Book Review: After the Vikings by G. David Nordley
This collection of “tales of future Mars” was first published as an adjunct to a conference on possible first contact and the planet Mars.; the stories had individually appeared in Analog and Asimov’s magazines. When the author realized he’d written them from furthest in time to closest, he decided on a framing sequence involving alien archaeologists excavating Mars in the very far future when Sol has become a white dwarf.
- “Morning on Mars”: Humans are now unthinkably old, and a new species is on the brink of succeeding them. There is time, still, for a celebration of life.
- “The Day of Their Coming”: Humans make first contact with intelligent aliens. Some of the Martian colonists discover that they may have more in common with the aliens than their fellow humans.
- “Comet Gypsies”: A family is nearly done harvesting a comet for terraforming materials, and the oldest child will soon have to leave the only home she’s ever known. No one in the story is Roma, I suspect the author was unaware of how problematic the word “Gypsy” is.
- “A Life on Mars”: A medical emergency sparks a trip on a dangerous experimental ship. But even if a life is saved, can a family be put back together?
- “Martian Valkyrie”: A tale of the first expeditions to Mars. Sexism and nationalistic rivalries may doom everyone. But the beginning can wrap around to the end, and the collection’s title has more than one meaning.
The stories take place in a relatively hard SF universe; there’s no faster than light travel or communication. Despite my quibble about the title, I liked “Comet Gypsies” best, for its balance of science and human drama.
As with many small press books, there are a couple of proofreading errors, a dramatic reveal is spoiled in one story because half the word is missing. There are a couple of non-explicit sex scenes, which may be problematic for young readers or their parents.
This is a nice collection of decent stories, and deserves to be more widely known.
