Review: The First Space Dustman
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 11, 2013
Wow! What an incredible idea for a story.Harry Mitchell, ex military man who has worked with both the Bomb Disposal Unit and later the Demolition Corps, has sold all of his assets and taken out a loan so that he can take travel into space and take up a post with SHEARA, the Space Habitat Environmental and Recycling development Agency.Harry's job will take him away from all of his family and friends for a very long time whilst he goes out and recovers the huge amount of waste metal that is orbiting the earth. Once recovered he then takes it back to his space station to be smelted down and recycled.Harry knows that eventually the ISS will approve the expansion plans for the space stations and with all the valuable metal that he has salvaged, he will surely become a very wealthy man. However until the plans progress then he will have to scrape by selling satellites and antennas that he has recovered.Harry is surprised when he makes a drop off to discover that he will now have another salvager working with him. Harry is not impressed with his new companion, former astronaut Brad and is unhappy about sharing the recycling unit with anyone, after all he took this job to get away from everyone.After a short while working together Brad offers to buy out Harry. Brad advises Harry that he desperately wants to bring his nephew into space and that is why he wants to buy his stake.Harry is not interested in selling up and promptly declines Brad's offer.Things get very tense as all kinds of strange accidents occur and Harry reluctantly decides to sell his post to Brad but is it too late.......A truly fantastic, beautifully written space adventure. The only criticism is that I wish it had been longer.