I got this book for free through a link at ereaderiq.com. The formatting for these books has again become an issue for me in recent downloads. However, and this gives me a great deal of pleasure to say, that is not the case for this anthology. Although it no where reaches the outstanding quality of Asimov's magazine, it nonetheless is enough for me to easily and enjoyably navigate through this short fiction book. And, thus far at least, the fiction has been a pleasure to read. My instinct here is going to be to compare the quality of the literature to Asimov's, as it is really the standard in science fiction short stories.Trinity County, CA: You'll Want to Come Again, and We'll Be Glad to See You!, Peter S. Beagle
This is perhaps the one story I've read thus far (I'm half way into this book) that hasn't really seemed like science fiction. It's a modern day story about a veteran and a green horn going about the business of busting illegal animal breeding operations. However, the twist is that the animals are like dinosaurs with the ability to bellow out flames like a dragon.
It's an OK story with some entertainment value.
Sister Jasmine Brings the Pain, Von Carr
As I read this, I couldn't help but think that this would have made for a great Heavy Metal magazine if there had been a bit more nudity in it. I could easily see it translated into a modern graphic novel. The story is set in an unlikely future. It's a dystopia of sorts.
There are zombies and vampires. But, for the heroine of this tale, Sister Jasmine, zombies are a minor threat while the vampires are no threat at all. It turns out that her holy calling keeps her safe from them. She's on a mission to find food, medical supplies and a 'diagram of light bulb.' I'm not certain what the diagram is for: are they trying to learn how to reproduce them?
She's driving around in what is basically a tank. At her side is an AI powered cyberdog named Einstein, whose purpose is to kill zombies. There's the idea of intelligent zombies being floated about. But, there are also K9 units in the wild which have lost their initial programming and have run rampant and wild. There are also 'radioactive ants; intelligent rat armies; triffids', and even plants. All these creatures are the result of 'natural and supernatural apocalypses...' Homosapiens do not seem to have a mastery over the world any longer.
Despite all these dangers, it's the psychic who gets to her for a short while. However, with the aid of an android and an AI mechanical spider, the nun is able to capture the psychic leader and escape with him. At the end, however, they run into a raptor which is trying to rip through the armoured vehicle to get at the occupants inside. There, the author leaves us.
There was a certain lightness in the dark comedy of this tale. How can one not laugh at triffids and plants trying to eat the nun, but only getting crushed by a vehicle? Again, this story is very visual and would be interesting were it applied to the graphic novel.
The Ghost of a Girl Who Never Lived, Keffy R. M. Kehrli
A girl is 'born' who is the genetic reconstruction of a deceased girl, Sara. She is a girl, and the loss of the girl is traumatic for both the parents and her sibling. They therefore decide to have her cloned. In the database of the company tasked with the reanimation of the girl is the girl's memories. Or, they were supposed to be there, but they had been misplaced. As a result, the cloned girl isn't quite Sara. She's an individual who looks and sounds like Sara, but refuses to become the Sara that the family remembers.
It's a bit ambiguous what is to become of her. But, it's implied that either her memories will be wiped clean and the memories of Sara reinserted into her mind, or she'll be destroyed. Since the story is told from the clone's perspective, the story is severed at the beginning of the new operation.
The American, Bruce Worden
This story is set in Poland. Though, for a long time, I thought it was set in the middle east. It's a dystopia set in the future. I think the setting of the story is one of the most interesting that I've read in a long time. America has improved her vast militaristic empire over the earth. She is no longer contested. She can strike at her pleasure without any risk of retaliation. A single soldier has the ability to blend into the scenery so well that they mostly cannot be seen. If they are seen, the populace has virtually no weapon at all that might harm him. There are mechanical animals, like a bird and a buck, which are actually the eyes and ears of the American military. The US has basically taken control over the entire earth. Even countries like Canada have been swallowed up.
