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satan_is_back's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jonmhansen's review
4.0
"Dad, the kids spoke to you. Twice."
"So this creates an obligation for me to answer?"
from Fountain of Age
"So this creates an obligation for me to answer?"
from Fountain of Age
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Je dois admettre que ce livre m'a perdue. Il est très bien exécuté, mais j'ai mis la moitié des cent pages à comprendre qu'il y avait non pas une mais deux temporalités et que c'était la raison de ma confusion. C'est vraiment juste ma faute. Si vous aimez les machinations politiques et rêvez de vivre à jamais, peut-être que ce livre sera pour vous.
Rep : personnage principal juif, personnages secondaires roms.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Medical content
kimu's review
5.0
Top notch science fiction short stories by a master of the genre & the form. Many of these were previously published in Asimov's, but all of them are worth reading. Not a single dud in the bunch.
Kress has introduced some very interesting discussions of aging with this collection. Very thought provoking.
Highly recommend.
Kress has introduced some very interesting discussions of aging with this collection. Very thought provoking.
Highly recommend.
maniikoi's review
4.0
The Erdmann Nexus
A very interesting and suspenseful story. I don't usually read these types of stories and genre and found it a bit hard to get into in the beginning but I am glad that I continued reading. At first I was confused with what was happening and it didn't make sense to me. In a way it was that, that pushed me to keep reading. The suspense was what kept me interested.
It was a really great story. Like I said I don't usually read scientific books/novels but this one was different. The story was unlike anything I have ever read of could have thought about. It was very realistic, I could see this happening in real life. The facts that Nancy Kress choreographed into the story was astonishing. It was what made it so believable. The stone cold, hard facts intertwined into the story was life like, like reading a documentary, but with someone telling it as a story.
It was interesting and very knowledgeable, and I admired that. I have never been one for Science, but I enjoyed this.
The Kindness of Strangers
This story, although very short, was very inspiring. The message was very meaningful and clear. That even if you do not look for it, and even if it is in the most unlikely of places, kindness from strangers can be found everywhere, even if you do not looks for it.
This story was very real, and very realistic. It is something that could happen since our population is drastically rising, and out climate is drastically changing. In this time and age, many people disapprove of aliens, "ET", or anything paranormal that science or religion cannot explain. This story teaches us that many things happen that science nor religion cannot explain. That there are so many life forms that have gone undiscovered for humans to know everything. And our knowledge of outer space is very limited.
In this day and age most children grow up with their parents telling them, "Do not talk to strangers! Or "Do not talk or trust anyone you don't know. But the truth is, we were all strangers once. All our friends were once strangers. We all have to start somewhere. This is where this story takes us.
I enjoyed this story very much. It inspired me and got me thinking. What if this were to really happen? For this story had a very good point! "You humans have a talent for self-destruction, you know. You cause a lot of your own suffering." Which is 100% true. In most cases isn't our own fault that we got ourselves into a bad situation or a state of being? There are many cases that which this sentence is true. Take global warming for an example. At this time... even with out efforts.... it is too little too late.
The story really got me thinking. With what happened to the characters in the story, and how they got so absorbed in their concentration after losing the static – that I hope to never achieve that state of mind. I wonder if it is even possible. But the logic behind it is like a fact. It is so real, so scientific that it is hard to think of it like anything else.
By Fools Like Me
This story really starts to get you thinking about what our future will hold, and what will cease to exist if Global warming gets any worse than it already is.
This story tells of a future without machines, without the daily luxuries of buying food and doing nothing for ourselves in the way of survival. It shows us sins. That so many things (little things that we would never suspect or think of as sinning) is a sin. We cut down trees for paper, books, and other supplies. That is a sin.
"Then God said, "I give you every plant and every tree on the whole Earth. They will be food for you. Wail, oh pine tree, for the cedar has fallen, the stately trees are ruined! Wail oaks of Bashan, the dense forest has been cut down! And they were told - told!- not to harm the grass of Earth or any plant or tree."
