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0uterspacebookwyrm's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
professorfate's review
3.0
I consider anthologies edited by John Joseph Adams to be as close to a sure thing as there can be in story collections. I feel that Mr. Adams has a good eye and will find more interesting stories than duds.
Having said that, this might be the exception that proves the rule.
This book for me seemed to have a lot more "meh" stories than usual. Some were good, some I didn't get, but most just struck me as "well, that story's done". In addition (and this may be my failing, because I'm not that smart), a lot of the stories didn't seem to fit in with what I thought was the overall theme of the anthology.
I won't let this deter me from reading further collections by Adams, though. I do have two or three more in the to-be-read heap.
Having said that, this might be the exception that proves the rule.
This book for me seemed to have a lot more "meh" stories than usual. Some were good, some I didn't get, but most just struck me as "well, that story's done". In addition (and this may be my failing, because I'm not that smart), a lot of the stories didn't seem to fit in with what I thought was the overall theme of the anthology.
I won't let this deter me from reading further collections by Adams, though. I do have two or three more in the to-be-read heap.
mjfmjfmjf's review
3.0
The August 2010 book for the Powell's SF group. 3.5 of 5. As with any collection, I found it uneven. It was good to have another Enderverse story, and the reprint of a Moon Miles-verse story was a good re-read. But all in all nothing really makes this book stand out over the next collection.
vundaful's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
sonofthe's review
4.0
I've had my eye on this book for a while, even had it in my library for a while. What put me over the edge was watching Enterprise and seeing blog posts about the best Star Trek novels. I wanted something in that vein, but not bogged down by the baggage of Star Trek.
This wasn't the anthology I wanted, then, but the one I needed. (I know, I know)
Only at the very end did I find a couple stories that felt like the same sort of space opera I was looking for, and I'll certainly be trying at least a full novel in the respective series.
The first was [a:Allen Steele|73419|Allen Steele|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1377096425p2/73419.jpg]'s "The Other Side of Jordan", set in his Coyote Universe. The story itself was a bit of a run-of-the-mill romance, but the way he hints at the rich universe he's created scratched all the right itches for me. I've already flagged two of the novels for my to-read shelf.
[a:Jeremiah Tolbert|1916425|Jeremiah Tolbert|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]'s "The Culture Archivist" is the other. Tolbert said in the introduction that he wanted to imagine a "realistically capitalist federation." It was about a deserter, trying to catalog new sentient species before they're corrupted by his former culture. There were some funny satirical bits and hints at a broader universe. As far as I can tell, though, there are no more stories. Alas.
[a:John C. Wright|58124|John C. Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1220187415p2/58124.jpg]'s "Twilight of the Gods" was the big stand-out in the anthology. Based on The Ring of the Nibelung (which I've never read), it takes place on a generation ship where memories of the past, of the command structure and job tasks, of the proper way to use the technology, have all been forgotten or corrupted. There's a fight for power, and the 'return' of a foretold savior of sorts. It had the feel of old science fiction, maybe mid 20th century. Wright says this is a sequel to two earlier stories and that he wants to finish this "Ophiuchan Cycle" of stories. I will seek those out.
Here are a few other stand-outs for me:
[a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1369753656p2/51204.jpg]' "Spirey and the Queen" was a fascinating look into harder aspects of space opera. The telling was rich, taking root in my mind more than I initially realized. Images from the story came back to me later on.
[a:Alan Dean Foster|11735|Alan Dean Foster|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207233026p2/11735.jpg]'s "Pardon Our Conquest" gave me a few good chuckles. This one was pretty short, and had fun with some caricatures.
[a:Robert J. Sawyer|25883|Robert J. Sawyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224975910p2/25883.jpg]'s "The Shoulders of Giants" called back, purposefully, to an older science fiction feel. It embodied sub-light travel and the wonder of exploration well.
[a:K. Tempest Bradford|3378249|K. Tempest Bradford|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1303766065p2/3378249.jpg]'s "Different Day" was a funny first-person story about what a "first contact" might look like to an everyman. It also deals with one of my pet-peeves: alien races in space opera that are mono-cultures (yes, Star Trek, I'm looking at you).
And, finally, [a:Anne McCaffrey|26|Anne McCaffrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1323715139p2/26.jpg]'s "The Ship Who Returned" underwhelmed me. It got better toward the end, but the characters just weren't that likeable. The situation would have been much more interesting if the protag had done more protagging. This apparently is in a series of stories, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that it might work better if I'd been more acquainted with the ship before reading this.
