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Month in review

Reviews:
Bronte's Book Club by Kristiana Gregory
Cat and Mouse by Günter Grass
Destination Moon by Georges Remi Hergé
Doctor Who and the Three Doctors by Terrance Dicks
The Egyptian Box by Jane Louise Curry
Explorers on the Moon by Georges Remi Hergé
Fairy Glade and Other Enchanting Stories by Dawn Beaumont-Lane
Firehorn by Robert Reed
Fishing, for Christians by Tim Roux
The Girls by Helen Yglesias
The Glenn Miller Conspiracy by Hunton Downs
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Harriet's Hare by Dick King-Smith
I Spy Fantasy by Jean Marzollo
Land of Black Gold by Georges Remi Hergé
The Motorman's Coat by John Kessel
The Mouse, The Cat and Grandmother's Hat by Nancy Willard
Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman
Mysterious Magical Circus Family Kids: The Chocolate Cake Turkey Lip Crumb Trail Mystery Adventure by R. Hawk Starkey
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
One Bright Star to Guide Them by Mark C. Wright
Poor Puppy by Nick Bruel
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
A Rebel in Time by Harry Harrison
Retrograde Summer by John Varley
The Second Ship by Richard Phillips
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
She and I: A Fugue by Michael R. Brown
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke by Roald Dahl
A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt
Warrior from Heaven by Kermit Zarley



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Rating System

5 stars: Completely enjoyable or compelling
4 stars: Good but flawed
3 stars: Average
2 stars: OK
1 star: Did not finish


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Retrograde Summer: 07/25/09

I posted the earlier review of Harriet's Hare by Dick King-Smith on automatic not even remembering that Saturday is my science fiction short story day.

My life is upside down right now with the sudden news that I've been laid off and today was just busy. We had a birthday party for Sean, almost a month early, because my brother in law and his wife are expecting their first child. Her due date is the same as what Sean's was. So we're joking that she might end up sharing his birthday too.

"Retrograde Summer" is a classic reprint in the June /July issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story takes place on Mercury and is the meeting between clone siblings. Why one is a boy and one is a girl and they are otherwise genetically the same confused me at first. I think were I more awake I would have enjoyed "Retrograde Summer" from the first page. Instead, it took me about 2/3 of it before I really got into it.

The history of these two siblings and the reasons behind their separation, their different genders and how life on the different planets is possible comes out in their walks on Mercury. Near the end they are stranded and the clone sister connects all the dots both for her confused brother and for us.

Ultimately "Retrograde Summer" is an examination of family, gender and over-population. The story reminds me very favorably of "Exit Strategy" by K. D. Wentworth (FSF, March 2008).

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