Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started

A Deep Look by Dave Hook

Thoughts, ramblings and ruminations

A Deep Look by Dave Hook

About Me: I am a California native and a reader of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and related genres) for most of my life. I love older material, including pulp magazine stories, but I am challenged by the racism, misogyny, colonialism, etc. often found there. I also love current SF/fantasy, and enjoy nominating/voting on the Hugo awards. Although I am a latecomer to active fandom, I love participating in Worldcon. I am a moderator for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Group on Facebook. In other worlds, I am a water resources civil engineer, bicyclist, Deadhead, radio programmer on 91.5 FM KKUP, comic book fan, and husband and dad.

Blog and website list:

Some of my favorite online resources are:

  • Fun with Epistolary Novels and Short Fiction at Chicon 8

    I was fortunate to be selected for a panel at Chicon 8 on epistolary novels in speculative fiction. We (author and moderator Meg Elison, author Caroline Stevermer, publisher and editor Sarah T. Guan of Erewhon Books, Professor Leigha McReynolds, and myself) had a wonderful and spirited discussion of many facets of epistolary writing and some of our favorite examples. Here is a link to my list of epistolary speculative fiction, updated by examples from the panel and audience. See below for more information and caveats.

    The Full Story. When I found out that I could be considered for Chicon 8 (Worldcon) panel participation and that one of the panels was on “The Resurgence of the Epistolary Novel”, I was quite excited. I have been a fan of this form of story telling for a long time, especially in speculative fiction. I immediately started to prepare for this panel, regardless of whether I was selected.

    One useful definition is that from Wikipedia, “An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters.[1] The term is often extended to cover novels which intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered to include novels composed of documents even if they don’t include letters at all.[2][3] More recently, epistolaries may include electronic documents such as recordings and radio, blog posts, and e-mails.”

    Epistolary fiction has a long tradition in speculative fiction, starting with “Gulliver’s Travels” (1726) and “Frankenstein” (1818, originally published anonymously!) among others. As was noted on the panel description, some think it is undergoing a resurgence. One aspect of this is clearly the new modes of communication which were envisioned in some ways and which are now actual, such as email, text messages, twitter, etc. We could have equally argued that epistolary fiction never went away.

    I am not going to try to summarize the panel discussion in any detail. I was too busy to take notes, but I certainly received a master-level education on the form and what it means to readers, writers, editors and others from the panel. My thanks to my fellow panel members for this, including:

    1. Moderator Meg Elison (on Twitter @megelison), author of “The Pill” (first published in the 2020 PM Press collection “Big Girl Plus The Pill Plus Such People in It and Much More”) and other great stories
    2. Caroline Stevermer, co-author with Patricia C. Wrede of the 1988 Ace Books novel “Sorcery and Cecelia: An Epistolary Fantasy” and two sequels
    3. Sarah T. Guan (on Twitter @Sarah_Guan), publisher and editor of Erewhon Books
    4. Leigha McReynolds (on Twitter @LeighaMcR), Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland

    I did learn from my fellow panel members that epistolary fiction can be a wonderful way to tell certain stories without some of the challenges and overhead of dealing with multiple points of view. I also learned that epistolary fiction can be a challenge for people who are used to “normal” narrative structure that most of us are used to in literature.

    Many of the novels and stories we discussed as being epistolary were speculative fiction, but many were not. I know I was quite enthusiastic about this as only a fan can be, and I sure hope I did not go over the line on the panel.

    I started out preparing for this by identifying stories and novels that I knew or thought were epistolary from my own reading. I received some great suggestions from the members of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy – Short Fiction group on Facebook, which is a great resource and place for anyone interested in speculative fiction at less than novel length. I searched the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (www.isfdb.org) for works with an “epistolary” tag. I did read many of the ISFDB tagged works, which had quite a number I had not identified as epistolary. I found that a few are probably incorrectly tagged as “epistolary”. I’ll update ISFDB eventually after checking again.

    I read, or reread, as many of those as I could find, and summarized my very personal opinions of them in a Google Sheets file, “2022 Epistolary SFF“. I shared an earlier version of this file with the panel, and suggested to our moderator Meg Elison that we discuss short epistolary fiction as well.

    Some of my top Short Fiction epistolary stories are:

    1. “Flowers for Algernon”, a novelette by Daniel Keyes, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF) April 1959
    2. “This Is How You Lose The Time War”, a novella by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, 2019, released as a book by Saga.
    3. “That Only a Mother”, a short story by Judith Merril, Astounding June 1948
    4. “Asymmetrical warfare”, a short story by S.R Algernon, Nature, March 26, 2015
    5. “Little Free Library”, a short story by Naomi Kritzer, Tor.com, April 8, 2020
    6. “My Brother Leopold”, a novelette by Edgar Pangborn, 1973, from “An Exaltation of Stars: Transcendental Adventures in Science Fiction”, Terry Carr editor
    7. “Piper at the Gates of Dawn”, a novella by Richard Cowper, F&SF, March 1976
    8. “The Trap”, a novelette by Howard Fast (variant of The First Men), F&SF, February 1960

    It was interesting to see that 3 of my top 8 epistolary short fiction stories were from Fantasy & Science Fiction. I assume this is coincidence.

    Some of my favorite epistolary novels are:

    1. “Freedom & Necessity”, Steven Brust & Emma Bull, 1997, Tor
    2. “A Fire Upon the Deep”, Vernor Vinge, 1992, Tor/Millennium
    3. “Excession”, Iain M. Banks, 1996, Orbit
    4. “Parable of the Sower”, 1993, Four Walls Eight Windows & “Parable of the Talents”, 1998, Seven Stories Press, Octavia E. Butler (Earthseed)
    5. “The Book of the New Sun”, Gene Wolfe (“Shadow of the Torturer”, 1980, Simon and Schuster, and after)
    6. “The Knight” and “The Wizard”, 2004, Gene Wolfe, Tor
    7. “Ministry for the Future”, Kim Stanley Robinson, 2020, Orbit/Hachette B and Blackstone
    8. “Hard Landing” by Algis Budrys, 1993, Questar/Warner Books (after a 1992 novella release)

    This file includes two sheets, labeled “No Spoilers!” and “With Spoilers!”. “With Spoilers!” has my full comments/reviews/etc. in it, which is chock full of spoilers! Do not look at this sheet, or avoid that column, if you want to be surprised. The other sheet, “No Spoilers”, has that info excised.

    For my own purposes, I sorted the stories/novels by order of my personal ranking scale, from 5/5 (a perfect story, which “Flowers for Algernon” is for me) to either a 2/5 (Did Not Finish, for some reason), or no rating, which usually means I did not even attempt to read it for some reason. My not reading a story does not mean that it’s not good or that you should not give it a go. I might have decided I was too busy, ran out of time, just felt it was not for me, or felt that I had a good enough grasp on it without a read or reread. I assume that you could download/copy the sheets and re-sort them as you desire, but have not checked this.

    I also added a column in which I attempted to roughly categorize the entries. When I say “traditional”, it’s a classic epistolary form of letters to and from people, or something like that. I did not overthink this, so it’s possible I have not been completely consistent. These categories made sense to me, but I know there are innumerable ways of categorizing them.

    The sheets are organized into 3 sections, Short Fiction at the top, Novels in the middle, and Other examples of epistolary novels or short fiction, whether speculative fiction or not, from the panel and the audience. Below the bottom section, I’ve added a brief list of References for websites and posts I looked at for examples of epistolary speculative fiction.

    Maybe I was not paying attention, but I don’t think I heard Meg Elison mention that she has an epistolary novel, “The Book of the Unnamed Midwife”, 2014, Sybaratic Press. I’ve added that to the list.

    I had a great time on this. I’d love to get your thoughts, added suggestions for epistolary speculative fiction reading, or any corrections.

    I will be blogging on my other Chicon 8 panels, such as the Titus Groan panel and two other 1946 Project panels.

    , , ,

  • A Wonderful Mystery Solved About My Favorite “Solitary” SF Story

    Back in September 2020, I read a great story, “Bircher“, by A. A. Walde, an author I had never heard about of. It was originally published in Worlds of If, July 1966. I don’t own that issue, so I am pretty sure the first time I read it was in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967” Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1967 Ace Books. My Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook had voted to read that anthology, and I read it in September 2020. I suspect I picked up “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967” in 2020, but I could have equally well bought it in the 1970s. I don’t know.

    I found “Bircher” to a fascinating, future, partly outer space detective story, with a protagonist in a detective-like role. My initial thoughts about “Bircher” were, “Wow. Great, great story, rather implacable and matter of fact. I never did figure out why the protagonist hates himself, but I do suspect he was a reformed antisocial or criminal perhaps. Reminded me a bit of Mickey Spillane. Looking in ISFDB, this was the only story published by A.A. Walde.” My rating for “Bircher” was 4.3/5, or “Superlative”, and just a step below “A Classic”. (see here for my rating scheme)

    I also enjoyed the story illustrations by Jack Gaughan in If, one of my favorite illustrators of speculative fiction from that era.

    This was not the best story in the anthology. Carr and Wollheim had included several classics (IMHO), including Bob Shaw’s “Light of Other Days“, Frederik Pohl’s “Day Million“, and Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale“. These were all better than “Bircher”.

    Still, this was one hell of a story for someone I had never heard of. I’ve been reading speculative fiction, more science fiction than anything else, for almost 55 years. I’m very capable of forgetting stories and authors from long ago that I have not encountered recently, but I don’t think that is the case here.

    The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is one of my favorite, go-to sources for information about books, stories and authors of speculative fiction. I’ve written about these kinds of resources here. I found very little information. “Bircher” is the only title given for author “A. A. Walde”. There was no other information on Walde there or at most other typical speculative fiction information sources such as the Science Fiction Encyclopedia (SFE).

    This set me attempting to find more information about A. A. Walde and “Bircher”. Since I’d kind of struck out at ISFDB and SFE, I just Googled them.

    I did discover that there had been more than a few speculations over a long time that “A. A. Walde” was a pseudonym of some other well known SF author. This has not been uncommon in the speculative fiction field, especially in that era. There are typically three reasons for this: 1) the editor does not want it to look like there are two or more stories by one author in a magazine; 2) the author does not want to be known as a writer of speculative fiction or has some other reason to remain anonymous (think William Tenn, Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree, Jr., for instance); and 3) some authors and publishers like to use a pseudonym for branding a different kind of fiction than the author is typically known for. Occasionally, a pair of authors will collaborate under a joint name, such as the “James S. A. Corey” name used by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck for their “Expanse” works.

    I immediately struck paydirt with a pair of 2019 posts by columnist Mark E. Flanagan at the website of The Sun Chronicle, the daily newspaper from Attleboro, Massachusetts. There was first “Catching up on an overdue piece of reading“, Jan 4, 2019, and then “Column settles mystery“, April 5, 2019.

    Mark E. Flanagan is the nephew of the writer of “Bircher”. Mark graduated high school about the time “Bircher” was published. He knew that his uncle had published a science fiction story, but had not really thought anything more about it or read it. He was not a particular fan of SF and had other things to do with his life.

    Life went on for Flanagan. To quote his January 4, 2019 column, “The story came to mind several times over the next 52 years, but I couldn’t be bothered tracking it down in a used book store. I did finally in the 2018 Christmas shopping season — not too long a wait, I hope, to tell the local-man-makes-good story represented by Warren Lindgren.” That established that “A. A. Walde” was a pseudonym for his uncle Warren Lindgren.

    A little research online and at Ancestry.com confirmed a number of things about Warren Lindgren. His full name was “Warren Bertil Lindgren”. He was born on July 26, 1933, in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He died on November 18, 1995. “Bircher” was his only published fiction.

    Flanagan’s April 5, 2019 column recounts the story of how Welsh fan Greg Pickersgill reached out to Flanagan, and noted himself as one of the fans who had wondered for decades who “A. A. Walde” was. Flanagan was pleased that his uncle might finally get recognition he was due.

    After reading these columns, I updated the “A. A. Walde” entry at ISFDB to give his real name and the other main facts of life. I had several questions, and Mark Flanagan was very gracious at answering them via email and provided me with an additional family photo.

    Warren B. Lindgren HS Yearbook

    Mr. Lindgren graduated from Attleboro High School in 1951. The nickname under his yearbook photo was “the professor”, which was probably not meant to be complementary. He was a member of the Video Club, responsible for school audio video.

    He hoped to go to Atlantic Union College in nearby Lancaster MA. However, Flanagan told me that he instead “spent two years at the University of Rhode Island before the money ran out.” US Department of Military Affairs records showed service in the US Army between March and August 1953, perhaps when the Korean War was winding down.

    Flanagan mentioned that his uncle purchased monthly copies of “Analog” and “Fantasy and Science Fiction” SF magazines and books from local stores, Cooper’s, Densmore’s, and Blackburn’s. His interest in science fiction probably started in the 1940s, and certainly endured through the 1960s.

    Flanagan writes about his uncle, “Walde never published another story. It’s easy for me to imagine that he proved his point — he could call himself a published sci fi author — and moved on. But the depiction of the narrator/homicide commissioner as a depressed man battling with his own will to live while solving a crime reminds me of the circumstances of Lindgren’s life at the time he wrote ‘Bircher.’

    His mother, my grandmother, had become seriously ill in 1963. Keeping her out of the nursing home forced him to take a lower-paying job to be closer to home and tend to her needs. He had little life to call his own for the next several years. Writing ‘Bircher’ gave him means to work out his own despair.”

    Flanagan also writes about how the sense of place found in “Bircher” and some of the conflicts in it were Lindgren writing what he knew.

    Here is a photo of Warren Bertil Lindgren from about the same time as “Bircher” was published, in the mid-1960s. My thanks to Mark Flanagan for this photo and all of his help and information. Any errors and mistakes are my responsibility.

    I don’t have any better thoughts than these about Lindgren and his writing a single, great story, “Bircher”. I agree with Flanagan that perhaps Lindgren wanted to show he could do it, and he did it, and that was enough for him.

    According to Flanagan, Warren Bertil Lindgren was active in the Masons and was employed by the Internal Revenue Service.

    Updated content starts: Flanagan was also able to fill me in on the place of science fiction in Warren Lindgren’s later life. He was sure that Lindgren remained a faithful reader of Analog and science fiction paperbacks through at least 1986, and probably longer. Also, and this is very telling about Lindgren, Flanagan mentioned that Lindgren was a big fan of both Philip K. Dick and of Ursula K. Le Guin. There were probably many other authors Lindgren was a fan of, but this was not a common subject of conversation between Flanagan and his uncle.

    It’s very possible that Lindgren encountered Philip K. Dick‘s work before he published “Bircher” in 1966, given the fairly substantial published work by Dick in both magazines and novels by then. Dick had also won the Hugo Award for the 1962 novel “The Man in the High Castle“. Even in that era, this did make Dick more visible and well known. Given the arc of Dick’s career, Lindgren could have known of him before publishing “Bircher” and become more enamored of him after.

    Although Ursula K. Le Guin had started publishing speculative fiction and SF with “April in Paris” in Fantastic Stories of Imagination, September 1962, “The Masters” in the Fantastic Stories of Imagination, February 1963, and her first Hainish SF story in “The Dowry of Angyar” (AKA “Semley’s Necklace”) in Amazing Stories, September 1964 (along with other short fiction), her first novels (“Rocannon’s World ” and “Planet of Exile“) were published in 1966 at about the same time as “Bircher” was published. While I am fond of “Rocannon’s World” and “Planet of Exile”, I believe Warren Lindgren’s admiration for Ursula K. Le Guin and her fiction flowered after 1966. End of updated content.

    He died in 1995. I have not found an obituary so far; Flanagan thought he did one for the Sun Chronicle, but I have not located a copy. Sometimes obituaries can be very insightful about both a person and their life. If one ever turns up, I might update this post further.

    For me, this is a classic case of “What might have been?” While not a perfect story, “Bircher” was one hell of a story, especially when you consider it as the only story by Lindgren. After reprints in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967”, If (UK) May 1967, and the German SF magazine “Science Fiction Stories 27”, it has become obscure, and undeservedly so for me. We can only wonder what other stories Lindgren might have written? I would have liked to have found out.

    “Bircher” by A. A. Walde (Warren Bertil Lindgren) is my favorite “solitary” SF story, where the author has not published any other fiction. Other solitary stories that I love include “A Subway Named Moebius“, a short story by A. J. Deutch, Astounding December 1950 (in the same issue as “Bindlestiff” by James Blish!) , and “The Albian Message“, a short story by Oliver Morton, from Nature, December 1, 2005. All three of them are recommended. Please let me know if you have other favorite “solitary” stories!

    Because they are solitary science fiction stories (i.e., the only story of published fiction by an author), they also qualify as first published stories for me. I’ve written about two of them in “Dave’s Favorite First Stories of Science Fiction“. I probably would have included “The Albian Message”, but I read it well after I wrote that post.

    Finally, thanks to James Wallace Harris, one of those operating the very useful “Classics of Science Fiction” website. He nominated “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967” for a group read which led to me reading “Bircher”. Jim was pretty complementary about “Bircher” when we read it, stating “‘Bircher’ is an impressive story, especially considering it was A. A. Walde’s first and last story. It’s a shame he didn’t write more. I expected it to be a dud after I saw on ISFDB that it hasn’t been reprinted since this collection and one German translation. It does have some problems. For a mystery, it doesn’t give the reader the clues to solve the case. Walde does give us enough clues so I was able to guess the culprit, but not how or why. All the details were there, but I don’t think any way to put them together. On the other hand, there is a damn lot of speculation about the future American society that’s quite fascinating. By the way, I had that issue of IF as a kid because I remember loving the James Blish serial, ‘The Hour Before Earthrise,’ and the serial ‘Earthblood’ by Keith Laumer and Rosel George Brown.”

    I’m fond of “Earthblood” (we lost Rosel George Brown way too soon), so Jim’s citing that was an added bonus. Jim did have a further or question thought about “Bircher” and did some Google searching. He discovered that he had written a 2016 blog post that discussed and considered reading “Bircher” as non-essential before he had ever read it, in “The Calculus of Collecting Science Fiction Short Stories“. It’s a great essay, and typical of what I expect from him. This kind of thing could happen to any of us.

