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Allen Steele



"Across the Eastern Divide"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Feb 2002
Coyote, 2002
--novella : 2003 Asimov's Reader Poll /7
--/ cool sf novella

"The Boyd Hunt"
(Coyote series)
© Star Colonies, ed. M. Greenberg, 2000
Coyote, 2002

"Coming To Coyote"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Jul 2001
Coyote, 2002
--novella : 2002 Asimov's Reader Poll /5
--/ cool sf novella

"Coyote" (coll)
(Coyote series)
© Ace Books, 2002
--sf novel : 2003 Locus /5
--/ cool sf collection
--/ adventure award

"The Days Between"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Mar 2001
Coyote, 2002
--novelette : 2002 Hugo
--novelette : 2002 Locus /8
--novelette : 2002 Asimov's Reader Poll /3
--novelette : 2003 Nebula

--/ fourth place space sf novella
--/ idea award
--/ adventure award
--/ wonder award
--/ emotion award


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"The Death of Captain Future"
(Captain Future series)
© IASFM, Oct 1995
--novella : 1996 Hugo W
--novella : 1996 Locus /6
--novella : 1996 Asimov's Reader Poll /7
--novella : 1996 SF Chronicle /2
--novella : 1997 Nebula
--foreign short fiction : 1998 Seiun W


A noble effort. This is genuinely heart-warming! Somebody not only remembers Captain Future, but sets out to write a tribute to the old "salty dog of the spaceways". On top of that, this somebody is not some novelty or one-shot-parody producer like Silverberg or Mike Resnick or such, but a toughened space fiction professional Allen Steele. No wonder I started to read this novella with a pleasant goosebumps of expectation, waiting to lap up the successful entry like a grateful puppy. But this was not to be. I was disappointed. The adventure is there, the aliens and villains are more sophisticated and street-smart, the polit-correctness (in the form of pervading cynicism) is there as well, and the charm is irrevocably gone. I am not even speaking of yellowed pulp pages charm and cheesy dialogue and primitive plot charm, which would be a good riddance after all, but the romance of the spaceways and the gleam in the eye of an intrepid space explorer are gone... Supressed by smooth (and quite unexciting) story-telling, run-of-the-mill "reality show" dialogue and the general contemporary feel - which in its "Ikea" enthusiasm did away with the fancy baroque embellishments of Forties pulp fiction. Still it's a good effort (it even won a Hugo award), but it will not be added to my "Captain Future" collection, even as a successful parody. To be a parody, or even a pastiche, it needs a good deal more excitement and humour. However, as it stands, it's quite flat and unmemorable (like eating tofu cheese). Alastair Reynolds would've done a better job, with more flair and colour.
review: 14-Oct-06 (read in 2005)



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"Doblin's Lecture"
© Pirate Writings #10, 1996
All American Alien Boy 1999
--short story : 1997 Locus Poll

"The Exile of Evening Star"
(Captain Future series)
(Near Space series)
© IASFM, Jan 1999
Sex and Violence in Zero Gee, 1999
--novella : 2000 Locus /14
--novella : 2000 Asimov's Reader Poll /8

--/ cool sf story
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find

"Glorious Destiny"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Dec 2002
Coyote, 2002
--novella : 2003 Asimov's Reader Poll /2
--/ cool sf novella
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award


"Liberty Journals"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Oct 2001
Coyote, 2002
--novelette : 2002 Asimov's Reader Poll /10

"Lonesome And A Long Way From Home"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Jun 2002
Coyote, 2002
--/ cool sf novella

"The Madwoman of Shuttlefield"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, May 2003
--novelette : 2004 Asimov's Reader Poll /4

"Mecca"
(Foundation series)
© Isaac Universe Vol.2, ed. M. Greenberg, 1991
--/ cool space sf story

"Mudzilla's Last Stand"
© IASFM, Jan 1993
All-American Alien Boy, 1996
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ idea award


"The Return of Weird Frank"
(Diamondback Jack’s series)
(Near Space series)
© IASFM, Dec 1991
Rude Astronauts, 1993
--novelette : 1992 Locus /17 (tie)
--novelette : 1992 Asimov's Reader Poll /10 (tie)

--/ fourth place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ emotion award
--/ style award
--/ shock value

"Stealing Alabama"
(Coyote series)
© IASFM, Jan 2001
Coyote, 2002
--novella : 2002 Hugo
--novella : 2002 Locus /6
--novella : 2002 Asimov's Reader Poll W

--/ cool sf novella
--/ wonder award

"A Walk Across Mars"
© Mars Probes, ed. P. Crowther, 2002
--/ cool space sf story

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"The War Memorial"
© IASFM, Sep 1995
--short story : 1996 Asimov's Reader Poll /2
--/ cool sf story

A platoon undergoes an attack in a Moon War battle. One soldier survives an initial blast, but the impact renders his combat armor useless, forcing him to watch the decimation and wonder if he will suffocate or be rescued. An intense military sf story, justly reprinted in the "Future War" anthology.
review: 24-Aug-06 (read in 2000)

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"Zwarte Piet's Tale"
(Near Space series)
© Analog, Dec 1998
--novelette : 1999 Hugo
--novelette : 1999 Locus /13
--novelette : 1999 AnLab W

--/ fourth place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award


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