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master_jedi_reader's review
2.0
Actual rating 2.5 -3. An interesting collection of stories. Didn't love every story here, but on average it was a decent read.
kitaliae's review
5.0
This is a great celebration of The Future Chronicles and a great introduction to what the anthologies are all about. There are some great stories from other collections that return here with some great new ones. I don't have a clear favorite, but I enjoyed most of them! Which is pretty impressive considering the wide range of theme and ideas in this one.
I look forward to all the future collections and getting to read some great indie authors.
I look forward to all the future collections and getting to read some great indie authors.
richelf's review
2.0
Very mediocre book of short story's ,I read a few but none of them really gripped me so i gave up to read something better.
katieb94's review
4.0
A good bind up of sci-fi stories put together in one anthology. I enjoyed it but I don’t think I’ll be going forward and reading full novels by the included authors. 3.5/5 stars
tahernandez's review
4.0
Since this was an anthology with many different stories by many different authors, I had different opinions about each one and mixed feelings about the anthology as a whole. Overall, I thought it was very well done and I appreciated the great variety there was here. Artificial intelligence is one of my favorite aspects of the science fiction genre, so it was fun to read so many different ideas centering on that. I just wanted to write a few lines about what I thought about each story:
"The Syntax of Consciousness" by Parvati K. Tyler
This may have been my favorite story in the whole collection. The premise was interesting, and the author did a fantastic job with good characterization right from the start. One reason I loved this story more than a lot of the others was because it set things up right away and then got on with the story without getting bogged down exploring ideas in any more depth than was necessary. The ending was fantastic, and I ended up writing a quick note to the author as soon as I finished because I just had to tell her how much I enjoyed it.
"Piece of Cake" by Patrice Fitzgerald
This was a fun little story that I felt had kind of a dark sense of humor about it, which I enjoyed. I have a major sweet tooth and could easily identify with the main character, and I loved the way the author describes her efforts to get that delectable desert that always seems just out of her grasp.
"Narai" by E. E. Giorgi
This one had a good premise and the writing was solid, but the ending left me wanting more. I didn't feel like it necessarily lived up to it's potential. It was still an enjoyable story and, as I said, well-written, but not particularly memorable for me.
"Left Foot on a Blind Man" by Julie E. Czerneda
I thought the way this story was told, from the point of view of the A.I. speaking directly to the reader, was interesting. At first I wasn't sure that I would like it, but the narrator has a strong enough voice that it works while still maintaining a cold, machine-like regard towards human beings that seemed appropriate for the story. I also thought the whole premise of A.I. developing in a prosthetic was intriguing.
"Sub-Human: Nash's Equilibrium" by David Simpson
I struggled with this story. Much of it was told through dialogue, and unfortunately, the dialogue felt really forced and unrealistic to me. There also just seemed to be a lot of it. I never really got a good sense for any of the characters, which kind of ruined the ending for me because I didn't care about any of them enough to care what happened to them. I just thought it could have used a little more editing and perhaps focused more on the characters.
"Auto" by Angela Cavanaugh
This was well-written, but the story was a little predictable and the characters felt just a little flat. Still, it explored some thought-provoking ideas and I enjoyed it.
"Eve's Awakening" by Logan Thomas Snyder
This was an enjoyable story, particularly the first half. Vikram was a fantastic character and I enjoyed his sarcastic, cynical perspective on things. I laughed out loud a few different times throughout the story. The point of view shifts about halfway through, though, and for me, became a little lack-luster from that point on. Maybe I was just bitter to see Vikram go; he was one of my favorites in the entire collection.
"Maker" by Sam Best
This was a slower story, but it wasn't any worse for that. It's one that stayed with me for a while after I read it. If I had to describe it in a couple words, I'd say it was "quietly sad." The ideas explored were interesting though and I liked that the ending didn't answer all of the questions that were brought up throughout the story.
"Vendetta" by Chrystalla Thoma
Another fantastic story that I loved partly because it was so fast-paced and plot-driven. I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but I loved all the plot twists and turns along the way.
"The Turing Cube" by Alex Albrinck
This story dragged a little for me. The narrator was likable and the ideas were interesting enough, but I had a bit of a hard time staying engaged with the story and following all the ideas presented. There were a few times I caught myself just wishing we could get on with the story already.