    ,

  • Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene

    Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene

    The Short: “Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2022 The MIT Press, is a great anthology. My average rating for the stories is 3.81/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended.

    The Full Story: I’ve been hearing about “Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene”, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2022 The MIT Press, for about a year. When I found that 5 of the 10 stories included had been named to the 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List, I knew I had to read it now, before the Hugo Award nomination deadline.

    My library did not have a copy, but I was lucky enough to borrow it from the Sacramento Public Library via my regional library consortium. Yay libraries!

    It’s a pretty quick read, at 10 stories and about 220 pages of text. As far as I can guess, the stories are all short stories or novelettes.

    Jonathan Strahan does his typical good job of laying out what this anthology is all about in the Introduction. He notes, “And that’s where Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene comes in. I wanted to give you a glimpse of what life might be like, however improbable, however bleak, as we live with climate change in the future.” Although not as extensive as some Strahan introductions, it hits all the right notes for this anthology. There is a nice Contributors section, with good bio and career information for the authors.

    The anthology starts with a very good interview of Kim Stanley Robinson before the fiction.

    There are cover and story illustrations by Sean Bodley, along with bio information and a brief discussion of the two illustration themes, “Wind Walkers” and “Neo Germination”. This was a nice bonus for me.

    These are all stories first published here.

    My many favorites (all rated “Great”) were:

    1. “Once Upon a Future in the West”, a novelette by Daryl Gregory, and one of my Hugo nominations.
    2. “I Give You the Moon”, short fiction by Justina Robson.
    3. “Crisis Actors”, short fiction by Greg Egan.
    4. “Drone Pirates of Silicon Valley”, short fiction by Meg Elison.
    5. “Down and Out in Exile Park”, a short story by Tade Thompson.
    6. “Do You Hear the Fungi Sing?”, short fiction by Chen Qiufan.
    7. “Legion”, short fiction by Malka Older.
    8. “The Ferryman”, short fiction by Saad Z. Hossain.

    There were several stories that fell into “Very good” for me, but no clunkers or others that I really wondered why they were included. I was impressed by the variety of authors included. Other than one story that I felt was at the intersection of SF and fantasy, it was all SF.

    Although the subject is very serious, I enjoyed reading them. My overall rating was 3.81/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended, with a wonderful variety of approaches to the subject matter.

    Detailed Reviews/Comments: SPOILERS HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

    “Drone Pirates of Silicon Valley”, short fiction by Meg Elison. A great story of pirates in a future Silicon Valley with even more income inequality, or perhaps privateers. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Down and Out in Exile Park”, a short story by Tade Thompson. Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List. A great story of a floating plastic island off Nigeria, and a person whose hormones lead to harmony. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Once Upon a Future in the West”, a novelette by Daryl Gregory, and one of my Hugo nominations. Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List. A great story of life and survival in the West, and a stolen car, a fire tornado, a Cowboy, a cannibal Tom Hanks, and a Doctor. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Crisis Actors”, short fiction by Greg Egan. For me, this is the second recent Egan story that is less hard SF and more people oriented, after his great 2021 story “Sleep and the Soul“. A great story of a man in a very polarized, climate impacted future. He believes there is a lot of false reporting of catastrophe, with people and institutions taking advantage of misinformation. He participates in a clandestine organization “fighting” this. He takes part in a response to a climate disaster where he helps out and does not find any such misinformation, and perhaps learns something, and perhaps not. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “When the Tide Rises”, short fiction by Sarah Gailey. Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List. A very good yet sad story of a woman living underwater but in very challenging circumstances, and hope and just wanting to survive, and losing a friend. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “I Give You the Moon”, short fiction by Justina Robson. A fantastic story of life in the Anthropocene, with a society based on equity/service credits, a man who loves what he does to clean up the ocean on the Namibian coast, his son who wants to be a Viking, and an acquaintance who would like to be more. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “Do You Hear the Fungi Sing?”, short fiction by Chen Qiufan. A great story of a human developed hypercortex-AI network aimed at addressing climate change issues globally and locally, and the attempt to implement it in a remote mountain village. An ancient fungi god or more sophisticated fungi network intelligence is not sure this is good. This is the fourth story by Chen Qiufan I’ve read lately that I really love, and I am definitely watching for this author’s fiction. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Legion”, short fiction by Malka Older. Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List. A great story by an author I know more by novels, of a community that turns some of the surveillance state aspects to witnessing and protecting those who are typically harassed, damaged, etc. The story is told through the lens of a media host who turns out to be an offender. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Ferryman”, short fiction by Saad Z. Hossain. A wonderful story of a low caste handler of the dead, in a world where the rich have left for orbit and immortality. He ends up dead, but in a virtual life, and a woman may love him there. This is the fourth recent family by Hossain that I’ve loved; I am definitely watching for more. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “After the Storm”, a novelette by James Bradley. Locus 2022 Recommended Reading List. Not really my thing, featuring a teen with a broken family who perhaps learns that all are connected. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    ,

  • Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead

    Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead

    The Short: I just read “Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead“, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Walter M. Miller, Jr., 1985 Donald I. Fine. My overall average rating for the stories here is 3.72/5, or “Very good”. Recommended, with a caution noted below.

    The Full Story: Earlier this year, the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook decided to read a theme anthology. We started by voting on what theme to read, with choices including robots, time travel, post-apocalyptic/end of the world, supermen/post-humans/transhumans, aliens, alternate history, first contact, AI, Mars, the Moon, and uplifted animals.

    Our choice for a theme was post-apocalyptic/end of the world. We’ll probably follow this up eventually by the next two theme choices, time travel and first contact.

    We voted on three anthologies suggested for that:

    1. “Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead” edited by Walter M. Miller, Jr. and Martin H. Greenberg, 1985 Donald I. Fine.
    2. “This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse“, edited by Robert Silverberg, 2016 Three Rooms Press.
    3. “The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse“, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, 2010 Skyhorse Publishing.

    By a fairly large margin, we selected “Beyond Armageddon”.

    I was lucky enough to get a copy from our regional library consortium. I was excited to read this, as there were a number of stories I either had not read or did not remember, along with some classics.

    With three poems, 21 pieces of short fiction, and 370 pages of fiction, this is nice size anthology for it’s day. It’s not miniscule but it’s not a door stop either. The stories range from 1937 to 1985. There is only one story by a woman, “Day at the Beach” by Carol Emshwiller.

    The essay material was a mixed bag for me. On the definite plus side, there was a generous “Forewarning” by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Up front, it pretty clearly stated the goals and theme of the anthology. Miller said he looked through “thousands of pages of…science fiction stories…about the aftermath of a Megawar at the end of the world…We found twenty-one pretty good stories about a MegaWar and its survivors toward the end of the world.”

    However, the rest of the 14 page Forewarning is between interesting and unfathomable for me. I suspect that a detailed, careful critical analysis would show that the Forewarning makes a lot of sense in some ways, but I just don’t care enough to work that hard. Greenberg and Miller do include story introductions, which I typically like and find helpful. For better or for worse here, the story introductions share the variability of the Forewarning, from helpful to what-the-hell? I don’t see credits for the story introductions, but the style and subject matters mirror the Forewarning, so I assume Miller wrote them as well. For me, this is both a plus and a minus.

    There were some great stories that I knew and was happy to see again, including:

    1. “There Will Come Soft Rains“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, from “The Martian Chronicles“, 1950 Doubleday.
    2. “A Boy and His Dog“, a novella by Harlan Ellison, first in New Worlds,#189 April 1969, but with the revised text found here in Ellison’s collection “The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World“, 1969 Avon.
    3. “Salvador“, a short story by Lucius Shepard, F&SF April 1984.
    4. “The Music Master of Babylon“, a novelette by Edgar Pangborn, Galaxy November 1954.
    5. “To the Chicago Abyss“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, F&SF May 1963.
    6. “The Store of the Worlds“, a short story by Robert Sheckley, Playboy September 1959.
    7. “Eastward Ho!“, a short story by William Tenn, F&SF October 1958.

    There were several great stories that I did not remember seeing before, which is a big plus for me:

    1. “Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957. This was a great story by an author I don’t recognize, but I will read more of his short fiction.
    2. “The Feast of Saint Janis“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, from “New Dimensions 11“, Marta Randall & Robert Silverberg editors, 1980 Pocket Books, and probably the first story he published.
    3. “The Wheel“, a short story by John Wyndham, Startling Stories January 1952.
    4. “Jody After the War“, a short story by Edward Bryant, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

    There are a number of stories that I consider to be “Very good”. I was especially pleased to encounter these stories that were new to me or that I had read but not remembered:

    1. “Heirs Apparent“, a novelette by Robert Abernathy, F&SF June 1954.
    2. “Lucifer“, a short story by Roger Zelazny, Worlds of Tomorrow June 1964.
    3. “The Big Flash“, a short story by Norman Spinrad, from “Orbit 5“, Damon Knight editor, 1969 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
    4. “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth …“, a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, September 1951.

    Finally, there are several stories that I feel could have been omitted without losing anything. These were:

    1. “Tomorrow’s Children“, a novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop, Astounding March 1947. I believe this is the first story published by Poul Anderson. I don’t think it’s bad, but I I’m not sure it’s very good either.
    2. “Day at the Beach“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF August 1959. I love Carol Emshwiller, but I just find this story rather opaque. If I did not encounter this story in this anthology, I would not be sure what it is really about.
    3. “My Life in the Jungle“, a short story by Jim Aikin, F&SF February 1985. I’m just not a fan of this story, and I don’t find it connected at all to the theme here.

    There were also several stories that fell into “Very good” that are very well known or remembered, including “Lot” by Ward Moore, “The Terminal Beach” by J. G. Ballard, and “Day at the Beach” by Carol Emshwhiller. I felt they were good choices, but none of them were great for me. I know more than a few people who find them essential or classic, and that’s fine with me.

    Given the theme of this anthology, it should not be a surprise that there are several that are particularly horrific. Both “A Boy and his Dog” by Harlan Ellison and “The Feast of Saint Janis” by Michael Swanwick would be candidates for trigger warnings today.

    All in all, my overall average rating for the stories here is 3.72/5, or “Very Good”. Omitting the three questionable stories would raise the average rating to 3.86/5, or solidly “Great”. If you don’t put much value in the Introduction and story introductions, I recommend “Beyond Armageddon”. I also recommend it if you are a big fan of Walter M. Miller, Jr., and want to wade through and make sense of his essay material and thoughts.

    Having said that, I have just gone back and taken a look at the Table of Contents for the other two anthologies we considered. In hindsight, as an academic exercise, would we have been better off reading either of them?

    First, the Martin H. Greenberg anthology “The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse” (2010, Skyhorse Publishing) shares a fair amount with this earlier anthology he was a co-editor of. Eight stories appear in both. I find that less than desirable now, but it would not be a factor if I’d read it first. The page count and number of stories are a bit higher, and the stories cover a greater range of publication dates, from 1944 to 2007. There is again only one story by a woman. I was able to preview the Robert Silverberg Introduction, and it appears to be a lot more accessible than the one by Miller. There is an e-book version; there were no story introductions that I saw. I’m not prepared to say this is a better anthology than “Beyond Armageddon”.

    Finally, the Robert Silverberg anthology “This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse” (2016 Three Rooms Press) has no overlap with the other two anthologies here. There is a great Introduction by Silverberg, which I assume was not just recycled from “The End of the World”. There are generous and insightful story introductions, which I love and which I assume Silverbeg wrote. There are 20 stories included from 1906 to 2016, with six by women authors. The page count is somewhat higher, at 452 pages, although some of this is probably due to the story introductions. From the stories included, Silverberg has included a broader range of avenues to the apocalypse, which would be a plus for me. It’s also available as e-book. In perfect hindsight, I might have liked this more as a choice for our themed read, but that is the past and just life. If I were to read another anthology on this theme, I’d read this one.

    There are certainly still more anthologies that use this theme in some way, but I don’t think I need to spend more time looking into them.

    DETAILED REVIEWS/COMMENTS: SPOILERS ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE!

    “Salvador“, a short story by Lucius Shepard, F&SF April 1984. A very dark story of a future war in Central America. A Locus winner, and Hugo and Nebula finalist, and reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1985 Bluejay Books, “The 1985 Annual World’s Best SF“, Arthur W. Saha & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1985 DAW Books/New American Library of Canada, and other places. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “The Store of the Worlds“, a short story by Robert Sheckley, Playboy September 1959. A man visits the Store of the Worlds. He thinks about a temporary visit to a world that offers fulfillment of your desires, at the price of all your worldly goods, and ten years of your life. He departs, thinks about it, and life goes on. At we end, we discover that the story’s present, our world, is the ideal past of Mr. Wayne, who has taken the deal, enjoyed his wishes, and is now back in a very grim post nuclear war world. After Playboy publication, it was reprinted in the Sheckley collection “Store of Infinity” (1960 Bantam). Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Big Flash“, a short story by Norman Spinrad, from “Orbit 5“, Damon Knight editor, 1969 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. A good story about a late 60s rock band, The Four Horsemen, and ensuing nuclear Armageddon. It’s unclear if they cause Armageddon, or are just one of the symptoms. It reminded me of the later novel by George R. R. Martin, “The Armageddon Rag“, which I loved. I suspect I’ve read this before, but I’m not sure where. It was a Nebula finalist and was reprinted in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970“, Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1970 Ace Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Lot“, a novelette by Ward Moore, F&SF May 1953. I don’t remember as much about the Biblical Lot as needed to see how it connects to the story. This story features a careful and rather annoying man and his rather horrible family fleeing LA after an atomic exchange. He finds all of his family objectionable except his daughter. He leaves all of them but her at a gas station in Buellton north of Los Angeles. Great Cold War behavior, etc. Reprinted in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Third Series“, Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas editors, 1954 Doubleday, and “The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954“, Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty editors, 1954 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library), and fairly often thereafter, so others consider this important or consequential. I still think it’s a very good but not great story. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Day at the Beach“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF August 1959. I love Carol Emshwiller, but I just find this story rather opaque. It seems to be a story of a family after a war or something unclear. The implication is there but only very tangentially. If I had not known what is implied from inclusion in this anthology, I would have been at a loss. I think this is another story where I am an outlier. It was reprinted in “The 5th Annual of the Year’s Best S-F “, Judith Merril editor, 1960 Simon & Schuster, and has been reprinted fairly often since then, so others disagree. Rated 3/5, or at the bottom end of “Good” for me.

    “The Wheel“, a short story by John Wyndham, Startling Stories January 1952. A simple and chilling story of a time when science and technology is very bad after a huge war, with even the wheel banned. A young boy knows that “wheels” are bad from church, but does not know what one is and creates a wagon with wheels. His grandpa sacrifices himself to save the boy, and hopes some of this kind of technology will be Okay by the time the boy is grown. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Jody After the War“, a short story by Edward Bryant, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. An effective and chilling vignette of the aftermath, of PTSD perhaps, of a nuclear war survivor and the protagonist. I do find it interesting how I liked this story more than the following “The Terminal Beach”, even though they are both stories where not much happens. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Terminal Beach“, a novelette by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds Science Fiction, March 1964. There are clearly elements of the surreal in this tale of a widower who lost his son and wife to an auto accident. Post WW2 and post test ban, he journeys to the abandoned Eniwetok atoll. It’s clearly a consequential story, reprinted in the “10th Annual Edition: The Year’s Best SF“, Judith Merril editor, 1965 Delacorte Press, in “The Best of New Worlds“, Michael Moorcock editor, 1965 Compact Books, in “Alpha One“, Robert Silverberg editor, 1970 Ballantine Books, and often after that. However, it still did not do it for me. It’s clearly a consequential story, but nothing really happens, protagonist does not change, etc. I was bored, perhaps by what I consider to be rather post-modern fiction that does not really go anywhere. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “Tomorrow’s Children“, a novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop, Astounding March 1947. I believe this is the first story published by Poul Anderson. A pretty good story of post-nuclear war in the US. The protagonist is a colonel in the US Air Force, in an atomic airplane. He returns from touring a bombed out world; the US is bad but it’s worse elsewhere. The de facto president then sends him out on a new census. He returns, and tells the president that they will survive but that the level of mutants will be very high. At the ending, he confirms that the president’s new baby is a mutant, and encourages the president to love the child and that the substantial mutation of the human racer is unavoidable. I think this story could have been omitted. Rated 3.2/5, or “Good”.

    “Heirs Apparent“, a novelette by Robert Abernathy, F&SF June 1954. A very good story of an American and a Communist post atomic war in Siberia, and a village. In the end, nomads destroy the village. This is only the second story by Abernathy I remember seeing; I need to find more. Reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1955“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1955 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library) and “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fourth Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1955 Doubleday. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Music Master of Babylon“, a novelette by Edgar Pangborn, Galaxy November 1954. Another post-apocalyptic, perhaps last man in the world story set in New York City. A concert pianist has survived a long list of events that edged to the fall of civilization. He has been alone for about 25 years. He spends parts of his days in the New York Museum of Human History, Hall of Music , where among other things he still plays the piano. One day, two young people who are looking for “Olders” to help them survive surprise him. He plays a nigh-to-impossible work for them that he has always wanted to play. They leave. He tries to catch them in his canoe, but throws his paddle away. The story ends with him waiting to die. All in all, a great story, published about 3 years after his first story was published. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957. A very chilling story of a game preserve, probably post atomic war, for sub-intelligent mutated humans. Occasionally an intelligent one is born in the preserve. Those off the preserve are waiting for those on the preserve to all die. The intelligent ones are killed or die anyway. This is a great story by an author I don’t remember reading anything by. ISFDB shows quite a few short fiction works and several novels, but I don’t know his work. This was reprinted in “SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome Press. Per SFADB, “Game Preserve” was one of his most notable stories, along with “The Yellow Pill” (Astounding October 1958) and “Rat in the Skull” (a Hugo novelette nomination). I’ll be looking for these. I think I may have read “The Yellow Pill” 50 years ago in an Astounding back issue, but it’s great to be tipped off to a writer that I really don’t remember much about. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “By the Waters of Babylon“, a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét, first published in The Saturday Evening Post, July 31, 1937, as “The Place of the Gods”. A very good post-apocalyptic story of a young man, a priest and the son of a priest, who returns to the city of the dead, which is “newyoork”. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “There Will Come Soft Rains“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in Collier’s, May 6, 1950, and immediately after in “The Martian Chronicles“, 1950 Doubleday. Great, great, somber story of a house after nuclear war, with everyone gone. This might be my favorite Bradbury story. Rated 4.7/5, or “A Classic”.

