Title: Technosphere
Author: George Saoulidis
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 6, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction
Length: 5 pages
Source: I received a free copy from the author.
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb:
A hoarder planet is not feeling so well. Must have been something it collected. Will the AI tasked to repair the technosphere manage to find what’s causing the quakes?
Content Warning: Hoarding, but portrayed in a funny way.
Review:
A little spring cleaning goes a long way.
I loved the humour in this short story. So much of the science fiction I’ve read these past few years has contained dark themes that I really needed to switch things up a bit and be reminded of the lighthearted possibilities in this genre. While I can’t go into much detail about what, exactly, was funny about a planet that was hoarding resources without giving away spoilers, it was important to keep a playful approach to the characters as they revealed what they’d been up to.
There were a few fantastic references to other science fiction universes here that made me smile as well. The storyline did still make sense without them, but readers who know what the author is talking about will have some wonderful Easter Eggs to look forward to. That is exactly how these things should be written in my opinion as it leaves room for everyone to enjoy what is happening instead of closing certain passages off to those who might have not read certain older works yet.
The last page or two was what convinced me to give this a full five-star rating due to how Mr. Saoulidis struck the right balance between answering some of the reader’s questions while leaving other ones up to our imaginations. Would I have loved to have even more closure? Yes, of of course, but I was left with enough information to imagine what would probably happen next as well as having a decent understanding of how this planet ended up in such a predicament in the first place.
Technosphere was a refreshing break from the serious matters in life.