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antrapp1026's review
4.0
By completing this, the second annual collection, I am happily continuing my goal of reading all 35 volumes of the late, great Gardner Dozois’ award-winning Year’s Best anthology. There were a few more clunkers in this year’s collection than the first year’s, but I won’t mention those; instead, I’ll talk about the several outstanding stories: “Salvador” by Lucius Shepard, a harrowing, hallucinatory tale of a soldier losing himself in war; “Bloodchild,” Octavia E. Butler’s classic, Hugo- and Neblua-winning novelette about the lengths we will go to survive impossibly complicated circumstances; “Blued Moon,” Connie Willis’s perfectly pitched, deeply sweet screwball comedy; John Varley’s Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella “Press Enter,” a surprisingly subtle, unusually character-driven AI thriller; the inventive, funny, and moving time travel caper “Twilight Time” by Lewis Shiner; and the most affecting story, the tense, impeccably envisioned, beautifully humane WWII alternate-history tale “The Lucky Strike” by Kim Stanley Robinson.
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Read “Friend” by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel; “Foreign Skins” by Tanith Lee; “Company in the Wings” by R.A. Lafferty, and “A Cabin on the Coast” by Gene Wolfe on 9/13/2018 and “The Lucky Strike” by Kim Stanley Robinson on 9/14/2018
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Read “Friend” by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel; “Foreign Skins” by Tanith Lee; “Company in the Wings” by R.A. Lafferty, and “A Cabin on the Coast” by Gene Wolfe on 9/13/2018 and “The Lucky Strike” by Kim Stanley Robinson on 9/14/2018
gengelcox's review
4.0
Continuing my effort to read (and, for these early volumes, re-read) all of Dozois’ Year’s Best anthologies. As established in the first volume, these anthologies by Dozois were incredibly comprehensive—large behemoths compared to previous best of the year or award showcases, about to collect something between 15-20 stories per volume, including novellas as well as shorter work. The summations alone were worth the price. Dozois understood the field, and its place in the overall cultural experience, as well as anyone, but his ability to summarize it was second to none. As for the stories:
**** “Salvador,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg]
** “Promises to Keep,” [a:Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg]
***** “Bloodchild,” [a:Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg]
**** “Blued Moon,” [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529284935p2/14032.jpg]
*** “A Message to the King of Brobdingnag,” [a:Richard Cowper|381257|Richard Cowper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208192626p2/381257.jpg]
**** “The Affair,” [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg]
**** “PRESS ENTER [],” [a:John Varley|27341|John Varley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346593830p2/27341.jpg]
*** “New Rose Hotel,” [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg]
*** “The Map,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg]
**** “Interlocking Pieces,” [a:Molly Glass|265963|Molly Glass|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
***** “Trojan Horse,” [a:Michael Swanwick|14454|Michael Swanwick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257630257p2/14454.jpg]
** “Bad Medicine,” [a:Jack Dann|142717|Jack Dann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1223870077p2/142717.jpg]
**** “At the Embassy Club,” [a:Elizabeth A. Lynn|13218|Elizabeth A. Lynn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]
***** “Pursuit of Excellence,” [a:Rena Yount]
**** “The Kindly Isle,” [a:Frederik Pohl|22996|Frederik Pohl|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1226540337p2/22996.jpg]
***** “Rock On,” [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
**** “Sunken Gardens,” [a:Bruce Sterling|34429|Bruce Sterling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379306689p2/34429.jpg]
*** “Trinity,” [a:Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg]
** “The Trouble with the Cotton People,” [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]
*** “Twilight Time,” [a:Lewis Shiner|150432|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235134206p2/150432.jpg]
* “Black Coral,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg]
**** “Friend,” [a:James Patrick Kelly|73418|James Patrick Kelly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:John Kessel|73421|John Kessel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238463630p2/73421.jpg]
*** “Foreign Skins,” [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433005489p2/8694.jpg]
** “Company in the Wings,” [a:R. A. Lafferty|4471254|R.A. Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311250839p2/4471254.jpg]
**** “A Cabin on the Coast,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg]
***** “The Lucky Strike,” [a:Kim Stanley Robinson|1858|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376955089p2/1858.jpg]
“Salvador,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg] — A strong start to the collection, this piece of future war by Shepard hasn’t aged much. Reading it now, I see some similarities to war fiction I read later, like [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424663847s/133518.jpg|1235619] or [a:Robert McCammon|5244478|Robert R. McCammon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1555977227p2/5244478.jpg]’s “Nightcrawlers.” Shepard’s story is science fiction, though, focused on designer drugs that the military use to amp up their reflexes and perception. All too believable.