To us now, our kind as humans has progressed in such a way that there are not many of us left who care about the Earth and its state of being. Not too many of us are brought up to care about our environment anymore. Children are brought up with Laptops, I-pods, Flat screen TV's. Our survival isn't instinctual as it used to be. We don't go on living as if everyday is a fight for survival. Everything we need is in grocery stores that we can just pick up and continue out day. But no, in this story it tells of a life where just reading a book is a sin. For the trees that were cut down to make it is a sin.
First Rites
This is a really good story. Although I don't think the title suits the story. I don't think "First Rites" has anything to do with the story that is told.
Like the other stories in this book, its all about Science. About what is possible and what can be done, and what isn't possible and can't be done. It's a very interesting concept. There are so many things in this story that are just unbelievable, that I can't imagine happening, but can happen.
I really liked this one. It had romance, and a bit of humor, but was very serious and its message was very clear. I liked how the story mixed romance into the story of Science of Quantum physics and consiouness. The story had a really good point. Some people say that they hear voices speaking to them. They say that its "God" some say its "Satan". Take Joan of Arc for an example, she heared voices and said it was God telling her - guiding her. And that it was happenes to the main character in this book, Cixin.
End Game
The story was very interesting, albeit short. The story and plot was very well thought out. It amazes me that such a topic and consciousness that it speaks about, makes me more aware of what I am doing.
The story talks about “Static”. How even though we are concentrated on one thing, our mind is thinking about millions of different things in that moment. We are never thinking about just one thing at a time – indifferently. Our minds jump from one though to another, never lingering or thinking about one subject. That is what static is. And the character in the story, Allen, tries to figure out a way to stop the Static – permanently. So that we can concentrate on only one subject without the distraction of thoughts about anything else or losing concentration, even being able to be distracted is out of the equation.
Images of Anna
This story wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t about science or physics or anything like that. At first I got the impression that this was a story about fashion and the model industry, but that wasn’t the case. The story ended up to be very mystical and paranormal. Its background didn’t have anything to do with science, or could even be solved by it. There was no explanation for how what happened could possibly happen.
The story tells of a woman, named Anna, who goes to a photo-shoot at Glamorous You to have her picture taken as a gift for her online boyfriend. Ben, Anna’s photographer takes photos of her as usual with his other clients. While developing the negatives, he comes upon a real shock. The photos he took of Anna, are not of Anna! But of people who she is thinking of, Ben took a picture of her, and captured what was going on in her mind at that moment.
At that part I expected it to be a paranormal story where they investigated what was going on, and how Ben could possibly do that. But it wasn’t like that. It ended up being about a very important top that maybe everyone goes through at least once in their life, or thinks about it at least. How much should you change for the one you love? the answer should be, “Not at all!” for the person you love should love you unconditionally, and for who you are. Anna changes for the one she loves, and it makes not only her world, but his world, brighter.
The story is about going after your happiness. Chasing after your dreams, and maybe, just maybe, changing who you are. You shouldn’t have to change, but if it makes you happy then what did you really lose?
Laws of Survival
Since the dawn of movies and science-fiction, and imagination in general, there has been scepticism about aliens and extraterrestrial beings from outer space. But where did the idea come from? Where did humans get that thought from? It had to start somewhere.
In this story Nancy Kress weaves a fantastic tale of aliens inhabiting Earth in dome-like ships. To the people of Earth - there hasn’t been any sign of what the aliens look like or what they are there for. Until a woman looking for food in the garbage dump finds a puppy in the next to the dome and an alien robot steps out and offers her and the puppy food.
As the story unveils itself and the reason for the aliens being there is revealed, the unlikeliest of that is so profound that I hope that if one day aliens do come to earth it is for this reason! The aliens are looking for love. Love from an animal. And what animal is so loyal, that it was dubbed, “Mans best friend”? Of course, dogs!
Safeguard
When I first started reading it didn't quite make sense to me. I got the image that this was when the world was just starting to evolve and these four children were the first on earth, or something along those lines. But then soon after I thought that a woman, Taney, comes in wearing a “covering” which I later found out was a suit.
