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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Future Past by Subrat Sahoo : A Review



BOOK TITLE: Future Past
ISBN: 9789382473909
AUTHOR: Subrat Sahoo
GENRE: science fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 127
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone / Short stories
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The author’s representative sent us a Review Copy. We thank her for this!
REVIEW:
          Future past is a book of eight short stories and a poem, each with a different theme.
In An Outside:
          A spaceship and its crew find themselves faced with a queer barrier in space. A time warp pushes them into an outside. The crew has no idea what constitutes the barrier. It seems to be living and pulsing. Meanwhile, a patient onboard gets seriously ill and no treatments seem to work. When the connection between these two is revealed, the reader is surprised. Well written, though really unpredictable story.
Never A Next:
          A test for the feasibility of a robot. A thrilling chase and a twisted end make this short story readable, though the sudden jump in context is confusing. Easy language, narrated in first person, so the twist in unforeseen. Clear visuals all through the story.
Rites Of Passage:
          A beautiful female from another planet visits earth for research. Her host, a young man, is naturally attracted towards her. But when the decent man decides to act upon his attraction, the consequences are far reaching. The story is descriptive, gentle, explanatory and the ending, though vague, fits the short story mould well.
Future Past:
          The title story. A scientist in earth creates an experiment for time warp and when he tests it, something from the past hurtles forward, breaking down the boundaries of time. Based on an unexplained fact of history, this story is one different experience that leads us to delve into research for the historical fact. The language is good, the last paragraph is excellent.
The Good, The bad and the Gone:
          A kid tries to raise a pet and is given one by his father, who is a scientist. The mother, who is against creature abuse, is torn between seeing her son happy and freeing the creature. When the suspense of the creature’s species is revealed, the story takes the reader for a nice bumpy surprise. Nicely written, far fetched, teases the alternate perspective of the mind.
Simple Physics:
          A substitute professor teaches a class simple quantum physics. On one topic, an average grade student brilliantly provides a simple solution for a very complex war. But as they say, simple physics can be used only once, and better methods should be used for better results the next time. Too much of technical jargon makes the story less interesting for anyone who doesn’t like physics. To understand the crux, you need to read till the penultimate page, and you will have the patience only if you love physics, or hate leaving stories unfinished.
Mastering God:
          A short but heavy poem about the concept of God creating Man and Robots being Man made creations. Depth of meaning, clarity and brevity make this one of the best pieces of the book.
Reprieve:
          Shortest story. A spaceship is bounded towards an unknown planet that has resources aplenty. But the crewmember of the spaceship decides to buy the planet some more time. Nicely written, but abrupt and leaves you gaping to search for a page more.
The Story Of The Greatest Event That Never Happened:
          In future, a part of a spaceship acts as a time warp. Crew members age dramatically, the engines are running but the ship is not moving, stuck between two time frames. Back in the present, in earth, a random man hears the messages from the spaceship and the logs of the captain. Longest story of the lot, with emphasis on time warp.
WHAT I LIKED: The bold, new concepts.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: Some technical jargon and abrupt endings, though interesting to a sci-fi enthusiast are not entertaining to a normal reader.
VERDICT: Go for it if sci-fi is your fare.
RATING: 3.8/5
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback
PRICE: Rs. 125 for paperback
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