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sonofthe's review against another edition
5.0
I took a while to read this, savoring it, not putting it off. Again and again, the stories triggered my imagination and encouraged my sense of wonder and even hope.
There's a strong sense of history here, with The Lucky Strike, The Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942, and A History of the Twentieth Century, With Illustrations as standouts. The Lucky Strike moved me, pulled in my emotions and made me think about war and peace. These are common themes in Robinson's works, and he deals with them in creative ways rather than stereotypical ones. A History of the Twentieth Century... also moved me, this time by leading me with the main character toward despair, then taking me to wonder and hope. Great stuff. The Timpanist... wasn't nearly as emotional, but I listened to Beethoven's 9th while reading--not the recording from the story, I'm sorry to say--and it was fitting. Again Robinson has people dealing with war and evil, this time from inside of Nazi Germany, and trying to find a way to express beauty and transcendence, trying to communicate through the music that they aren't all there by choice.
In an interview for [b:Shaman|17669062|Shaman|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364007577s/17669062.jpg|23808924], KSR talked about how he viewed science fiction (maybe speculative fiction) as fictional histories. This comes through in these stories as well as his Mars Trilogy and [b:2312|11830394|2312|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405778758s/11830394.jpg|16785236]. I assume it does in his lots of his other novels.
The Blind Geometer and Escape From Kathmandu were some of my favorites from the collection. They've both got a strong sense of adventure and wonder, with gripping plots that pulled me right along. In The Blind Geometer, KSR uses his descriptive skills to tell what it might be like to be blind. In his notes at the end, he says this one is his way of doing an alien story. He got help from a blind man, as well, and used music as inspiration. The adventure of it, the almost detective style story worked for me. Yeti came to life in a wonderful way in Escape From Kathmandu. After reading it, Harry and the Hendersons came to mind. It was released just two years after this story was published, and I couldn't help but wonder if this story had some kind of influence. KSR's realization of the Yeti is much more satisfying to me, and his way of dealing with the clash between those who want to expose and those who want to protect works much better. The story's a long one, separated into chapters, and I remember thinking that the letter that made up an early chapter could stand alone. Still, the story was great.
A number of the stories here didn't have much fantastical or science fictional to them. Or, if it was there, it was quite subtle. Venice Drowned, another of my favorites, was like this. The water levels aren't contemporary, but are a relatively simple extrapolation from our current state. The story itself is mostly internal conflict as the boat pilot struggles with ideas of home and self identity. The stormy night has a fantastic feel to it, though everything about it fits in our realm. Overall, the story had the feel of a [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207670073p2/23069.jpg] story to me, which is, of course, a good thing. At least half a dozen stories here have realistic feel to them. Robinson is typically thought of as a Science Fiction author, but, based on these, I'd love to read something "mainstream" from him.
Others worth mentioning:
Our Town. Even though the ending didn't work for me, reading this decadent future was disturbing and departed more from the realistic than usual. Themes of class, conscience, and freedom made it interesting.
Zürich and The Translator were the funniest stories in the collection. The former having a mythic feel to it, the later one a classic science fiction feel.
Even though the average of my ratings only came in near four stars, the strength of the collection (and here some kudos probably should go to [a:Jonathan Strahan|56352|Jonathan Strahan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]) makes it a strong five. Robinson is an author who, even though I wouldn't call him a master of the short form, still has a strong voice and mastery of the craft in general. There's plenty here and it's worth anyone's time.
There's a strong sense of history here, with The Lucky Strike, The Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942, and A History of the Twentieth Century, With Illustrations as standouts. The Lucky Strike moved me, pulled in my emotions and made me think about war and peace. These are common themes in Robinson's works, and he deals with them in creative ways rather than stereotypical ones. A History of the Twentieth Century... also moved me, this time by leading me with the main character toward despair, then taking me to wonder and hope. Great stuff. The Timpanist... wasn't nearly as emotional, but I listened to Beethoven's 9th while reading--not the recording from the story, I'm sorry to say--and it was fitting. Again Robinson has people dealing with war and evil, this time from inside of Nazi Germany, and trying to find a way to express beauty and transcendence, trying to communicate through the music that they aren't all there by choice.