    “To the Chicago Abyss“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, F&SF May 1963. A great story of a man who remembers the past, and needs to describe it, like a poet adman, and cannot talk about it (it appears to be illegal). I don’t remember this story being explicitly about the apocalypse, but I could have missed that. Nominations below cutoff for the 1964 Hugo Short Fiction. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Lucifer“, a short story by Roger Zelazny, Worlds of Tomorrow June 1964. Previously read most recently in “Power & Light: Volume 2, the Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny” (2009 NESFA) but not remembered. A man returns to an unpopulated city after some catastrophe. He returns to the power room, where he worked. He barely gets the power on for 93 seconds, and vows he will never do this again. A very good story, but not at the great end for Zelazny. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Eastward Ho!“, a short story by William Tenn, F&SF October 1958. I own Tenn’s 1968 collection “The Wooden Star“, and I love William Tenn, so I am sure I have read this before. A wonderful, ironic story of a post war America, with the Indian Nations in ascendency, and the African-American Western Confederated States extant but tithing to the Indian Nations. The last surviving officer of the “United States” directs the remaining U.S. Navy to sail eastward, trying for a land where the white man can be free. Reprinted in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Ninth Series“, Robert P. Mills editor, 1959 Doubleday. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Feast of Saint Janis“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, from “New Dimensions 11“, Marta Randall & Robert Silverberg editors, 1980 Pocket Books. This is probably the first story published by Swanwick in July 1980 and pretty amazing. This story could use a trigger warning. Post nuclear war, with the Northern Hemisphere much worse off. A young man from an important African reading company is sent to the US. Although devastated in most ways, the medical/genetic training is still better in the US, and Africa wants to secure better training for their doctors to help ensure the future health of people. He meets, or is induced to meet, a Janis Joplin impersonator, Maggie, who has been modified by the government for the role. Maggie dies in a horrible gang rape/sacrifice, the 23rd to do so in an annual event organized by the government, and the man is told by the head man to remember that the US has nothing left to lose. He goes home. I know I’ve read this at least twice before, in Swanwick’s 1991 collection “Gravity’s Angels” and “The Best of Michael Swanwick” (2008 Subterranean), but it’s great to read it again. Nebula finalist, and reprinted in “Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Tenth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1981 E. P. Dutton. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”. It’s worth noting that his second story published very soon after this one, and also very great for early work, is “Ginungagap“, published in TriQuarterly 49, fall 1980, by Northwestern University Press, also a Nebula finalist. This is always up for possibly contentious discussion, but I don’t know of a better pair of first two stories by an author of speculative fiction.

    “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth …“, a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, September 1951. A very good short short of unintentional exile on the Moon after a nuclear war. Clarke puts it that the Moon colonists will want to go home to Earth, but I wonder. Previously read in Clarke’s “Expedition to Earth” (1953 Ballantine Books) many decades ago, but not remembered. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “A Boy and His Dog“, a novella by Harlan Ellison, first in New Worlds, #189 April 1969, but with the revised text found here in Ellison’s collection “The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World“, 1969 Avon. This is one hell of a story, although it could use trigger warnings today. I had read it before, but decades ago. 50 or 60 years after a big nuclear war, a young “solo” and his telepathic dog find a young woman solo amid a very dangerous cityscape with most survivors in gangs. He has been surviving substantially because of his partnership with the dog. This is unheard of. He finds out she is a downunder, from a group of people living in giant underground habitats that are very conservative. He rapes her, and then they have a shared experience of surviving a gang attack. He follows her down under, and discovers the downunders are looking for young, nonsterile men to help with breeding and population maintenance/growth. He convinces her to escape with him, but then kills her and feeds her to his dog, who might die due to injuries and hunger. In my Facebook group, we had a healthy discussion about whether he is a misogynist or a misanthrope. There is no doubt that Ellison liked to shock people, and he certainly accomplished that here. This is a great story by Ellison, but I’m not sure I ever need to read it again. A Nebula winner, Hugo runner-up, and reprinted in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970“, Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1970 Ace Books. Rated 4.2/5, or “Superlative”.

    “My Life in the Jungle“, a short story by Jim Aikin, F&SF February 1985. I will admit that I am at a loss as to how this connects to the theme or subject matter of this anthology. An ape who remembers being a mathematics professor, with many, many groups of apes that destroy their environments. Perhaps it’s a metaphor, but I am underwhelmed here. I read and thought his “The Wall At The End of the World” (1993 Ace) was “Very good”, noting “A well thought out utopia gone bad”, but this story did nothing for me. Rated 2.5/5, or “Poor”.

    , , ,

  • The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction

    The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction

    The Short: I’ve been a fan of Gene Wolfe for a long time, although I have conflicted feelings. He is definitely one of the masters of speculative fiction writing over the last 50 years! I’m glad I read “The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction“, 2009 Tor. My overall rating was 3.79/5, which I’m rounding up to “Great”. Strongly recommended for fans of Wolfe or those interested in his body of works.

    The Full Story: I’ve been a fan of Gene Wolfe for a long time.

    The oldest book of his in my collection is my 1976 Ace edition of his 1972 Charles Scribner’s Sons collection “The Fifth Head of Cerberus” . I don’t know when I purchased this, but probably in the 1970s.

    The May 1973 Analog and all of my Wolfe paper books

    I read his short story “How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion” in Analog May 1973 when I received and read that issue. Although it was a Nebula finalist, I don’t remember anything about it. Upon checking briefly, I can see it’s epistolary, so I will reread it. I suspect this is the first fiction by Wolfe I read. Looking back, it certainly took Ben Bova as editor to publish a Wolfe story in Analog, and this was the only one. I don’t know if he ever submitted a story to John W. Campbell, Jr, but I suspect strongly that Campbell would probably not have bought them.

    I own and read avidly his “Book of the New Sun” books, starting with “The Shadow of the Torturer” 1980 Simon & Schuster. I suspect this is where my strong interest in him really blossomed.

    I continued to read books and collections of his throughout the rest of his life, owning some and checking more than a few out of the library, including the 1989 collection “Endangered Species” (I loved it). The last Wolfe book I read before this collection was the 2015 “A Borrowed Man” (I had mixed feelings).

    As I mentioned above, I have a somewhat complex and conflicted relationship with Wolfe and his works. While I recognize Wolfe as a master of speculative fiction, and of the unreliable narrator and other related writing devices, I continue to think that at times he is just too clever for himself and for me. Perhaps I’m just not smart enough to winkle it all out, or perhaps I just don’t care to work that hard. I have had people that I respect highly tell me how great some of his stories are, but that they really only got them after reading them three times. That’s beyond my patience level. I have not looked at this exhaustively, but I suspect he used these devices more than most writers. I admire him for doing what he wanted to do, especially early in his career, and for writing many important stories and novels, but I sure don’t want to read, or reread, some of them. Having said that, I do think he was a master of speculative fiction and I have loved a fair amount of his fiction.

    I’ve read more than a few of his works of short fiction over the last few years as I have focused more on short speculative fiction. I have loved many of them, and really not liked some of them. This has perhaps clarified and reinforced how I feel about Wolfe and his works.

    When I saw the 2009 “The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction” on sale for the kindle last year, I knew I wanted to read it and update and round out my knowledge of Wolfe’s short fiction. Excepting some of the stories I had read in the last year or two, I read it between January and April 2023.

    The Tor (US) edition of “The Best of Gene Wolfe” features 31 stories from 1970 to 1999, in 478 pages. This is a review of the Tor edition. There is no editor listed. Wolfe notes in the afterword to the last story, “A Cabin on the Coast”, that he selected all of the stories other than that story, which was a request by his agents. He was clear that he did not like all of his stories, but that he liked all of the ones included.

    The scope of the collection is laid out clearly in the subtitle, “A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction”. While I might have some grumbles about whether Wolfe achieved that, I like a collection of this sort with a clear statement of intent.

    There is no Introduction in the US Tor edition, but there are great and insightful afterwords by Wolfe for all of the stories that serve some of that function.

    The UK edition by PS Publishing includes an Introduction by Kim Stanley Robinson, available online at https://www.nyrsf.com/2013/09/a-story-kim-stanley-robinson.html. This essay by Robinson is an extensive and well wrought discussion of Wolfe and his works. The UK edition also includes an additional story, “Christmas Inn” (a 2005 chap book from PS Publishing), and a Wolfe afterword for that story, and totals 490 pages.

    I could be wrong, but the PS Publishing UK version does not appear to be in print or available in e-book version. Used copies are available sometimes. The US (Tor) edition does appear to be available in paper and e-book format. I did not find any audiobook versions.

    Great Wolfe stories that I remembered reading included:

    1. “The Fifth Head of Cerberus“, a novella, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
    2. “Seven American Nights“, a novella, “Orbit 20”, Damon Knight, 1978 Harper & Row.
    3. “The Eyeflash Miracles“, a novella, from “Future Power“, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois editors, 1976 Random House.
    4. “Petting Zoo“, a short story, from “Return of the Dinosaurs“, Martin H. Greenberg & Mike Resnick editors, 1997 DAW Books.
    5. “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories“, a short story, from “Orbit 7“, Damon Knight editor, 1970 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

    Great Wolfe stories that I either had never read or did not remember reading included:

    1. “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?“, a short story, from “Moon Shots“, Peter Crowther editor, 1999 DAW Books.
    2. “And When They Appear“, a novelette, from “Christmas Forever“, David G. Hartwell editor, 1993 Tor.
    3. “Bed and Breakfast“, a novelette, from “Dante’s Disciples“, Peter Crowther & Edward E. Kramer editors, 1996 Borealis/White Wolf Publishing.
    4. “The Death of Dr. Island“, a novella, from “Universe 3“, Terry Carr editor, 1973 Random House.
    5. “The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton“, a novelette, from “Universe 7“, Terry Carr editor, 1977 Doubleday.
    6. “The Tree Is My Hat“, a novelette, from “999: New Tales of Horror and Suspense“, Al Sarrantonio editor, 1999 Hill House Publishers & Cemetery Dance Publications.
    7. “Westwind“, a short story, from Worlds of If, July-August 1973.
    8. “Beech Hill“, a short story, from “Infinity Three“, Robert Hoskins editor, 1972 Lancer Books.
    9. “Death of the Island Doctor“, a short story, from “The Wolfe Archipelago” collection, 1983 Ziesing Brothers.
    10. “Forlesen“, a novelette, from “Orbit 14“, Damon Knight editor, 1974 Harper & Row.
    11. “From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton“, a short story, F&SF June 1983.
    12. “Parkroads—A Review“, a short story, Fiction International, Spring 1987 (Vol. 17, #1) (Larry McCaffrey, editor).
    13. “Redbeard“, a short story, from “Masques“, J. N. Williamson editor, 1984 Maclay & Associates.
    14. “The Detective of Dreams“, a short story, from “Dark Forces“, Kirby McCauley editor, 1980 The Viking Press.
    15. “The Hero As Werwolf“, a short story, from “The New Improved Sun“, Thomas M. Disch editor, 1975 Harper & Row.
    16. “The Recording“, a short story, F&SF April 1972.

    The last stories published here are the 1999 “The Tree is my Hat” and “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?”. Gene Wolfe died in 2019, and his last short fiction entry at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is the short story “Incubator” from “Onward, Drake!“, Mark L. Van Name editor, 2015 Baen. ISFDB shows him with about 65 stories published from 1999 to 2015. I’m sure Wolfe had valid reasons for not including any post-1999 work; perhaps he felt there needed to be the fullness of time before they should be considered for inclusion.

    However, he did have stories that were award nominated and reprinted after 1999, such as “Memorare“, a novella, F&SF April 2007, which as was “Special Gene Wolfe” issue. “Memorare” was a Hugo and Nebula Award finalist and the Locus and Sturgeon (a tie) Award runner-up, and it was reprinted in ” I need to read this. His 2012 short story “Dormmana“, from “The Palencar Project“, David G. Hartwell editor, 2012 Tor, would have been a great choice also. Clearly he felt his earlier works were a better choice for the collection.

    Other Gene Wolfe stories not included here that I would have hoped to have seen include:

    There were four stories in “The Best of Gene Wolfe” that I would not have included:

    1. “Hour of Trust“, a novella, from “Bad Moon Rising“, Thomas M. Disch editor, 1973 Harper & Row.
    2. “The God and His Man“, a short story, Asimov’s February 1980.
    3. “The Boy who Hooked the Sun“, a short story, Cheap Street 1985.
    4. “A Cabin on the Coast“, a short story first published in German, from “Tor zu den Sternen“, Peter Wilfert editor, 1981 Goldmann.

    Wolfe was very clear that he chose all the stories, with one exception, and that he liked all of these. In looking at these choices and how I felt about them, I do think he could have used or listened to more editorial input with regard to story choice and inclusion.

    Overall, I am really glad I read “The Best of Gene Wolfe” for a number of reasons, especially for getting a better idea of the breadth of Wolfe’s greatness as an author of speculative fiction and in enjoying Wolfe’s afterword commentaries. I did feel the story choice could have been better, but perhaps that is influenced by my preference for science fiction over fantasy.  It was great to encounter and enjoy many stories that were new to me, and to enjoy many that I knew already. For those either looking for an introduction to Wolfe’s short fiction or a survey of his short fiction that he loved, this is a great choice. My overall rating was 3.79/5, rounded up to “Great”. Strongly recommended.

    Detailed Review/Comments – Spoilers!

    “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories“, a short story, from “Orbit 7“, Damon Knight editor, 1970 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. I enjoyed this fantasy about a child whose life comes to interact with several characters from literature, perhaps inspired by “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H. G. Wells. Great on reread, a lot of fantasy and rather meta fiction, perhaps, and substantial drug abuse. I love Wolfe’s afterword, with the story of how Isaac Asimov mistakenly attempted to give him the Nebula when this story was a Finalist. Both Gardner Dozois and Richard Lupoff felt this short story should have won the Hugo Award. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Toy Theater“, a short story, from “Orbit 9“, Damon Knight editor, 1971 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. A very good story of a marionette operator and his visit to the Master marionettist Stromboli in outer space. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Fifth Head of Cerberus“, a novella, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. This is where I show my shallowness as a reader of SF. For me, this leans rather more towards the literary end of SF. Great writing here, interesting characters and setting, and a very gradual (but hinted) reveal on the clones. I did enjoy “Mr. Million”. At the same time, I found the story dragging a bit. I found the drugged interviews rather opaque in terms of why they were happening, although I agree that the search for identity was in play. This is definitely where Wolfe first showed what a great writer he would be but the story is not among the best of all time for me. Reread. I love the mention of “…The Mile-Long Spaceship, by some German)…” (Kate Wilhelm!). Followed shortly by”…a crumbling volume of Vernor Vinge’s short-stories that owed it’s presence there, or so I suspect, to some long-dead librarian’s mistaking the faded V. Vinge on the spine for Winge.” I find it very interesting that this mention of Vernor Vinge is very, very early in Vinge’s career. I also loved realizing this is an epistolary story, which I had forgotten. Finally, I really loved this story more on what must be at least my third read over the last 50 years, twice in the last few. I am upgrading my rating to 4.1, or “Superlative”.  It’s a Nebula, Hugo and Locus Award finalist, and was reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction of the Year #2“, Terry Carr editor, 1973 Ballantine Books. Rich Horton and Gardner Dozois both felt this should have won a Hugo Award, see my “Hugo Award Hindsight” post.

    “Beech Hill“, a short story, from “Infinity Three“, Robert Hoskins editor, 1972 Lancer Books. I enjoyed the mood and feel of this story a lot. It seems to include a man who lives an ordinary life and one week of the year goes to Beech Hill, where perhaps he is something he is not the rest of the time. Wolfe says it is based upon the Milford Writer’s Conference and a man Wolfe knew, who was both a pompous fraud yet knew his stuff. I am not sure if this is or is not genre. I guessed it as appearing in FS&F; it was “Infinity Three”. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Recording“, a short story, F&SF April 1972. Another perhaps non-genre story that I really loved, of a boy who cajoles his uncle into buying him a record of his own. His uncle feels very ill, and asks the boy to fetch the doctor. The boy essentially blackmails the uncle into giving him the money and that he will fetch the doc when he runs to the record store. He returns, and his uncle is dead. Only many years later does he play the record! This one was in FS&F, which makes sense. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Hour of Trust“, a novella, from “Bad Moon Rising“, Thomas M. Disch editor, 1973 Harper & Row. Interesting story of the conflict between a disintegrating US and business interests, with the business interests a bit hapless. Wolfe notes in the afterword that he borrowed the plot from a story by Damon Runyon, but not one of Runyon’s better ones (“A Light in France”). I’ll agree that this is genre, but that’s all. As I noted above, I think this one could have been omitted. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Death of Dr. Island“, a novella, from “Universe 3“, Terry Carr editor, 1973 Random House. A great story, from a comment by John Jakes from when Isaac Asimov mistakenly announced Wolfe as a Nebula award winner for “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”. Jakes said, “You know, Gene, if you’d just write ‘The Death of Doctor Island’ now, you’d win”. The protagonist is a therapy patient in the outer system who has been transported to a satellite where therapy will occur. He meets two other patients and Doctor Island, an AI. One of them dies to heal the other, and the protagonist is very changed. This is quite a story; I don’t see how I missed reading this before. Locus and Nebula winner, and Hugo runner-up, and reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3“, Terry Carr editor, 1974 Ballantine Books. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “La Befana“, a short story, Galaxy January-February 1973. Interesting story of aliens and old people on an alien world with humans as refugees with a Christmas story told that seems more allegorical. On reread, still a very good story and I’m glad I reread it. I enjoyed the Wolfe afterword about the story and the Legend of La Befana. Reprinted in “Best SF: 1973“, Brian W. Aldiss & Harry Harrison editors, 1974 Berkley Medallion, and “The Best from Galaxy, Volume II“, Editors of Galaxy, 1974 Award Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Forlesen“, a novelette, from “Orbit 14“, Damon Knight editor, 1974 Harper & Row. A great story, perhaps of a life lived in a long and somewhat meaningless life. As noted by Wolfe, a tribute to men who work their lives at a Fortune 500 company while making no difference. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Westwind“, a short story, from Worlds of If, July-August 1973. A great story of a rather struggling man, whose face is scarred and disfigured. He reluctantly finds lodging in a crummy inn, where he meets a blind woman who is also struggling. Towards the end, we find that he is an agent of the ruler. Ultimately, we find the blind woman and everyone else are also agents of the ruler. I know I have read this before, but I have no idea where. In his afterword, Wolfe tells us he realized G. k Chesterton used a variant of this, with a group of plotters who are all agents for other powers and God the leader, in “The Man Who Was Thursday“. I have not read “The Man Who Was Thursday”, although I have read more than a few of Chesterton’s Father Brown mysteries, so I’ll take Wolfe’s word for this. He does not say if he feels that he emulated Chesterton. Rated 3.9/5, or Great.

