"Fallen Spaceman" is a science fiction short story by Australian writer Lee Harding. It was first published in the June 1971 issue of If : Worlds of Science Fiction.

Plot summary

Mattaro, the spaceman of the title, finds himself along and abandoned in orbit around a planet after his ship, the Star Wind, unexpectedly accelerates away from him while he is undertaking a routine, exterior inspection of the ship's drive systems. With only a few hours of oxygen left in his spacesuit he must find a way to get to the planet below and somehow survive.

Critical reception

Writing in SF Commentary Bruce Gillespie called this story " a good yarn and very well told." He went on: "A few Hardingisms remain (Harding characters tend to 'shiver' in times of danger and lapse into panicked italics) but not many."

Publication history

After the story's initial publication in If magazine in June 1971, it was revised and expanded to novella length under the title The Fallen Spaceman. This version was later published as follows:

  • 1973, Cassell, Australia
  • 1975, Cassell, Australia
  • 1980, Harper & Row, USA
  • 1982, Bantam Skylark, USA

Award

Note

You can read the full text of the story on the Internet Archive.

See also