"Darkly Cries the Digital" by A.K. Meek
The mix of superstition and technology here was unique and interesting. Though the writing felt a little clumsy in places, I still enjoyed the story. Descriptions of character emotions were well-done, but I felt like the story jumped around too much between characters and might have been better off just sticking to Jan's point of view.
"The End" by Peter Cawdron
This was another story with some really interesting ideas, and they were all explored really well. However, for the most part, I felt like that's all they were: ideas. Much of the story is just two characters bouncing ideas back and forth, which was done really well and that's all fine. However, I just wanted to read a story, and for a long time, this didn't feel like one. I always say that I'm one of those people who don't like a ton of science in my science fiction, and I'm sure there are people out there who would have enjoyed the exchange of ideas and information more.
"The Syntax of Consciousness" by Parvati K. Tyler
This may have been my favorite story in the whole collection. The premise was interesting, and the author did a fantastic job with good characterization right from the start. One reason I loved this story more than a lot of the others was because it set things up right away and then got on with the story without getting bogged down exploring ideas in any more depth than was necessary. The ending was fantastic, and I ended up writing a quick note to the author as soon as I finished because I just had to tell her how much I enjoyed it.
"Piece of Cake" by Patrice Fitzgerald
This was a fun little story that I felt had kind of a dark sense of humor about it, which I enjoyed. I have a major sweet tooth and could easily identify with the main character, and I loved the way the author describes her efforts to get that delectable desert that always seems just out of her grasp.
"Narai" by E. E. Giorgi
This one had a good premise and the writing was solid, but the ending left me wanting more. I didn't feel like it necessarily lived up to it's potential. It was still an enjoyable story and, as I said, well-written, but not particularly memorable for me.
"Left Foot on a Blind Man" by Julie E. Czerneda
I thought the way this story was told, from the point of view of the A.I. speaking directly to the reader, was interesting. At first I wasn't sure that I would like it, but the narrator has a strong enough voice that it works while still maintaining a cold, machine-like regard towards human beings that seemed appropriate for the story. I also thought the whole premise of A.I. developing in a prosthetic was intriguing.
"Sub-Human: Nash's Equilibrium" by David Simpson
I struggled with this story. Much of it was told through dialogue, and unfortunately, the dialogue felt really forced and unrealistic to me. There also just seemed to be a lot of it. I never really got a good sense for any of the characters, which kind of ruined the ending for me because I didn't care about any of them enough to care what happened to them. I just thought it could have used a little more editing and perhaps focused more on the characters.
"Auto" by Angela Cavanaugh
This was well-written, but the story was a little predictable and the characters felt just a little flat. Still, it explored some thought-provoking ideas and I enjoyed it.
"Eve's Awakening" by Logan Thomas Snyder
This was an enjoyable story, particularly the first half. Vikram was a fantastic character and I enjoyed his sarcastic, cynical perspective on things. I laughed out loud a few different times throughout the story. The point of view shifts about halfway through, though, and for me, became a little lack-luster from that point on. Maybe I was just bitter to see Vikram go; he was one of my favorites in the entire collection.
"Maker" by Sam Best
This was a slower story, but it wasn't any worse for that. It's one that stayed with me for a while after I read it. If I had to describe it in a couple words, I'd say it was "quietly sad." The ideas explored were interesting though and I liked that the ending didn't answer all of the questions that were brought up throughout the story.
"Vendetta" by Chrystalla Thoma
Another fantastic story that I loved partly because it was so fast-paced and plot-driven. I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but I loved all the plot twists and turns along the way.
"The Turing Cube" by Alex Albrinck
This story dragged a little for me. The narrator was likable and the ideas were interesting enough, but I had a bit of a hard time staying engaged with the story and following all the ideas presented. There were a few times I caught myself just wishing we could get on with the story already.
"Darkly Cries the Digital" by A.K. Meek
The mix of superstition and technology here was unique and interesting. Though the writing felt a little clumsy in places, I still enjoyed the story. Descriptions of character emotions were well-done, but I felt like the story jumped around too much between characters and might have been better off just sticking to Jan's point of view.
"The End" by Peter Cawdron
This was another story with some really interesting ideas, and they were all explored really well. However, for the most part, I felt like that's all they were: ideas. Much of the story is just two characters bouncing ideas back and forth, which was done really well and that's all fine. However, I just wanted to read a story, and for a long time, this didn't feel like one. I always say that I'm one of those people who don't like a ton of science in my science fiction, and I'm sure there are people out there who would have enjoyed the exchange of ideas and information more.
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