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andreashappe's review against another edition
5.0
a short collection of stories written in the 80s and 90s. It's weird how many of the ideas are still up to date. And it can easily be noted that Brin has a PhD in Astrophysics (esp. when talking about black holes and quantum physics).
The last chapter "The Commonwealth of Wonder" has blown me away. Part meme, part Popper, all secular humanism. That part remined me a bit of "The Big Picture" by Sean Carroll.
The last chapter "The Commonwealth of Wonder" has blown me away. Part meme, part Popper, all secular humanism. That part remined me a bit of "The Big Picture" by Sean Carroll.
djwudi's review
3.0
Not bad, but it as it turns out, I definitely prefer Brin’s novels to his short fiction. To my mind, he does better when he can really dive into something. His shorter works are missing a certain spark.
el_entrenador_loco's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
trish204's review against another edition
4.0
For now, this review is for the short story Detritus Affected only (though I will read the rest eventually).
We follow an archaeologist as he is asked to help with a dig. Bones are being found, there is a media circus. You know, the usual stuff. Until it slowly but surely dawns on you that there is a twist to all this. Muahahahahahaha!
I really liked the writing style. So much so that I decided to read the rest of the collection soon-ish. And then I have the famous story The Postman on my TBR and only now realized that it‘s by the same author. *lol*
We follow an archaeologist as he is asked to help with a dig. Bones are being found, there is a media circus. You know, the usual stuff. Until it slowly but surely dawns on you that there is a twist to all this. Muahahahahahaha!
I really liked the writing style. So much so that I decided to read the rest of the collection soon-ish. And then I have the famous story The Postman on my TBR and only now realized that it‘s by the same author. *lol*
lordofthemoon's review
5.0
This is an excellent collection of short stories and essays by Brin. The stories don't really have much of a theme, but the essays all touch on Brin's theme of 'otherness': a valuing of diversity and change.
The essays are good, but the stories are uniformly excellent. In particular, Dr Pak's Preschool left a lingering sense of unease after it, and is certainly not one that I'll forget any time soon. Those Eyes (an alternative explanation for UFOs) and The Warm Space (biological and artificial intelligence tries to co-exist in the solar system) are lighter and left me with a smile, while they still have an edge to them. Even What Continues... And What Fails..., although it started off slowly grew to have some enormous themes, as well as ideas that were just thrown away, which could have formed entire novels themselves. Highly recommended.
The essays are good, but the stories are uniformly excellent. In particular, Dr Pak's Preschool left a lingering sense of unease after it, and is certainly not one that I'll forget any time soon. Those Eyes (an alternative explanation for UFOs) and The Warm Space (biological and artificial intelligence tries to co-exist in the solar system) are lighter and left me with a smile, while they still have an edge to them. Even What Continues... And What Fails..., although it started off slowly grew to have some enormous themes, as well as ideas that were just thrown away, which could have formed entire novels themselves. Highly recommended.
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