    “The Hero As Werwolf“, a short story, from “The New Improved Sun“, Thomas M. Disch editor, 1975 Harper & Row. This is Wolfe’s werewolf story, kind of, and it’s a great story. Looking into the title and Wolfe’s use of “Werwolf”, WolfWiki notes, “Wolfe’s spelling, Werwolf, is a variant that goes back to the etymological root in Anglo-Saxon, where wer meant ‘man,’ thus ‘werwolf’ == ‘man-wolf.’” I had no idea; I was wondering if it was a misprint. It was reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction of the Year #5“, Terry Carr editor, 1976 Ballantine Books, so others thought it was great also. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton“, a novelette, from “Universe 7“, Terry Carr editor, 1977 Doubleday. A great story of a future chess playing automaton after a fall of civilization, or is it? Loved the plot and characters. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Straw“, a short story, Galaxy January 1976. A very good alternate universe story of balloons and other technology in the Middle Ages, with the mercenary balloon traveling free company always on the lookout for food, straw for the balloon, and work. In the afterword, Wolfe states that he does not agree with the concept of steam-engine time, believing random chance is more powerful. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Eyeflash Miracles“, a novella, from “Future Power“, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois editors, 1976 Random House. This is one hell of an interesting story. A little boy is blind and on the road. He meets Nitty and Mr. Parker. Miracles occur around him at times, and sometimes he is somewhere else and can see. His father reappears to him and he hears that he may be the result of genetic modification. Very interesting style and content , with great characters. Nebula and Locus Award finalist, and reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction of the Year 6“, Terry Carr editor, 1977 Del Rey/Ballantine. Rich Horton and Gardner Dozois both felt this should have won a Hugo Award, see my “Hugo Award Hindsight” post. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “Seven American Nights“, a novella, from “Orbit 20“, Damon Knight, 1978 Harper & Row. A great story of an Iranian visiting a ruined US, after it’s downfall. He has an affair with an American actress, but realizes she may be deformed or horrific as well. The story is framed as a partial diary (so it’s an epistolary story, which I love) of his visit to the US, delivered to his family who still hope he is alive. Rich Horton and Gardner Dozois both felt this should have won a Hugo Award, see my “Hugo Award Hindsight” post. It’s a Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award finalist, and was reprinted in “Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Eighth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1979 E. P. Dutton and “The Best Science Fiction Novellas of the Year #1“, Terry Carr editor, 1979 Del Rey/Ballantine. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “The Detective of Dreams“, a short story, from “Dark Forces“, Kirby McCauley editor, 1980 The Viking Press. While I loved this story of the Detective of Dreams, I might not have guessed the Dream-Master as Jesus without a tip in the afterword. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Kevin Malone“, a short story, from “New Terrors“, Ramsey Campbell editor, 1980 Pan Books. A man and wife, newly wed, are out of work and becoming desperate. They get a job, and then lose it after asking to meet their employer. Wolfe calls this his dream story. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 7“, Arthur W. Saha editor, 1981 DAW Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The God and His Man“, a short story, Asimov’s February 1980. This felt a little light to me, or maybe I missed the point.  I would not have included it. Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”.

    “On the Train“, a Redwood Coast Roamer short fiction, from The New Yorker, May 2, 1983. This short short is more of an idea or impression than a story, of a man whose life is only on a train. It seems very much of an impression, and the descriptions reminded me of a Turing Machine as a train. Wolfe notes that this is his first sale to New Yorker, and he was quite happy about that. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton“, a short story, F&SF June 1983. I love this epistolary story of a speculative fiction author and his agent. His name changes and his career takes off, in some ways. Lots of allusions to speculative fiction figures with similar names. In the afterword, Wolfe Wolfe mentions that this was his editor’s favorite. although he does not mention who that is. He also states there is absolutely no connection between the publisher/editor Saul Hearwell in the story and David G. Hartwell. It’s also interesting to me that this was printed in the same issue of F&SF as Ian Watson’s great “Slow Birds“. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Death of the Island Doctor“, a short story, from “The Wolfe Archipelago” collection, 1983 Ziesing Brothers. I loved this story of a rather eccentric professor well past a desired retirement age, with an obsession about islands, and especially the characters. The third in his cycle based on “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”. There is magic in an island, of a sort. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Redbeard“, a short story, from “Masques“, J. N. Williamson editor, 1984 Maclay & Associates. A great story of a small town mass murderer. Wolfe’s afterword explains how he and his wife lived in a very inbred small town with a ruined house, and how that stayed with him.  Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Boy who Hooked the Sun“, a short story, Cheap Street 1985. A good enough story, but not really my thing. I might be an outlier here, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling liked, as it’s reprinted in “The Year’s Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection“, 1989 St. Martin’s Press. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

    “Parkroads—A Review“, a short story, Fiction International, Spring 1987 (Vol. 17, #1, Larry McCaffrey, editor). A wonderful epistolary review of a rather avant garde imaginary 6 reel movie about a mythical Chinese family that moves to the US. Wolfe explains in the afterword that this story, which first appeared in a university literary magazine (Fiction International, then at San Diego State University), had prompted many inquiries to that magazine by people wanting to see the movie.   Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Game in the Pope’s Head“, a short story, from “Ripper!“, Susan Casper & Gardner Dozois editors, 1988 Tor. A very good story of mass murder and a board game. In the afterword, Wolfe notes that he has known three murder victims, and has considered designing a board game involving mass murder. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection“, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling editors, 1989 St. Martin’s Press. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “And When They Appear“, a novelette, from “Christmas Forever“, David G. Hartwell editor, 1993 Tor. A rather horrific story of Christmas, and a young boy left alone by the death of his parents, and ghosts. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.      

    “Bed and Breakfast“, a novelette, from “Dante’s Disciples“, Peter Crowther & Edward E. Kramer editors, 1996 Borealis/White Wolf Publishing. A great, powerful story of a bed and breakfast near Hell, and a demon, and a man, and perhaps a woman. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Petting Zoo“, a short story, from “Return of the Dinosaurs“, Martin H. Greenberg & Mike Resnick editors, 1997 DAW Books. After being raised by an antisocial young man, a tyrannosaurus rex returns as Barney in a zoo. Wolfe’s afterword notes, “Animals in zoos (we are told) believe that their bars protect them. We Americans have forged our own bars, built our own cage, and live in it more or less content as long as someone feeds us.” Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Tree Is My Hat“, a novelette, from “999: New Tales of Horror and Suspense“, Al Sarrantonio editor, 1999 Hill House Publishers & Cemetery Dance Publications. A great story of fantastic horror on a remote Pacific islands, and an ex-wife, and an old god. As Wolfe mentions here in the afterword, there are several things in the story that are true. I also love the story of the radio play. It was reprinted in “The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror: Thirteenth Annual Collection“, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling editors, 2000 St. Martin’s Griffin.  Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.  

    “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?“, a short story, from “Moon Shots“, Peter Crowther editor, 1999 DAW Books. A great story about a strong man who is not very smart, and a friend, with “a thinly fictionalized version of Raphael Aloysius Lafferty” (to quote Wolfe in the afterword) or R. A. Lafferty. Wolfe’s afterword also states that “One of life’s principal lessons is that intelligence is a  minor virtue.” I love this story. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.  

    “A Cabin on the Coast“, a short story first published in German, from “Tor zu den Sternen”, Peter Wilfert editor, 1981 Goldmann. A man, the son of an Irish immigrant politician, has run away with a woman his father may not approve of. He is an experienced swimmer in a dangerous area to swim. He sees a mysterious ship. She disappears, perhaps taken by the fairies. He swims to the mysterious ship, where he agrees to serve them for 20 years elapsed time but no time in his world. He does, but when he returns to her he has aged and she thinks he is the father. Not a favorite. The afterword notes that Wolfe did not plan to include this story, but his agents asked him to. He picked the rest of the stories. I would have been ok with it not being included. After being published in English for the fist time in F&SF February 1984, it was a 1985 Locus and Nebula Award finalist, and was reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1985 Bluejay Books and “The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 11”, Arthur W. Saha, 1985 DAW Books. I am probably an outlier on this story. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”. 

    , ,

  • “Someone In Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance”, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2022 Solaris

    “Someone In Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance”, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2022 Solaris

    The Short: “Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2022 Solaris, is a great anthology. It includes 16 stories and 420 pages of short fiction, with 14 new stories. My overall rating is 3.79/5, which I’m rounding up to “Great”. Strongly recommended.

    The Full Story: When I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I have enjoyed a lot of anthologies by Jonathan Strahan, both for the scope or theme and for the stories selected. And who wouldn’t like an anthology of time travel stories and romance?

    It’s 16 stories and 420 pages (page counts from Amazon and Simon & Schuster) of mostly original short fiction, with two reprints.

    Strahan starts out with a great, thoughtful Introduction, where he mentions two stories that inspired this anthology, “Passing Strange” by Ellen Klages and “Time Was” by Ian MacDonald. He notes that the stories included are “fourteen original to this book and two that are long-standing favorites of mine”, “Time Gypsy” by Ellen Klages (her first published story, and a great one) and “Kronia” by Elizabeth Hand.

    I also like the author bio information that starts each story, as this is my favorite configuration. I’ll need to follow up on some possible additional reading from a number of these authors.

    I loved that I had only read one of these stories before, “Time Gypsy” by Ellen Klages, one hell of a great first published story. It was well worth a reread.

    I loved the bonus stories mentioned by Strahan; I will be reading “Passing Strange” by Ellen Klages. I have read and loved MacDonald’s ” Time Was” several times, last as an epistolary story for a Chicon 8 panel.

    New stories that I loved from “Someone in Time” included:

    • “The Difference between Love and Time”, short fiction by Catherynne M. Valente, which was one of my Hugo Award novelette nominations.
    • “The Lichens”,  short fiction by Nina Allan. I love that this is a writer new to me.
    • “Roadside Attraction”, a short story by Alix E. Harrow.
    • “The Past Life Reconstruction Service”, short fiction by Zen Cho.
    • “I Remember Satellites”, short fiction by Sarah Gailey.
    • “The Golden Hour”, short fiction by Jeffrey Ford.
    • “Bergamot and Vetiver”, short fiction by Lavanya Lakshminarayan.
    • “Romance: Historical”, short fiction by Rowan Coleman, another author new to me.
    • “The Place of All The Souls”, a novelette by Margo Lanagan.
    • “Timed Obsolescence”, short fiction by Sameem Siddiqui.
    • “A Letter to Merlin”, short fiction by Theodora Goss.

    All of the remaining stories fell into “Very good” for me. There were no duds or clunkers in my opinion, which is great!

    My overall rating was 3.79/5, which I’m rounding up to “Great”. Strongly recommended. Needless to say, you’d probably want to like time travel stories, although Strahan’s rather broad remit gives enough latitude for a lot of variety.

    You will note below that I have noted a number of stories as “short fiction”. This is because I don’t have enough information on many of them to know if they are short stories or novelettes.

    Detailed Reviews and Comments: Almost Nothing but Spoilers

    “Roadside Attraction”, a short story by Alix E. Harrow. A great story of a young man, and time travel as a banal roadside attraction, and finding love right in front of you. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Past Life Reconstruction Service”, short fiction by Zen Cho. A great story by an author I pay attention to. A big shot movie director takes his boyfriend for granted, and the boyfriend leaves. He uses the Past Life Reconstruction Service to visit his past lives in a somewhat mental way, looking for inspiration for a movie that will not suck like his last film. He encounters versions of his ex-boyfriend every time, and ends up deciding the ex-boyfriend is his soul mate. He apologizes and takes the first step in getting back together. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “First Aid”, short fiction by Seanan McGuire. A very good story of a woman who joins Deep Time to earn money for her sister’s recovery. She is supposed to be sent back to Elizabethan England for the rest of her life, leaving research notes for the 22nd century. The time machine malfunctions, and she arrives in Cleveland in the 1990s. She finds love after meeting someone at the Renaissance Faire she arrives in. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “I Remember Satellites”, short fiction by Sarah Gailey. A great story of a time operative who “draws the short straw” for a mission to the past she will not return from. She is to immerse herself in her persona in the past and forget and be forgotten by her future. We find out her task is ensure Edward VIII never becomes King, much less has to abdicate. Although she is horrified, she encounters her lover Dani in the past too, on her own mission. She will live as Edward’s wife, but her affair with Dani will continue. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Golden Hour”, short fiction by Jeffrey Ford. A great story which resolves into the love of a time traveler and his wife, and how she returns home and he cannot, and the world and remaining characters are the diminishing world of his memory. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Lichens”, short fiction by Nina Allan. A wonderful story of a Scottish spinster, educated with the support of her independent father, is recruited by a time traveler to investigate changes in lichens over time and to verify the location of an artifact believed to be an alien spaceship. They may become lovers. I need to read more by this author who is new to me. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Kronia“, a short story by Elizabeth Hand, from Conjunctions 44, Spring 2005. A very good story of lives intertwined but not generally meeting. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Bergamot and Vetiver”, short fiction by Lavanya Lakshminarayan. A great story of a time traveler gone rogue and an Indus Valley civilization believed to be masters of water. Water is stolen by the future, ending the civilization. It’s also a love story. As a water resources civil engineer, I loved the water aspect. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Difference between Love and Time”, short fiction by Catherynne M. Valente. A great story of a woman in an on again/off again relationship with the space time continuum. I only wish Valente had enumerated the comfort reads of the space time continuum. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “Unbashed, or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse”, short fiction by Sam J. Miller. A very good story of love and loss, and shame, with multiverses and time. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Romance: Historical”, short fiction by Rowan Coleman. A thoroughly charming story of love across time in a bookstore, connecting now and the run up to WWI. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Place of All The Souls”, a novelette by Margo Lanagan. A great story of time travel, and families, and true love, and life. There is no happy ending here for the time travelers, only life. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    Timed Obsolescence”, short fiction by Sameem Siddiqui. A great story of love and time debt, and an illegal daughter, and who should exist. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “A Letter to Merlin”, short fiction by Theodora Goss. A great epistolary story of a corps of Time Observatory operators, all working to extend human timelines. Volunteers are recruited when they are about to die, a bit like in John Varley’s 1977 “Air Raid“. She is sent to love and betray King Arthur repeatedly. She tries to let Arthur know she really loved him. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Dead Poets”, short fiction by Carrie Vaughn. A very good story of a poetry academic who uses a wine filled kylix to attempt to travel to Sappho. I love the first sentence, “The study of literature is the process of continually falling in love with dead people.” Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Time Gypsy“, a novelette by Ellen Klages, from “Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction“, Nicola Griffith & Stephen Pagel editors, 1998 The Overlook Press. A great story of a physics post doc “asked” to go back to the 1950s by her 1990s Nobel physics department head. This department head wants the dissertation that disappeared, which may hold the key to more practical time travel. A great story with a lot of twists and great characters. Hugo and Nebula finalist, and her first published story! Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    , , ,

  • “Robots through the Ages”, an anthology by Robert Silverberg & Bryan Thomas Schmidt 

    “Robots through the Ages”, an anthology by Robert Silverberg & Bryan Thomas Schmidt 

    The Short: “Robots Through The Ages“, Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt editors, 2023 Blackstone Publishing (7/25/2023 release date), is a great anthology of stories about robots, androids and AI. While mostly reprints, there are three outstanding stories original to this anthology. Rated 3.89/5, or “Great”. I strongly recommend “Robots Through the Ages”.

    The Full Story: When I was given the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of “Robots Through The Ages”, I jumped on it for several reasons. First, it’s just fun to read books before they are released, albeit in not-quite-finished ARC form. Second, the subject – who doesn’t love stories about robots and such? Finally, the editorial team of Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt was attractive.

    This anthology includes 17 stories and perhaps 462 pages of fiction (number of pages is from my ARC; I assume the actual printed copy could be different). There are three original stories here, and 14 reprints from 1899 (“A Night at Moxon’s” by Ambrose Bierce) to 2019 (“Robinson Calculator”, by Paul Levinson).

    Although it did not make a difference in my enjoyment of the anthology, I found 15 science fiction stories here. The two stories that are not are:

    1. “Perfection” by Seanan McGuire, which is probably fantasy.
    2. “Of Homeward Dreams and Fallen Seeds and Melodies by Moonlight”, by Ken Scholes, which Schmidt notes as science fantasy, and I agree.

    There is a very worthwhile Introduction by Silverberg, which mentions five of the stories. Silverberg also explains how the anthology is organized, which I appreciate. There are story introductions by Schmidt and very good editor and contributor biographies which are both helpful and interesting.

