A fairly interesting story ruined by a nonsense ending.
Humanity depends on machines, and no one really knows how to fix them when they break - except for the Gypsies. Enter one broken space ship and one Gypsy. Not a new concept, but it\'s done well enough to hold interest until the end...
I don't care a great deal for Twain, but he is nonetheless a thought-provoking writer. And that, I suppose, has always been his intent.
This collection of stories ranges from pretty good to boring. They are an interesting insight into the head of a man who didn't seem to be able to accept anything as it was.
This story is in no way, shape, or form Sci-Fi. It is purely fantasy, with no science involved. Having been written almost a hundred years ago, the language and story conventions are a bit archaic, and sometimes hard to follow. There are other oddities that detract from the story - such as building up a secondary character (the secretary), only to drop her from the story without a reasonable explanation. Beneath these drawbacks lurks a moderately interesting tale.
A detective becomes involved with intrigue surrounding the engagement of his friend to a mysterious woman. From there we have murder and a bit of the occult (in the form of Egyptian superstition). Ultimately, we discover the well-trodden need to sacrifice life to continue in power.
Nothing new or terribly interesting here, but the story was done well enough to keep me from tossing it before the end.
My number one criteria for judging any story is whether or not it engages the reader. In that respect, this story has it covered. I didn't particularly care for the ending, or this might have been a 5-star feature.
If I could sum up the entire thing in one word, it would be - weird. A very different sort of story in a dystopian future. Both foes and allies, our heroes are simply trying to survive. It is interesting to follow along, but there is no real end goal to be reached.
A fairly interesting story that will keep your attention to the end. Unfortunately, the pacing is pretty slow - the author needs to work on this. Also, the sporadic use of extremely foul language, and the total lack of morality within the story are turn-offs. Also, it's never really clear who the main character is - we jump from head to head quite a bit without centering on any particular character.
An ancient galactic empire is threatened, with world as mere pawns, and entire civilizations put at risk. Our heroes must overcome incredible challenges to unravel the mystery of who's who, while attempting a desperate attempt to save their own lives.
A highly engaging story with lots of action and intrigue. Well written, good characterization, and a good plot. However, there is an annoying use of Asian (Chinese?) phrases with frequency, however the phrases are never explained. Also, one of the main characters, who has a lot of interesting quirks and special abilities, is never fully explained. Overall, quite a good tale.
A team of traders with former military experience get wound up in a local corruption case, and things go from bad to worse to worse. Lots of intrigue, lots of jumping to backstory, and lots of military jargon.
I have to give this story 4 stars because it is so well done. However, I don\'t like the darkness of it, with no redeeming light. Also, the ending is way too open for my liking.
A telepathic boy and his telepathic dog have extreme parent troubles.
It doesn\'t get much cheesier than this, folks. The author injects artificial space-themed jargon at every turn to make this seem like a futuristic story. If you can\'t predict the ending by the halfway point, you must be half asleep.
In a society where pregnancies are controlled by geneticists, a couple decides to go against the grain.
Recent comments: User reviews
Humanity depends on machines, and no one really knows how to fix them when they break - except for the Gypsies. Enter one broken space ship and one Gypsy. Not a new concept, but it\'s done well enough to hold interest until the end...
...and then you are hung out to dry.
This collection of stories ranges from pretty good to boring. They are an interesting insight into the head of a man who didn't seem to be able to accept anything as it was.
A detective becomes involved with intrigue surrounding the engagement of his friend to a mysterious woman. From there we have murder and a bit of the occult (in the form of Egyptian superstition). Ultimately, we discover the well-trodden need to sacrifice life to continue in power.
Nothing new or terribly interesting here, but the story was done well enough to keep me from tossing it before the end.
If I could sum up the entire thing in one word, it would be - weird. A very different sort of story in a dystopian future. Both foes and allies, our heroes are simply trying to survive. It is interesting to follow along, but there is no real end goal to be reached.
An ancient galactic empire is threatened, with world as mere pawns, and entire civilizations put at risk. Our heroes must overcome incredible challenges to unravel the mystery of who's who, while attempting a desperate attempt to save their own lives.
Terrans try to figure out how to communicate with aliens that just don\'t seem to hear things the way all other sentient beings do.
A team of traders with former military experience get wound up in a local corruption case, and things go from bad to worse to worse. Lots of intrigue, lots of jumping to backstory, and lots of military jargon.
A telepathic boy and his telepathic dog have extreme parent troubles.
A space crew is faced with loss of their power supply. Pirates and other calamities follow.
In a society where pregnancies are controlled by geneticists, a couple decides to go against the grain.