“Promises to Keep,” [a:Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg] — Nothing about this story is bad, per se, but I can’t remember anything about it, even when I relook at the text. It’s not often that a story in one of these collections is that forgettable.
“Bloodchild,” [a:Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg] — I’ve written about this story before, one of my absolute favorites. On re-reading, it has lost none of its power or relevant meaning. It remains riveting, cringe-inducing, and oh-so-beautiful in its construction. This is the epitome of science fiction: showing how humans and aliens might interact. I hope one day to write something this strong.
“Blued Moon,” [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529284935p2/14032.jpg] — One of her screwball stories, which I like quite a bit and are better in the shorter form than when she attempts them in a novel, because it’s just so hard to sustain.
“A Message to the King of Brobdingnag,” [a:Richard Cowper|381257|Richard Cowper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208192626p2/381257.jpg] — An apocalyptic story of science gone wrong. Enjoyable, but the whole thing is fairly telegraphed even thought the parts are well done.
“The Affair,” [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg] — Extremely well-done story about rare telepaths trying to find each other, and what that might mean to connect in physical as well as mental states. I’m not sure I understood this quite so well when I read it in my 20s, for I found it much more effective now than I did then.
“PRESS ENTER [],” [a:John Varley|27341|John Varley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346593830p2/27341.jpg] — I liked this a lot when I first read it, and while I liked it upon the re-read, this time I found the ending less satisfying. It’s a tale of computers run amok, and possibly has suffered in recent years because of all the imitators. Varley captured the computers of the time, doing much better than predecessors had on tech gone bad. Still worthwhile.
“New Rose Hotel,” [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg] — Another that I liked less on re-reading, but that’s also likely because I’ve become less fond of Gibson’s work over the years. While some of it retains power, too much of it is just style now, where the plot and the logic doesn’t quite hold up.
“The Map,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg] — Set in the same world of the Book of the New Sun. This is good, but not as outstanding as that longer work—I tend to like Wolfe better in a longer format, where I have more time to figure out all the things he’s doing.
“Interlocking Pieces,” [a:Molly Glass|265963|Molly Glass|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] — Positing a world where brain transplants, of at least some part of the brain, becomes possible, a character seeks to understand what it might mean. I actually liked the structure of this, which worked to explore the world and the idea without being maudlin or simplistic, and also kept it brief enough for the reader to contemplate more possibilities about such a future.
“Trojan Horse,” [a:Michael Swanwick|14454|Michael Swanwick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257630257p2/14454.jpg] — A cyberpunk future where skull jacks and wetware are common, in a moon colony where an accident has happened and a woman has to have her personality replaced. The setting, the ideas, the characters—all very nearly perfect, and Swanwick takes this story to an extreme that I had not anticipated. One of my favorite stories in this collection, and, frankly, outdoes the Gibson story in pure inventiveness.
“Bad Medicine,” [a:Jack Dann|142717|Jack Dann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1223870077p2/142717.jpg] — I disliked this, and I’m not sure why. It’s done well, the characters are clearly drawn and interesting, and the cultural research is likely accurate, as far as I can tell. But the drama here just seems so mundane for a fantasy story, and when something happens to one of the characters that supposedly shows a growth or realization in the main character, it came across to me as telegraphed and unconvincing.
“At the Embassy Club,” [a:Elizabeth A. Lynn|13218|Elizabeth A. Lynn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png] — More known to me for her fantasies, I found this SF tale of another culture to be the kind of thing I’ve contemplated writing in the past. What if a Terran fell in love with a unapproachable member of an alien family. Lynn captures the exoticism of the alien culture by overlaying it with a kind of caste system. While it doesn’t seem as far afield from something that might happen on Earth (say, between a British diplomat and a Indian or Arabic royal family), everything works towards the “surprising” end satisfactorily.
