A new Sean McMullen story is always and one that delivers a fresh original angle on first contact is even better. Like in “Saving Galileo” telescopes are central to the plot. Only this time much much bigger. Size of a planet times bigger.

Analog November/December 2024

We follow Dr. Connell on the large telescope construction Mirrorstar that is built in the outer skirts of the solar system. Humans have observed similar gigantic telescopes in other solar system and have decide to build one too. It is tracking a planet 33 light years away and the story begins with Connell being informed of a dead crew-member and he has to investigate what is the first death on this mission so far.

The dead crew-member appears frozen, but maybe she is not entirely dead. She appears to have been changed through something coming through the giant telescope from the far away planet. While this may sound a bit like a horror setup, it fits mostly within the hard sf category. There is a methodical approach to events with logical conclusions.

What especially shines is the depth of the characters. All with interesting back stories and well developed personalities with strength and weaknesses. As much as I enjoyed the concept McMullen presents here, I do wish he could have used for something greater. But this may very well be just a first setup for following stories on Mirrorstar.

Read in Analog November/December 2024
Rating: 4