Four children live in this world-like dome that they think is a world - the only world. There were a lot of confusing bits in the beginning that didn’t cover enough ground for me to understand what was going on. I didn’t fully understand things until the very end of the story where it started to explain things in more detail.
There were several things about the four children, mainly a little girl named Kim, that I couldn’t understand. In the beginning it says Kim, in numerous settings, that she constantly goes around licking peoples faces. Since it didn’t describe her, only that her name was Kim, I thought she was a dog. I didn’t find out until half way through that she was indeed a child, a human child and not a dog. There were little details like that, that were left out that would have helped the understanding of the whole thing a whole lot easier to understand.
Fountain of Age
I really like the concept and the idea of "carrying around a piece of a person with you" in an object. Not so much as physical, but spiritual and emotional. Having a piece of something that belongs to them, makingthem feel as though a part of them is always with you. Like the way you give your child something of thier parents to make them feel safe and comforted. I really liked this approach to the story.
The beginning of the story was beautiful. The story was developing a very beautiful story line and plot. The only thing to me in the story was that Max went through all that trouble to find Daria again then he leaves her!?! It didn't quite fit. I don't quite understand why he went through all that trouble to find the desirable woman that he has been lusting - desiring - after for 40 years then just leaves after seeing her. Quite harshly too, I must say.
It got more and more confusing after that. Not so much the story - just how it was setting off and how the story was going. While the book was telling the story of Max in a retirement home after talking to his son, it then switches back to the past before his wife and son were even born. Very confusing. It kept switching and I never knew whether thr story was telling of the past or the future, or even the present. It wasn't very specific with the flashback in the time periods. Very good story telling, very interesting and informative, just a little hard to follow along.
I really like how the stories were organized in this book. From one story talking about a certain topic and that issue mixed in with the other stories - although all completly unrelated and different - throughout the book in each tale. I especially liked how the last story of the book was the title of the book itself. Like the saying goes, "Save the best for last." And it truly was a great ending. This story had a very meaningful message that just goes straight to the heart. It was a very symbolic, beautiful thing. An amazing story. All of them.
A very interesting and suspenseful story. I don't usually read these types of stories and genre and found it a bit hard to get into in the beginning but I am glad that I continued reading. At first I was confused with what was happening and it didn't make sense to me. In a way it was that, that pushed me to keep reading. The suspense was what kept me interested.
It was a really great story. Like I said I don't usually read scientific books/novels but this one was different. The story was unlike anything I have ever read of could have thought about. It was very realistic, I could see this happening in real life. The facts that Nancy Kress choreographed into the story was astonishing. It was what made it so believable. The stone cold, hard facts intertwined into the story was life like, like reading a documentary, but with someone telling it as a story.
It was interesting and very knowledgeable, and I admired that. I have never been one for Science, but I enjoyed this.
The Kindness of Strangers
This story, although very short, was very inspiring. The message was very meaningful and clear. That even if you do not look for it, and even if it is in the most unlikely of places, kindness from strangers can be found everywhere, even if you do not looks for it.
This story was very real, and very realistic. It is something that could happen since our population is drastically rising, and out climate is drastically changing. In this time and age, many people disapprove of aliens, "ET", or anything paranormal that science or religion cannot explain. This story teaches us that many things happen that science nor religion cannot explain. That there are so many life forms that have gone undiscovered for humans to know everything. And our knowledge of outer space is very limited.
In this day and age most children grow up with their parents telling them, "Do not talk to strangers! Or "Do not talk or trust anyone you don't know. But the truth is, we were all strangers once. All our friends were once strangers. We all have to start somewhere. This is where this story takes us.
I enjoyed this story very much. It inspired me and got me thinking. What if this were to really happen? For this story had a very good point! "You humans have a talent for self-destruction, you know. You cause a lot of your own suffering." Which is 100% true. In most cases isn't our own fault that we got ourselves into a bad situation or a state of being? There are many cases that which this sentence is true. Take global warming for an example. At this time... even with out efforts.... it is too little too late.
