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timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
This collection has a very wide range of stories, so much that if you liked or disliked one of them, you can't predict how you'll feel about the others. There are some wild ideas, and in some cases a high density of ideas. Maybe a little too much of the stunned observer having things happen to him, but many, many authors use that. I enjoyed it.
lurpasskatt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
aoc's review against another edition
4.0
I have to be upfront about something – I like anthologies of all sorts. As Stross himself puts it they really are perfect for SF writers when you want to explore ideas but don't really have the time to write a novel about it which could take much longer to complete. Additionally, anthologies make it easy for anyone discussing them to not really go into excruciating detail and analysis because, well, they're collections of stories so you can just give an overall impression and summary of individual works.
Being the reluctant-to-work type I find myself being as of late, that's exactly what I intend to do. So let's mosey right along. Some of the works in the book include, but are not limited to, the following premises and scenarios:
What if planet Earth was mysteriously plucked away and spread over the surface of a huge disk elsewhere in universe with mass and size of untold number of Earths... and it all happens just following the events of Gagarin making it into space with USSR and US racing to figure out what's happening as well as who or what is responsible for it?
What if we attend a perfectly boring government Christmas party and events surrounding it, but the group in question deals with supernaturals threats threatening the world on daily basis and just as when things are heating up to celebrate good times one of their infallible precognitives reveals this will, indeed, be the last Christmas party for everyone?
What if one day you have to kill your past self as an initiation rite to become a trainee for a post-human society billions of years into the future, society that has been re-seeding Earth untold number of times with its use of time travel brought to a level of, well, science as we get to explore a marvelously intriguing period of time and future-history of the universe unfolding?
And those are just three out of plenty of stories to wet the appetite. Keep in mind not all of those are really substantial, some getting only twenty pages while one going into hundred. Which really kinda brings me to comment on Stross' writing style in that he really doesn't explain much and expects you to take it all in stride. Now, you might “what are you complaining about, they're short stories!”, but that's not really the problem here. It's that the author willingly gives you drops and loose threads of information only to never really go there or leave them hanging half-finished. Subplots ignored aside this permeates pretty much all of the stories except maybe a couple that get a definitive ending. Almost akin akin to The Twilight Zone endings, if you know what I mean.
I won't bore you any further. I enjoyed the anthology immensely and there are some absolute gems there, as well as one that didn't really fit in my opinion, but I leave that for you to discover yourself.
Being the reluctant-to-work type I find myself being as of late, that's exactly what I intend to do. So let's mosey right along. Some of the works in the book include, but are not limited to, the following premises and scenarios:
What if planet Earth was mysteriously plucked away and spread over the surface of a huge disk elsewhere in universe with mass and size of untold number of Earths... and it all happens just following the events of Gagarin making it into space with USSR and US racing to figure out what's happening as well as who or what is responsible for it?
What if we attend a perfectly boring government Christmas party and events surrounding it, but the group in question deals with supernaturals threats threatening the world on daily basis and just as when things are heating up to celebrate good times one of their infallible precognitives reveals this will, indeed, be the last Christmas party for everyone?
What if one day you have to kill your past self as an initiation rite to become a trainee for a post-human society billions of years into the future, society that has been re-seeding Earth untold number of times with its use of time travel brought to a level of, well, science as we get to explore a marvelously intriguing period of time and future-history of the universe unfolding?
And those are just three out of plenty of stories to wet the appetite. Keep in mind not all of those are really substantial, some getting only twenty pages while one going into hundred. Which really kinda brings me to comment on Stross' writing style in that he really doesn't explain much and expects you to take it all in stride. Now, you might “what are you complaining about, they're short stories!”, but that's not really the problem here. It's that the author willingly gives you drops and loose threads of information only to never really go there or leave them hanging half-finished. Subplots ignored aside this permeates pretty much all of the stories except maybe a couple that get a definitive ending. Almost akin akin to The Twilight Zone endings, if you know what I mean.
I won't bore you any further. I enjoyed the anthology immensely and there are some absolute gems there, as well as one that didn't really fit in my opinion, but I leave that for you to discover yourself.
lerat42's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
amnesiack's review against another edition
4.0
There are some gems here, but also a couple of stories I didn't think were all that great. Stross's talent shines through the most on stories like "A Colder War", "Down On The Farm", "Unwirer" (a collaboration with Corey Doctorow), and the previously unpublished time travel novelette "Palimpsest". I wouldn't recommend this as someone's first encounter with Stross's writing, but it's a good for rounding things out after you've already become a fan.
spitzig's review against another edition
4.0
LOVED it. Stross has become one of my favorite authors. Top Ten. Maybe Top Five.