“Pursuit of Excellence,” [a:Rena Yount] — Even with writing comments on some stories, often a week later I can’t remember much about the story. That’s not the case with this one, which has lingered with me in the last week since I read it. The pursuit of the title is for parents who want their child to have all the advantages, which means in the future to buy genetic modifications to increase intelligence, looks, etc. The story focuses on the mother, who’s already had a “normal” child, but sees daily in her second job at a restaurant how the genetically enhanced live, and is determined that her daughter has the ability to enter into that world. And, yes, this story gained new resonance with the recent college admissions scandal. Highly recommended.
“The Kindly Isle,” [a:Frederik Pohl|22996|Frederik Pohl|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1226540337p2/22996.jpg] — An extremely well done story that in other hands just would have been a trick, but Pohl finds a character concept that makes it rise above the simple reveal. As a frequent traveller, who’s come into constant contact with the complaining visitor, I enjoyed Pohl’s examination of the tourist, and his interesting idea of how things could be better.
“Rock On,” [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] — This is where Cadigan hit her stride. Everything about this story works. The basic concept is simple—in the future, physical synthesizers in music are replaced by people who have the special ability through network interfaces to enhance other’s performance. What Cadigan adds to it here is the ugliness of what could happen in that situation through an entirely reasonable set of assumptions about what that might mean for the “sinner” herself and the likely issues in an industry with a reputation of being cutthroat. Highly recommended still.
“Sunken Gardens,” [a:Bruce Sterling|34429|Bruce Sterling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379306689p2/34429.jpg] — Another Shaper/Mechanist story, this one about a terraforming competition on Mars. Although there’s a surprise, it almost gets lost in the fascination Bruce has with describing the fast ecological processes used in the competition, not quite a “I paid for my research and now it’s your turn,” but close. The ending, where the protagonist might have gotten what she wanted, is well done, because sometimes you might not want what you thought you wanted.
“Trinity,” [a:Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg] — Loved the concept—researchers trying to prove the existence of God through scientific means—but the execution took so long that I found myself bored by it. Too much visits between this character and that character and then, when the ending finally came, I didn’t feel it matched up to all the verbiage it took to get there. Perhaps at a novel length, this would have been ok, but even for a long short story, I just didn’t feel it paid off.
“The Trouble with the Cotton People,” [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] — I recognize that Le Guin is a great writer, but this is exactly the kind of story that I have very little interest in. It violates most of the basic principles—rather than use actual scenes with dialogue, the entire story is told to you. The basic principle of the story is hardly science fiction, but just a story about the conflict between two trading groups, and frankly, the wine people come across as haughty in their ability to be patient and understanding, even if they had been wronged by the cotton people. The setting is this pre-technology phase that resembles a post-apocalypse, even if Le Guin had not intended it as such, but that was my impression. Not recommended.
“Twilight Time,” [a:Lewis Shiner|150432|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235134206p2/150432.jpg] — One of the first, if not the first, of Shiner’s nostalgia stories, which he’s actually quite good at, but I didn’t feel this one paid off as well as, say, his novel [b:Glimpses|379197|Glimpses|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388469847s/379197.jpg|529888]. I liked the characterization and focus on what the man is trying to regain by time traveling more than the alien subplot mixed in, which just didn’t seem as strong.
“Black Coral,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg] — My least favorite story in this collection. If I thought the Kress story took forever, this one took infinity to get to its conclusion. I found myself skipping passages, then forcing myself to go back and read them. It’s not that Shepard’s milieu is not evocative, nor that the characters weren’t interesting, but by putting the viewpoint through an alcoholic drug-user, the dream/nightmare for the reader was to be able to actually follow what was going on.
“Friend,” [a:James Patrick Kelly|73418|James Patrick Kelly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:John Kessel|73421|John Kessel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238463630p2/73421.jpg] — Like the earlier Lynn story, this tale of the far future with space travel highlights conflict between people in a way that I just prefer over the agrarian, back-to-nature kind of story like the Le Guin. This reads like something from the 60s with its casual sex and decadent classicism, but it works extremely well for this story.
“Foreign Skins,” [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433005489p2/8694.jpg] — A good fantasy story that took some unexpected turns. Great use of setting and Indian mythos, and the social criticism isn’t overdone as to be heavy-handed. The growth of the main character through the intervention of the fantasy really makes this worthwhile.
