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michaeldrakich's review
2.0
First off, for those who are seeing the two-star rating and looking for why it is less because of the content than the actual magazine. My copy was missing pages 20, 21, 22, 23, 64, 65, 66, and 67 making it impossible to read Part TWO of Captain Future In Love and Reset In Peace. This is a major faux pas.
Now as to the content.
Like the first issue, this one featured a number of articles for light reading. An EDITORIAL by Ira Nayman, NINA ALLEN INTERVIEW by Gary Dalkin, CITIZENS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM by Jack Clemons. SF IN FILM by Steve Fahnestalk and OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD by Shirley Meier. All are interesting in their own way.
As to the short stories included, here are my reviews.
CAPTAIN FUTURE IN LOVE, PART TWO by Allen M. Steele. Being unable to finish this was most disappointing as I had read Part ONE in the first issue and even though I was not impressed then (only 2 stars for the first half) I still wished to finish it and read all the way to the part where the pages were missing. I didn't see any improvement in the story or the writing but due to it being incomplete I will not give a rating.
ROBOT ON RAMPAGE by Lena Ng. This is a short story for children. (8 and under) Cute, as all children stories should be with a comical aspect to it. 4 stars
THE ASTEROID CONTENTION by Marina J. Lostetter. Two sisters representing different companies vie for a small asteroid for mining purposes. Accidents happen. Does family win out? Also, the asteroid isn't what it seems. This felt too much like the first part of a novel and left me with an unfinished feeling. 2 stars
BOLD NEW FLOCK by Neal Holtschulte. Mankind is gone and birds rule the world. One bird wants to restore traditional dance to his society. Meh. 3 stars
THE RANSOM OF RED ROBOT (BETA) by Daniel M. Kimmel. A heist to steal a prototype robot goes awry. The robot is peeved and vindictive over having no ransom value. Time for vengeance. 3 stars
REPUBLIC OF THE BLIND by Scott Huggins. You ever get a feeling an author is trying to use science fiction for a political message? For this one, I did. People on a colony who are all deficient in their bodies in different ways, blind, deaf, quadriplegic, etc., fight off perfect humans. 3 stars
REST IN PEACE by Julie Novakova. Sadly, this one was also missing pages so no review.
ALISON'S BLUFF by Noah Chinn. A poker game where the contestants have the ability to project images on the cards. Lots of bluffing and a good bet on who wins with consequences. 4 stars
A HORSE AND HER BOY by Vonnie Winslow Crist. On a remote base, a boy is given a talking robotic horse by his parents who stays by his side all his years till death. A sad tragic story. 4 stars
Although a couple of the stories were good, nothing wowed me. Normally, I would have given it three stars but the missing pages dropped it to two. 2 stars
Now as to the content.
Like the first issue, this one featured a number of articles for light reading. An EDITORIAL by Ira Nayman, NINA ALLEN INTERVIEW by Gary Dalkin, CITIZENS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM by Jack Clemons. SF IN FILM by Steve Fahnestalk and OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD by Shirley Meier. All are interesting in their own way.
As to the short stories included, here are my reviews.
CAPTAIN FUTURE IN LOVE, PART TWO by Allen M. Steele. Being unable to finish this was most disappointing as I had read Part ONE in the first issue and even though I was not impressed then (only 2 stars for the first half) I still wished to finish it and read all the way to the part where the pages were missing. I didn't see any improvement in the story or the writing but due to it being incomplete I will not give a rating.
ROBOT ON RAMPAGE by Lena Ng. This is a short story for children. (8 and under) Cute, as all children stories should be with a comical aspect to it. 4 stars
THE ASTEROID CONTENTION by Marina J. Lostetter. Two sisters representing different companies vie for a small asteroid for mining purposes. Accidents happen. Does family win out? Also, the asteroid isn't what it seems. This felt too much like the first part of a novel and left me with an unfinished feeling. 2 stars
BOLD NEW FLOCK by Neal Holtschulte. Mankind is gone and birds rule the world. One bird wants to restore traditional dance to his society. Meh. 3 stars
THE RANSOM OF RED ROBOT (BETA) by Daniel M. Kimmel. A heist to steal a prototype robot goes awry. The robot is peeved and vindictive over having no ransom value. Time for vengeance. 3 stars
REPUBLIC OF THE BLIND by Scott Huggins. You ever get a feeling an author is trying to use science fiction for a political message? For this one, I did. People on a colony who are all deficient in their bodies in different ways, blind, deaf, quadriplegic, etc., fight off perfect humans. 3 stars
REST IN PEACE by Julie Novakova. Sadly, this one was also missing pages so no review.
ALISON'S BLUFF by Noah Chinn. A poker game where the contestants have the ability to project images on the cards. Lots of bluffing and a good bet on who wins with consequences. 4 stars
A HORSE AND HER BOY by Vonnie Winslow Crist. On a remote base, a boy is given a talking robotic horse by his parents who stays by his side all his years till death. A sad tragic story. 4 stars
Although a couple of the stories were good, nothing wowed me. Normally, I would have given it three stars but the missing pages dropped it to two. 2 stars
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