Man, when that music kicked in, I was practically screaming at the radio. "That's it?? Did I miss something? WTF?!"
There was quite a bit I liked about this story. I liked the science, the brown dwarf is a nice change from our typical asteroid collision scenario because even if it misses the planet, the destructive gravitational forces will still spell doom for the entire planet. And I'm
really intrigued by this idea.
I liked the relationships. It was nice to have a stable character in a strong relationship because so many apocalypse tales tend to feature people in rocky or already shattered relationships so that the situation will either make or break them. Plus, being in a relationship where I actually have very little in common with my wife, interest-wise, I found this situation very easy to relate to. So I really liked that.
And I loved the scene at the end with her family. I mean, this obviously isn't the last meal they're going to have together, but it might be the last
peaceful meal they get. Now that the news is out, who knows what's going to happen. Even though the end is decades away, odds are pretty good that social collapse is already knocking at the door.
As many others have already pointed out, the abrupt ending was a huge disappointment. Thankfully, the immediate promo for the Apocalypse Triptych answered my WTF right off the bat. But that's also what irritated me about this story.
Because it wasn't a story. It was a teaser.
"Here's some characters for you to become emotionally invested in, here's the crazy, terrible, tragic situation they're faced with... wanna know more? Buy the next installment for only $17.95! We accept cash, check, or credit card. Operators are standing by!" (Just kidding, who accepts checks anymore?)
Now, don't get me wrong, I
love the idea of the triptych and will likely pick up all three. I'm a huge sucker for apocalypses, too. And I don't even think McDevitt meant for this to be such a teaser, but that's exactly what it is. I'm sure the story will continue and conclude in the next two anthologies, but I think he could have found a way to make this story feel a little more complete before leaving us hanging.
The premise of an astrophysicist turning thirty causing a scramble for notoriety and discovery of a slow motion apocalypse is rather far fetched and somewhat stereotypical... Would she not have been concerned about this all through her career?
She was concerned about this throughout her career. It was only when she turned thirty and
still hadn't accomplished anything that she became desperate and started looking for other ways to make her name before it was too late.
The fact that the object ended up bearing the name of some other astronomer was a subtle and beautiful touch--her comet, first herald of the apocalypse though it may be, would still be a lesser legacy.
You know, only when I want to quote a story does the transcript not get posted with the story on the blog. So I don't have the exact reference, but I'm pretty sure the MC's name is Miriam, and they named the brown dwarf the Miriam Object, or something like that. I'm pretty sure it
was named after her. Correct me if I'm wring.