Dreams of the Rocket Man

by C. Stuart Hardwick

A boy finds his own dreams in helping fulfill those of a retired aerospace engineer.A Jim Baen Memorial Award finalist and Tangent Online Recommendation first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact."Hugo Worthy" - SFRevu“It's not often that I'm moved to tears by a story about rocket science.” - Reader"This story really reached me. It lives in the zone somewhere between Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, Hickam’s Rocket Boys, and Heinlein’s Requiem... I felt myself pulled through time as a story that could have been set back in the 50s or 60s slowly moved forward... The effect was like the world expanding, and also growing brighter and less sepia..."

37 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2019

About the author

Winner of the Jim Baen and L Ron Hubbard Writer’s of the Future awards, C. Stuart Hardwick is a regular in Analog magazine, known for hard sci-fi that soars through the cosmos, exploring the depths of human nature and the mysteries of space and time. His evocative prose, enriched by scientific rigor, ignites the imagination and leaves an indelible mark on the human mind.

When he’s not at the keyboard or on his bicycle, Stuart can often be found building or dismantling things with equal glee, helping electrons find their way across the lonely Texas power grid, or developing new novel writing software when he should, just maybe, be writing new novels instead.

Reviews

[Carolynn]

I prefer fantasy to sci-fi, but this story pulls you in and keeps you there until the last word on the page. The sci-fi I do like is reminiscent of the old 30's-40's stuff--still mostly dreaming and wonder at the possibilities. This story reminds me of that. If you like the old style, seat-of-your-pants, scientists/inventors exploring what they could do to reach new worlds, then this is for you. Give it a try--you may discover a new author to give you amazing stories to entertain you and delight your mind!

[Christian Dechery]

Too much rocket lingo

The tale is good, it has heart, and written professionally. But what is with all that rocket science lingo? Sure, being sci-fi and all, some is expected, but here it covers half of all words use in it. Gets boring after a while.

[Jackie]

Fabulous!

[Elissa]

This is a truly delightful tale that elegantly combines "hard" science, coming of age, aging, and speculative science fiction in a single, well-crafted story.