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roadtripreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
(Read the short stories but selected the audible to add to my challenge so I dont waste book tracking space.)
I found my way to this collection of short stories through Randomizer by Andy Weir. Mainly because he was part of a scifi challenge I had set up for myself and I hadn't read anything by him before. So a short story seemed fitting. I loved the story - but then I discovered there was a whole collection of gems and let me tell you something for nothing: If Randomizer is the lower end of poignant short stories well this collection is worth way more than the paper it's printed on.
My Top 3
(which is really not fair seeing as all these stories struck a cord and made me think and made me google and fall headfirst into rabbit holes of quantum physics and then spiralled all the way to my nonfiction bookshelf and finally just finding more open ended questions that made me go ... hhhmm)
I found my way to this collection of short stories through Randomizer by Andy Weir. Mainly because he was part of a scifi challenge I had set up for myself and I hadn't read anything by him before. So a short story seemed fitting. I loved the story - but then I discovered there was a whole collection of gems and let me tell you something for nothing: If Randomizer is the lower end of poignant short stories well this collection is worth way more than the paper it's printed on.
My Top 3
(which is really not fair seeing as all these stories struck a cord and made me think and made me google and fall headfirst into rabbit holes of quantum physics and then spiralled all the way to my nonfiction bookshelf and finally just finding more open ended questions that made me go ... hhhmm)
- Ark was delicate, tragic and hopeful. The idea that there could be something...more after the apocalypse is a modicum of hope that some are afraid to feel. Hope in the face of the end.
- Now more than ever I want to crack open the spine of Book 1 in The Broken Earth trilogy - N.K Jemisin, they hype is accurate. Emergency Skin was a punch to the senses - wake up and smell what's been hidden from you.
- Randomizer had me wondering if such a hack already exists and I'm pretty sure we're either a hare's breath away from it or it's in testing stages.
My nerd soul met with my geek spirit and together we have thoroughly reveled in this collection.
maxoliveira's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jacobjonk's review against another edition
4.0
This is really one of my favorite genres. Scifi short stories often just itch a scratch unlike no other and these stories while not all fully rocking my world all brought something interesting to the table. I started with randomize as a big fan of Weir's work, and when I found out Crouch was involved, I decided to spring for the whole collection any I think it was well worth it. The rest of the authors impressed me as well before I even realized I knew some of their work without knowing their name. Now I feel encouraged to continue reading their work and see what I think of some of the longer works by these talented authors.
nikkikeist's review against another edition
2.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ark by Veronica Roth.
As an asteroid makes its long-anticipated journey towards Earth, a botanist logs plant material for the future generations who will survive on a new planet. She thinks about her past, the death of her future, and finds searches for meaning as it all ends. This was melancholy in the way that you feel when you look at the stars and remember how small you are.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer Frost by Blake Crouch.
A woman in the near future tests her evolving creation: true artificial intelligence that accidentally crept to life within a video game. I was keenly on edge listening to this, never sure what kind of ending was in store. Explores themes of love, devotion, and sentience. Bonus points for lesbians and a fantastic audio narrator (Rosa Salazar) :)
⭐️
Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin.
This one was annoying. The narration is very unique because it’s told by a man who talks directly to you as if he’s responding to your questions, but it didn’t work well. Really on the nose about how rich/racist people are bad, and I felt zero connection to the characters.
⭐️⭐️
You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles.
This one seemed boring, then caught my attention, then completely lost me. I have no idea what happened at the end but it seemed like it was supposed to be profound.
Ark by Veronica Roth.
As an asteroid makes its long-anticipated journey towards Earth, a botanist logs plant material for the future generations who will survive on a new planet. She thinks about her past, the death of her future, and finds searches for meaning as it all ends. This was melancholy in the way that you feel when you look at the stars and remember how small you are.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer Frost by Blake Crouch.
A woman in the near future tests her evolving creation: true artificial intelligence that accidentally crept to life within a video game. I was keenly on edge listening to this, never sure what kind of ending was in store. Explores themes of love, devotion, and sentience. Bonus points for lesbians and a fantastic audio narrator (Rosa Salazar) :)
⭐️
Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin.
This one was annoying. The narration is very unique because it’s told by a man who talks directly to you as if he’s responding to your questions, but it didn’t work well. Really on the nose about how rich/racist people are bad, and I felt zero connection to the characters.
⭐️⭐️
You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles.
This one seemed boring, then caught my attention, then completely lost me. I have no idea what happened at the end but it seemed like it was supposed to be profound.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay.
A suspenseful take on a character who wakes up knowing nothing about themselves in suspicious and eerie circumstances. I loved this one and the ending didn’t disappoint.
⭐️
Randomize by Andy Weir.
This one felt too grounded in reality to be part of a sci-fi collection. It left me feeling nothing.