The story really got me thinking. With what happened to the characters in the story, and how they got so absorbed in their concentration after losing the static – that I hope to never achieve that state of mind. I wonder if it is even possible. But the logic behind it is like a fact. It is so real, so scientific that it is hard to think of it like anything else.
By Fools Like Me
This story really starts to get you thinking about what our future will hold, and what will cease to exist if Global warming gets any worse than it already is.
This story tells of a future without machines, without the daily luxuries of buying food and doing nothing for ourselves in the way of survival. It shows us sins. That so many things (little things that we would never suspect or think of as sinning) is a sin. We cut down trees for paper, books, and other supplies. That is a sin.
"Then God said, "I give you every plant and every tree on the whole Earth. They will be food for you. Wail, oh pine tree, for the cedar has fallen, the stately trees are ruined! Wail oaks of Bashan, the dense forest has been cut down! And they were told - told!- not to harm the grass of Earth or any plant or tree."
To us now, our kind as humans has progressed in such a way that there are not many of us left who care about the Earth and its state of being. Not too many of us are brought up to care about our environment anymore. Children are brought up with Laptops, I-pods, Flat screen TV's. Our survival isn't instinctual as it used to be. We don't go on living as if everyday is a fight for survival. Everything we need is in grocery stores that we can just pick up and continue out day. But no, in this story it tells of a life where just reading a book is a sin. For the trees that were cut down to make it is a sin.
First Rites
This is a really good story. Although I don't think the title suits the story. I don't think "First Rites" has anything to do with the story that is told.
Like the other stories in this book, its all about Science. About what is possible and what can be done, and what isn't possible and can't be done. It's a very interesting concept. There are so many things in this story that are just unbelievable, that I can't imagine happening, but can happen.
I really liked this one. It had romance, and a bit of humor, but was very serious and its message was very clear. I liked how the story mixed romance into the story of Science of Quantum physics and consiouness. The story had a really good point. Some people say that they hear voices speaking to them. They say that its "God" some say its "Satan". Take Joan of Arc for an example, she heared voices and said it was God telling her - guiding her. And that it was happenes to the main character in this book, Cixin.
End Game
The story was very interesting, albeit short. The story and plot was very well thought out. It amazes me that such a topic and consciousness that it speaks about, makes me more aware of what I am doing.
The story talks about “Static”. How even though we are concentrated on one thing, our mind is thinking about millions of different things in that moment. We are never thinking about just one thing at a time – indifferently. Our minds jump from one though to another, never lingering or thinking about one subject. That is what static is. And the character in the story, Allen, tries to figure out a way to stop the Static – permanently. So that we can concentrate on only one subject without the distraction of thoughts about anything else or losing concentration, even being able to be distracted is out of the equation.
Images of Anna
This story wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t about science or physics or anything like that. At first I got the impression that this was a story about fashion and the model industry, but that wasn’t the case. The story ended up to be very mystical and paranormal. Its background didn’t have anything to do with science, or could even be solved by it. There was no explanation for how what happened could possibly happen.
The story tells of a woman, named Anna, who goes to a photo-shoot at Glamorous You to have her picture taken as a gift for her online boyfriend. Ben, Anna’s photographer takes photos of her as usual with his other clients. While developing the negatives, he comes upon a real shock. The photos he took of Anna, are not of Anna! But of people who she is thinking of, Ben took a picture of her, and captured what was going on in her mind at that moment.
At that part I expected it to be a paranormal story where they investigated what was going on, and how Ben could possibly do that. But it wasn’t like that. It ended up being about a very important top that maybe everyone goes through at least once in their life, or thinks about it at least. How much should you change for the one you love? the answer should be, “Not at all!” for the person you love should love you unconditionally, and for who you are. Anna changes for the one she loves, and it makes not only her world, but his world, brighter.
The story is about going after your happiness. Chasing after your dreams, and maybe, just maybe, changing who you are. You shouldn’t have to change, but if it makes you happy then what did you really lose?
