Book Review: Not With A Bang by A. Andrew Tantia

So, imagine you're a guy, sat in a fairly average garden, with another guy. You've got a bit of a lawn, some trees, sounds ok so far. But what if Earth has been destroyed, this garden is the biggest chunk left and the human race has bascially had it? That's what John and Robin are facing in this comic short story. They are floating in space, protected from the atmosphere by a field generated by their spaceship's computer MAL(made me think of HAL in A Space Odyssey) The two are on the edge of despair until MAL comes up with a plan. Their predicament takes on biblical proportions, but will they be able to save mankind?

This short story took me less than an hour to read, perfect for the train trip home, and had me amused. There isn't a lot of time to flesh out the characters although strangely I felt like I got a good sense of MAL, the computer.

It's a clever little take on a story that is familiar to most of us and unlike a lot of short stories I've been reading recently the author brings the plot to a pretty definite conclusion, without too many lingering questions. This book definitely made me think of Hitchhikers and Red Dwarf, so if they are your cup of tea it's worth a look.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*