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pheonixangel84's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bexdubyah's review against another edition
3.0
What was all of this?? Weird peeks into the future? Genetic editing to the extreme, AI’s taking over the world, preparing to leave a doomed world behind. Quick short stories, not much character depth, ideas to get your mind going.
tschmidt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tellsoftales's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
flightyzeus's review
4.0
To sum up the collection, it feels at home in the Black Mirror universe. Featured some authors I'm already a fan of, and sparked an interest in new ones, which is pretty much what you want from a short story collection such as this.
Ark 4/5
I like books where people have really specific interests (like Orchids) and I can learn random facts I didn't know before. I also like well told, immersive short stories from authors I hadn't read previously, and therefore can add several new items to my TBR pile.
Summer Frost 4/5
Some fast paced, Ex Machina-Westworldy vibes. I really love Blake Crouch's writing (even if some of the tech jargon goes past my realm of understanding). I enjoyed this tale, and felt it worked well within its short story parameters. We still got to know the main character, and despite the fact it felt doomed from the start, the ending still was unexpected and well played out.
Emergency Skin 3.5/5
Reminded me a lot of Sylvain Neuvels Themis Files. It was good, would be interesting to see more of the world(s). I did feel like it took me longer to get to grips with the storyline than previous stories.
You Have Arrived at Your Destination 3/5
I enjoyed the reels of "Daniels" and the premise was compelling enough, but I felt like something was lacking, and I can't put my finger on what.
The Last Conversation 3.5/5
Already a big fan of Paul Tremblay and wasn't disappointed. Full of intrigue, with not a lot given away. I do think I needed a little more revealed to enjoy it fully, but ultimately it was a decent and very suspenseful story. Interesting timing to read of a worldwide pandemic also, ahem..
Randomize 2/5
I think this just wasn't my thing.. Heavy on the quantum computing talk, and I wasn't overly invested in the outcome for any of the characters.
Ark 4/5
I like books where people have really specific interests (like Orchids) and I can learn random facts I didn't know before. I also like well told, immersive short stories from authors I hadn't read previously, and therefore can add several new items to my TBR pile.
Summer Frost 4/5
Some fast paced, Ex Machina-Westworldy vibes. I really love Blake Crouch's writing (even if some of the tech jargon goes past my realm of understanding). I enjoyed this tale, and felt it worked well within its short story parameters. We still got to know the main character, and despite the fact it felt doomed from the start, the ending still was unexpected and well played out.
Emergency Skin 3.5/5
Reminded me a lot of Sylvain Neuvels Themis Files. It was good, would be interesting to see more of the world(s). I did feel like it took me longer to get to grips with the storyline than previous stories.
You Have Arrived at Your Destination 3/5
I enjoyed the reels of "Daniels" and the premise was compelling enough, but I felt like something was lacking, and I can't put my finger on what.
The Last Conversation 3.5/5
Already a big fan of Paul Tremblay and wasn't disappointed. Full of intrigue, with not a lot given away. I do think I needed a little more revealed to enjoy it fully, but ultimately it was a decent and very suspenseful story. Interesting timing to read of a worldwide pandemic also, ahem..
Randomize 2/5
I think this just wasn't my thing.. Heavy on the quantum computing talk, and I wasn't overly invested in the outcome for any of the characters.
gabirose's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sailsgoboom's review
3.0
I've always preferred a long book to settle into, hundreds of pages to fully explore the concepts/world/characters in play, but lately I've been warming up to scifi short stories. Overall I quite liked this collection. In order of preference:
Summer Frost -- Consciousness, perception, love, life, the nature of reality. The way the ending paralleled the beginning was satisfying and actually surprised me. Covers the usual bases for AI stories, which at times made me frustrated with the protagonist not being entirely aware of the genre's tropes, but still provides rich fodder for contemplation.
Emergency Skin -- Refreshing to read a hopeful future, a utopian endpoint for our current dystopian trends. A bit obvious / heavy-handed, but thoroughly amusing all the same to follow the protagonist's discoveries.
