"The Ray-Gun: A Love Story" is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novelette

Novelette

A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...

 published in 2008 by James Alan Gardner

James Alan Gardner

James Alan Gardner is a Canadian science fiction author.Raised in Simcoe and Bradford, Ontario, he earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo....

. It won the 2009 Theodore Sturgeon Award

Theodore Sturgeon Award

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is given each year for the best science fiction short story of the year and is the short fiction counterpart of the Campbell award , published in English....

. It was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novelette

Hugo Award for Best Novelette

The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...

 as well as the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette

Nebula Award for Best Novelette

Winners of the Nebula Award for best Novelette. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year. Winning titles are listed first, with other nominees listed below.-External links:* * *...

.

Plot summary

The story is about an unpopular teenage boy who finds an alien ray gun in the forest. Although he does not do much with the gun contemplating its design or use, and handling the ray-gun when alone, gives his life more direction and purpose. The story has some elements of "coming of age" stories in that it follows an adolescent becoming an adult, PhD student, and ultimately finding love. The ray-gun played a role in the direction of his life in all these things. However in the end the ray-gun itself is abandoned as too dangerous or no longer needed.

External links

• The Ray-Gun: A Love Story by James Alan Gardner at BestScienceFictionStories.com - A review of the story with resources for finding it.