''One Small Step'' is a 1990

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

written by British writer

Reginald Hill Reginald Charles Hill FRSL (3 April 193612 January 2012) was an English crime writer and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. Biography Hill was born to a "very ordinary" family ...

featuring the detective characters

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is d ...

. It is set in 2010, many years after the other Dalziel and Pascoe stories, and involves the detectives investigating the first murder on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. ''One Small Step'' was originally published separately in 1990. In 1996, it was included, along with three other Dalziel and Pascoe stories, in the collection '' Asking for the Moon''.

Summary

In May 2010, Emile Lemarque, a French

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

, is killed by a short circuit in his

urine collection device A urine collection device or UCD is a device that allows the collection of urine for analysis (as in medical or forensic urinalysis) or for purposes of simple elimination (as in vehicles engaged in long voyages and not equipped with toilets, pa ...

at the moment he steps onto the surface of the Moon. Retired Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel and his former colleague Peter Pascoe, now the UK Commissioner in the Eurofed Department of Justice, fly to the Moon to investigate Lemarque's death as a murder.

Reception

Reviewing the American edition of ''Asking for the Moon'' in 1996, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' called ''One Small Step'' "an almost absurd swansong for the mismatched twosome". Reviewing ''Asking for the Moon'' for ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', Emily Melton called ''One Small Step'' "an intriguing but somewhat hokey piece of futuristic folderol". Crime novelist and critic

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...

described ''One Small Step'' as "a slight disappointment".

Publication history

*''One Small Step'', 1990, London:

Collins Crime Club Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...

, Pub date 1 September 1990, Hardback *''Asking for the Moon'', 1996, London:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, Pub date 19 September 1996, Hardback *''Asking for the Moon'', 1996, New York, London: Foul Play Press ( W. W. Norton & Company) , Pub date 1 November 1996, Hardback *''Asking for the Moon'', 1998, New York:

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, Pub date 6 April 1998, Paperback

References

1990 British novels Novels set on the Moon Novels by Reginald Hill Fiction set in 2010 British novellas Collins Crime Club books {{1990s-mystery-novel-stub