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When two strangers ask the manager at Kabul Station to take them into the Afghanizone he refuses. What sane person wouldn't? Thought to be the result of an alien visitation, the zone is deadly. Nothing works there. Electrical items are your enemy; they malfunction or simply blow up. The pair go in anyway, and the biggest surprise is when one of them walks out again. Nobody survives the zone, so how has she? In The Man Who Would Be Kling, award-winning author Adam Roberts delivers an intriguing story that evokes the spirit of the Strugatsky Brothers' Roadside Picnic while also paying homage to both Rudyard Kipling's classic tale and to fans of Star Trek. One of four independent novellas by four different authors that form NewCon Novella Set 5: The Alien Among Us… (more)
User reviews
As a pastiche of 'The Man who Would be King' this works quite well. There are also lot of references for the general sci-fi fan, with numerous Star Trek references, and it apparently also pays homage to [Roadside Picnic] (but I've never read this one so can't comment). But I had absolutely no idea what was going on outside this. I've really enjoyed some of Adam Roberts other works, but this wasn't one of his better ones. And definitely gets the prize for worst cover too ...
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