis

SS, ASFM (Asimov’s Science Fiction) December 2008 – science fantasy
A couple of guys travel the roads, driving from place to place. But their vehicle isn’t a car, it’s a spaceship. They give another guy a ride to a planet near Arcturus.

A very short story - less than two pages. It has a folksy feel to it.

"New Hat", Connie Willis

SS, Rocky Mountain News 9/30/08 - fiction
In 1924 a timid young woman named Clara travels alone to Denver to enquire about her Uncle Matt’s will. She realizes something about herself and her fiancĂ© Kane.

There are no fantastic elements in this story. This is a pleasant piece of short fiction.

I read this story on good, old-fashioned paper. But here's a link to read New Hat online on the Rocky Mountain News website.

Friday, October 10, 2008

"Way Down East", Tim Sullivan

NT ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) December 2008 - science fiction
Two New England lobstermen, Donny Doyle and Laurent Therriault, offer to take the alien visitor from Gliese 581e (the Gleezer) out on the bay in their boat, along with its security detail.

In this story two working class guys are changed by their brief encounter with an unusual-looking empathic alien.