Planetesimal Dawn: 11/04/08

In "Planetesimal Dawn" Wolverton and Nozaki find themselves on the wrong side of a sun rise on asteroid LGC-1. To escape the certain death in the heat and radiation of the sun they chose to jump into a crater they hadn't previously noticed. From there things go from bad to worse and finally to weird.

More than anything the story reminded me of one of the modern incarnations of Doctor Who. The one that comes to find first is "Silence in the Library" for the eerie undertones and perhaps "The Impossible Planet" for the setting.

Although I did ultimately enjoy the story, I struggled with it. I had to reread the first half of the story about three times before I was able follow it. Of course the historic presidential election was competing for my attention.

What I did enjoy about the story was the setting, the truly alien species, the time bubbles and the way the way Nozaki grows as a character. The story could have been better with a more coherent opening and tighter characterization for Wolverton. His motivation is finally explained at the end but I wanted to know more about him early on.

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