A story that exists in two quantum states : easy to read and not easy to read.
If you want an easy to read story, with lots of dialogue, and not too much to exercise the grey matter, the story remains in that easy to read state. However, if you are the kind of person who, for example, gave up reading Analog some years ago due to the nature of the stories it was publishing, the easiness of reading becomes problematic. It reads like something written 50 years ago.
And, having just written the previous paragraphs, I’ve just realised that this story is a follow on from two previous stories, which I summarised thus :
‘Through Mud One Picks a Way’ (Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2013) – Lacking a bit of subtlety and texture – more like an Analog than an F&SF story, more Aerosmith than Patti Smith. Full review more details
‘The Nambu Egg’ (Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/Aug 2013) – An SF story that failed to engage, on two counts your honour : firstly, it’s mostly dialogue, secondly the protagonist keeps way too much close to his chest. Full review here.
So, safe to assume that if there is a further story in this sequence, I’ll skip it.