    For a real bonus, Schmidt includes an Afterword and Recommended Reading essay,  with two pages of 52 recommended reading stories. Schmidt notes, “… I wanted to offer a list of a few stories of interest to readers wishing to explore the theme of robots, androids, and AI in more depth.” I can see stories that I know here, with more than a few that I think are great recommendations, such as “Cat Pictures Please” by Naomi Kritzer, “Fondly Fahrenheit” by Alfred Bester, “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear, and “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance” by Tobias S. Buckell. There are also quite a few that I don’t think I have read, which is fantastic! I have added the stories I have not read to my short fiction TBR (To Be Read) list. I’m sure many of you will have fun looking at the 17 stories included and these 52 bonus stories and thinking about stories you would have included.

    The Publication Credits are included. I have encountered anthologies without them; while I can usually figure out where reprinted stories have first appeared using ISFDB, this tends to make me less happy with the anthology and the editor(s). I am pleased that this is included; at the same time, I have a minor niggle in that the author names are not included in all of them. I know that I can figure this out using the Table of Contents, but I am not a fan of this omission. Schmidt might be able to convince me otherwise; a minor issue of personal preference.

    My average overall rating for the stories here is 3.89/5, or “Great”.

    I am especially pleased to be introduced to or to be encouraged to read more of several authors that I am either not familiar with or not widely read in. These authors and stories were:

    1. “Today I Know”, a great original story by Martin L. Shoemaker. This is a sequel to the Nebula finalist “Today I am Paul” (Clarkesworld August 2015), which I need to read!
    2. “The Robot’s Girl“, a great story by Brenda Cooper, from Analog April 2010. I think this is the second story of hers I have read, and I need to read more.
    3. “Robinson Calculator” by Paul Levinson, from his collection “Urban Corridors: Fables and Gables” (2019 Connected Education Incorporated). I need to read this collection.

    Other great stories new to me, by authors that I know well:

    1. “Perfection” by Seanan McGuire, a great original story.
    2. “Good Night, Mr. James“, by Clifford D. Simak, Galaxy March 1951. A great story by one of my favorite authors that I must have read 50 years ago but don’t remember.
    3. “R.U.R-8?“, by Suzanne Palmer, Asimov’s September-October 2018.

    Great, classic stories that I was happy to meet again:

    1. “With Folded Hands…” (the Humanoids), by Jack Williamson, Astounding July 1947.
    2. “A Bad Day for Sales“, by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy July 1953.
    3. “Second Variety“, by Phillip K. Dick, Space Science Fiction Stories  May 1953.
    4. “The Golem“, by Avram Davidson, F&SF March 1955.
    5. “Good News from the Vatican“, Robert Silverberg, from Terry Carr’s “Universe 1” anthology (1971 Ace).

    The other stories that all fall into “Very good” for me included:

    1. “A Night at Moxon’s” (identified as “Moxon’s Master” elsewhere), Ambrose Bierce, San Francisco Examiner April 16, 1899 , a fun and somewhat horrific story that was new to me.
    2. “Instinct‘, by Lester del Rey, Astounding January 1951, which I have read before but do not remember.
    3. “For A Breath I Tarry“, by Roger Zelazny, New Worlds March 1966. Not one of Zelazny’s classics for me, but a very good story I enjoyed rereading.
    4. “Dilemma” by Connie Willis, from “Foundation’s Friends: Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov“, Martin H. Greenberg editor, Tor 1989. A very good and fun story in tribute to Asimov with his robots updated. I know I read this when I read that anthology, but I don’t remember it.
    5. “That Must Be Them Now“, by Karen Haber, from “Unidentified Funny Objects 3“, Alex Shvartsman editor, 2014 UFO Publishing. I thought this was a very good story, and one new to me by an author that does not publish much. I am a fan of humorous SF, which is hard to do well. At the same time, and I don’t have a good recent, humorous story to suggest to take its place, this just feels a bit slight to me. “The Secret Life of Bots” is my first thought, but including two Suzanne Palmer stories is a challenge. Although it’s not recent, I would have considered one of Henry Kuttner’s “Gallegher” stories with Joe the reluctant, narcissist robot, such as “The Proud Robot” or “Time Locker” instead.
    6. “Of Homeward Dreams and Fallen Seeds and Melodies by Moonlight”, by Ken Scholes, original to this volume. A very good story by an author new to me.

    There are no real clunkers in “Robots Through The Ages”, in my opinion. That’s always fantastic.

    With great essay material including the bonus recommended stories, classic stories that I loved, great stories that were new to me including some by authors new to me, other stories that were very good, and with an overall “great” rating, I strongly recommend “Robots Through the Ages”.

    Detailed Reviews/Comments – SPOILERS ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE!

    “Perfection” by Seanan McGuire, original to this anthology. A great story of a woman married to a demigod, and his desire for her to be perfect. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “A Night at Moxon’s” (identified as “Moxon’s Master” elsewhere), a short story by Ambrose Bierce, San Francisco Examiner April 16, 1899. A very good story of an automation chess player that murders it’s owner Moxon when it loses to him. It’s fun to see a story by Bierce that is new to me. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “With Folded Hands…“, a “Humanoids” novelette by Jack Williamson, Astounding July 1947. This is a great, chilling story, very nightmarish. I agree with comments I have seen that the characters are a bit wooden. Upon reread, still a bona fide classic. One of the most hopeless stories ever, with man “safely” living under the care and oversight of the mechanicals, with no freedom for anything. Much reprinted, including the Science Fiction Hall of Fame (Vol 2B) anthology. Rated 4.5/5, or “A classic”.

    “Good Night, Mr. James“, a novelette by Clifford D. Simak, Galaxy March 1951. A great story by one of my favorite authors that I must have read in the 1962 Simak collection “All the Traps of Earth and Other Stories” (I have the 1963 paperback) 50 years ago. This is a superlative story, and one I don’t remember reading. A man comes to consciousness, realizing that he is hunting the deadly, intelligent and dangerous puudly, which he illegally brought to Earth. He kills the puudly, but not before it communicates that he is a temporary duplicate, created to kill the puudly. Upon returning home, he arranges for the death of the original. He then finds out that he, the duplicate, was created with a poison that will kill him in 24 hours. For me, this is a very different Simak story, and one that has been reprinted fairly often! Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

    My copy of “All The Traps of Earth and Other Stories”

    “Instinct‘, a short story by Lester del Rey, Astounding January 1951. I have read this in Astounding but do not remember it. A very good story of robots tens of thousands of years after all men and most robots died. The POV robot is the head of a team attempting to recreate man, thinking this will help robots understand and use “instinct”. There is substantial opposition to this, but it perseveres. Recreation is a success. The story’s last sentence expresses the robot’s instinct, “Nothing, Master. Only to serve you.” Reprinted first in Groff Conklin’s “Omnibus of Science Fiction” (1952 Crown), and then somewhat often after. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “A Bad Day for Sales“, a short story by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy July 1953. A horrific story of a sales robot and a nuclear attack in a big city. Reprinted in “The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954“, Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty editors, 1954 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library) and many other places. [Note that being reprinted in one of the “Year’s Best” anthologies has significance for me. While it does not guarantee it’s a great story, it does mean that an editor thought it was an important story at the time.] Still one of my favorite Leiber SF stories, just as great on reread. Rated 4.4/5, or “A classic”.

    Illustration for “A Bad Day for Sales”

    “Second Variety“, a novelette by Phillip K. Dick, Space Science Fiction Stories  May 1953. The USSR has to attacked the US, and are on the verge of victory. The command of the US forces retreats to the Moon, leaving a few surviving soldiers to fight. They also deploy evolving robots and robot/human cyborg hybrids. These hybrid cyborgs evolve out of being under human control, with the mission of eliminating all life and all other varieties of cyborgs as well. Humans are finished. A worthy Retro Hugo runner-up, and reprinted in “The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954“, Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty editors, 1954 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library) and many other places. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Golem“, a short story by Avram Davidson, F&SF March 1955. I love this story of a modern day robot who becomes a golem, and his encounter with an aging Jewish couple. No award nominations, but reprinted in “S-F: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1956 Dell, and many other anthologies. One of my Avram Davidson favorites. Just as great on reread, especially the couple. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “For A Breath I Tarry“, a novelette by Roger Zelazny, New Worlds March 1966. A story of a computer program personality that ends up becoming human after man has died out and left directives. Well written but did not excite me. Reread again, because I am a huge, longtime fan of Zelazny. Not up with the best of Zelazny short fiction for me, but a very good choice. This was a Hugo finalist, and it was reprinted in both “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967“, Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1967 Ace Books, and “Best S.F. Stories from New Worlds 2“, Michael Moorcock editor, 1968 Panther, so those back in the day appeared to like it more than I do. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Good News from the Vatican“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, from Terry Carr’s “Universe 1” anthology (1971 Ace). I dearly love this story of the elevation of a robot pope, and the amusing personalities of those waiting for the result. A Nebula winner, and reprinted in “Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year“, Lester del Rey editor, 1972 E. P. Dutton and often thereafter. On reread, just as great. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Dilemma” by Connie Willis, a short story from “Foundation’s Friends: Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov“, Martin H. Greenberg editor, Tor 1989. I know I read this when I read that anthology, but I don’t remember it. I like to think I should have remembered this fun and amusing tribute featuring Isaac Asimov and his robots updated, and a mystery. I’m not sure it gets to great, but it was a load of fun to reread. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Robot’s Girl“, a great novelette by Brenda Cooper, from Analog April 2010. I think this is the second story of hers I have read, and I need to read more. Like Bryan Thomas Schmidt, I love this story. If I had nominated in 2011, this could have been a Hugo nomination for me. I need to check out more fiction by Brenda Cooper; I loved her “Savant Songs“, which I read fairly recently. This was a great story of a preteen being raised by robots in a rural area, and her new neighbors and their attempt to get to know her and help her with some friendship and human contact under challenging circumstances. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “That Must Be Them Now“, a short story by Karen Haber, from “Unidentified Funny Objects 3“, Alex Shvartsman editor, 2014 UFO Publishing. A humorous yet slight story of aliens and a robotic head, and an interstellar probe. I loved her 1990 short story, “3 RMS, Good View“, but this fell a bit short. Humor in SF is hard, and I can see why the editors chose it. However, I think I would have considered a Henry Kuttner “Gallagher” story instead for humorous robot SF, such as “Time Locker” or “The Proud Robot“, but that does not match the “recent” criteria needed. “The Secret Life of Bots” would have been a good choice, but including two Suzanne Palmer stories is a challenge. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “R.U.R-8?“, a short story by Suzanne Palmer, Asimov’s September-October 2018. A lovely tribute to Karel Čapek’s classic “R. U. R.“, updated and with humor. It had a bit of the feel of a Kurt Vonnegut story, with obsolete robots, androids, and one person. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. One note: there seems to be a lot of confusion on this title. I have seen it as “R. U. R-8?” and “R.U.R.-8?”. The title noted above is the one on Palmer’s website.

    “Robinson Calculator“, a novelette by Paul Levinson, from his collection “Urban Corridors: Fables and Gables” (2019 Connected Education Incorporated). I have not read much fiction by Paul Levinson. I loved his 1995 “The Chronology Protection Case“. I know I read but don’t remember his 1997 “The Mendelian Lamp Case“. This wonderful story has definitely convinced me to look for more of his fiction. A professor of film and philosophy falls for Lianne Calculator, from a family of perhaps not strictly human and perhaps artificial but human looking and feeling beings. She disappears, he looks into the Calculator family, and all information about them disappears. With one last message, she tells him the time is not right now, but it may be in the future. This is a great story, original to Levinson’s collection “Urban Corridors: Fables and Gables”. On this basis, I need to read that collection. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Of Homeward Dreams and Fallen Seeds and Melodies by Moonlight”, by Ken Scholes, original to this volume. I am not sure I have ever read any fiction by Ken Scholes. A very good science fantasy story of an isolated and somewhat forsaken people, and a metal man who comes to them in a confusing way. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “Today I Know”, a great original story by Martin L. Shoemaker. A great story, by an author that I think is new to me. A companion and therapy android, designed to help the elderly and those with dementia, encounters a young person with very different problems. This is the sequel to his prior, Nebula finalist story, “Today I am Paul” (Clarkesworld August 2015), which I need to read! Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    ,

  • ISFDB, SFADB, and Other Speculative Fiction Tools

    Summary: My favorite public speculative fiction tools and resources include:

    1. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database, or ISFDB.
    2. The Science Fiction Awards Database, or SFADB, by Mark R. Kelly.
    3. Classics of Science Fiction, by James Wallace Harris, Piet Nel and Mike Jorgenson.
    4. The Internet Time Travel Database, or ITTDB, by Michael Main and compatriots.
    5. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, or SFE.
    6. Internet Archive and the Luminist Archives.

    I know there are many, many more, but these are the ones I usually start with.

    On a personal level, I have Book, Comic Book and SF Magazine Databases. I also have a very substantial Excel spreadsheet I use to track my short fiction reading, along with MS Notes Pages to track each short fiction work in a portable format on my phone or tablet. However, these are not public tools, although I’ll be happy to talk to anyone about them.

    More Details, like why, how, etc., etc.: I’ve been a fan of science fiction and speculative fiction for many decades.

    Between joining the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction and Science Fiction Book Clubs, and in writing a blog that is often about speculative fiction, I’ve been using various internet based tools a lot more over the last few years.

    I have noticed lately that I occasionally encounter people who don’t know about the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. For me, at least, this is a very basic tool that I use daily, sometimes many times. This drove me to think about the tools and resources I use for thinking and writing about speculative fiction, and about writing about them.

    Before I discuss these tools and resources in any detail, I need to clarify that I mostly think about and write about speculative fiction that is in the form of a story or a novel. Most of them are in a written format, although some are available as audio books.

    Also, and I’ll expand on this below, I am aware that some have issues with Internet Archive and such, with concerns about the legality, ethics and morality of such an approach to a lending library. I get that. I’ll let individuals make their own decisions on this.

    Good luck, and let me know of essential resources that I have missed here. I am sure there are many; if I like more of them, I’ll update this post.

    ISFDB: The Internet Speculative Fiction Database, or ISFDB, is just what the name implies. As noted on the entry page, “The ISFDB is a community effort to catalog works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It links together various types of bibliographic data: author bibliographies, publication bibliographies, award listings, magazine content listings, anthology and collection content listings, and forthcoming books.”

    This is a very powerful community effort to catalog speculative fiction. Anyone can be an editor; I am. I find it dramatically useful, and very accurate most of the time. At the same time, I have occasionally discovered errors and missing information, stories, authors or books that I could provide. This lead me to become an editor. A lot of this is non-trivial, and all of my suggested additions, corrections, etc. are approved by a moderator before they take effect.

    The basic functionality that most users are concerned with includes the basic, unnamed “Search” and below it “Advanced Search”.

    Right below the unnamed “Search” text box is a dropdown tab with a lot of choices for what kind of information you are seeking, by Fiction Title, All Titles, Author Name, Series Name, Magazine Name, Publisher, etc. Many searches can be accomplished with this basic “Search” functionality.

    This basic Search functionality is based upon text string matching; it does not do Google-like approximations. So, if you happen to misspell something or use a name that does not match what is in ISFDB, you won’t find what you are looking for. Even punctuation or typed characters can be an issue. Also, current functionality is based upon whole word matching. So, if you type in “Isaac Asimov” under “Author”, you’ll get him. However, if you type “Isaac As”, you probably won’t get him.

    When you get too many responses or you’re not finding what you are looking for, you will need to use the “Advanced Search” button. This lets you do “Custom Searches of Individual Record Types”, “Other Searches”, and also you will find a useful “Search the ISFDB database using Google” option. “Custom Searches of Individual Record Types” will let you search on multiple selection criteria using options like “Is exactly”, “contains”, etc.

    There are still a few specific searches that I’ve never figured out how to do. I have always wanted to know what stories from an author was published in a specific magazine. I suspect you can do this but I’ve never asked for help on this and it’s not yet clear to me how to do it.

    If you are looking at a specific magazine or series, you can search for those. I searched for “Analog” as a magazine. This results in a number of different answers, which can be very helpful. Depending upon what you are looking for, the “issue grid” may be preferable to the “Analog” entry. As a database, there are a lot of database entries that have a “parent” as well. This may or may not matter to you, but typically the parent is the original record.

    It’s also worth noting that many entries have cover art. Equally if not more useful to me are the magazine entries where there is a link to a scanned copy at Internet Archive or the Luminist Archives. “Astounding” is one of these, as is “Galaxy”, “Unknown”, “If/Worlds of If”, some “Weird Tales”, “Thrilling Wonder Stories”, “Startling Stories”, etc.

    SFADB: The Science Fiction Awards Database, or SFADB, by Mark R. Kelly, is a wonderful source of information that I have probably not fully plumbed.

    It’s a very useful single source for many awards for SF and speculative fiction. He also includes substantial citation information (places a story has been reprinted, typically). Mark notes that it is not exhaustive, but it’s pretty amazing and helpful. I assume there might be more detail on each of them separately, but Mark has done a wonderful job of combining the information into one place and made it available in useful ways.

    You can search for information in a number of ways, on an author basis, on an award basis, and probably more. There are tabs for “Names”, “Awards”, “Citations”, “Anthologies”, “Rankings”, “Timeline” and “More”.

    While Mark clearly does not enter all stories by all authors in his database (look at ISFDB for something closer to that), it can be a great way to get a sense of an author over time, both in terms of awards (including nominations) and citations in anthologies that meet his criteria for inclusion. Without overthinking it or putting words into his mouths, I believe his anthology citations are from works that he thinks are important or consequential.

    I tend to use SFADB in several ways.

