Reviews

The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction by Ian McDonald, Greg Egan, Harlan Ellison, Greg Bear, Paul Di Filippo, Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross, Theodore Sturgeon, B. Vallance, Jerry Oltion, Robert Reed, Gregory Benford, Mike Ashley, Stephen Baxter, Stephen L. Gillett, Pat Cadigan, Clifford D. Simak, Alastair Reynolds, Lawrence Person, Geoffrey A. Landis, James Patrick Kelly

bosermoki's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jjwalter2001's review

3.0

There were a few killer stories in here...but, also some junk that wasn't worth the time. A good book to skim the beginning of each store to see if it catches you eye.

rashidmalik's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

milos_dumbraci's review against another edition

3.0

First of all, it's ordinary scifi, not extreme. Good scifi, not bad (except some stories) but... nothing extreme here.
Second, out of 19 stories, I found only 5 to be 5/5s, with just 2 really memorable: Alastair Reynold's "Merlin Gun" (good story with amazing ending of galactic implications that caught me into a loop of "What should be done?") and Harlan Ellison's "The Region Between" (a great mix of different blends of scifi and an extremely original form). I also found stories I just couldn't finish (Doctorow, Cadigan, McDonald), not that good (Baxter, Gillet, Kelly) or really bad (Oltion's "Stuffing"), with plenty of middle-range (average) others.
The average is 3,5/5, but as a whole I felt the anthology is a 3/5. Not that bad, not that good.

nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition

2.0

If you're going to have a "mammoth" collection of SF stories, try to make sure the order and selections make sense.