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matosapa's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
sadie_slater's review against another edition
2.0
As I'm sure I've remarked before, anthologies always tend to be curates' eggs, and the NewCon Press anthology London Centric, a collection of stories set in future versions of London, was no exception. It also felt a lot more "mainstream" (by which I mean cis/het/white/male) than other anthologies I've read recently, which have tend to have diversity-based themes, which I think meant that the stories that weren't to my taste were much further away from my taste than is sometimes the case. There were a number of stories I either skipped or skimmed, including the first story in the collection, Neal Asher's 'Skin', a cyberpunky story whose female protagonist gets an upgraded, internet-connected skin which then means she has multiple orgasms just from the movement of her clothing against the skin as she walks, which, ewwww.
The main reason I bought the collection was to read Ida Keogh's BSFA Award winning (and British Fantasy Award nominated) 'Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe', a sweet story about multiple universes and forging connections with other people which was definitely one of my favourite stories in the collection. I also particularly liked 'Nightingale Floors', an entertaining caper set in Dave Hutchinson's Fractured Europe universe; a pair of stories featuring sentient AIs which essentially are the city of London, Stewart Hotston's 'The Good Shepherd' (where the AI is just beginning to realise its own capabilities) and Aliette de Bodard's 'A Dance of Dust and Life' (where the inhabitants of the city have essentially become part of the machine); Fiona Moore's 'Herd Instinct', which also deals with AIs, a therapist who treats their mental health problems, and a Very Good Dog; and M.R. Carey's 'War Crimes', a disturbing and thought-provoking vision of a peaceful, stable future and the cost of maintaining it. Overall, though, I think this was more miss than hit for me.
The main reason I bought the collection was to read Ida Keogh's BSFA Award winning (and British Fantasy Award nominated) 'Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe', a sweet story about multiple universes and forging connections with other people which was definitely one of my favourite stories in the collection. I also particularly liked 'Nightingale Floors', an entertaining caper set in Dave Hutchinson's Fractured Europe universe; a pair of stories featuring sentient AIs which essentially are the city of London, Stewart Hotston's 'The Good Shepherd' (where the AI is just beginning to realise its own capabilities) and Aliette de Bodard's 'A Dance of Dust and Life' (where the inhabitants of the city have essentially become part of the machine); Fiona Moore's 'Herd Instinct', which also deals with AIs, a therapist who treats their mental health problems, and a Very Good Dog; and M.R. Carey's 'War Crimes', a disturbing and thought-provoking vision of a peaceful, stable future and the cost of maintaining it. Overall, though, I think this was more miss than hit for me.
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