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A review by megatsunami
Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future by Ed Finn
3.0
It took me 9 months to finish this book, not because of its length, but because I just wasn't that into it. Miles' review beautifully and exactly articulates my thoughts, so I won't waste much time restating them. I agree that this highly male-dominated book needed a more gender-balanced perspective. Also, many stories featured characters of color, but in many cases they seemed to be attempts by white authors to make their stories seem to represent the views of people of color, rather than a true engagement with the global impacts of future technologies and how different cultures may experience it.
My two favorites stories, hands down, were the moving "Elephant Angels" by Brenda Cooper and the excellent "By the Time We Get to Arizona" by Madeline Ashby. I felt like both of these dealt with actual social problems and interesting solutions (whether successful or failed), rather than some arrogant jerk's idea that Earth needs a really really tall tower. "Covenant" by Elizabeth Bear was not exactly enjoyable to read but was very, very well-written and thought-provoking.
My two favorites stories, hands down, were the moving "Elephant Angels" by Brenda Cooper and the excellent "By the Time We Get to Arizona" by Madeline Ashby. I felt like both of these dealt with actual social problems and interesting solutions (whether successful or failed), rather than some arrogant jerk's idea that Earth needs a really really tall tower. "Covenant" by Elizabeth Bear was not exactly enjoyable to read but was very, very well-written and thought-provoking.