All in all, this is a good anthology. A good example of Adams' editing skills, and, I think, an early-ish indicator of his growing skills in that area.
See my status updates for this book to read my initial reactions and notes for each story.
This wasn't the anthology I wanted, then, but the one I needed. (I know, I know)
Only at the very end did I find a couple stories that felt like the same sort of space opera I was looking for, and I'll certainly be trying at least a full novel in the respective series.
The first was [a:Allen Steele|73419|Allen Steele|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1377096425p2/73419.jpg]'s "The Other Side of Jordan", set in his Coyote Universe. The story itself was a bit of a run-of-the-mill romance, but the way he hints at the rich universe he's created scratched all the right itches for me. I've already flagged two of the novels for my to-read shelf.
[a:Jeremiah Tolbert|1916425|Jeremiah Tolbert|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]'s "The Culture Archivist" is the other. Tolbert said in the introduction that he wanted to imagine a "realistically capitalist federation." It was about a deserter, trying to catalog new sentient species before they're corrupted by his former culture. There were some funny satirical bits and hints at a broader universe. As far as I can tell, though, there are no more stories. Alas.
[a:John C. Wright|58124|John C. Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1220187415p2/58124.jpg]'s "Twilight of the Gods" was the big stand-out in the anthology. Based on The Ring of the Nibelung (which I've never read), it takes place on a generation ship where memories of the past, of the command structure and job tasks, of the proper way to use the technology, have all been forgotten or corrupted. There's a fight for power, and the 'return' of a foretold savior of sorts. It had the feel of old science fiction, maybe mid 20th century. Wright says this is a sequel to two earlier stories and that he wants to finish this "Ophiuchan Cycle" of stories. I will seek those out.
Here are a few other stand-outs for me:
[a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1369753656p2/51204.jpg]' "Spirey and the Queen" was a fascinating look into harder aspects of space opera. The telling was rich, taking root in my mind more than I initially realized. Images from the story came back to me later on.
[a:Alan Dean Foster|11735|Alan Dean Foster|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207233026p2/11735.jpg]'s "Pardon Our Conquest" gave me a few good chuckles. This one was pretty short, and had fun with some caricatures.
[a:Robert J. Sawyer|25883|Robert J. Sawyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224975910p2/25883.jpg]'s "The Shoulders of Giants" called back, purposefully, to an older science fiction feel. It embodied sub-light travel and the wonder of exploration well.
[a:K. Tempest Bradford|3378249|K. Tempest Bradford|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1303766065p2/3378249.jpg]'s "Different Day" was a funny first-person story about what a "first contact" might look like to an everyman. It also deals with one of my pet-peeves: alien races in space opera that are mono-cultures (yes, Star Trek, I'm looking at you).
And, finally, [a:Anne McCaffrey|26|Anne McCaffrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1323715139p2/26.jpg]'s "The Ship Who Returned" underwhelmed me. It got better toward the end, but the characters just weren't that likeable. The situation would have been much more interesting if the protag had done more protagging. This apparently is in a series of stories, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that it might work better if I'd been more acquainted with the ship before reading this.
All in all, this is a good anthology. A good example of Adams' editing skills, and, I think, an early-ish indicator of his growing skills in that area.
See my status updates for this book to read my initial reactions and notes for each story.
sarahbotreads's review
4.0
You can never tell with most short story collections - because they're so often made up of a number of different authors, they can be really uneven. I'm glad to say that's not the case with Federations. I honestly liked every story in here - okay, I skipped the one that was all horrible puns, but other than that, these are all really solid takes on the entrenched systems and overarching organizations found in so many tales in space. Catherynne Valente's "Golubash" was my personal favorite - definitely worth the cost of admission on its own.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
One of the better sf collections I've read lately.
The bad:
"Mazer in Prison" by Orson Scott Card. Mazer Rackham, the first human to defeat the Buggers, is waiting in a near-lightspeed ship for the Buggers to return, or the next human commander to be found. Very disappointing, like most of Card's work in his Ender's Game universe. The story is basically a back and forth of "I knew you knew that I knew that you knew, so I..."
"Life-Suspension" by LE Modesitt, Jr. Ugh.
"Someone Is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" by Harry Turtledove. Like when a 13year old gets "high" off of pixie-sticks and posts "hilarious" and "wacky" crackfic on ff.net.
