Scan barcode
frostling's review
1.0
iCity - Paul Di Filippo
Frederick Law Moses, an urban planner, cannot accept that he lost a contest to design a district in iCity (a city that is constantly being rebuilt with intelligent materials). So he decides to cheat by proclaiming himself the winner. However the intelligent material get mixed up and merges his design with that of the original winner, creating a whole new trend among urban planners.
6/10
The Space Crawl Blues - Kay Kenyon
When Quantum Transport hits the market, regular space travel suffers a fatal blow. However, as pilot Blake Niva discovers, this instant ‘teleportation’ isn’t without its own flaws.
[Interesting for the fact that Blake treats his ship, The Samantha Gray, like a real woman.:]
8/10
The Line Of Dichotomy - Chris Roberson
In space there is a war between the Mexica Empire and that of the Middle Kingdom. Both faction blame the horror of the conflict on each other. Yao is a soldier who gets a chance to listen to what the enemy has to say. Unfortunately he chooses to perpetrate the killing.
[This army stuff is not exactly my cup of tea. In addition, at the very end, we don’t get to see who is behind the door. Fair enough whoever is there would not have improved the situation, but I’d have preferred to know all the same J )
3/10
Fifty Dinosaurs - Robert Reed
This is the type of story that makes me feel stupid, ’cos I can’t understand it. Anyway, the plot is about a man who is confronted to a talking dinosaur named Sandra. Apparently, they, along with fifty other species, have been gathered to celebrate the birthday of a superior being. When the hero dreams, he is 21 and celebrates his birthday with booze and karaoke songs…
0/10
Mason’s Rats - Neal Asher
Borderline fantasy. Mason is a farmer with intelligent rats living on his property. There is also an agoraphobic harvester that needs repair. One day, a black rat helps Mason to get rid of an obnoxious salesman.
4/10
Blood Bonds - Brenda Cooper
A young woman whose body has been severely damaged during a terrorist attack downloads herself into a community of Artificial Intelligences. She then goes to see her sister on Mars, to have a chance to defend the rights of these A.Is.
6/10
The Eyes of God - Peter Watts
In a big brother society, airports are fitted with scanners that not only search for concealed weapons, but also mental flaws. When they find one, it gets corrected immediately.
2/10
Sunworld - Eric Brown
Yarrek lives on Sunworld, a rural community severely controlled by the church. When he graduates from college, he is sent to the remote land of Icefast to become an inquisitor. Once there, he discovers that his world is not what it seems and has been visited by aliens. His role will be to prepare his people for this revelation.
7/10
Evil Robot Monkey - Mary Robinette Kowal
Very short story about sly, an intelligent monkey who likes to make pottery, and how the local children treat him.
[Amusing to read, but not as deep as “Rachel In Love” by Pat Murphy.:]
http://www.brazenhussies.net/murphy/Rachel.html
3/10
Shining Armour - Dominic Green
Story reminiscent of “Dragon King” by Michael Swanwick. A village boy witnesses how Khan, his grandfather, manages to access the “Guardian” a gigantic robot using during an old war. Armed in that manner, he expel the soldiers sent by greedy mining company.
8/10
Book, Theatre and Wheel - Karl Schroeder
Two men from the church investigate the property of a woman who is suspected of educating her people. She manages to befriend one of them and show him what power books and story telling have.
[Good story, but hardly a SF one.:]
6/10
Mathralon - David Louis Edelman
The sole purpose of the small moon named Howards 27 is to mine a rare mineral called mathralon. The workers who live there are totally cut from the rest of the galaxy. They haven’t seen a human face in two decades and wonder if the company that employ them still exits.
9/10
Mason Rats: Autotractor - Neal Asher
The farmer and his intelligent rats are back. This time they are visited by an employee from the health department who wants to eradicate the rat population on the farm.
[Reads like a “Shawn the Sheep" adventure.:]
Modern Times (A Jerry Cornelius adventure) - Michael Moorcock
http://www.multiverse.org/
Another story that’s too clever for me, and it doesn’t help that this anthology didn’t print a few lines as to who this Cornelius is supposed to be. Thankfully there is always Wikipedia for such questions.
The story evolves around Jerry and his tribe. They seem to travel through time, stop in pubs, play cricket and talk about the towns and periods they happen to be in. They like to comment on how stupid and worthless humans are. There is no action per se, just a series of instalments, preceded by real (?) news taken from various media sources.
0/10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Cornelius
Point of Contact - Dan Abnett http://www.danabnett.com/
An alien spaceship has discovered planet Earth. However, its occupants are not in the least thrilled by this finding, nor are we in awe of their technology or culture. The two species try to communicate for 3 years then go their own ways.