Short stories. Funny, weird. HEAVY on the the SF ideas. LOTS of cool stuff on a single page. Hard to use the word "usual" with something so awesome. But, it seems to be usual for Stross
Short stories. Funny, weird. HEAVY on the the SF ideas. LOTS of cool stuff on a single page. Hard to use the word "usual" with something so awesome. But, it seems to be usual for Stross
misterjay's review against another edition
5.0
It's always interesting to read single author story collections. As a reader, you can see themes and ideas as they form and interbreed across stories. In fact, that seems to be the point of this collection:
Two of the stories collected here show the origins of Stross' popular Laundry novels. "Colder War" and "Missile Gap" are variations on the ideas of Cthulu, Cold War, alternate history, and ways in which we're all doomed and don't even know it, and how they might all interact in the confines of a story.
Likewise represented is Stross' nascent far future world of humanity's orphaned, robotic, children, seen in the novel "Saturn's Children" and here in the story "Trunk and Disorderly." Given that the former is somewhat dystopic, almost bleak, in parts, finding that the universe started as a comedic, far future, take on a Wooster and Jeeves novel was, to say the least, interesting.
Other stories provide glimpses into Stross' favorite ideas, although with less clear-cut connections. Having said that, there are a few stories that don't seem to fall into one of the general patterns. "Snowball's Chance," for example, is a fun story but a far, far cry from the far futurism and alternate history on display elsewhere in the collection. That's not really a bad thing however, as each story in the collection is well written and highly readable; truthfully, it's one of my favorite single author collections.
This is highly recommended for any fans of Stross', far futurism, the cold war, Cthulu, deals with the devil, runaway farms, or just your standard drunken dwarf mammoth.
Two of the stories collected here show the origins of Stross' popular Laundry novels. "Colder War" and "Missile Gap" are variations on the ideas of Cthulu, Cold War, alternate history, and ways in which we're all doomed and don't even know it, and how they might all interact in the confines of a story.
Likewise represented is Stross' nascent far future world of humanity's orphaned, robotic, children, seen in the novel "Saturn's Children" and here in the story "Trunk and Disorderly." Given that the former is somewhat dystopic, almost bleak, in parts, finding that the universe started as a comedic, far future, take on a Wooster and Jeeves novel was, to say the least, interesting.
Other stories provide glimpses into Stross' favorite ideas, although with less clear-cut connections. Having said that, there are a few stories that don't seem to fall into one of the general patterns. "Snowball's Chance," for example, is a fun story but a far, far cry from the far futurism and alternate history on display elsewhere in the collection. That's not really a bad thing however, as each story in the collection is well written and highly readable; truthfully, it's one of my favorite single author collections.
This is highly recommended for any fans of Stross', far futurism, the cold war, Cthulu, deals with the devil, runaway farms, or just your standard drunken dwarf mammoth.
andreashappe's review against another edition
4.0
Another collection of short-stories, spanning approximately ten years.. it has an endearing introduction by the author. I really enjoyed the whole alternative-reality cold-war stories, laundry files and the spam one were gorgeous. I disliked "trunk and disorderly". Overall still a great read, if you don't like some of the stories, just skip over them.
lunaseassecondaccount's review
2.0
Ehhh.
It just didn't do it for me. There were parts of the stories I liked, but none that really grabbed me and said, 'look! I saved this collection for you! Isn't that great?'
I'd say Palimpsest was my favourite. It seemed to be a twist on The Time Machine and perhaps The Time Traveler's Wife. But everything else? Eh, I'm not too sure.
That's not to say it's bad. But I just didn't find myself jizzing over it. Your miles may vary.
It just didn't do it for me. There were parts of the stories I liked, but none that really grabbed me and said, 'look! I saved this collection for you! Isn't that great?'
I'd say Palimpsest was my favourite. It seemed to be a twist on The Time Machine and perhaps The Time Traveler's Wife. But everything else? Eh, I'm not too sure.
That's not to say it's bad. But I just didn't find myself jizzing over it. Your miles may vary.