Scan barcode
galexie64's review against another edition
4.0
Another great volume of Writers of the Future.
My Favorites were:
“Poseidon’s Eyes” by Kary English
“Between Screens” by Zach Chapman
“Planar Ghosts” by Krystal Claxton
“A Revolutionary’s Guide to Practical Conjuration” by Auston Habershaw
“Another Range of Mountains” by Megan E. O’Keefe
“Switch” by Steve Pantazis
I liked all the stories but “The God Whisperer” by Daniel J. Davis. I found it strange and it really didn't make sense to me.
My Favorites were:
“Poseidon’s Eyes” by Kary English
“Between Screens” by Zach Chapman
“Planar Ghosts” by Krystal Claxton
“A Revolutionary’s Guide to Practical Conjuration” by Auston Habershaw
“Another Range of Mountains” by Megan E. O’Keefe
“Switch” by Steve Pantazis
I liked all the stories but “The God Whisperer” by Daniel J. Davis. I found it strange and it really didn't make sense to me.
nytxia's review against another edition
3.0
I have first heard of Writers of the Future thanks to Orson Scott Card’s amazing book ‘How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy’. In hopes of grasping what would be needed to succeed in such contest, I have, of course, bought one of the volumes. I admit I have taken quite a while to finish reading this anthology. When I was then asked by the publisher to write a review, I decided to finally finish it. So here it goes.
I won’t rate the illustrations, even though they were amazing and somehow, fit perfectly the stories. Also, I am not going to analyze each single story individually. Instead, I will be just giving my overall opinion of what I thought of the stories included in this anthology. Being this contest considered one of the most prestigious ones, of course, I had high expectations and was hoping to absorb at least some knowledge from the experience of reading the winner stories. The fact that I didn’t feel intrigued enough by the stories doesn’t mean they are bad. They are amazingly well written, and I am sure the experts know better than me. However, considering that some of the stories were more interesting than others (to me), overall the anthology simply didn’t grab enough of my attention. This is merely personal.
Themes: While there is not a common theme, I have noted that this SF anthology is mostly focused on Science fiction rather than Fantasy (at least considering my parameters). This is not necessarily bad, but it would be nice to see some balance, variety. I am unsure at this point of how unbiased I can be due to me being clearly drawn to Fantasy.
Plot: The stories all follow a structured plot but I thought many were unnecessarily long, relying on ‘conflict after conflict’ to delay the ending – if there was a clear ending, which was not always the case.
Writing: When a book doesn’t grasp my interest, I usually blame writing. Well, I don’t think this was the case. The stories were very well written, even if I wasn’t a particular fan of the fact that most of them were in the First Person (nothing against it, only would like to see a bit more of variety – again).
Overall, great selection of well-written stories, which somehow didn’t manage to grab me. I will, however, be reading more of Writers of the Future and I completely support their initiative.
I won’t rate the illustrations, even though they were amazing and somehow, fit perfectly the stories. Also, I am not going to analyze each single story individually. Instead, I will be just giving my overall opinion of what I thought of the stories included in this anthology. Being this contest considered one of the most prestigious ones, of course, I had high expectations and was hoping to absorb at least some knowledge from the experience of reading the winner stories. The fact that I didn’t feel intrigued enough by the stories doesn’t mean they are bad. They are amazingly well written, and I am sure the experts know better than me. However, considering that some of the stories were more interesting than others (to me), overall the anthology simply didn’t grab enough of my attention. This is merely personal.
Themes: While there is not a common theme, I have noted that this SF anthology is mostly focused on Science fiction rather than Fantasy (at least considering my parameters). This is not necessarily bad, but it would be nice to see some balance, variety. I am unsure at this point of how unbiased I can be due to me being clearly drawn to Fantasy.
Plot: The stories all follow a structured plot but I thought many were unnecessarily long, relying on ‘conflict after conflict’ to delay the ending – if there was a clear ending, which was not always the case.
Writing: When a book doesn’t grasp my interest, I usually blame writing. Well, I don’t think this was the case. The stories were very well written, even if I wasn’t a particular fan of the fact that most of them were in the First Person (nothing against it, only would like to see a bit more of variety – again).
Overall, great selection of well-written stories, which somehow didn’t manage to grab me. I will, however, be reading more of Writers of the Future and I completely support their initiative.
theskinofa_killer_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book was absolutely amazing! At first, I was bit sceptical of this book. I questioned the seriousness of the competition and the quality of the short stories within it. The scepticism was completely unnecessary. Every single story and illustration was absolutely fantastical! I was gasping with shock in some moments and literally laughing out loud at others. I even wanted to cry with happiness at certain moments. This book is, and will always be, worth reading. If you haven't read this, then this is a MUST read and MUST have if you're a collector (this book will most definitely enrich your collection).
uma_booksbagsburgers's review
4.0
(I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
BLURB
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —ORSON SCOTT CARD
OVERALL REVIEW OF THE BOOK
This book is without a doubt one of the best collections of Science Fiction and fantasy. The stories amazed me so much with the imagination that must have gone into creating them. Each story was unique and beautifully written. The stories deal with almost every science fiction aspect from Alien schools and humans colonizing other planets to apocalyptic worlds and alternate worlds. I personally enjoyed almost all the stories in the anthology. I'm only going to review my most favorite stories below as a review of the entire book would take too much time and would be too long.