“Company in the Wings,” [a:R. A. Lafferty|4471254|R.A. Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311250839p2/4471254.jpg] — My second least favorite story in this collection. I want to like Lafferty and his tall tales, but when I read them I’m never sure I know enough to be in on the joke. They are pleasant, although this one in particular seemed to be too long for just being pleasant. Kind of metafictional, in the [a:Italo Calvino|155517|Italo Calvino|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1501975461p2/155517.jpg] or [a:Eugene Ionesco|7689|Eugène Ionesco|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474565529p2/7689.jpg] sense, in that the text is commenting on the text, and all text for that matter. Too deep for me, I’m afraid.
“A Cabin on the Coast,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg] — This is a folk tale retold and modernized. Not something I expected from Wolfe, but appreciated. Being grounded in our current world, this one actually had more power than his earlier story in this volume, surprisingly. A young couple escape to a seaside cabin, but something goes horribly wrong.
“The Lucky Strike,” [a:Kim Stanley Robinson|1858|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376955089p2/1858.jpg] — I remembered this story from before, and on re-reading it retained its power. An alternate history in which the Enola Gay’s crew is killed before their fateful bombing run; what happens when a different crew, with an older bombardier, is selected to drop that first bomb. Highly recommended.
**** “Salvador,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg]
** “Promises to Keep,” [a:Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg]
***** “Bloodchild,” [a:Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg]
**** “Blued Moon,” [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529284935p2/14032.jpg]
*** “A Message to the King of Brobdingnag,” [a:Richard Cowper|381257|Richard Cowper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208192626p2/381257.jpg]
**** “The Affair,” [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg]
**** “PRESS ENTER [],” [a:John Varley|27341|John Varley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346593830p2/27341.jpg]
*** “New Rose Hotel,” [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg]
*** “The Map,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg]
**** “Interlocking Pieces,” [a:Molly Glass|265963|Molly Glass|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
***** “Trojan Horse,” [a:Michael Swanwick|14454|Michael Swanwick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257630257p2/14454.jpg]
** “Bad Medicine,” [a:Jack Dann|142717|Jack Dann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1223870077p2/142717.jpg]
**** “At the Embassy Club,” [a:Elizabeth A. Lynn|13218|Elizabeth A. Lynn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]
***** “Pursuit of Excellence,” [a:Rena Yount]
**** “The Kindly Isle,” [a:Frederik Pohl|22996|Frederik Pohl|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1226540337p2/22996.jpg]
***** “Rock On,” [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
**** “Sunken Gardens,” [a:Bruce Sterling|34429|Bruce Sterling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379306689p2/34429.jpg]
*** “Trinity,” [a:Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg]
** “The Trouble with the Cotton People,” [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]
*** “Twilight Time,” [a:Lewis Shiner|150432|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235134206p2/150432.jpg]
* “Black Coral,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg]
**** “Friend,” [a:James Patrick Kelly|73418|James Patrick Kelly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:John Kessel|73421|John Kessel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238463630p2/73421.jpg]
*** “Foreign Skins,” [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433005489p2/8694.jpg]
** “Company in the Wings,” [a:R. A. Lafferty|4471254|R.A. Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311250839p2/4471254.jpg]
**** “A Cabin on the Coast,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg]
***** “The Lucky Strike,” [a:Kim Stanley Robinson|1858|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376955089p2/1858.jpg]
“Salvador,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg] — A strong start to the collection, this piece of future war by Shepard hasn’t aged much. Reading it now, I see some similarities to war fiction I read later, like [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424663847s/133518.jpg|1235619] or [a:Robert McCammon|5244478|Robert R. McCammon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1555977227p2/5244478.jpg]’s “Nightcrawlers.” Shepard’s story is science fiction, though, focused on designer drugs that the military use to amp up their reflexes and perception. All too believable.
“Promises to Keep,” [a:Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg] — Nothing about this story is bad, per se, but I can’t remember anything about it, even when I relook at the text. It’s not often that a story in one of these collections is that forgettable.
“Bloodchild,” [a:Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg] — I’ve written about this story before, one of my absolute favorites. On re-reading, it has lost none of its power or relevant meaning. It remains riveting, cringe-inducing, and oh-so-beautiful in its construction. This is the epitome of science fiction: showing how humans and aliens might interact. I hope one day to write something this strong.
“Blued Moon,” [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529284935p2/14032.jpg] — One of her screwball stories, which I like quite a bit and are better in the shorter form than when she attempts them in a novel, because it’s just so hard to sustain.