"Twilight of the Gods" by John C Wright. Clunky, melodramatic--like someone took JRR Tolkien and ran his dialog through a stupidizer. Randomly chosen sentence: "Several of the knights stared at the black-cloaked stranger in awe." How did this get published?
The Fine:
"Carthago Delenda Est" by Genevieve Valentine. Interesting, with moments of tragedy and humor. Diplomats wait generations for the Carthago delegation.
"Terra-Exulta" by SL Gilbow. A linguist talks about his work in destroying various alien life-forms.
"Different Day" by K Tempest Bradford. Gets her point across about how average, every-day people and politics would react to aliens. It seems like it tries a little too hard to be folksy--but I expect a lot from KTB's stories, so perhaps I'm judging this to an unreasonable standard.
"Spirey and the Queen" by Alastair Reynolds. War in space is not always what it seems. Far too many double-crosses and plot twists, but I like the science and the ideas he uses.
"Pardon Our Conquest" by Alan Dean Foster. The surrender ceremony of the Empire to the Commonwealth. I would undoubtedly have enjoyed this more if A)I had read Foster's Commonwealth stories or B)the differences between Empire and Commonwealth weren't presented so heavy-handedly.
"Symbiont" by Robert Silverberg. A young soldier is infected with another life form. Years later, he begs an old friend to put him out of his misery. Pretty dated, and there's not much to the characterization or plot, though the world-building is ok.
"The Ship Who Returned" by Anne McCaffrey. Helva-the-brainship has recently lost her brawn, Niall. Stricken with grief, she has created an unreasonably sophisticated holographic replica of him. They banter while they try to save the religious colonists of Ravel from Kolnari pirates. Really heterosexist and unimaginative, but not terrible.
"The Shoulders of Giants" by Robert J Sawyer. A colony ship arrives at a planet to find that while they were in crystasis, Earth already colonized it.
"The Other Side of Jordan" by Allen Steele. A young man reconnects with an old flame after years apart. I have no idea why he wrote this story. There's no point to it: no emotional climax, no character construction, no plot.
"Like They Always Been Free" by Georgina Li. An atypical love story. Hot and well-written, but there's not much to it.
"Eskhara" by Trent Hergenrader. Very clearly inspired/modeled by the US troops' occupation in Iraq.
The Good:
"Aftermaths" by Lois McMaster Bujold. A callow pilot watches as a med tech retrieves and identifies bodies from the recently finished war.
"Prisons" by Kevin J Anderson and Doug Beason. A prison revolt has succeeded, and the former prisoners have stopped all export of a drug that can only be made on their world. The Praesidentrix will stop at nothing to punish the prisoners for their temerity. (This was a weird story, because I felt like we were supposed to root for the Praesidentrix and the Warden, but in point of fact I thought the prisoners were in the right.)
"Warship" by GRR Martin and George Guthridge. The last surviving member of a crew killed by disease must destroy the ship to prevent contagion to reach Earth. A good ending.
"Swanwatch" by Yoon Ha Lee. A young woman is exiled to bear witness to ships that commit honorable suicide into black holes. The only way to escape the exile is to create a masterwork, which she sets out to do.
"My She" by Mary Rosenblum. The unnamed, unnoticed servant of a Speaker begins to realize the danger her Speaker is in--and just what the Speakers do, after all. Really interesting story in which tradition and religion is used to cloak uneven power.
"The Culture Archivist" by Jeremiah Tolbert. A standout of the collection. As he says, "I started thinking about what a realistically capitalistic federation would look like, and the story was born." Hilarious and poignant.
"The One with the Interstellar Group Consciousness" by James Alan Gardner. Very funny, and well thought out.
"Golubash, or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy" by Cathrynne M Valente. A tale of capitalist greed and strangleholds, as told by a wine merchant. Fantastic world building, beautiful language, and an engaging story.
The bad:
"Mazer in Prison" by Orson Scott Card. Mazer Rackham, the first human to defeat the Buggers, is waiting in a near-lightspeed ship for the Buggers to return, or the next human commander to be found. Very disappointing, like most of Card's work in his Ender's Game universe. The story is basically a back and forth of "I knew you knew that I knew that you knew, so I..."
"Life-Suspension" by LE Modesitt, Jr. Ugh.
"Someone Is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" by Harry Turtledove. Like when a 13year old gets "high" off of pixie-sticks and posts "hilarious" and "wacky" crackfic on ff.net.
"Twilight of the Gods" by John C Wright. Clunky, melodramatic--like someone took JRR Tolkien and ran his dialog through a stupidizer. Randomly chosen sentence: "Several of the knights stared at the black-cloaked stranger in awe." How did this get published?
