Last Train Outta Kepler-283c Edited
by
David Boop
(Baen Books, November 2024, 272 pp, pb)
“Time Marches On” by Kevin Ikenberry
“Last Train to Clarkesville” by Steve Miller & Sharon Lee
“The Rogue Tractor of Sunshine Gulch” by Kelli Fitzpatrick
“Living by the Sword” by David Mack
“The Ballad of the Junk Heap Gun Man and Mistress Bullet” by M. Tod Gallowglas
“This World Belongs to the Monsters” by Dr. Chesya Burke
“Jasper and the Mare” by John E. Stith
“Support Your Local Audit Chief” by D.J. Butler
“Grace Under Fire” by Lezli Robyn
“Last Transport to Kepler-283c” by Christopher Smith
“The Double R Bar Ranch on Alpha Centauri 5” by David Afsharirad
“Not My Problem” by Mel Todd
“Enjoy Every Sandwich” by Mark L. Van Name
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
Several years ago, I reviewed the collection Straight Outta Dodge City, a collection of weird western fantasy stories. Now the same editor, David Boop has put together Last Train Outta Kepler-283c, a collection of science fiction stories set on planets that mimic the old west in some way.
It starts out with “Time Marches On” by Kevin Ikenberry where Jessica Francis, a member of the Peacemakers, a type of interplanetary police force, ends up on the Morel Station, a space station run by Apexx Solutions and discovers something sinister is up. A criminal is also on the station. The story was a bit routine, and I didn’t find Jessica particularly interesting. It is part of a series that I haven’t come across, so it may have been better if I had been familiar with the series.
Sharon Lee and the late Steve Miller’s “Last Train to Clarkesville” is about a posse going after a criminal and hoping to catch him before a dangerous storm hits. It turns out that things are more complicated than thought at first. Decent characters, and the situation is not bad, but the story is told in a series of flashbacks that makes it confusing.
“The Rogue Tractor of Sunshine Gulch” by Kelli Fitzpatrick states its premise in the title: there’s a problem with an AI tractor. It has become self-aware—supposedly impossible. Polla “Jack” Jackson and Tig Holloway come out to find it and to wipe its memory so it can get back to work. But when they find the tractor, they learn that there are some serious threats. Interesting situation, and overall a decent story.
Wsi Ying is a preteen girl on the planet Arcadia in “Living by the Sword” by David Mack. People of Chinese descent are not very welcome, but her father is trying to make it as a farmer and needs to get parts for his drone, which has been shot down. When a couple of toughs threaten him, the woman Xin Yi shows up, and rescues them. She goes home with them and soon after, takes them out to discover an alien device. Xin Yi has a criminal past, and this device is important to her plans. Interesting character study with a pretty good ending twist.
“The Ballad of the Junk Heap Gun Man and Mistress Bullet” by M. Tod Gallowglas is ambitious in form: It tells the story in the form of a sestina. Sort of. I love complicated poetic forms, but expect people using them to stick with their rules. The poem does not, and tells the tale of a woman who seeks revenge that is pretty pedestrian. Bonus points for trying it this way, but the poem is taking the easiest elements of the form (sort of) and leaving behind what makes a sestina a challenge.
“This World Belongs to the Monsters” is set in the distant future, when the Earth is uninhabitable due to toxic fumes. David Wale is sent to find Mary, Queen of Wagons, a legendary figure who was the only one to win a war against the government of the other human planets. He convinces her to come back to help. Mary is a hard-ass and goes with him to help with an alien threat. Dr. Chesya Burke has constructed a western setup but resorts to mysticism to solve the issues, plus the story ignores the initial setup.
“Jasper and the Mare” by John E. Stith is a slight piece where Jasper Kroft is riding to capture some bank robbers. The story starts out interestingly but becomes an excuse for Ye Old Switcheroo.
D.J. Butler contributes “Support Your Local Audit Chief.” Set in the town of Arrowhawk Post, it’s a town that’s the equivalent of a railhead for a cattle drive. John is an accountant for the Company that runs the town and has become the one who keeps order. It’s usually a simple job, but a group of cowboys come to town with their herds, and are there to raise hell. Frankly, other than the use of ray guns, this could have appeared in any pulp Western magazine of the 40s. It seemed too predictable to me and didn’t do much with the concept.
“Grace Under Fire” by Lezli Robyn postulates a world where the various communities live in domes separate from each other. Each dome sets up its own society and the one in question has chosen a wild west theme. Grace was a bounty hunter who stayed and had a daughter Hope. When Hope is kidnapped by the new bartender, Frank, Grace gives chase. A theme common in this anthology, but this story stands out because of the mystery of what’s going on and on the twist at the end, which shines a new light on everything that took place.
Christopher Smith’s “Last Transport to Kepler-283c” follows an attempted hijacking of a cargo ship. Gene Larson is part of the hijackers, a last job before he retires. You know what happens in that situation, and it does: things go bad. Interesting setup, if a bit clichéd overall.
“The Double R Bar Ranch on Alpha Centauri 5” by David Afsharirad has the most imaginative scenario in the book: it’s 1956 and The Roy Rogers Show has decided to improve its flagging ratings by moving everything to a science fiction milieu. A treatment was made: All the characters were moved to a space colony, but the story deliberately sticks with the type of western plot that the show has. Interesting surprise at the end and it works as science fiction, though it might be a problem for people who never saw the show. (If you did, the story will make you smile in recognition.)
Julius Cornlance—Lance—in “Not My Problem” by Mel Todd is on the run, accused of a murder he did not commit. He pulls into Free Fuel Pit, a space station that allowed ships to mine fuel for free—but charged them for everything else. When Lance arrives, though, no onr seems to be there and he needs to figure out what’s going on. I didn’t find it particularly engaging.
Mark L. Van Name’s “Enjoy Every Sandwich” has Jon on the run from bounty hunters when he puts into the planet Gash, which has a western theme for the tourists. He goes to a saloon that’s an “EatSafe” property, where weapons are not allowed. He is soon joined by Adeela, one of the bounty hunters, who urges him to finish his meal and leave, where he is likely to be killed. Jon works to delay that problem. The dialog between Jon and Adeela (and between Jon and various robots) makes the story stand out.
While I did like the original western anthology, this suffers by comparison. There are many fantasy and SF concepts that can be adapted to the old west, but giving a science fictional veneer to westerns has far fewer options and many of the stories show similar setups.
Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate are available from Fantastic Books.