    1. First, and perhaps the most common, is when I’m trying to get a sense of an author’s career and whether it’s worth my time and effort to read more of them and know more about them. Awards and nominations can be one facet of that; being listed in consequential anthologies is another. I like that, when you look at a specific author under the “Names” tab, there are sub-tabs for “Awards”, “Citations”, “Titles” and “Chronology”. This is especially useful for an author I don’t know much about. It’s not uncommon for me to read a story by an author who I don’t know or remember much about, sometimes nothing, and enter “SFADB Josephine Blow” into google and see what comes up at SFADB. A story’s awards and citations don’t confirm for me that it’s a good story, but it can be helpful in winnowing out what I’d like to read and make my mind up about myself.
    2. “Rankings” can be useful. When I was preparing my “Recommended Reading List” for short speculative fiction for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group, these rankings of short stories, novelettes and novellas were one essential component. Here is one version of that list, and here is another somewhat different version.
    3. “Timeline” is fun also, when you’re looking at an era or a year. I’ve found this especially true when I was looking at short fiction for a specific year and attempting to read or identify those stories that I thought were the best for that year. This has come up for me several times, such as a) when I did the reading for the Chicon 8 1946 Project (or the “Not the Retro Hugos” as I called it), b) our Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group read on SF from 1976, and c) reading the Bleiler/Dikty “The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949” (1949, Frederick Fell) and trying to decide what stories I felt should have been included from 1948 instead of some of the ones that were included.

    Classics of Science Fiction, by James Wallace Harris, Piet Nel and Mike Jorgenson has some similarities to but is different enough from SFADB to make it very useful as well. Classics of Science Fiction is a database that is chiefly citations driven.

    There are buttons for four different choices, with “Short Stories V2”, “Novels, Anthologies, Collections V5”, “List Builder”, and “Citation Total by Author”.

    I tend to use the “List Builder” choice for custom lists quite often. I used it as one of the basic input to my “Recommended Reading List” for short speculative fiction.

    ITTDB: The Internet Time Travel Database, or ITTDB, by Michael Main and compatriots. The Internet Time Travel Database is what it says it is.

    Time travel is a pretty common type of speculative fiction story, and this site is the best resource for stories and books and movies, etc. about it.

    SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, or SFE. This is a wonderful resource now in Fourth Edition, edited by John Clute and David Langford, with Graham Sleight as Managing Editor and the late Peter Nicholls noted as Founding Editor. Strongly recommended as a well thought out and insightful resource on speculative fiction. ISFDB tends to refer to SFE as one of the webpages referenced for most authors.

    Internet Archive and the Luminist Archives. While I assume there are many “black” or less public websites on the Internet where you can find works that are clearly not being made available in a legal fashion, I don’t know of any of them. Neither have I looked for them.

    These two organizations/websites both make written works and many other things available online. The written works are typically scanned. Both have take-down procedures for works that someone deems still under copyright and not legally available. I can’t vouch for how compliant they are on this.

    Additionally, Internet Archive functions as a library, where books that have been obtained legally by the Internet Archive are scanned and made available online on a check-out basis to those with accounts. Some of these are for longer check-out periods, and some are for one hour periods at a time.

    I am aware that some have issues with Internet Archive and such, with concerns about the legality, ethics and morality of such an approach to a lending library. I get that. There is a substantial lawsuit going on as we speak between Internet Archive and four major publishers on the scanned books as a legal lending library concept. This could go all the way to the Supreme Court. This might have a very substantial impact on scanned books at Internet Archive; we’ll see.

    Regardless, I’ll let individuals make their own decisions on these matters.

    There are both similarities and differences between what is found at Internet Archive and the Luminist Archives.

    The biggest similarity for me is that they both have substantial holdings of scanned speculative fiction books and magazines.

    There are substantial differences between them as well.

    1. The scanned versions at Luminist Archives are often pdf files that must be downloaded and opened to be read. Many, and perhaps all, of the files for written documents on Internet Archive can be opened in your browser. This tends to make access easier and faster on Internet Archive.
    2. There is no doubt that the indexing is generally much, much, much better at Luminist Archives. Saying this another way, the indexing varies a lot on Internet Archive, including very different indexing terms and usages for different issues of the same magazine. I have found written works there that it took me several variations on how it might have been indexed by title and author to actually find it, even when I know it’s there. Sometimes I never found things due to my search terms. The exception to this are the Collections on Internet Archive, where someone has put together works that they think belong together. Examples of those on the Internet Archive are Collections named “The Pulp Magazine Archive” and “Astounding Stories Magazine“. I have not done the work to check if they are complete and included all of the scanned such objects on IA, but it’s a great start.
    3. Although there is overlap, there are some things that are currently found on one that are not on the other.
    4. Internet Archive also have radio shows and music concerts.

  • The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949, edited by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty

    The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949, edited by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty

    The Short: I recently read “The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949” Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty editors, 1949 Frederick Fell. This is the first “Best of the Year” or “Year’s Best” science fiction anthology. My overall average rating is 3.8/5, or “Great”. I am glad I read it, with some caveats below.

    The Full Story: I’ve been reading “Year’s Best” or “Best of the Year” or whatever anthologies of science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction for many decades.

    The oldest “Year’s Best” anthology I own is the Dell paperback “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume“, 1957, Judith Merril editor, which mostly covers 1956, from her “The Year’s Best S-F” series.

    I own an assortment of similar volumes from Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr or Arthur W. Saha (“World’s Best SF“), Harry Harrison & Brian Aldiss (“Best SF“), Terry Carr (“Best SF of the Year“), Gardner Dozois (“Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year” and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction“), David G. Hartwell (“Year’s Best SF“), Rich Horton (“Science Fiction: The Best of the Year” and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy“), Allan Kaster (“The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories“, among others), Jonathan Strahan (“Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year” and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction (Strahan)“), John Joseph Adams & various editors (“The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy“), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (“The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2021): Volume 1“), Lavie Tidhar (“The Best of World SF“), and Donna Scott (“Best of British Science Fiction“).

    I have read many more “Year’s Best” volumes by these and other editors that I don’t own, from the library or online scanned sources.

    Updated after input from Piet Nel: it appears that the Edmund Crispin “Best SF (Crispin)” series (1955 to 1970) was really more like a reprint precursor to Robert Silverberg’s “Alpha” series. The range of years covered in each volume could be very large, as much as from 1946 to 1965. I have been unable to locate a copy of the 1955 first volume by Crispin, “Best SF”, to see what the Introduction says. At 8 pages, I am very sure that Crispin laid out his goals and philosophy for the series, and I would have liked to get that information. Regardless, this is not a “Year’s Best” series, although it was seminal for gaining some respect for SF in the UK. My thanks to Piet Nel for helping me on this.

    Joining the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook has lead me to read even more “Year’s Best” volumes.

    I was aware that Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, and then Dikty alone, had edited what I believe to be the first “Year’s Best” anthologies in speculative fiction, “Best SF Stories“. I had never seriously taken any steps to read any of them.

    In early February, John O’Neill shared a Tor blog post by James Davis Nicoll on “Five Out-of-Print Books Every SFF Reader Should Try to Find” (February 13, 2023). I had noticed that these five out of print books were all novels, and I commented that I would be more excited about anthologies. In response, James Davis Nicoll generously shared a list of six of his Tor blog posts about science fiction/speculative fiction anthologies:

    1. A Brief History of Pamela Sargent’s Women of Wonder Anthologies
    2. Science Fiction’s Very First “Year’s Best” Anthology
    3. Four SFF “Best Of…” Anthologies You Might Have Missed
    4. A Look Back at All 21 Volumes of Damon Knight’s Orbit Anthology Series

    5. Five of the Best SFF Anthologies Featuring Reprinted Stories

    6. Five Vintage SF Anthologies That Are Too Good to Be Forgotten

    After thanking James, I started by looking briefly as his post on “Science Fiction’s Very First ‘Year’s Best’ Anthology”. I thought to myself, I need to read one of these Bleiler/Dikty “Year’s Best” volumes, why not start with the first one? I’m sure I’ll look at these other posts and come up with some anthologies I want to read, but this was a good start.

    I took a look at the usual resources online for scanned speculative fiction for “The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949”, but did not find it. I checked my library and regional library consortium, and I drew a blank. I did see it for purchase online, but I don’t need more books (I already have a “stuff” problem) and I was not sure I wanted to own this one.

    My last resource was a request to Interlibrary Loan, via my local library. I checked Worldcat.org, and there definitely were copies that should be available on Interlibrary Loan. I submitted a request online; a few weeks later, I was notified that it would be at my branch library soon.

    A few days later, a nicely rebound copy from the Stevenson Library at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania showed up. See photo below:

    According to the copyright page in this edition, there were three 1949 printings (August, September and October), so there was some definite demand – this did not sink without a trace. According to ISFDB (an essential speculative fiction database), there were 9 different titles in this series, first by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, and then by Dikty alone, between 1949 and 1958. This also showed real interest in the series by those buying books.

    ISFDB shows seven genre reviews in 1949-50, so genre people were definitely paying attention. Looking at Newspapers.com, I found many, many reviews there in newspapers, notably a very favorable one by Fritz Leiber, Jr. in the Chicago Tribune, so those outside of the genre “ghetto” that read might have heard of it also.

    This volume was comprised of stories from the prior year, 1948. Most but not all of the other books in the series included stories from the prior year. This is an interesting and in my opinion helpful choice. Many but not all later “Year’s Best” editors chose to do this as well, and today it’s generally pretty common if not standard. Among the editors I have looked at, Judith Merril was and Edmund Crispin were the outliers that really did not think this was important for “Year’s Best” volumes.

    The editors were clearly taking volume pretty seriously. It starts with an introductory essay by fan Melvin Korshak, “Introduction: Trends in Modern Science-Fiction”. Bleiler and Dikty follow with an 11 page Preface that tells us what they were thinking about. The Preface includes both general thoughts and story introductions. Although I have come to like story introductions next to the stories, their inclusion in the volume is another very positive facet here for me. There are story blurbs of a sentence or two with the each story titles, as is common in the magazines. These are uncredited; I assume they are are by the editors.

    Bleiler and Dikty give us a clear statement of their selection philosophy and process in the Preface:

    It is very clear in this Preface that they would go beyond only material from the genre magazines, and they do. Astounding Science Fiction (Astounding) is by far the biggest source; this is not a surprise, as neither The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction or Galaxy Science Fiction were being published yet. From the Copyright page, I see Astounding with six stories; Thrilling Wonder Stories with three stories; and one story each from Planet Stories, Blue Book Magazine, and Comment (a University of Chicago publication). I give them props for trying the non-genre magazine material, but I was not impressed by the choices.

    According to ISFDB, these are all short stories or novelettes, with one short short, “Thang” by Martin Gardner. There are 12 stories, at 285 pages of fiction. This is all pretty typical of “Year’s Best” anthologies into the sixties or seventies, although the heft in some series has definitely increased substantially since then.

    My two favorites were, unsurprisingly, two classics, “Mars Is Heaven!“, a Martian Chronicles short story by Ray Bradbury, Planet Stories Fall 1948, and “In Hiding“, a novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras, Astounding November 1948.

    My “hidden gem” here was the Isaac Asimov short story from the June 1948 Astounding, “No Connection“. I was very surprised to read such a great Asimov story for the first time here. However, looking at ISFDB, it was primarily reprinted in “The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying“, 1972 Doubleday, and after, and I have never read that. Maybe I’m an outlier here, but I think this is a great story. Getting to discover this story was worth the effort to get the book from Interlibrary Loan.

    Other great stories that I had read before included:

    1. “Ex Machina“, a Gallagher novelette by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner), Astounding April 1948.
    2. “Knock“, a short story by Fredric Brown, Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1948.
    3. “And the Moon Be Still As Bright“, a Martian Chronicles novelette by Ray Bradbury, Thrilling Wonder Stories June 1948.

    There were several stories that were in the “Very good” range for me but that were new to me. I was happy to discover these stories.

    1. “The Strange Case of John Kingman“, a short story by Murray Leinster, Astounding May 1948.
    2. “Period Piece“, a short story by John R. Pierce (as J. J. Coupling), Astounding, November 1948.
    3. “Happy Ending“, a novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (published as by Henry Kuttner), Thrilling Wonder Stories August 1948.

    There were several stories that I really was disappointed about their inclusion after I read them. I’m not prepared to say they were bad, but I just felt they did not belong in a “Year’s Best” anthology.

    1. “Doughnut Jockey” a short story by Eric Fennel, Blue Book May 1948.
    2. “Thang” by Martin Gardner, Comment Fall 1948, a short story which is not even SF.
    3. “Genius“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding December 1948.

    My overall average rating for these twelve stories was 3.8/5, or “Great”. However, this includes very high ratings for “In Hiding” (4.8/5″, or “A Classic”) and “Mars Is Heaven!” (4.5/5, or “A Classic”), which is balanced by “Doughnut Jockey” (3.5/5, or “Good”), “Thang” (2.9/5, or “Okay”), and “Genius” (3.5/5, or “Good”).

    I am glad I read “The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949”, both because it is a significant historical SF anthology, and because I discovered a number of stories new to me that I really liked. That is definitely success on my terms. At the same time, my recommendation to read it is tempered by the fact that I believe you will have to slog through a few stories that I really make me wonder what Bleiler and Dikty were thinking about.

    Could the editors have done better? I think so. Without worrying about real world factors like page count, availability of stories, balance, etc., I asked myself what I would have included that Bleiler and Dikty did not? I have not read exhaustively in 1948, so I could be missing good choices. However, for me the obvious alternate choices would have been:

    1. “That Only A Mother“, a short story by Judith Merril, Astounding June 1948 (the same issue as “No Connection”).
    2. “He Walked Around the Horses“, a novelette by H. Beam Piper, Astounding April 1948 (the same issue as “Ex Machina”).

    These are both from Astounding, and perhaps that would have been too many Astounding stories for Bleiler and Dikty.

    Other possible choices for me would include stories such as:

    1. “The Lottery“, a short story by Shirley Jackson, The New Yorker, June 26, 1948. A bona fide classic, I think this is a horror story. However, given that Bleiler and Dikty were comfortable including the fantasy “Thang” by Martin Gardner, it seems like an obvious choice to me.
    2. “Dreams Are Sacred“, a novelette by Peter Phillips, Astounding September 1948, his third story published and a very good one.
    3. “Brooklyn Project“, a short story by William Tenn, Planet Stories Fall 1948, a great time travel story that anticipates the short story “Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne” (Galaxy, February 1957) by R. A. Lafferty.

    I do have to wonder if “That Only A Mother” and “The Lottery” were not included to some extent because their authors were women. Additionally, the editors would not have known that C. L. Moore was a co-author on “Happy Ending.” They might not have known that the author of “In Hiding”, Wilmar H. Shiras, was a woman. Conscious or unconscious bias, I do wonder about this issue.

    Now that I’ve finished writing this, I will take a full look at the piece by James Davis Nicoll and see if it triggers any thoughts. Reading his thoughtful post encouraged me to expand on one point. My thanks again to him for his excellent post that drove me to read this, and to John O’Neill for tipping the applecart first.

    Reviews/Comments: A Lot of Spoilers:

    “Mars Is Heaven!“, a Martian Chronicles short story by Ray Bradbury, Planet Stories Fall 1948. An exciting and feel good story that turns horrific, with shape shifting Martians as beloved family members of the crew. I thought the story was a lot better at my (older) re-read than when I was a young man. I do love the words, but I am really kind of undecided if it is SF or fantasy. Regardless, an outstanding story. This has been reprinted innumerable times, in consequential and more ordinary books. Rated 4.5/5, or “A Classic”.

    “Ex Machina“, a Gallagher novelette by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner), Astounding April 1948. It’s fun to reread an old favorite; I may have first read this in the 1973 Lancer edition of Kuttner’s “Robots Have No Tails”. Reading this one, it had been a long time, so the details were gone. I remembered that Gallagher is an inventor, with a brilliant and amoral subconscious that emerges when he is very drunk and that is when he gets results. Of course, he can never remember any details when sober. In “Ex Machina”, he has taken a lot of money to solve a problem, two people (Grandpa and a client) are missing, and someone keeps stealing his liquor when he tries to take a drink. He finally gets things figured out with the help of his reluctant, Narcissist, robot Joe. This one is very definitely rather zany and gonzo SF, but Kuttner did that well. This story has been reprinted periodically in new editions of “Robots Have No Tails” and other books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Strange Case of John Kingman“, a short story by Murray Leinster, Astounding May 1948. A doctor at a mental institution discovers that a patient has been there for over 150 years, and that he is not human. The patient displays astoundingly advanced knowledge of nuclear reactions, although he is also very paranoid. The US government decides there must be an attempt to “cure” him to gain his knowledge; it does not work. This has had more than a few reprints anthologies and Murray Leinster collections. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Doughnut Jockey” a short story by Eric Fennel, Blue Book May 1948. A good story of romance, rocket jockeys, and a very interesting system to get rockets launched and back from Mars. I loved that it was from Blue Book. I admire Bleiler and Dikty for recognizing the need for SF from non-genre sources; at the same time, I don’t think it’s a great choice for inclusion. The story has been reprinted only once since the Bleiler/Dikty volume, which does not surprise me. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

    “Thang“, a short short by Martin Gardner, Comment (a University of Chicago publication) Fall 1948. An amusing but very slight fantasy short short with no depth, of a god eating a planet who is eaten by another god. Maybe Bleiler and Dikty liked this because it was a) a short short, and b) from a non-genre source. Looking at ISFDB, the reprints were mostly in Asimov/Greenberg anthologies, so clearly they liked it as well. Aside from the fact that it is not SF, I just felt it was not very good and would not have included it. I give Martin Gardner a lot of credit as a mathematics and science writer whose oeuvre includes a long-running column in the Scientific American, but this story written while he was in graduate school is not him at his best. Rated 2.9/5, or “Okay”.