A REVOLUTIONARY'S GUIDE TO PRACTICAL CONJURATION by [a:Auston Habershaw|6893097|Auston Habershaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1414781457p2/6893097.jpg]
This was an absolute favorite! The setting for the story was amazing and I loved the vivid descriptions that helped me visualize the places in the story. I just learnt from the author's Goodreads page that his novels are set in the same world *squeal with excitement* I will definitely be checking them out! Back to the story, it deals with an interactive magic book with so much sass! Do I need say more?
TWELVE MINUTES TO VINH QUANG by [a:Tim Napper|13876984|Tim Napper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
A unique read with some really interesting characters. The whole story is set at a single place and yet moves at a breakneck speed. Things were changing before I could say 'science-fiction'. It is a futuristic world yes but somehow feels familiar. The amazing futuristic gadgets while a part of the story, in a way remain in the background. I'd love to see this short story be developed into a full fledged novel as it definitely has the potential.
ROUGH DRAFT by Kevin J. Anderson and [a:Rebecca Moesta|98411|Rebecca Moesta|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]
The story of a writer in a world where travelling to alternate worlds and parallel universes is a common occurrence. It is a slight complex background and I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had elaborated about the laws and such in the world. The premise was beautiful and I particularly liked the main character's decision at the end of the story even though I hadn't liked him much in the beginning.
HALF PAST by Samantha Murray
This is the story of a girl who makes echos of herself during times of extreme and heightened emotions. A very interesting and magical tale with quite the twist at the end. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
INCONSTANT MOON by [a:Larry Niven|12534|Larry Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182720933p2/12534.jpg]
It's about enjoying life in the face of impending doom. A man and his girlfriend spend their time enjoying on their last day on Earth. I loved how beautiful the story turned out to be despite apocalypse looming over the characters.
WISTERIA MELANCHOLY by [a:Michael T. Banker|5771628|Michael T. Banker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
People when feeling dark emotions, face morphological changes. The story is about a bunch of kids who suffer from this kind of psychomorphical 'disorders'. The story was happy and sad at the same time and so beautifully written.
CONCLUSION
A highly enjoyable anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories. Each story is unique and beautiful in it's own way. I would recommend this to just about anyone!
BLURB
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —ORSON SCOTT CARD
OVERALL REVIEW OF THE BOOK
This book is without a doubt one of the best collections of Science Fiction and fantasy. The stories amazed me so much with the imagination that must have gone into creating them. Each story was unique and beautifully written. The stories deal with almost every science fiction aspect from Alien schools and humans colonizing other planets to apocalyptic worlds and alternate worlds. I personally enjoyed almost all the stories in the anthology. I'm only going to review my most favorite stories below as a review of the entire book would take too much time and would be too long.
A REVOLUTIONARY'S GUIDE TO PRACTICAL CONJURATION by [a:Auston Habershaw|6893097|Auston Habershaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1414781457p2/6893097.jpg]
This was an absolute favorite! The setting for the story was amazing and I loved the vivid descriptions that helped me visualize the places in the story. I just learnt from the author's Goodreads page that his novels are set in the same world *squeal with excitement* I will definitely be checking them out! Back to the story, it deals with an interactive magic book with so much sass! Do I need say more?
TWELVE MINUTES TO VINH QUANG by [a:Tim Napper|13876984|Tim Napper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
A unique read with some really interesting characters. The whole story is set at a single place and yet moves at a breakneck speed. Things were changing before I could say 'science-fiction'. It is a futuristic world yes but somehow feels familiar. The amazing futuristic gadgets while a part of the story, in a way remain in the background. I'd love to see this short story be developed into a full fledged novel as it definitely has the potential.
ROUGH DRAFT by Kevin J. Anderson and [a:Rebecca Moesta|98411|Rebecca Moesta|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]
The story of a writer in a world where travelling to alternate worlds and parallel universes is a common occurrence. It is a slight complex background and I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had elaborated about the laws and such in the world. The premise was beautiful and I particularly liked the main character's decision at the end of the story even though I hadn't liked him much in the beginning.
HALF PAST by Samantha Murray
This is the story of a girl who makes echos of herself during times of extreme and heightened emotions. A very interesting and magical tale with quite the twist at the end. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
INCONSTANT MOON by [a:Larry Niven|12534|Larry Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182720933p2/12534.jpg]
It's about enjoying life in the face of impending doom. A man and his girlfriend spend their time enjoying on their last day on Earth. I loved how beautiful the story turned out to be despite apocalypse looming over the characters.
WISTERIA MELANCHOLY by [a:Michael T. Banker|5771628|Michael T. Banker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
People when feeling dark emotions, face morphological changes. The story is about a bunch of kids who suffer from this kind of psychomorphical 'disorders'. The story was happy and sad at the same time and so beautifully written.
CONCLUSION
A highly enjoyable anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories. Each story is unique and beautiful in it's own way. I would recommend this to just about anyone!
maddyd51's review against another edition
5.0
I am new to the Writers of the Future contest and was completely wowed by the quality and diversity of the stories found in this anthology. Check out my full review here: http://www.plantohappy.com/2015/05/writers-of-future-volume-31-review-and.html
More...