The Chief Designer by Andy Duncan

“The Chief Designer” is a 2001 science fiction novella by Andy Duncan. It is a fictionalized account of the man in charge of the Soviet Union’s space program during the “race to the moon.”

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Sergey Korolyov is an educated man serving as a slave laborer in Siberia. Not very fun – or productive – especially when he has knowledge of rocket design. It is for this reason that he is freed from prison and charged with leading the Soviet Union’s space program in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Throughout his many years of service he becomes a very well respected – almost revered – hero of the Motherland. Along the way he implements several crucial designs, helps save the lives of many cosmonauts and struggles with constant political power plays.

Aksyonov turned to see a man step out of an elevator set into one of the support pillars. The man walked toward Aksyonov, swabbed his mouth with a handkerchief: heavy-set, fiftyish, with low, thick eyebrows and a brilliant gaze. He wore an overcoat, though the day was warm for autumn.

“You are Aksyonov,” he said, hand extended. He said it as if he had reviewed a list of names in the elevator, and had selected just the right one for the job; if he had said Dyomin or Pilyugin or Molotov, Aksyonov would have answered to it just as readily, then and forever. “My name is Sergei Korolev,” the older man continued, “but you are unlikely to hear that name again. Here I am only the Chief Designer, or the Chief. Welcome to Baikonur Cosmodrome.”

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Andy Duncan is a very good writer, and that makes for easy and pleasurable reading! The conversations held in this story are true works of art – indicative of the high quality of writing in “The Chief Designer” .
• I found it very fascinating to learn about the Russian side of the space race. I grew up learning the USA’s side, and hearing all the tragic as well as inspiring stories, but the only thing I ever learned about the USSR side was that “they lost.” This story provides a refreshing look at the other side.
• Reading about real cosmonauts and famous USSR politicians added even more to this story! I found myself bitten by the history bug, and spent some time reading up about the real lives of the characters involved.

• The bad:

• There is some strong language – but it is the “real” kind. I know if I was stuck in a rocket having problems I’d probably be saying $#!@ alot too!
• Even though this story was published in Asimov’s, it is very soft when it comes to the fiction part. It is based partly on true events, and is really more of a historical fiction piece rather than a true science fiction story.
• While I found “The Chief Designer” to be fascinating, be aware that there is not much action in it. It is a re-telling of the USSR’s space program of the 1940′s – 1960′s.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 34
• Word Count: 18,794
• “The Chief Designer” garnered the following awards:

• It won the 2002 Sturgeon award.
• It also won the 2002 SE SF Award for short fiction, and was nominated for the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
• It placed third in the 2002 Locus Poll, and took fourth place in the 2002 Asimov’s Reader Poll.

Where you can find “The Chief Designer”:

• This novella first appeared in the June 2001 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction.
• “The Chief Designer” is included in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: 2001 : Nineteenth Annual Collection.
• You can read a free online version of this story at Asimov’s web site.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Andy Duncan is an English professor at Frostburg State University? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author on his web site.
• This story is listed at # 55 on the Top 100 SF Short Stories. (Retrieved 9 Nov, 2008)
• “The Chief Designer” is a fictionalized account of the real Korolyov’s last days.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Empress of Mars, about a woman who overcomes all sorts of obstacles to build an empire on Mars, by Kage Baker.

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