The Fine:
"Carthago Delenda Est" by Genevieve Valentine. Interesting, with moments of tragedy and humor. Diplomats wait generations for the Carthago delegation.
"Terra-Exulta" by SL Gilbow. A linguist talks about his work in destroying various alien life-forms.
"Different Day" by K Tempest Bradford. Gets her point across about how average, every-day people and politics would react to aliens. It seems like it tries a little too hard to be folksy--but I expect a lot from KTB's stories, so perhaps I'm judging this to an unreasonable standard.
"Spirey and the Queen" by Alastair Reynolds. War in space is not always what it seems. Far too many double-crosses and plot twists, but I like the science and the ideas he uses.
"Pardon Our Conquest" by Alan Dean Foster. The surrender ceremony of the Empire to the Commonwealth. I would undoubtedly have enjoyed this more if A)I had read Foster's Commonwealth stories or B)the differences between Empire and Commonwealth weren't presented so heavy-handedly.
"Symbiont" by Robert Silverberg. A young soldier is infected with another life form. Years later, he begs an old friend to put him out of his misery. Pretty dated, and there's not much to the characterization or plot, though the world-building is ok.
"The Ship Who Returned" by Anne McCaffrey. Helva-the-brainship has recently lost her brawn, Niall. Stricken with grief, she has created an unreasonably sophisticated holographic replica of him. They banter while they try to save the religious colonists of Ravel from Kolnari pirates. Really heterosexist and unimaginative, but not terrible.
"The Shoulders of Giants" by Robert J Sawyer. A colony ship arrives at a planet to find that while they were in crystasis, Earth already colonized it.
"The Other Side of Jordan" by Allen Steele. A young man reconnects with an old flame after years apart. I have no idea why he wrote this story. There's no point to it: no emotional climax, no character construction, no plot.
"Like They Always Been Free" by Georgina Li. An atypical love story. Hot and well-written, but there's not much to it.
"Eskhara" by Trent Hergenrader. Very clearly inspired/modeled by the US troops' occupation in Iraq.
The Good:
"Aftermaths" by Lois McMaster Bujold. A callow pilot watches as a med tech retrieves and identifies bodies from the recently finished war.
"Prisons" by Kevin J Anderson and Doug Beason. A prison revolt has succeeded, and the former prisoners have stopped all export of a drug that can only be made on their world. The Praesidentrix will stop at nothing to punish the prisoners for their temerity. (This was a weird story, because I felt like we were supposed to root for the Praesidentrix and the Warden, but in point of fact I thought the prisoners were in the right.)
"Warship" by GRR Martin and George Guthridge. The last surviving member of a crew killed by disease must destroy the ship to prevent contagion to reach Earth. A good ending.
"Swanwatch" by Yoon Ha Lee. A young woman is exiled to bear witness to ships that commit honorable suicide into black holes. The only way to escape the exile is to create a masterwork, which she sets out to do.
"My She" by Mary Rosenblum. The unnamed, unnoticed servant of a Speaker begins to realize the danger her Speaker is in--and just what the Speakers do, after all. Really interesting story in which tradition and religion is used to cloak uneven power.
"The Culture Archivist" by Jeremiah Tolbert. A standout of the collection. As he says, "I started thinking about what a realistically capitalistic federation would look like, and the story was born." Hilarious and poignant.
"The One with the Interstellar Group Consciousness" by James Alan Gardner. Very funny, and well thought out.
"Golubash, or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy" by Cathrynne M Valente. A tale of capitalist greed and strangleholds, as told by a wine merchant. Fantastic world building, beautiful language, and an engaging story.
18thstjoe's review
3.0
a fairly bland collection of stories, none of them spectacular. Most disappointing anthology I've read this year
booksbybrendan's review
3.0
3.5
This collection definitely had its ups and downs. Overall, it was a good foray into the world of sci-fi short stories.
This collection definitely had its ups and downs. Overall, it was a good foray into the world of sci-fi short stories.
theknightswhosaybook's review
I borrowed this briefly in order to read Catherynne M Valente’s story (which I adored, as always — I will forever be in awe of her creative ways of revealing the histories of the worlds she creates, her ridiculous and beautiful sensory imagery and humor).
I also took a chance on the story by Harry Turtledove, which had it’s funny moments but was overall underwhelming.
I also took a chance on the story by Harry Turtledove, which had it’s funny moments but was overall underwhelming.
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