In an interview for [b:Shaman|17669062|Shaman|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364007577s/17669062.jpg|23808924], KSR talked about how he viewed science fiction (maybe speculative fiction) as fictional histories. This comes through in these stories as well as his Mars Trilogy and [b:2312|11830394|2312|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405778758s/11830394.jpg|16785236]. I assume it does in his lots of his other novels.
The Blind Geometer and Escape From Kathmandu were some of my favorites from the collection. They've both got a strong sense of adventure and wonder, with gripping plots that pulled me right along. In The Blind Geometer, KSR uses his descriptive skills to tell what it might be like to be blind. In his notes at the end, he says this one is his way of doing an alien story. He got help from a blind man, as well, and used music as inspiration. The adventure of it, the almost detective style story worked for me. Yeti came to life in a wonderful way in Escape From Kathmandu. After reading it, Harry and the Hendersons came to mind. It was released just two years after this story was published, and I couldn't help but wonder if this story had some kind of influence. KSR's realization of the Yeti is much more satisfying to me, and his way of dealing with the clash between those who want to expose and those who want to protect works much better. The story's a long one, separated into chapters, and I remember thinking that the letter that made up an early chapter could stand alone. Still, the story was great.
A number of the stories here didn't have much fantastical or science fictional to them. Or, if it was there, it was quite subtle. Venice Drowned, another of my favorites, was like this. The water levels aren't contemporary, but are a relatively simple extrapolation from our current state. The story itself is mostly internal conflict as the boat pilot struggles with ideas of home and self identity. The stormy night has a fantastic feel to it, though everything about it fits in our realm. Overall, the story had the feel of a [a:Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207670073p2/23069.jpg] story to me, which is, of course, a good thing. At least half a dozen stories here have realistic feel to them. Robinson is typically thought of as a Science Fiction author, but, based on these, I'd love to read something "mainstream" from him.
Others worth mentioning:
Our Town. Even though the ending didn't work for me, reading this decadent future was disturbing and departed more from the realistic than usual. Themes of class, conscience, and freedom made it interesting.
Zürich and The Translator were the funniest stories in the collection. The former having a mythic feel to it, the later one a classic science fiction feel.
Even though the average of my ratings only came in near four stars, the strength of the collection (and here some kudos probably should go to [a:Jonathan Strahan|56352|Jonathan Strahan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]) makes it a strong five. Robinson is an author who, even though I wouldn't call him a master of the short form, still has a strong voice and mastery of the craft in general. There's plenty here and it's worth anyone's time.
led's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
4.0
mburnamfink's review
3.0
KSR is one of the acknowledged masters of contemporary science fiction. His Mars trilogy stands like a monument to ambition and understanding. That said, the short story is not his natural format. These stories feel cramped, hemmed in and ended before they reach their conclusion. Repetitions in themes and more annoyingly pacing become apparent: mountains, climate change, baseball, dreams, science, history-each story punctuated by a leaden last line. There are a few standouts, the award winning "Black Air", and goofy and enjoyable "Arthur Sternback Brings the Curveball to Mars", the paired ruinpunk stories of "Venice Drowned" and "Glacier", and the eerie dream-horror of "Before I Wake", but on the whole, the volume is puffed out with filler that sadly illuminates the limits of KSR's talents rather than his strengths.
chalicotherex's review
5.0
A Venetian freelancer scuba dives for artifacts. A man goes for a hike after having his brain repaired following a car accident. The backup crew of the Enola Gay has the chance to change world history. Slave miners on the Moon make a desperate bid for freedom. A peasant boy joins the Spanish Armada. An archaeologist in Newfoundland confronts a Scandinavian hoax dating back centuries. A blind mathematician falls for an unusual honeytrap. NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab Scientists are forced to cancel a manned Mars mission after the discovery of native bacteria. Yeti is kidnapped in Nepal. A Canadian family flees to a glacier-covered Boston at the dawn of a new ice age. A writer struggles with his history of the twentieth century. It's the best of Kim Stanley Robinson.
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