"Danny Goes to Mars" is a science fiction short story by American writer Pamela Sargent. It was first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, in October 1992.
Plot summary
[edit]After new developments in rocket propulsion enable a trip to Mars to be completed in weeks instead of months, Vice-President Dan Quayle is persuaded to join the crew of the first mission — and becomes its sole survivor.
Reception
[edit]"Danny Goes to Mars" won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette of 1992,[1] and was a finalist for the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[2]
Paul Di Filippo described it as "wicked satire".[3] The Sun-Sentinel considered it to be "affectionate", noting that although "Sargent gently mocks Quayle's intellectual and spiritual limitations", she also portrays him as having genuine courage;[4] similarly, Mark Pitcavage considered Quayle "a likeable and earnest dimbulb".[5] Geoffrey Landis, writing in 1993, described it as "amusing (but) outdated".[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Danny Goes to Mars, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ 1993 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ The many guises of literary fantasy -- from comic short stories to slip-stream fiction to mega-novels of alternate history., by Paul Di Filippo, in the Washington Post; published December 15, 2002; retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ FANTASY, TERROR, by Monica Strand, in the Sun-Sentinel; published June 12, 1994; retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ Master of the Universe, by Mark Pitcavage, in the Washington Post; published May 29, 1994; retrieved January 31 2019
- ^ Science: Mars Missions, originally published in Science Fiction Age, May 1993, archived at GeoffreyLandis.com; retrieved January 31, 2019