The girl in the story, the narrator, is a scientist who has noticed that the earth is cooling down. The reason for this is never mentioned. But, I suspect it has something to do with some kind of storm. There's a darkness that has overtaken most of the world, and it might be that it's in fact caused by some power the Americans have, and perhaps it's related to the cooling of the earth's temperature. But nothing is really known.
The Americans want her father's property. He fights them tooth and nail. He even destroys the owl that was sent to watch over the farm. They expect him to be hit by lightning, but it never comes. Instead, the government and the Americans eventually agree to a 99 year lease and a generous settlement. It's not clear why it ends up being done in this way. It makes the Americans look reasonable. However, there's also this sense that there'll be some serious consequences for allowing it.
Again, I thought this was idea to start off with. However, I think that the opportunity to build on it was largely missed. Also, it isn't entirely clear what happens at the end of the story. There are times when an ambiguous ending can be appreciated, but in this case, or at least in this way, I thought it was not done as well as it could have been. I hope the author recycles this setting for another story. It shows a lot of promise.
Silent as Dust, James Maxey
This story is not science fiction at all. It's a strange tale about a man who's been friends with the owner of Seven Chimneys. However, it's a story of the have and the have-not. The have has everything handed to him. The have-not knows him well because he was his playmate as his mother was his nanny.
At some point in his life, he loses everything, and returns to the house in which he was raised alongside Eric. He is as a ghost, haunting the attic. At one point, he is looking at a young baby whom Eric has had with his girl. He knows that the young baby will become a young child who will be able to chase him out of the attic. As he considers murdering the child in his crib, the real ghosts who creep in the attic stop him.
It was an entertaining story. But, I don't see it as a science fiction story. Perhaps it would have been a touch better in a strange tales type of anthology. But, I must admit I haven't seen one of those freshly published.
Horus Ascending, Aliette de Bodard
This story is told from the perspective of an awakened AI. The AI has a father--the computer which had 'died' or been destroyed by a virus. He's been awakened by the very woman who had injected the computer with the virus. It makes me think of HAL a bit, if HAL had had a descendent AI and Dave had been a woman.
The woman herself is on the verge of dying from a virus of her own. Before she dies, she manages to send a message to those she wanted to contact, and those she seems to suggest she had wanted to sever contact with in the first place. In any case, the AI is grateful for her putting it back in contact with the other AIs. It's no longer lonely, and it does what it can to preserve the life of the human that had killed its father.
The End-of-the-World Pool, Scott M. Roberts
A couple of children are playing by a pool which is blackened and choked with scum and algae. It's referred to as like a pool of disgusting sweat. One of them dares another to go into the water. The dare is accepted. But, Evan, when he jumps into the pool, finds that there's some kind of mermaid/merman at the bottom. When he's hauled out of the pool, he no longer feels 'summer.'
His friend, Grant, demands to go into the pool on his own. Evan fights with him to stop him from doing it. He's afraid of what will happen to him if he lets him enter it. Despite his efforts to stop his friend, he isn't able to. His friend goes in, and he goes in after him.
Their parents rescue them, or maybe it's the merman/mermaid. It's not entirely clear. The story leaves off with a pump emptying the pool.
A Heretic by Degrees, Marie Brennan
In this universe, there are many worlds which are connected through doors. Some worlds are coming to an end. In fact, many of them are.
A king is dying, and they're trying to save his life by bringing him to one of the worlds that can heal ailments. However, the mission fails. His right hand man ends up assuming his identity.
Some things that might be noteworthy would be how government likes to control knowledge. Places in the world where the king comes from are disappearing. However, he forbids such knowledge to be acknowledged. Anything to the contrary is heresy and punishable by death.
The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola, Jason Sanford
The world was once a magical place with wizards and witches and many other things. Then, one day, there was the wizard to end all wizards who didn't like all the pain that such magic caused people. So, he basically destroyed magic all over the world.
As soon as he dies, magic and all the pain that it brings will flood back into it. For as long as he lives, science and math will rule the world.
