Jay Lake's "The Dead Man's Child" (short story, star travel, free)

This is one of the innumerable variations of Heinlein's very well known "Universe" (download MP3 of radio adaptation): huge spaceship on its centuries spanning voyage to somewhere among the stars at a slower than light speed, where most residents have forgotten the purpose of the voyage & take the ship for the world. And someone is about to get enlightened.

Fact sheet.

First published: Cosmos. When?
Download full text from publisher's site.
Rating: B.
Related: Stories of Jay Lake.

Free fiction: 4 stories from JBU, #19 (June 2009)

At Webscription:

1. [scifi] David Brin's "Gorilla My Dreams"; download.
2. [scifi] Jay Lake's "Leopard"; download.
3. [scifi] Bud Sparhawk's "Winds of Mars"; download.
4. [fantasy] Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's "The Resident"; download.

* Jay Lake's "The Fly and Die Ticket" (short story, science fiction)

"Rajamurtha drive" aka "r-drive" is a spaceship engine that can move vessels faster than light - making interstellar travel possible for humans.

Only it sometimes does something to matter surrounding it - including the vessel itself & the human tissue. This something makes the affected matter extremely dangerous to normal matter - means all matter infected, including infected humans, needs to be dumped to some secret sterile world where no normal human will ever go.

Story is about the fate of Manny - a veteran of many voyages who has now caught this matter sickness. He is now isolated & banished from humanity forever - to die on this secret world.

I found the plot utterly flimsy, & narrative rather casual.

Fact sheet.

First published: "Subterranean" magazine, Fall 2007.
Rating: B
Download full text.

Note: Why is this post so short?

* Jay Lake's "Chewing Up the Innocent" (short story, non-genre)

A man makes the choice between family & personal happiness, & chooses the later.

Fact sheet.

First published: Clarkesworld, February 2007.
Rating: B
Download full text.

Note: Why is this post so short?