[Interesting story, too bad it’s done in an endless list of negative statements.:]
5/10
Frederick Law Moses, an urban planner, cannot accept that he lost a contest to design a district in iCity (a city that is constantly being rebuilt with intelligent materials). So he decides to cheat by proclaiming himself the winner. However the intelligent material get mixed up and merges his design with that of the original winner, creating a whole new trend among urban planners.
6/10
The Space Crawl Blues - Kay Kenyon
When Quantum Transport hits the market, regular space travel suffers a fatal blow. However, as pilot Blake Niva discovers, this instant ‘teleportation’ isn’t without its own flaws.
[Interesting for the fact that Blake treats his ship, The Samantha Gray, like a real woman.:]
8/10
The Line Of Dichotomy - Chris Roberson
In space there is a war between the Mexica Empire and that of the Middle Kingdom. Both faction blame the horror of the conflict on each other. Yao is a soldier who gets a chance to listen to what the enemy has to say. Unfortunately he chooses to perpetrate the killing.
[This army stuff is not exactly my cup of tea. In addition, at the very end, we don’t get to see who is behind the door. Fair enough whoever is there would not have improved the situation, but I’d have preferred to know all the same J )
3/10
Fifty Dinosaurs - Robert Reed
This is the type of story that makes me feel stupid, ’cos I can’t understand it. Anyway, the plot is about a man who is confronted to a talking dinosaur named Sandra. Apparently, they, along with fifty other species, have been gathered to celebrate the birthday of a superior being. When the hero dreams, he is 21 and celebrates his birthday with booze and karaoke songs…
0/10
Mason’s Rats - Neal Asher
Borderline fantasy. Mason is a farmer with intelligent rats living on his property. There is also an agoraphobic harvester that needs repair. One day, a black rat helps Mason to get rid of an obnoxious salesman.
4/10
Blood Bonds - Brenda Cooper
A young woman whose body has been severely damaged during a terrorist attack downloads herself into a community of Artificial Intelligences. She then goes to see her sister on Mars, to have a chance to defend the rights of these A.Is.
6/10
The Eyes of God - Peter Watts
In a big brother society, airports are fitted with scanners that not only search for concealed weapons, but also mental flaws. When they find one, it gets corrected immediately.
2/10
Sunworld - Eric Brown
Yarrek lives on Sunworld, a rural community severely controlled by the church. When he graduates from college, he is sent to the remote land of Icefast to become an inquisitor. Once there, he discovers that his world is not what it seems and has been visited by aliens. His role will be to prepare his people for this revelation.
7/10
Evil Robot Monkey - Mary Robinette Kowal
Very short story about sly, an intelligent monkey who likes to make pottery, and how the local children treat him.
[Amusing to read, but not as deep as “Rachel In Love” by Pat Murphy.:]
http://www.brazenhussies.net/murphy/Rachel.html
3/10
Shining Armour - Dominic Green
Story reminiscent of “Dragon King” by Michael Swanwick. A village boy witnesses how Khan, his grandfather, manages to access the “Guardian” a gigantic robot using during an old war. Armed in that manner, he expel the soldiers sent by greedy mining company.
8/10
Book, Theatre and Wheel - Karl Schroeder
Two men from the church investigate the property of a woman who is suspected of educating her people. She manages to befriend one of them and show him what power books and story telling have.
[Good story, but hardly a SF one.:]
6/10
Mathralon - David Louis Edelman
The sole purpose of the small moon named Howards 27 is to mine a rare mineral called mathralon. The workers who live there are totally cut from the rest of the galaxy. They haven’t seen a human face in two decades and wonder if the company that employ them still exits.
9/10
Mason Rats: Autotractor - Neal Asher
The farmer and his intelligent rats are back. This time they are visited by an employee from the health department who wants to eradicate the rat population on the farm.
[Reads like a “Shawn the Sheep" adventure.:]
Modern Times (A Jerry Cornelius adventure) - Michael Moorcock
http://www.multiverse.org/
Another story that’s too clever for me, and it doesn’t help that this anthology didn’t print a few lines as to who this Cornelius is supposed to be. Thankfully there is always Wikipedia for such questions.
The story evolves around Jerry and his tribe. They seem to travel through time, stop in pubs, play cricket and talk about the towns and periods they happen to be in. They like to comment on how stupid and worthless humans are. There is no action per se, just a series of instalments, preceded by real (?) news taken from various media sources.
0/10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Cornelius
Point of Contact - Dan Abnett http://www.danabnett.com/
An alien spaceship has discovered planet Earth. However, its occupants are not in the least thrilled by this finding, nor are we in awe of their technology or culture. The two species try to communicate for 3 years then go their own ways.
[Interesting story, too bad it’s done in an endless list of negative statements.:]
5/10
More...