Laws of Survival
Since the dawn of movies and science-fiction, and imagination in general, there has been scepticism about aliens and extraterrestrial beings from outer space. But where did the idea come from? Where did humans get that thought from? It had to start somewhere.
In this story Nancy Kress weaves a fantastic tale of aliens inhabiting Earth in dome-like ships. To the people of Earth - there hasn’t been any sign of what the aliens look like or what they are there for. Until a woman looking for food in the garbage dump finds a puppy in the next to the dome and an alien robot steps out and offers her and the puppy food.
As the story unveils itself and the reason for the aliens being there is revealed, the unlikeliest of that is so profound that I hope that if one day aliens do come to earth it is for this reason! The aliens are looking for love. Love from an animal. And what animal is so loyal, that it was dubbed, “Mans best friend”? Of course, dogs!
Safeguard
When I first started reading it didn't quite make sense to me. I got the image that this was when the world was just starting to evolve and these four children were the first on earth, or something along those lines. But then soon after I thought that a woman, Taney, comes in wearing a “covering” which I later found out was a suit.
Four children live in this world-like dome that they think is a world - the only world. There were a lot of confusing bits in the beginning that didn’t cover enough ground for me to understand what was going on. I didn’t fully understand things until the very end of the story where it started to explain things in more detail.
There were several things about the four children, mainly a little girl named Kim, that I couldn’t understand. In the beginning it says Kim, in numerous settings, that she constantly goes around licking peoples faces. Since it didn’t describe her, only that her name was Kim, I thought she was a dog. I didn’t find out until half way through that she was indeed a child, a human child and not a dog. There were little details like that, that were left out that would have helped the understanding of the whole thing a whole lot easier to understand.
Fountain of Age
I really like the concept and the idea of "carrying around a piece of a person with you" in an object. Not so much as physical, but spiritual and emotional. Having a piece of something that belongs to them, makingthem feel as though a part of them is always with you. Like the way you give your child something of thier parents to make them feel safe and comforted. I really liked this approach to the story.
The beginning of the story was beautiful. The story was developing a very beautiful story line and plot. The only thing to me in the story was that Max went through all that trouble to find Daria again then he leaves her!?! It didn't quite fit. I don't quite understand why he went through all that trouble to find the desirable woman that he has been lusting - desiring - after for 40 years then just leaves after seeing her. Quite harshly too, I must say.
It got more and more confusing after that. Not so much the story - just how it was setting off and how the story was going. While the book was telling the story of Max in a retirement home after talking to his son, it then switches back to the past before his wife and son were even born. Very confusing. It kept switching and I never knew whether thr story was telling of the past or the future, or even the present. It wasn't very specific with the flashback in the time periods. Very good story telling, very interesting and informative, just a little hard to follow along.
I really like how the stories were organized in this book. From one story talking about a certain topic and that issue mixed in with the other stories - although all completly unrelated and different - throughout the book in each tale. I especially liked how the last story of the book was the title of the book itself. Like the saying goes, "Save the best for last." And it truly was a great ending. This story had a very meaningful message that just goes straight to the heart. It was a very symbolic, beautiful thing. An amazing story. All of them.
haddocks_eyes's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
snodza's review against another edition
3.0
2.5⭐
J'ai ni aimé ni détesté. Le sujet de la génétique et du fait d'allonger la vie est intéressant mais trop survolés. Je n'ai pas du tout accroché au perso principal. Rien de transcendant.
J'ai ni aimé ni détesté. Le sujet de la génétique et du fait d'allonger la vie est intéressant mais trop survolés. Je n'ai pas du tout accroché au perso principal. Rien de transcendant.
djwudi's review
4.0
Impressive selection of stories; unlike many anthologies (both single- and multi-author), not a single story I'd consider a dud. Many deal with the not-too-far-future complications of genetic modification, and the whole book has a somewhat melancholy, moody feel to it that I liked a lot.
survivalisinsufficient's review
4.0
I feel mixed about this - some of the stories/ideas are great, but it's not her best writing.
Still, I am a sucker for scifi with good ideas.
Still, I am a sucker for scifi with good ideas.