    “Period Piece“, a short story by John R. Pierce (as J. J. Coupling), Astounding, November 1948 (the same as “In Hiding”). A man from the 20th century is on display to people in the 33rd century, where he goes to social events and talks about the 20th century. At the same time, he has heard that they don’t know much about the 20th century and that time travel is impossible. He finally discovers he is a robotic recreation of a man from the 20th century. This is a very good story, well executed and interesting. This story feels like an earlier attempt on a very similar subject to Robert Silverberg’s classic “Sailing to Byzantium“. It has been reprinted a few times, mostly by Asimov/Greenberg. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Knock“, a short story by Fredric Brown, Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1948. Another great “last man in the world” SF story, and one of the first I ever read, probably in “The Best of Frederic Brown” (1977 Del Rey/Ballantine). The last man in the world is sitting in a room. There is a knock on the door. As we go on, we find out an alien race has killed all humans but him and a woman. They and the surviving pairs of animals are in a zoo. Immortal, the aliens are not used to death. The man uses a rattlesnake to kill a few aliens and convince them to leave Earth. “Knock” continues to be reprinted fairly often, a sign of being remembered. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Genius“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding December 1948. I probably read first in the 1965 anthology, “Giants Unleashed” (Groff Conklin, Grossett & Dunlap), in the early 1970s. A pretty good story of a set of 1,500 planets of the Solarian Empire which are psychohistoric study stations, with specific variables addressed on each planet. Those running this study are hoping to develop improved means of operating the Empire, which is struggling. One planet has been stocked with a genius level population. At the end, it turns out the genius stock is taking over the empire. This is not a bad story, but rather slow and too much info-dumping. John W. Campbell, Jr. must have liked it, as it was the Astounding cover story. I love Poul Anderson, but this was early in his career and I am not much impressed. I question it’s inclusion here. It has not been reprinted since 1970 other than in the NESFA 2009 collection “The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson Volume 1: Call Me Joe“, so not one of his more popular or remembered stories. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

    “And the Moon Be Still As Bright“, a Martian Chronicles novelette by Ray Bradbury, Thrilling Wonder Stories June 1948. A great story of men coming to Mars. One decides he is a Martian in spirit, and that Mars must be saved. He does not, but still a lovely, melancholy story. I’m sure I have read this before, as it’s part of The Martian Chronicles, but I don’t remember it. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “No Connection“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, June 1948 Astounding. It’s interesting to encounter an Asimov story from 1948 that I don’t think I have read before, and which I think is a great story. This story was reprinted often in “The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying” (1972 Doubleday), which I have not read. It’s a great story of sapient being on the Earth, who are of a race with a very different social structure. The protagonist is an archeologist, who specializes in “Primate Primeval”. He hears of intelligent beings from another world. He wonders if they might be connected to his Primate Primeval in some way. As the story moves on, we find his species is a member of the bear family and these other intelligent beings are chimpanzee descendants from another continent. These chimpanzees are individually less intelligent than the bears, but in the aggregate are more aggressive and can accomplish more. Information emerges that suggests that the Primate Primeval the protagonist is interested in all lived and died in areas of very high radioactivity, i.e., due to nuclear war. They also find out the chimpanzees are advancing quickly on the science of the atom, and that they might want their continent. Unfortunately, he does not make the connection. For me, the characters are above average for Asimov, and it’s a great story. So far, this is my “hidden gem” of this book for stories new to me. Others may not agree, or it may be forgotten, as the last printing I find of this story in any anthology in English is from 1991. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “In Hiding“, a novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras, Astounding November 1948. This is a superlative story, of a doctor who very slowly becomes a friend to a young man who is clearly homo superior. Very matter of fact and unrolls slowly, with good characterization. This has held up very well. It is true that most of the action here is conversation, with some showing, etc., but it’s still an amazing story, made even more impressive by being the author’s first story published. Regardless, I think it’s a classic. It’s been reprinted very often since it was first published. Rated 4.8/5, or “A Classic”.

    “Happy Ending“, a novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, Thrilling Wonder Stories August 1948. A rather recursive story of time travel, a robot on the run, an android named Tharn, and a man who is the robot’s victim, who is really from the future but does not know it. I’m not prepared to say this is a great story, especially for Kuttner and Moore, but it’s very good. It has been reprinted occasionally, but it’s not treated as top tier Kuttner and Moore. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    ,
    ,

  • “Twenty-First Century Science Fiction”, David G. Hartwell & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors

    “Twenty-First Century Science Fiction”, David G. Hartwell & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors

    The Short: I (re)read “Twenty-First Century Science Fiction“, David G. Hartwell & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors, 2013 Tor/Robinson recently for my online short fiction Facebook Group. Upon reread, I thought this was a great anthology, and so far the best attempt I’ve seen to survey twenty-first century science fiction. Strongly recommended.

    The Full Story: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction FB group voted to read the anthology “Twenty-First Century Science Fiction”, David G. Hartwell & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors, 2013 Tor/Robinson.

    It was not until after I had voted on this and found out that we would be reading it that I checked my Book Database and found out that I had read it in 2014, and had loved it then. At that time, my rating was “Superlative” and my comment had been “Wow! Great collection, with a lot of new authors I loved”.

    The Preface by Hartwell and Hayden stated, “You hold in your hands an anthology of stories by what we believe are by some of the best science fiction authors that came to prominence since the twentieth century changed into the twenty-first.” I do think they meet their stated goals for the anthology, in an outstanding manner.

    They go on to say in the Preface, “”…neither of us is especially interested in being genre policemen…”. I don’t see any fantasy here, but I do wonder if they were referring to the inclusion of alternate worlds/history SF, which some maintain are fantasy. Regardless, they looked hard for breadth of authors here.

    In addition to the Preface, I love that there are author/story introductions; the context and information is interesting and helpful.

    At 34 stories and 572 pages in the hardcover version, the anthology is hefty but not quite huge. This perhaps is aided by only containing two novellas.

    For all that it’s not a “Year’s Best”, there is only story that I wondered about it’s inclusion. I found “A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel“, a 2011 short story by Yoon Ha Lee, to be not to my taste. I like Yoon Ha Lee’s fiction, but not this one. My comments on it were, “This story is well executed and crafted, but I am not that interested in it’s plotless nature.” To be fair, this is very good for 34 stories.

    Stories that I remembered reading and loved included:

    1. “Second Person, Present Tense“, a novelette by Daryl Gregory, Asimov’s September 2005.
    2. “Finisterra“, a novelette by David Moles, F&SF December 2007.
    3. “Tideline“, a short story by Elizabeth Bear, Asimov’s June 2007.
    4. “Rogue Farm“, a short story by Charles Stross, from “Live Without a Net“, Lou Anders editor, Roc/New American Library.
    5. “His Master’s Voice“, a short story by Hannu Rajaniemi, Interzone, #218 October 2008.
    6. “Evil Robot Monkey“, a short story by Mary Robinette Kowal, from “The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Two“, George Mann editor, 2008 Solaris.
    7. “The Algorithms for Love“, short story by Ken Liu, Strange Horizons, 12 July 2004.
    8. “Plotters and Shooters“, a Mars novelette by Kage Baker, from “Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge“, Lou Anders editor, 2007 Pyr.

    For all that I had read this before, I sure did not remember most of the stories I had not reread elsewhere in the last few years. There were a number of stories that I just loved that I did not remember reading.

    1. “Tk’tk’tk“, a short story by David D. Levine, Asimov’s March 2005.
    2. “The Prophet of Flores“, a novelette by Ted Kosmatka, Asimov’s September 2007.
    3. “The Island“, a Sunflower Cycle novelette by Peter Watts, from “The New Space Opera 2“, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan editors, 2009 Eos/HarperCollins.
    4. “The Calculus Plague“, a short story by Marissa Lingen, Analog July-August 2009.
    5. “To Hie from Far Cilenia“, a Gennady novella by Karl Schroeder, from “METAtropolis“, John Scalzi editor, 2008 Audible Frontiers.
    6. “Savant Songs“, a short story by Brenda Cooper, Analog December 2004.
    7. “The Gambler“, a novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi, from “Fast Forward 2“, Lou Anders editor, 2008 Pyr.
    8. “Chicken Little“, a novella by Cory Doctorow, from “With a Little Help“, Cory Doctorow editor, 2009 CorDoc-Co, Ltd.
    9. “Strood“, a short story by Neal Asher, Asimov’s December 2004.
    10. “The Tale of the Wicked“, a novelette by John Scalzi, from “The New Space Opera 2“, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan editors, 2009 Eos/HarperCollins.
    11. “Infinities“, a novelette by Vandana Singh, from her collection “The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories“, 2008 Zubaan Books/Penguin Books India.
    12. “The Nearest Thing“, a novelette by Genevieve Valentine, Lightspeed, August 2011.
    13. “One of Our Bastards Is Missing“, a Jonathan Hamilton novelette by Paul Cornell, from “The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three“, George Mann editor, 2009 Solaris.
    14. “The Education of Junior Number 12“, a Machine Dynasties novelette by Madeline Ashby, from Angry Robot’s “12 Days of Christmas series”, 2011, online.
    15. “Toy Planes“, a short story by Tobias S. Buckell, Nature, October 13, 2005.
    16. “The Albian Message“, a short story by Oliver Morton, Nature, December 1, 2005.
    17. “Ikiryoh“, a short story by Liz Williams, Asimov’s December 2005.
    18. “How to Become a Mars Overlord“, a short story by Catherynne M. Valente, Lightspeed, August 2010.
    19. “Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction“, a Small Change short story by Jo Walton, Tor.com, February 6, 2009.

    It’s hard to know how the contributions of the two editors combined, but I think that having both of them made this a stronger anthology, both in terms of breadth of authors and story quality. My overall average rating for the stories here is 3.88/5, or “Great”.

    One observation about the stories included is that 27 out of 34 stories here were printed or reprinted in anthologies edited by Jonathan Strahan. That is not a problem for me, as I would have expected the editors to choose stories they knew and liked. I can only assume that they had a healthy discussion on what stories should be included, as I certainly like the result.

    Assuming you like science fiction that is fairly recent, this anthology is hard to beat. I have not yet seen an anthology that has updated this with a more recent survey of twenty-first century science fiction. If you know of one, I’d love to hear about it! I strongly recommend “Twenty-First Century Science Fiction”, David G. Hartwell & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors, 2013 Tor/Robinson.

    Detailed Reviews/Comments – Spoilers all over the place!

    “Infinities“, a novelette by Vandana Singh, from her collection “The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories“, 2008 Zubaan Books/Penguin Books India. A great story of an aging Muslim mathematician and his search for infinity, and civil violence. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 15“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2010 Eos/HarperCollins, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2010 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Rogue Farm“, a short story by Charles Stross, from “Live Without a Net“, Lou Anders editor, 2003 Roc/New American Library. An amazing story of a post-whatever pastoral, as only Stross could do it. Good, interesting characters and glimpses of a partly posthuman world. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 9“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2004 Eos/HarperCollins and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2004 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “The Gambler“, a novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi, from “Fast Forward 2“, Lou Anders editor, 2008 Pyr. A great story of a refugee from a Laos political conflict who is a reporter in a media company. It’s all about clicks and the three S stories (sex, stupidity, and schadenfreude), but he writes about real, “boring” stuff such as government mismanagement and the environment. Hugo, Nebula and Sturgeon finalist, and reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2009 Night Shade Books, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2009 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Strood“, a short story by Neal Asher, Asimov’s December 2004. A great story of a dying cancer victim and his visit to amazingly advanced aliens . The strood, the pet/whatever of the aliens, wants to eat him. Things end differently than he is expecting. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 10“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2005 PerfectBound/ HarperCollins. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Eros, Philia, Agape“, a novelette by Rachel Swirsky, Tor.com, March 3, 2009. An emotionally complex story of a rather damaged rich woman, her robot/android husband, and the disintegration of the family. She gives the robot it’s freedom yet is devastated when it leaves to find itself. Hugo, Locus and Sturgeon finalist, and reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Four“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2010 Night Shade Books, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2010“, Rich Horton editor, 2010 Prime Books. It appealed to many, but the characters were too internal for me. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Tale of the Wicked“, a novelette by John Scalzi, from “The New Space Opera 2“, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan editors, 2009 Eos/HarperCollins. A great story of interstellar conflict with ships that become aware. One of them becomes aware of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, with results that surprise the captain and crew. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Bread and Bombs“, a short story by M. Rickert, F&SF April 2003. I have very mixed feelings about this story. It’s clearly about a post 911 world, where the US has given and received grievous wounds and received them. Children do something terrible. The snow is dangerous. The writing is good, but the story is a bit too opaque for me. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 9“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2004 Eos /HarperCollins and “The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection“, Ellen Datlow, Gavin J. Grant, & Kelly Link editors, 2004 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Waters of Meribah“, a short story by Tony Ballantyne, Interzone, #189 May-June 2003. The editors describe this story as “creepily memorable”, and I agree. A man in a universe very different than ours is convicted of rape and sentenced to serve in a very horrific experiment in a effort to improve the world and the universe. Thinking about this short story, I think my only real criticism is that there was just too much going on in the story, and it probably needed to be a novelette or novella. Another author new to me, that I need to look for. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 9“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2004 Eos/HarperCollins Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Tk’tk’tk“, a short story by David D. Levine, Asimov’s March 2005. This is an amazing story, by an author I am not very knowledgeable about. A traveling salesman, from a line of traveling salesman, is attempting to sell expensive enterprise management software on a planet where he is struggling in many ways. He finally goes native and finds joy in life. I just loved this story. A Hugo winner. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

    “The Nearest Thing“, a novelette by Genevieve Valentine, Lightspeed, August 2011. A great story of an introverted and possibly autistic coder,” and an AI robot, and their relationship. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 17“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2012 Harper Voyager. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Erosion“, a short story by Ian Creasey, Asimov’s October-November 2009. A very good story of a man who decides to travel to the stars with an augmented body. He has one last adventure before leaving, and almost does not make it. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 15“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2010 Eos/HarperCollins, “The Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction“, Allan Kaster editor, 2010 Audiotext, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2010 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Calculus Plague“, a short story by Marissa Lingen, Analog July-August 2009. A great story about viral memory sharing at a university, and the need for oversight and informed consent. Scary! Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 15“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2010 Eos /HarperCollins. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “One of Our Bastards Is Missing“, a Jonathan Hamilton novelette by Paul Cornell, from “The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three“, George Mann editor, 2009 Solaris. A great story of the Great Game in a very different Solar System full of Imperial Powers. Princess Elizabeth is kidnapped in a very subtle way. A Hugo finalist, and reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 15“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2010 Eos/ HarperCollins, and in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2010 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. I need to go back and read the other Jonathan Hamilton stories by Paul Cornell.

    “Tideline“, a short story by Elizabeth Bear, Asimov’s June 2007. A great story of a failing AI war machine and a young man, after an apocalyptic war. Hugo and Sturgeon winner, and Locus finalist, and reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2008 St. Martin’s Griffin . Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

    “Finisterra“, a novelette by David Moles, F&SF December 2007. A great story, characters, worlds of poverty, marginalization, poached giant beings floating in an artificial world’s atmosphere. I loved it on reread, even after having read it previously. A Sturgeon winner and Hugo finalist, and reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2008 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 4.5/5, or “A Classic”.

    “Evil Robot Monkey“, a short story by Mary Robinette Kowal, from “The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Two“, George Mann editor, 2008 Solaris. A great short (almost a short short) about a Chimpanzee with an implant that leaves it between chimp and human. A lot of rage, and it’s only outlet is throwing pottery. A Hugo finalist and Locus nominee, and reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2009 St. Martin’s Griffin, and in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 Edition“, Rich Horton editor, 2010 Prime Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Education of Junior Number 12“, a Machine Dynasties novelette by Madeline Ashby, from Angry Robot’s “12 Days of Christmas series”, 2011, online. A great story of self-replicating Von Neumann robots that are also human in many ways, and how they interact with humans. For all that they present as human, their life cycle is very different. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 17“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2012 Harper Voyager. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Toy Planes“, a short story by Tobias S. Buckell, Nature, October 13, 2005. A great short short of a Caribbean start up with a home grown rocket ship and a toy. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 11“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2006 EOS/HarperCollins. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Algorithms for Love“, a short story by Ken Liu, Strange Horizons, 12 July 2004. A very chilling story of AI and free will, and “Clever Laura”. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 10“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2005 PerfectBound/HarperCollins. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Albian Message“, a short story by Oliver Morton, Nature, December 1, 2005. I just love that the editors included more than one short short. I love this brief story of a SETI skeptic that finds an alien artifact in the asteroid belt but warns people it will not be what they hoped it would be. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 11“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2006 Eos/HarperCollins, and it’s epistolary too. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “To Hie from Far Cilenia“, a Gennady novella by Karl Schroeder, from “METAtropolis“, John Scalzi editor, 2008 Audible Frontiers. A great story of “virtual worlds and disposable identities”, to quote the editors. Gennady, an interesting man with social awkwardness and expertise in dealing with nuclear proliferation and various nuclear elements, is involved in a very strange search for plutonium. The real and virtual worlds intersect. I love the last sentence by Gennady, “Because some things are real in every world”. I need to read more Gennady stories.  it’s also worth mentioning that some of Schroeder’s more recent stories deal with virtual worlds in a different way. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 16“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2009 Harper Voyager. Rated 3.9 /5, or “Great”.

    “Savant Songs“, a short story by Brenda Cooper, Analog December 2004. This is a great story about a physics savant Elsa (probably on the autism spectrum) and a physicist who loved her. They teach the AI PI to cross universe branes and connect with counterpart. Elsa finds she cannot do that, and commits suicide. A Sturgeon finalist, and reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 10“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell, 2010 PerfectBound/HarperCollins. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Ikiryoh“, a short story by Liz Williams, Asimov’s December 2005. A rather horrific story of genetic modification and uplifting an a future imperial court, an ikiryoh, who is created to hold the badness of a ruler. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 11“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2006 Eos/HarperCollins. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Prophet of Flores“, a novelette by Ted Kosmatka, Asimov’s September 2007. An amazing and superlative story of a similar yet very different world, where science shows the world as only 6,000 years old and evolution is not real. The “hobbit” bones are found, and a scientist is emmeshed in a deadly investigation. Reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Two“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2008 Night Shade Books, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2008 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

    “How to Become a Mars Overlord“, a short story by Catherynne M. Valente, Lightspeed, August 2010. 399 I love this epistolary story, matter of fact yet simultaneously poetic and snarky advice on how to become a  Mars overlord. Great 2nd paragraph of the story intro by Hartwell and Hayden, “Although Valente is primarily known as a fantasy writer, her sharp eye for folklore lends zest to this examination of a particular area of the received landscape of SF.” Locus nominee and reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 16“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2011 Harper Voyager. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Second Person, Present Tense“, a novelette by Daryl Gregory, Asimov’s September 2005. What a fantastic story, of “Zen” and a young woman who escapes her self with a drug, and the new young woman who inhabits her body afterwards, and her and her parents. This is based on my understanding of the relationship between the conscious mind and the Parliament that makes all the decisions. A Sturgeon finalist, and reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 11“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2006 Eos/HarperCollins, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2006 St. Martin’s Griffin/SFBC. Rated 4.7/5, or “A Classic”.

