Backscatter

by Gregory Benford

Life might emerge under the most unlikely conditions...or in the last extremity.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2013

About the author

Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.

As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another adventure of Claire (a hot pilot) and Erma (a smartass AI), who you may recall seeing in Benford's "The Worm in the Well"(1995, 4 stars) and "The Worm Turns" (2007, 3.5 stars). Erma has gotten an upgrade, but Claire's piloting abilities (and/or luck) seem to have slipped. "She was cold, hurt, and doomed, but otherwise reasonably cheery." A first-rate hard-SF space-travel story. More, more! 4+ stars, recommended reading.

Story link: https://www.tor.com/2013/04/03/backsc...

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting short story about a space explorer marooned on a bleak ice planet with only the help of her partly functioning AI. Further help arrives in a couple of surprising ways. A fun quick read.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is freely available online at Tor.com. It's a throwback to old-school science fiction, which is both good and bad. It's interesting hard science (except for a throwaway reference to a wormhole) about a prospector exploring the Kuiper belt. The science is cool. On the other hand, the characterization and dialogue is flatter than I expect in my twenty-first century fiction. The dialogue is between the prospector and her AI, and the parts where the prospector complains about the AI not displaying enough emotion almost made me roll my eyes. Still, it was a neat plot and fit well into the 5000 or so words used.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick sci fi story that takes place on an iceteroid far from the sun. A pilot crashes on this iceteroid and needs to utilize a certain discovery to flag down her ship. I am not sure how well the ending fits into the rest of the story...it seems a bit of aleap to go from one thing to commercial success for another without fully knowing what exactly has been discovered. but i assume if she was from america, then capitalism all the way...

[Kimikimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Tor.com short story

I read this and all I could think about was how they found a new life form and the first thought (and every thought after) was of how to exploit it. I know it's human nature but come on people, aren't you at least interested in study or anything less greedy and awful?

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a pilot and her AI after crashing on an asteroid.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Backscatter is for people who...

...like a little sci-fi in their lives
...are thrilled by a little race against time
...enjoy software that's unintentionally smartass
...find new discoveries exciting
...don't mind a quick conclusion to the story
...need a quickie stand alone to fill their lonely nights

Backscatter was a free book I read on Tor's website on July 10, 2013 for the Why Buy the Cow? reading challenge.

[Jon]

4 stars

Published in early April 2013 on Tor's short story website. For my short review, please visit my blog here: http://bit.ly/117Z5gT

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been commented that this story is like 50's scifi, old school or not this is an entertaining read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5. Too short but it introduces a fascinating concept: life evolving in the vacuum of the Kuiper Belt.