relearning2read's review
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a collection of 6 sci-fi short stories/novelettes that offered a chance to try out several new authors. Overall it was excellent, with each story being unique in themes, technology & style, though unfortunately one story was a huge let down (interestingly the only story from and author I'd read from before) without that story could have been a 5 star collection (I consider a 5 star collection one with all 4 or 5 star stories)
Stories:
Randomize by Andy Weir: 1 star, I would recommend skipping it, the characters were flat and the plot didn't really have stakes
Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemison: 4 stars, This author is known for her unique uses of format, and perspective and this story offered a taste of that that makes me excited to try her full length works, though it did take some getting used to. While a little heavy handed in its themes its an interesting twist on the "a remnant of humanity flees earth to save the species" trope
Summer Frost by Blake Crouch: 5 stars, I can totally understand why Crouch is one of the bestselling modern sci-fi thriller authors. This is an AI story that keeps you on your toes while also touching on themes about what progress really is and how we determine our values
Ark by Veronica Roth: 5 stars, this was an unexpectedly touching story that zooms in on the grunt worked involved in those "humanity flees the planet" endeavors and is ultimately about how we can find hope in seemingly hopeless circumstances
You Have Arrived at Your Destination: 4 stars, starts out as a story about genetic engineering (very gattaca like) but becomes a story about how we envision the stories of our lives and the lives of people around us. Something about the writing felt kind of dude-bro-y though which kept me from fulling emotionally engaging
The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay: 5 stars, have definitely heard mixed things about this author and I can understand why if this is representative of his style. This story includes some horror elements and a "twist" that I think you are meant to see coming as knowing before the character really added to the tension for me
Stories:
Randomize by Andy Weir: 1 star, I would recommend skipping it, the characters were flat and the plot didn't really have stakes
Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemison: 4 stars, This author is known for her unique uses of format, and perspective and this story offered a taste of that that makes me excited to try her full length works, though it did take some getting used to. While a little heavy handed in its themes its an interesting twist on the "a remnant of humanity flees earth to save the species" trope
Summer Frost by Blake Crouch: 5 stars, I can totally understand why Crouch is one of the bestselling modern sci-fi thriller authors. This is an AI story that keeps you on your toes while also touching on themes about what progress really is and how we determine our values
Ark by Veronica Roth: 5 stars, this was an unexpectedly touching story that zooms in on the grunt worked involved in those "humanity flees the planet" endeavors and is ultimately about how we can find hope in seemingly hopeless circumstances
You Have Arrived at Your Destination: 4 stars, starts out as a story about genetic engineering (very gattaca like) but becomes a story about how we envision the stories of our lives and the lives of people around us. Something about the writing felt kind of dude-bro-y though which kept me from fulling emotionally engaging
The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay: 5 stars, have definitely heard mixed things about this author and I can understand why if this is representative of his style. This story includes some horror elements and a "twist" that I think you are meant to see coming as knowing before the character really added to the tension for me
shawcrit's review against another edition
3.0
Ark - Veronica Roth - 4*
You Have Arrived at Your Destination - Amor Towles- 3*
Summer Frost - Blake Crouch - 3*
Emergency Skin - 3.5*
The Last Conversation - Paul Tremblay - 3.5*
Randomize - Andy Weir - 4*
You Have Arrived at Your Destination - Amor Towles- 3*
Summer Frost - Blake Crouch - 3*
Emergency Skin - 3.5*
The Last Conversation - Paul Tremblay - 3.5*
Randomize - Andy Weir - 4*
latas's review against another edition
3.0
Collection of sci fi stories. All were highly imaginative, but they didn't keep me engaged as I had expected.
ARK- by Veronica Roth- 2*. Samantha and a group of survivors are tasked with cataloging flower samples before evacuating from the earth. I didn't care for the characters or the looming meteor strike. There must have been something deep when she contacts the eminent botanist and discusses orchids, but it was lost on me.
SUMMER FROST by Blake Crouch - 4* - This was twisted, scary and touching.
A game developer obsessively works on humanizing a game character the cost of his personal life.
There was a Hindi movie Ra.One where a game character comes to life. We had laughed at the absurdity.
But when Blake Crouch writes it, it seems plausible.
EMERGENCY SKIN by N. K. Jemisin 2*-ET return to their ancestral home, the Earth, to gather samples and are in for some unexpected finding. I didn't like the narration style. It was difficult to follow.
YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION, by Amor Towles 3* - One of the oft-repeated tropes in sci-fi, genetic engineering, but with a twist. I found it average.
THE LAST CONVERSATION 2 * by Paul Tremblay - Story around false memories. The plot was good enough but the narration in 2nd person spoiled the story.
RANDOMIZE, by Andy Weir 4 * - This was the best of the lot. Surprisingly this was not sci-fi, though it was highly technical (only Andy Weir can make quantum numbers sound so fascinating) where a Geek cons a casino owner.
ARK- by Veronica Roth- 2*. Samantha and a group of survivors are tasked with cataloging flower samples before evacuating from the earth. I didn't care for the characters or the looming meteor strike. There must have been something deep when she contacts the eminent botanist and discusses orchids, but it was lost on me.
SUMMER FROST by Blake Crouch - 4* - This was twisted, scary and touching.
A game developer obsessively works on humanizing a game character the cost of his personal life.
There was a Hindi movie Ra.One where a game character comes to life. We had laughed at the absurdity.
But when Blake Crouch writes it, it seems plausible.
EMERGENCY SKIN by N. K. Jemisin 2*-ET return to their ancestral home, the Earth, to gather samples and are in for some unexpected finding. I didn't like the narration style. It was difficult to follow.
YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION, by Amor Towles 3* - One of the oft-repeated tropes in sci-fi, genetic engineering, but with a twist. I found it average.
THE LAST CONVERSATION 2 * by Paul Tremblay - Story around false memories. The plot was good enough but the narration in 2nd person spoiled the story.
RANDOMIZE, by Andy Weir 4 * - This was the best of the lot. Surprisingly this was not sci-fi, though it was highly technical (only Andy Weir can make quantum numbers sound so fascinating) where a Geek cons a casino owner.
pharmdad2007's review
3.0
Interesting collection of stories. The Weir story was my favorite, Crouch was probably my least favorite.
cesar's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5