Scan barcode
trike's review against another edition
4.0
There are some really great stories here about life aboard interstellar starships. The hook for this collection is that they're all scientifically possible. Which isn't as heavy as you might think, since the focus really isn't on the science. Plus the last two stories really don't have much to do with it.
The last story is by Mike Resnick and it doesn't belong here. It's a fanciful tale about a race through the solar system and the "real story" about how one ship disappeared. It really should have been rejected; I suspect he's here for name recognition.
That said, many of the other stories are so good that I wish they were full novels. It reminds me why I like short stories so much: cracking good tales that leave you wanting more. It's a shame the book ends with a whimper.
There are a few science essays which detail some of the ways we can travel interstellar distances. A few decades ago I would have found them to be value-added, but there wasn't a lot of new information contained in them. Which is really a commentary on the sad state of cutting-edge scientific inquiry in America more than anything else. However, if this is your first exposure to these ideas then they are well worth your time.
Edit to add:
CHOICES by Les Johnson - A very good beginning to the collection, setting the tone that sometimes things break while in deep space, and frequently those broken things are people.
A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Ben Bova - I really enjoyed this old school story about a stubborn man who knows what the right choice is and is determined to make it, no matter the cost. To win big you have to bet big, and the protagonist is just that kind of guy.
LUCY by Jack McDevitt - I loved this story. This is the flipside of the Bova story where the AI has a chance to go on one last adventure and metaphorically leaps at it.
LESSER BEINGS by Dr. Charles Gannon - This story really feels epic, with an interstellar spaceship used as an escape valve for a warring society. Every time someone loses a war, they take the ship to the next available system. The implication is that they are multiple generations -- and star systems -- removed from Earth, and as a result their society has mutated and stratified. Creating a completely new culture with backstory is something incredibly difficult to pull off, so I'm always impressed when an author does it in a short story. Excellent.
DESIGN FLAW by Louise Marley - This is a solid nuts-and-bolts working-class-spaceman story about a woman whose job is to inspect hard-to-get-to crawlspaces in spaceships because of her tiny size. Her diminutive stature comes partially from being naturally small and from growing up starvingly poor, which made her small. But small or not, she doesn't take guff from roughneck bullies, which causes her to make some tough choices. I discovered I'm slightly claustrophobic while having an MRI, so parts of this story were skin-crawlingly tense.
TWENTY LIGHTS TO THE "LAND OF SNOW": Excerpts from the Computer Logs of Our Reluctant Dalai Lama by Michael Bishop - A Buddhist colony ship funded by the Chinese eager to solve their Tibetan problem heads out for another solar system and the Dalai Lama dies en route. It is claimed he reincarnates in the body of a 7-year-old girl, who wants nothing to do with the responsibility. It's a nice tale of how she ages from 7 to 31 during the journey, with all the politics and dangers one might imagine in any group. I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it, but it's quite good.
THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL by Sarah A. Hoyt - Another female protagonist, which is a nice trend, but this story felt a little too pat. Some of the things which happen do so just in time, the kind of coincidence which do stretch my willing suspension of disbelief. It's not a bad story, but when compared to some of the really good stories here it's a bit of the B team taking the field.
SIREN SONG by Mike Resnick - This story doesn't belong here either in terms of theme (going interstellar) or quality. This is the sort of disappointing trifle Resnick can do in his sleep, and I'm at a loss as to why it's included. This was a lame way to end an otherwise excellent collection.
Various essays - As mentioned above, the essays are almost certainly value-added to someone new to the game, with excellent summations of current thoughts, theories and designs. I didn't find they added much for me, but then I've been reading this stuff for 40 years now. that said, they are quite good.
The last story is by Mike Resnick and it doesn't belong here. It's a fanciful tale about a race through the solar system and the "real story" about how one ship disappeared. It really should have been rejected; I suspect he's here for name recognition.
That said, many of the other stories are so good that I wish they were full novels. It reminds me why I like short stories so much: cracking good tales that leave you wanting more. It's a shame the book ends with a whimper.
There are a few science essays which detail some of the ways we can travel interstellar distances. A few decades ago I would have found them to be value-added, but there wasn't a lot of new information contained in them. Which is really a commentary on the sad state of cutting-edge scientific inquiry in America more than anything else. However, if this is your first exposure to these ideas then they are well worth your time.
Edit to add:
CHOICES by Les Johnson - A very good beginning to the collection, setting the tone that sometimes things break while in deep space, and frequently those broken things are people.
A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Ben Bova - I really enjoyed this old school story about a stubborn man who knows what the right choice is and is determined to make it, no matter the cost. To win big you have to bet big, and the protagonist is just that kind of guy.
LUCY by Jack McDevitt - I loved this story. This is the flipside of the Bova story where the AI has a chance to go on one last adventure and metaphorically leaps at it.
LESSER BEINGS by Dr. Charles Gannon - This story really feels epic, with an interstellar spaceship used as an escape valve for a warring society. Every time someone loses a war, they take the ship to the next available system. The implication is that they are multiple generations -- and star systems -- removed from Earth, and as a result their society has mutated and stratified. Creating a completely new culture with backstory is something incredibly difficult to pull off, so I'm always impressed when an author does it in a short story. Excellent.
DESIGN FLAW by Louise Marley - This is a solid nuts-and-bolts working-class-spaceman story about a woman whose job is to inspect hard-to-get-to crawlspaces in spaceships because of her tiny size. Her diminutive stature comes partially from being naturally small and from growing up starvingly poor, which made her small. But small or not, she doesn't take guff from roughneck bullies, which causes her to make some tough choices. I discovered I'm slightly claustrophobic while having an MRI, so parts of this story were skin-crawlingly tense.
TWENTY LIGHTS TO THE "LAND OF SNOW": Excerpts from the Computer Logs of Our Reluctant Dalai Lama by Michael Bishop - A Buddhist colony ship funded by the Chinese eager to solve their Tibetan problem heads out for another solar system and the Dalai Lama dies en route. It is claimed he reincarnates in the body of a 7-year-old girl, who wants nothing to do with the responsibility. It's a nice tale of how she ages from 7 to 31 during the journey, with all the politics and dangers one might imagine in any group. I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it, but it's quite good.
THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL by Sarah A. Hoyt - Another female protagonist, which is a nice trend, but this story felt a little too pat. Some of the things which happen do so just in time, the kind of coincidence which do stretch my willing suspension of disbelief. It's not a bad story, but when compared to some of the really good stories here it's a bit of the B team taking the field.
SIREN SONG by Mike Resnick - This story doesn't belong here either in terms of theme (going interstellar) or quality. This is the sort of disappointing trifle Resnick can do in his sleep, and I'm at a loss as to why it's included. This was a lame way to end an otherwise excellent collection.
Various essays - As mentioned above, the essays are almost certainly value-added to someone new to the game, with excellent summations of current thoughts, theories and designs. I didn't find they added much for me, but then I've been reading this stuff for 40 years now. that said, they are quite good.
books17's review against another edition
3.0
A neat collection of short stories and essays about generation ships and near-future space travel. Nice read.
More...