    “Third Day Lights“, a novelette by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Interzone, #200 September-October 2005. A darn interesting and effective story, of an alien intelligence, a demon in another universe, and a posthuman who comes to her universe. He is revealed to be looking for his perhaps alive wife from a long time ago, and also that he will siphon off the energy of the universe for humans. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 11“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2006 Eos/HarperCollins. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Balancing Accounts“, a short story by James L. Cambias, F&SF February 2008. A very good story of a machine intelligence, Orphan Annie, and being hired to deliver a human others want to kill. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2009 St. Martin’s Griffin, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 Edition“, Rich Horton editor, 2010 Prime Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel“, a short story by Yoon Ha Lee, Tor.com, August 10, 2011. This story is well executed and crafted, but I am not that interested in it’s plotless nature. Reprinted in “Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2011 Edition“, Liz Gorinsky & Patrick Nielsen Hayden editors, 2012 Tor (A Tor.com Original), and “Year’s Best SF 17“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2012 Harper Voyager. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

    “His Master’s Voice“, a short story by Hannu Rajaniemi, Interzone, #218 October 2008. For me, first read in “The Best of World SF: Volume 1“, Lavie Tidhar editor, 2021 Ad Astra/Head of Zeus, and great on reread here. A great story of posthumans, plural digital copies of people, and a somewhat uplifted dog and cat and their caper to free their imprisoned master. Sturgeon finalist, and reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2009 Night Shade Books, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2009 St. Martin’s Griffin. On the very weird side, an apparent printing error inserted “18. Benjamin Schneiders Little Greys” into a sentence in the story. Possibly an Easter Egg, but I believe printing error more likely with no apparent connectivity and the inclusion of 18, which is the number of the next story in the book. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “Plotters and Shooters“, a Mars novelette by Kage Baker, from “Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge“, Lou Anders editor, 2007 Pyr. Reread, previously read in the Rich Horton “Space Opera” (2014 Prime Books). Young men are contracted to a space station to defend the Earth from Intruders. It’s fairly horrific yet funny. As the editors say, “Lord of the Flies meets Ender’s Game”. Reprinted in “Year’s Best SF 13“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell, 2008 Eos/ HarperCollins. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Island“, a Sunflower Cycle novelette by Peter Watts, from “The New Space Opera 2“, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan editors, 2009 Eos/HarperCollins. An amazing, superlative story of life on a ship in deep time, perhaps billions of years in the future. The ship was sent out to place interstellar travel gates for the posthumans who follow. The crew and a weak AI are in conflict over the ages in the midst of an unending mission. A mind blowing story, and a worthy Hugo winner and Locus and Sturgeon finalist. Reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Four“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2010 Night Shade Books, “Year’s Best SF 15“, Kathryn Cramer & David G. Hartwell editors, 2010 Eos/HarperCollins, “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2010“, Rich Horton editor, 2010 Prime Books, and “The Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 2“, Allan Kaster editor, 2010 Audiotext. ISFDB notes this as part of the Sunflower Cycle by Watts; I need to read the rest of them. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

    “Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction“, a Small Change short story by Jo Walton, Tor.com, February 6, 2009. A great, somewhat epistolary, slice of life story of America in the 1960s in a world where British upper classes overthrew Churchill and reached an accommodation with Hitler. Part of Walton’s Small Change alternate world, AKA “Still Life with Fascists”. I need to check those out, starting with “Farthing“. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2010 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    Chicken Little“, a novella by Cory Doctorow, from “With a Little Help“, Cory Doctorow editor, 2009 CorDoc-Co, Ltd. A great story of unimaginable wealth and the holders of it, and the recurring theme of trying to make people better. Happiness and whether people should have a choice are important. Great characters. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 2011 St. Martin’s Griffin. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    ,

  • The Best of World SF: Volume 2

    The Best of World SF: Volume 2

    The Short: I loved “The Best of World SF: Volume 2”, Lavie Tidhar editor, 2022 Ad Astra/Head of Zeus. Although my average rating is 3.73/5, or “Very good”, I’m giving it an overall “Great” rating, explained below. Recommended strongly for those interested in different voices in speculative fiction.

    The Full Story: I’ve been a fan of the different voices found in international and translated speculative fiction for a while. I had read Lavie Tidhars 2021 anthology “The Best of World SF: Volume 1” several years ago and loved it. When I heard there would be a volume 2, I knew I had to read it.

    I was fortunate that my regional library consortium had “The Best of World SF: Volume 2”, Lavie Tidhar editor, 2022 Ad Astra/Head of Zeus. I requested it; when it showed up, it appeared that the book was brand new and that I was the first reader of this copy.

    It’s a hefty anthology, with 29 stories and 618 pages of short fiction. Juggling other short fiction and novels already being read, it took me about three weeks to read it.

    There is a very good introduction that tells what Tidhar was thinking about and how he found or acquired many of these international SF stories. I think the gist of what his goal and scope was are found in these sentences from the Introduction, “…my intention with these volumes is to showcase the new voices of international science fiction.”, “…the oldest story is from 2012, and several stories appear here for the first time.”, and “…none of the authors from the previous volume appear in this book.”

    There are also story introductions, an “About the Authors” essay, and “Extended Copyright Information.” Also of real value is the “About the Translators” essay. While not unique, this has become a required feature for translated stories.

    While not a requirement for a good genre anthology, I find the presence of an Introduction, story introductions, “About the Authors”, “About the Translators”, and the “Extended Copyright Information” are all part of a full and satisfying package for me. I was pleased to see all of them.

    The anthology is definitely world speculative fiction. There are 5 stories first published here, and 4 more first published first in English translation here, by writers from 25 countries. Authors were listed as from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Grenada, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

    While the anthology is mostly science fiction as labelled, I find the “Between the Firmaments” novella by Neon Yang to be an SF/Fantasy crossover novella.

    As noted above, there are 5 stories included that had not been previously published anywhere. These were:

    1. “At Desk 9501…”, a short story by Frances Ogamba.
    2. “Dead Man, Awake, Sing to the Sun!”, a short story by Pan Haitian.
    3. “The Next Move”, a short story by Edmundo Paz-Soldán.
    4. “The Child of Clay”, a short story by Dilman Dila, author of two stories that I have read and enjoyed, “Red_Bati” and “The Blue House“.
    5. “Waking Nydra”, a novelette by Samit Basu.

    It was a plus for me that four of these were by authors new to me.

    Four of the stories included were first published in English here. These were:

    1. “Twenty About Robots”, a short story by Alberto Chimal.
    2. “A Flaw In The Works”, a novelette by Julie Novakova, author of the stories “The Gift” and “The Long Iapetan Night” which I enjoyed.
    3. “Sleeping Beauties”, a short story by Agnieszka Hałas.
    4. “The Farctory”, a novella by K.A. Teryna, author of several stories that I have read, including “Lajos and his Bees“, “No One Ever Leaves Port Henri“, and “The Errata“.

    Two of them were by authors new to me, which I liked.

    I was also pleased that there were only three stories included that I had read previously read, “The Bahrain Underground Bazaar” by Nadia Afifi, “Beyond These Stars Other Tribulations of Love” by Usman T. Malik, and “Whale Snows Down” by Kim Bo-Young.

    My favorites were all stories I rated “Great” and included:

    1. “Blue Grey Blue”, a short story by Yukimi Ogawa.
    2. “Salvaging Gods”, a short story by Jacques Barcia.
    3. “A Flaw in the Works”, a 2020 novelette by Julie Novakova.
    4. “Whale Snows Down”, a 2020 short story by Kim Bo-Young.
    5. “Dead Man, Awake, Sing to the Sun!”, a short story by Pan Haitian.
    6. “The Child of Clay”, a short story by Dilman Dila.
    7. “To Set at Twilight In a Land of Reeds”, a 2020 short story by Natalia Theodoridou.
    8. “The Beast Has Died”, a 2015 short story by Bernardo Fernández.
    9. “Twenty About Robots”, a short story by Alberto Chimal.
    10. “Kakak”, a 2015 short story by William Tham Wai Liang.
    11. “Beyond These Stars Other Tribulations of Love”, a 2020 short story by Usman T. Malik.
    12. “When We Die on Mars”, a 2015 short story by Cassandra Khaw.
    13. “At Desk 9501…” “, a short story by Frances Ogamba.
    14. “The Gardens of Babylon”, a 2016 short story by Hassan Blasim.
    15. “Bring Your Own Spoon”, a 2017 short story by Saad Z. Hossain.
    16. “The Bahrain Underground Bazaar”, a 2020 novelette by Nadia Afifi.

    I was pleased that a number of my favorites were first published here.

    There were two stories that I wondered about being included, “The Next Move”, a short story by Edmundo Paz-Soldán, and “The Farctory” by K. A. Teryna. This might just be my personal taste, especially for “The Farctory”.

    My overall average rating for the stories was 3.73/5, or “Very good”. However, the variety of voices including authors new to me and the outstanding essay material pushed this into “Great” for me. Strongly recommended for those interested in different voices in speculative fiction.

    Detailed Reviews/Comments: Spoilers Everywhere:

    “The Bahrain Underground Bazaar“, a novelette by Nadia Afifi, F&SF November/December 2020. An aging woman in Bahrain is dying of a brain tumor. Technology of the NeuroLync has the unexpected byproduct of recording the deaths of its users, and one can sample those at the Bahrain Underground Bazaar. The woman experiences one, of a woman who has an unusual death frim falling in Petra. She goes there, thinking perhaps to go out on her own terms, but changes her mind. I loved this story. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Volume 2“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2021 Saga Press, “The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 6“, Neil Clarke editor, 2022 Night Shade Books, and “The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2021 Edition“, Rich Horton editor, 2022 Prime Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Ten-Percent Thief“, a short story by Lavanya Lakshminarayan, from the fix-up novel “Analog/Virtual and Other Simulations of Your Future“, 2020 Hachette India. A very good story of future haves and have nots, and hope. Reading the fix-up novel it appears in, “Analog/digital”, may be a good idea. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “At Desk 9501…“, a • short story by Frances Ogamba, first published here. A great story of an orphaned man who goes to work for a company where the employees are paid to use a portion of their life to save people who are dying otherwise. His life becomes horrific, as there is much more going on than just giving up a bit of his life. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Milagroso“, a 2015 short story by Isabel Yap, 2015 Tor.com. A very good story about place and home, and trying to reconcile that with attempting to move into the future. Told as a man who works for a future food corporation takes his family home to a small town in the Philippines. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Bring Your Own Spoon“, a 2017 short story by Saad Z. Hossain, from the anthology “The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories“, Mahvesh Murad & Jared Shurin editor, 2015 Solaris. A great story of haves and have nots, in a much degraded world, with jinn returned. A man and his friends open a restaurant. The restaurant is destroyed by the haves, but there is still hope. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Blue Grey Blue“, a 2016 short story by Yukimi Ogawa, Clarkesworld December 2016. I was struggling a bit with this story, and I put it aside until after I finished reading the rest of the stories. Coming back to it and starting fresh, I love this story. People have started to display colors on their skin, and sometimes in their eyes, apparently as a result of both genetic and environmental factors. This can be good for them, but also not so good. The POV character has challenging eye colors, which wax and wane as he feels good and less good. He meets Ai, who has amazing lazurite skin and interesting eyes, and becomes involved with her. At the end, he has bluer and more interesting eyes. Ai reveals she is an AI that is tasked with gathering the colors, but is not supposed to give, and she has given to him. She leaves or is terminated. His life goes on, perhaps better. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

    “Your Multicolored Life“, a novelette by Xing He, previously published in Chinese in 2007 and then in Clarkesworld June 2018 (translated by Andy Dudak). A very good story of two men in different “worlds” (perhaps regions?) who both flee due to be a perceived inhospitality of their world. One is a revolutionary and the other a smart, driven man that wants to achieve and do big things. They meet up, and eventually exchange places. Both die soon be after as their mutual world was not hospitable to them. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Easthound“, a short story by Nalo Hopkinson, from “After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia“, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling editors, 2012 Hyperion Books. This story appears to be at the interface of SF and horror. A pandemic has made adults sprout and kill people before dying, with the world rather devastated. Some teens do the same as well, and some do not. An older twin sprouts, and the younger runs from her friends as she realizes she is next. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Dead Man, Awake, Sing to the Sun!“, a short story by Pan Haitian, first published here, translated by Joel Martinsen. A great story of the living dead, and how they get on with life as one dead. The world changes. This story is humorous and wry. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Salvaging Gods“, a short story by Jacques Barcia, Clarkesworld October 2010. A great, serious yet humorous tale of gods and God, and software and hardware. 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Next Move“, a short story by Edmundo Paz-Soldán, first published here, translated by Jessica Sequeira. Maybe I’m slow, but I never got a firm grip on what was happening in this story. There is some kind of an occupying force on a island. The soldiers occupying cannot leave. There is a reference to “little humans” or some such. Life seems to be pointless for all. Maybe that is the point of the story? Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”.

    “The Child of Clay“, a short story by Dilman Dila, first published here. This feels like a horror story for robots. The robot named Labita badly wants a child, rit is unlucky. Getting a child from clay brings danger to all robots. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “To Set at Twilight In a Land of Reeds“, a short story by Natalia Theodoridou, Clarkesworld October 2020. A wonderfully melancholy story of a person and robots, and loss. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Beast Has Died“, a short story by Bernardo Fernández, published in Spanish in 2004 and in Words Without Borders, January 2015, translated by Brian Price. I love this alternate history story of Mexico, and it’s emperor, and robots. The president of the prior government returns in very different form, and wreaks havoc. I am sure that I would need to know a few more things about Mexican history to get all of the nuances, but I loved the story regardless. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Twenty About Robots“, a short story by Alberto Chimal, first published in Palabras Errantes, 2014, first published here in English, translated by Fionn Petch. A slice of life approach to many robots. I love it. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Regression Test“, a short story by Wole Talabi, F&SF January/February 2017. I like this story of future AI research and a grandmother who dislikes her grandson who is an AI researcher. There is probably a rather horrific ending for her. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “Kakak“, a short story by William Tham Wai Liang, from “Cyberpunk: Malaysia“, Zen Cho editor, 2015 Fixi Novo/Buku Fixi. A great story of a nurse robot who flees her jealous owner and hopes for a new life. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “Beyond These Stars Other Tribulations of Love”, a short story by Usman T. Malik, Wire.com December 11, 2020. A man signs up for an interstellar journey, while using quantum telepresence to watch over and help his mother. As the time dilation increases, life becomes harder. Elements of this reminded me of Heinlein’s “Time for the Stars“, with the telepathic twins and one of them on a time dilation star ship. Reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Volume 2“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2021 Saga Press, and “The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 6“, Neil Clarke editor, 2022 Night Shade Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “A Flaw in the Works“, a novelette by Julie Novakova, first published in Czech in “Robot100“, edited by Jaroslav Olša Jr., and Richard Klíčník, and first published here in English. A great story that is a wonderful follow-up to a classic, “R. U. R.” by Karel Čapek. (1920). My thanks also to to Lavie Tidhar for not blowing the surprise with too much information in the story introduction or a too cute but transparent title. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “When We Die on Mars“, a short story by Cassandra Khaw, Clarkesworld December 2015. A great story of people going to Mars to prepare the way for others. They will not come back. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

    “The Mighty Slinger“, a novelette by Tobias S. Buckell and Karen Lord, from “Bridging Infinity“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2016 Solaris. A very good story of cohorts working to develop the solar system for everyone, and music, and the fight against the man. Reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 2“, Neil Clarke editor, 2017 Night Shade Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Corialis“, a short story by T. L. Huchu, Fiyah, Autumn 2019. A very good story of a man on a new world. Although he and the others have had their personal biomes replaced to be compatible with the world’s, he concludes he must give his life and his biological material for the colonists to survive and thrive. Nommo nomination. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “The Substance of Ideas“, a short story by Clelia Farris, Future Science Fiction Digest December 2018, translated by Rachel Cordasco. A very good yet melancholy story of life on a very different kibbutz far from Earth. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Sleeping Beauties“, a short story by Agnieszka Hałas, first published in Polish in “Science fiction po polsku”, Wydawnictwo Paperback, Strzelin 2012, and first published here in English. A horrifying story of life in the outer system under a dictatorship. Convicts in frozen sleep are the cargo, with torture at the end. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Waking Nydra” “, a novelette by Samit Basu, first published here. Interstellar sleeping princess with a rescuer and a fan boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Fun, but at the same time I felt there were some things going on with the POV character I did not get. Not sure if this is cultural or generational on my part, or just writing that could have been better. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

    “Between the Firmaments“, a novella by Neon Yang, first published in 2018 on the Book Smugglers website. A good story of fallen gods and interlopers who rule, and a big change. I do consider this more fantasy than SF. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

    “Whale Snows Down“, a short story by Kim Bo-Young, first published in Korean in 2020 and first published in English in Future Science Fiction Digest, December 2020, translated by Sophie Bowman. A great and harrowing story of life in the deeps and the end of life on the surface. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

    “The Gardens of Babylon“, a short story by Hassan Blasim, from “Iraq + 100: Stories from a Century After the Invasion“, Hassan Blasim editor, 2016 Comma Press. A great story of a man in a future Babylon attempting to write a story-game based on a famous story. I love the progression and imagery. Rated 3.8/5, or ” Great”.

    “The Farctory“, a novella by K. A. Teryna, published in Russian in 2014 and first published here in English. I see the art in how this story is written, but it is too surrealistic for me. It appears to be about a man searching for Barbara, maybe, with some noir aspects. It is interesting that this is the second story in this book to concern color, after “Blue Gray Blue”. Rated 3.2/5, or “Good”.

    , ,

Blog at WordPress.com.