Scan barcode
A review by bookcraft
The New Space Opera by Jonathan Strahan, Gardner Dozois
3.0
The whole thing gets just barely 3 stars out of 5. There were some great stories and some not so great ones; there were also some great narrators and some not so great ones. The following is more quick notes (some including spoilers) than actual reviews of most of the stories, so I'm putting it under a spoiler tag. I have rated each story on its own, and averaged those to get the book rating.
3.5/5
People will be people, even when those people are aliens, and the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Verthandi's Ring by Ian McDonald (read by Caroline Shaffer)
3/5
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Hatch by Robert Reed (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
3/5
Inscrutable trilobite.
Winning Peace by Paul J. McAuley (read by Tom Weiner)
2/5
It's missing something, but I'm not really sure what. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters, and they were not terribly distinct from each other.
Glory by Greg Egan (read by Cat Gould)
4/5
People will be people, even when they are aliens, and some of them are more like cancer.
Maelstrom by Kage Baker (read by Tom Taylorson)
1/5
The humor is too broad for me, and seems far too self-indulgent and amused by itself. I particularly dislike futuristic stories that drop current pop-culture references like people 200 years from now are going to a) care about them and remember them, and b) have the same context and perception of them that we do now.
Blessed by an Angel by Peter F. Hamilton (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
1/5
Somehow I don't think that the author wanted my reaction to be what it was. I was appropriately horrified at the "angel" and his behavior, but I was equally horrified at Paul et al's behavior.
Who's Afraid of Wolf 359 by Ken MacLeod (read by Tom Weiner)
2/5
Meh. The worst kind of space opera: no characterization. This might have made a nice novel, but as a short story it read more like a synopsis than a story.
The Valley of the Gardens by Tony Daniel (read by Carlos Lopez and Peter Macon)
no rating
The portions of the narration by Carlos Lopez are painfully awkward. I had to stop listening and will probably try to read the story in ebook form instead, because it was interesting.
Dividing the Sustain by James Patrick Kelly (read by Kevin Kenerly)
3/5
Weird, and weirdly entertaining. Not really the surprising twist it was intended as.
Minla's Flowers by Alastair Reynolds (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
4/5
Depressing. Good, but depressing.
Splinters of Glass by Mary Rosenblum (read by Peter Macon)
3/5
I suspect I wasn't paying as much attention to this as I should have been, because it felt like it ought to have made more sense than it did.
Remembrance by Stephen Baxter (read by Pamela Garelick)
2/5
I usually like Stephen Baxter, but this felt like a short piece of a much longer story, especially with the addition of new plot stuff near the very end that wasn't really addressed.
The Emperor and the Maula by Robert Silverberg (read by Carrington MacDuffie)
3/5
Scheherazade in space. The romance angle was kind of weird, and I couldn't connect with the protagonist at all.
The Worm Turns by Gregory Benford (read by Erica Sullivan)
4/5
I really like the banter and the turns of phrase. I've seen the author's name around, but with so many books out there, I hadn't gotten around to reading anything by him yet. Putting him on my list.
Send Them Flowers by Walter Jon Williams (read by Kevin Kenerly)
4/5
Intergalactic con artists. I'm probably giving this a higher rating than it deserves, but I love this type of story.
Art of War by Nancy Kress (read by Tom Taylorson)
4/5
There will always be people who try to understand perspectives outside their own, and there will always be people who can't imagine there is any perspective other than their own.
Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons (read by Tristan Morris)
4/5
Shakespeare in space.
Spoiler
Saving Tiamaat by Gwyneth Jones (read by Carrington MacDuffie)3.5/5
People will be people, even when those people are aliens, and the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Verthandi's Ring by Ian McDonald (read by Caroline Shaffer)
3/5
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Hatch by Robert Reed (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
3/5
Inscrutable trilobite.
Winning Peace by Paul J. McAuley (read by Tom Weiner)
2/5
It's missing something, but I'm not really sure what. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters, and they were not terribly distinct from each other.
Glory by Greg Egan (read by Cat Gould)
4/5
People will be people, even when they are aliens, and some of them are more like cancer.
Maelstrom by Kage Baker (read by Tom Taylorson)
1/5
The humor is too broad for me, and seems far too self-indulgent and amused by itself. I particularly dislike futuristic stories that drop current pop-culture references like people 200 years from now are going to a) care about them and remember them, and b) have the same context and perception of them that we do now.
Blessed by an Angel by Peter F. Hamilton (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
1/5
Somehow I don't think that the author wanted my reaction to be what it was. I was appropriately horrified at the "angel" and his behavior, but I was equally horrified at Paul et al's behavior.
Who's Afraid of Wolf 359 by Ken MacLeod (read by Tom Weiner)
2/5
Meh. The worst kind of space opera: no characterization. This might have made a nice novel, but as a short story it read more like a synopsis than a story.
The Valley of the Gardens by Tony Daniel (read by Carlos Lopez and Peter Macon)
no rating
The portions of the narration by Carlos Lopez are painfully awkward. I had to stop listening and will probably try to read the story in ebook form instead, because it was interesting.
Dividing the Sustain by James Patrick Kelly (read by Kevin Kenerly)
3/5
Weird, and weirdly entertaining. Not really the surprising twist it was intended as.
Minla's Flowers by Alastair Reynolds (read by Paul Michael Garcia)
4/5
Depressing. Good, but depressing.
Splinters of Glass by Mary Rosenblum (read by Peter Macon)
3/5
I suspect I wasn't paying as much attention to this as I should have been, because it felt like it ought to have made more sense than it did.
Remembrance by Stephen Baxter (read by Pamela Garelick)
2/5
I usually like Stephen Baxter, but this felt like a short piece of a much longer story, especially with the addition of new plot stuff near the very end that wasn't really addressed.
The Emperor and the Maula by Robert Silverberg (read by Carrington MacDuffie)
3/5
Scheherazade in space. The romance angle was kind of weird, and I couldn't connect with the protagonist at all.
The Worm Turns by Gregory Benford (read by Erica Sullivan)
4/5
I really like the banter and the turns of phrase. I've seen the author's name around, but with so many books out there, I hadn't gotten around to reading anything by him yet. Putting him on my list.
Send Them Flowers by Walter Jon Williams (read by Kevin Kenerly)
4/5
Intergalactic con artists. I'm probably giving this a higher rating than it deserves, but I love this type of story.
Art of War by Nancy Kress (read by Tom Taylorson)
4/5
There will always be people who try to understand perspectives outside their own, and there will always be people who can't imagine there is any perspective other than their own.
Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons (read by Tristan Morris)
4/5
Shakespeare in space.