“A Message to the King of Brobdingnag,” [a:Richard Cowper|381257|Richard Cowper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208192626p2/381257.jpg] — An apocalyptic story of science gone wrong. Enjoyable, but the whole thing is fairly telegraphed even thought the parts are well done.
“The Affair,” [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg] — Extremely well-done story about rare telepaths trying to find each other, and what that might mean to connect in physical as well as mental states. I’m not sure I understood this quite so well when I read it in my 20s, for I found it much more effective now than I did then.
“PRESS ENTER [],” [a:John Varley|27341|John Varley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346593830p2/27341.jpg] — I liked this a lot when I first read it, and while I liked it upon the re-read, this time I found the ending less satisfying. It’s a tale of computers run amok, and possibly has suffered in recent years because of all the imitators. Varley captured the computers of the time, doing much better than predecessors had on tech gone bad. Still worthwhile.
“New Rose Hotel,” [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg] — Another that I liked less on re-reading, but that’s also likely because I’ve become less fond of Gibson’s work over the years. While some of it retains power, too much of it is just style now, where the plot and the logic doesn’t quite hold up.
“The Map,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg] — Set in the same world of the Book of the New Sun. This is good, but not as outstanding as that longer work—I tend to like Wolfe better in a longer format, where I have more time to figure out all the things he’s doing.
“Interlocking Pieces,” [a:Molly Glass|265963|Molly Glass|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] — Positing a world where brain transplants, of at least some part of the brain, becomes possible, a character seeks to understand what it might mean. I actually liked the structure of this, which worked to explore the world and the idea without being maudlin or simplistic, and also kept it brief enough for the reader to contemplate more possibilities about such a future.
“Trojan Horse,” [a:Michael Swanwick|14454|Michael Swanwick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257630257p2/14454.jpg] — A cyberpunk future where skull jacks and wetware are common, in a moon colony where an accident has happened and a woman has to have her personality replaced. The setting, the ideas, the characters—all very nearly perfect, and Swanwick takes this story to an extreme that I had not anticipated. One of my favorite stories in this collection, and, frankly, outdoes the Gibson story in pure inventiveness.
“Bad Medicine,” [a:Jack Dann|142717|Jack Dann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1223870077p2/142717.jpg] — I disliked this, and I’m not sure why. It’s done well, the characters are clearly drawn and interesting, and the cultural research is likely accurate, as far as I can tell. But the drama here just seems so mundane for a fantasy story, and when something happens to one of the characters that supposedly shows a growth or realization in the main character, it came across to me as telegraphed and unconvincing.
“At the Embassy Club,” [a:Elizabeth A. Lynn|13218|Elizabeth A. Lynn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png] — More known to me for her fantasies, I found this SF tale of another culture to be the kind of thing I’ve contemplated writing in the past. What if a Terran fell in love with a unapproachable member of an alien family. Lynn captures the exoticism of the alien culture by overlaying it with a kind of caste system. While it doesn’t seem as far afield from something that might happen on Earth (say, between a British diplomat and a Indian or Arabic royal family), everything works towards the “surprising” end satisfactorily.
“Pursuit of Excellence,” [a:Rena Yount] — Even with writing comments on some stories, often a week later I can’t remember much about the story. That’s not the case with this one, which has lingered with me in the last week since I read it. The pursuit of the title is for parents who want their child to have all the advantages, which means in the future to buy genetic modifications to increase intelligence, looks, etc. The story focuses on the mother, who’s already had a “normal” child, but sees daily in her second job at a restaurant how the genetically enhanced live, and is determined that her daughter has the ability to enter into that world. And, yes, this story gained new resonance with the recent college admissions scandal. Highly recommended.
“The Kindly Isle,” [a:Frederik Pohl|22996|Frederik Pohl|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1226540337p2/22996.jpg] — An extremely well done story that in other hands just would have been a trick, but Pohl finds a character concept that makes it rise above the simple reveal. As a frequent traveller, who’s come into constant contact with the complaining visitor, I enjoyed Pohl’s examination of the tourist, and his interesting idea of how things could be better.
“Rock On,” [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] — This is where Cadigan hit her stride. Everything about this story works. The basic concept is simple—in the future, physical synthesizers in music are replaced by people who have the special ability through network interfaces to enhance other’s performance. What Cadigan adds to it here is the ugliness of what could happen in that situation through an entirely reasonable set of assumptions about what that might mean for the “sinner” herself and the likely issues in an industry with a reputation of being cutthroat. Highly recommended still.
