A Boy and His Satellite - David Vining - A Collection of Short Stories

A Boy and His Satellite
A Collection of Short Stories
David Vining
ISBN 9781980760580
ASIN B07BYFYFL9


My introduction to the works of David Vining was the collection of short stories, A Light in the Darkness. I picked it up after his novel, The Battle of Lake Erie: One Young American's Adventure in the War of 1812, was recommended by and author I greatly enjoy. I loved the short stories in that first collection and before I had finished it and the novel I had purchased all 5 collections of short stories that had been published up until that date. This was the third collection of Vining’s stories I have read and by far I consider it the best. It is a great collection of science fiction short stories.

The stories in this volume are:

A Trip to Bohn-96 
You Load 16 Bits, and What Do You Get? 
Halfway 
B 
A Boy and His Satellite

Usually when you read a collection of short stories there is a favorite and a least favorite. This collection was a little different. Yes, there was a favorite story, A Boy and his Satellite, but there was no least favorite. Vining tackles some interesting themes in this collection. From the evolution of a religion on an isolated generational ship carved into giant meteors, to a man who has a cockroach teleported under his skin leading to some serious psychological issues. There is also the intriguing story, that takes place mostly in queue to prepare for a faster than light transport. But as mentioned the story that fascinated me most was A Boy and his Satellite, in many ways it reads like some of the shorter work of Frank Herbert or even Robert A. Heinlein. This collection is worth the price for just this one story. And to be honest I would love to see this story developed into a novel about the main character. The hints that are given in this story could be elements in an epic story.

As mentioned this is the third collection of short stories by Vining I have read. I have thoroughly enjoyed each of them. This was a fantastic read and I look forward to more from the pen of David Vining!

Books by David Vining:
A Quest Through Winter Sleep
The Battle of Lake Erie: One Young American's Adventure in the War of 1812
Crystal Embers
The Sharp Kid

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Collections of Short Stories:
Shoes for Two Soldier Sons
Old Magic in a New World
A Light in the Darkness
Mutiny!
A Boy and His Satellit
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Author profile and interview with David Vining.