Ark -- Quiet, contemplative. Best character moments, lovely celebration of the diversity/wonder of Earth and nature.
The Last Conversation -- Absorbing, disconcerting, kept me off-balance. I thought the ending was going to be much creepier than it ended up being, but still was affecting.
You Have Arrived at Your Destination -- Interesting thoughts on what makes a life worth living / preferable, the role of choice vs risk. However, the story seemed to go way out of its way to avoid the protagonist having a conversation with his wife which was really distracting -- completely bizarre that it's standard practice for the company to have a couple creating a child together go through the selection practice entirely separately. Had a hard time relating to any of the characters.
Randomize -- I feel bad putting this one last, because I always enjoy the enthusiasm in Weir's stories even when aspects fall flat, but ultimately it comes down to a) couldn't really follow the science explanations and b) couldn't suspend disbelief about the genius woman's incredibly dumb heist plan, that she wouldn't expect them to investigate her background when she won. Although I did really enjoy the negotiation process between her and the CEO guy, their long con plan seemed too risky with too easy connections for others to figure out their scam for me to believe they were as excited about its possibilities as they were.
Summer Frost -- Consciousness, perception, love, life, the nature of reality. The way the ending paralleled the beginning was satisfying and actually surprised me. Covers the usual bases for AI stories, which at times made me frustrated with the protagonist not being entirely aware of the genre's tropes, but still provides rich fodder for contemplation.
Emergency Skin -- Refreshing to read a hopeful future, a utopian endpoint for our current dystopian trends. A bit obvious / heavy-handed, but thoroughly amusing all the same to follow the protagonist's discoveries.
Ark -- Quiet, contemplative. Best character moments, lovely celebration of the diversity/wonder of Earth and nature.
The Last Conversation -- Absorbing, disconcerting, kept me off-balance. I thought the ending was going to be much creepier than it ended up being, but still was affecting.
You Have Arrived at Your Destination -- Interesting thoughts on what makes a life worth living / preferable, the role of choice vs risk. However, the story seemed to go way out of its way to avoid the protagonist having a conversation with his wife which was really distracting -- completely bizarre that it's standard practice for the company to have a couple creating a child together go through the selection practice entirely separately. Had a hard time relating to any of the characters.
Randomize -- I feel bad putting this one last, because I always enjoy the enthusiasm in Weir's stories even when aspects fall flat, but ultimately it comes down to a) couldn't really follow the science explanations and b) couldn't suspend disbelief about the genius woman's incredibly dumb heist plan, that she wouldn't expect them to investigate her background when she won. Although I did really enjoy the negotiation process between her and the CEO guy, their long con plan seemed too risky with too easy connections for others to figure out their scam for me to believe they were as excited about its possibilities as they were.
asweetdevouring's review
3.0
As a whole, Forward is an easy to pick up collection of stories that are best when listened to as audiobooks due to their excellent celebrity performances. I think this collection will appeal greatly to people who don’t often read science fiction. However, readers who have quite a bit of the genre under their belt will likely find that they have heard most of what this collection has to say before, and heard it said better.
flaviaaalouise's review
4.0
Ark-3.5 stars
Summer Frost-I really loved that one until the ending came around. 3.75 stars
Emergency Skin-4.5 stars
You Have Arrived at Your Destination-3 stars
The Last Conversation-4.25 stars
Randomize-3.5 stars
Summer Frost-I really loved that one until the ending came around. 3.75 stars
Emergency Skin-4.5 stars
You Have Arrived at Your Destination-3 stars
The Last Conversation-4.25 stars
Randomize-3.5 stars
dani03's review
3.0
Good, if slightly uneven, collection of short stories. Emergency Skin, Summer Frost, and the Last Conversation were my favorites (4-5 stars). Ark was my least favorite (2ish stars), and Randomize and You Have Arrived at Your Destination were middle of the road but still interesting/ enjoyable (3ish stars). Overall I'd give 3.5 stars