“Sunken Gardens,” [a:Bruce Sterling|34429|Bruce Sterling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1379306689p2/34429.jpg] — Another Shaper/Mechanist story, this one about a terraforming competition on Mars. Although there’s a surprise, it almost gets lost in the fascination Bruce has with describing the fast ecological processes used in the competition, not quite a “I paid for my research and now it’s your turn,” but close. The ending, where the protagonist might have gotten what she wanted, is well done, because sometimes you might not want what you thought you wanted.
“Trinity,” [a:Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg] — Loved the concept—researchers trying to prove the existence of God through scientific means—but the execution took so long that I found myself bored by it. Too much visits between this character and that character and then, when the ending finally came, I didn’t feel it matched up to all the verbiage it took to get there. Perhaps at a novel length, this would have been ok, but even for a long short story, I just didn’t feel it paid off.
“The Trouble with the Cotton People,” [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] — I recognize that Le Guin is a great writer, but this is exactly the kind of story that I have very little interest in. It violates most of the basic principles—rather than use actual scenes with dialogue, the entire story is told to you. The basic principle of the story is hardly science fiction, but just a story about the conflict between two trading groups, and frankly, the wine people come across as haughty in their ability to be patient and understanding, even if they had been wronged by the cotton people. The setting is this pre-technology phase that resembles a post-apocalypse, even if Le Guin had not intended it as such, but that was my impression. Not recommended.
“Twilight Time,” [a:Lewis Shiner|150432|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235134206p2/150432.jpg] — One of the first, if not the first, of Shiner’s nostalgia stories, which he’s actually quite good at, but I didn’t feel this one paid off as well as, say, his novel [b:Glimpses|379197|Glimpses|Lewis Shiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388469847s/379197.jpg|529888]. I liked the characterization and focus on what the man is trying to regain by time traveling more than the alien subplot mixed in, which just didn’t seem as strong.
“Black Coral,” [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg] — My least favorite story in this collection. If I thought the Kress story took forever, this one took infinity to get to its conclusion. I found myself skipping passages, then forcing myself to go back and read them. It’s not that Shepard’s milieu is not evocative, nor that the characters weren’t interesting, but by putting the viewpoint through an alcoholic drug-user, the dream/nightmare for the reader was to be able to actually follow what was going on.
“Friend,” [a:James Patrick Kelly|73418|James Patrick Kelly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:John Kessel|73421|John Kessel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238463630p2/73421.jpg] — Like the earlier Lynn story, this tale of the far future with space travel highlights conflict between people in a way that I just prefer over the agrarian, back-to-nature kind of story like the Le Guin. This reads like something from the 60s with its casual sex and decadent classicism, but it works extremely well for this story.
“Foreign Skins,” [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433005489p2/8694.jpg] — A good fantasy story that took some unexpected turns. Great use of setting and Indian mythos, and the social criticism isn’t overdone as to be heavy-handed. The growth of the main character through the intervention of the fantasy really makes this worthwhile.
“Company in the Wings,” [a:R. A. Lafferty|4471254|R.A. Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311250839p2/4471254.jpg] — My second least favorite story in this collection. I want to like Lafferty and his tall tales, but when I read them I’m never sure I know enough to be in on the joke. They are pleasant, although this one in particular seemed to be too long for just being pleasant. Kind of metafictional, in the [a:Italo Calvino|155517|Italo Calvino|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1501975461p2/155517.jpg] or [a:Eugene Ionesco|7689|Eugène Ionesco|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474565529p2/7689.jpg] sense, in that the text is commenting on the text, and all text for that matter. Too deep for me, I’m afraid.
“A Cabin on the Coast,” [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1556979018p2/23069.jpg] — This is a folk tale retold and modernized. Not something I expected from Wolfe, but appreciated. Being grounded in our current world, this one actually had more power than his earlier story in this volume, surprisingly. A young couple escape to a seaside cabin, but something goes horribly wrong.
“The Lucky Strike,” [a:Kim Stanley Robinson|1858|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376955089p2/1858.jpg] — I remembered this story from before, and on re-reading it retained its power. An alternate history in which the Enola Gay’s crew is killed before their fateful bombing run; what happens when a different crew, with an older bombardier, is selected to drop that first bomb. Highly recommended.
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