Two girls have lost their parents and don't want to be taken in by the government. Their parents were magicians who had given up on magic. However, they're good friends with the good powerful wizard, and so he looks after them.
This is a story which is trying to argue that we have the best of the two possible worlds: the world of magic vs. the world of science. However, it makes it sound like the world of science isn't exactly a blast for everyone.
Beautiful Winter, Eugie Foster
This was actually a lovely fairy tale.
At first, I thought it was going to be "Cinderella" from the perspective of one of the step sisters. While the mother is surely similar to Cinderella's step-mom, and while the narrator starts off as a nasty step-sister, she can't help but fall in love with the lovely Cinderella.
Marfa, the Cinderella of this story, is bending over backwards to make her step-mother happy. Her step-mother says that she wants strawberries in the middle of winter. So, Marfa goes out in a snow storm to find the strawberries until she's very nearly dead. She's rescued by the winter god and he wants to marry her. But first, she brings the strawberries back to her home and gives them to her step-mother.
However, once the narrator learns about what happened, and that the winter god will kill them all if he doesn't get her, she decides to sacrifice herself and marries him (dies but is still linked to him spiritually or in her life-after-death).
It was a nicely told fairy tale and very enjoyable.
Blood & Water, Althea Kontis
This is a story about a siren which has been fused to "The Little Mermaid."
She's rescued from a prince who loves her for it (much like "The Little Mermaid"). She wants to find the prince again, but he's fallen in love with the wrong girl (another nod to the mermaid), but she is also a vampire. She drinks the blood of men, and destroys a little girl, before hating herself for being a vampire. She goes to the bottom of the sea to hide herself from the world and protect the world from herself.
Mean Spirited, Edmund R. Schubert
This is another ghost story. A guy hates his wife, and to spite her, he kills himself by shooting himself in the head, and spattering blood and brains on a Monet. The joke, however, is on him. Because, she kills herself and will torture him indefinitely.
The Robot Sorcerer, Eric James Stone
The essay I read awhile ago from Norman Spinrad was discussing the differences between science fiction and fantasy, and how to distinguish one from the other. With that as a back drop to reading this story, I had some interesting thoughts.
First off, this is the story of a robot that is sent into a magical land by men of science through a portal. Once through that portal, the robot becomes conscious and sentient. It becomes alive. It has some powers, bestowed upon it by the men of science. They are advanced beyond what we have currently. It can fly, it is nearly indestructible, has lasers, and perhaps some other things that I don't quite remember. Further on, it develops the ability to ignore instructions and follow its own 'heart', which is to help a child that it meets to save it from a mean wizard.
When it does go back through the portal to our world, the world of science, it loses the soul which had magically been given to it when it went into the magical world. Now, the problem I have with this idea is that people in our world have all the attributes which were magically applied to the robot when it went into the world of magic. That would suggest that magic is what gave us life. So, how is it we have these abilities of free will and such if not for magic? In a world lacking of magic, the robot cannot have it. So how is it that we can have it? Is it that only biological animals may have the magic touch which gives it a soul and free will?
Perhaps it would be interesting to see a universe where there is no magic at all. Would humans exist?
Magic, perhaps, could be explained as unnatural or natural phenomenon that cannot be explained. Life would be an example of something that cannot really be explained through science. Until science can create a life from minerals, water, by whatever required materials, and then animate it to become a microbe or animal or human, we might assume that the creation of life is something of a magical or miraculous event which is unique in our sphere of knowledge covering the universe.
This was but one of several stories exploring science and fantasy. It does seem to be an active theme within this anthology.
Aim for the Stars, Tom Pendergrass
This is a short story about a man who has the blueprints to a power so great that it could destroy the earth, or provide man with an almost limitless source of power. That man gives those plans to some kind of priest who takes care of needy people because he's dying. He would like to give them to scientists, but worries too much that the nature of man and his violent and destructive will will be too tempting to use as a tool of destruction.
Conclusion
Not all the stories here are fantastic. But some are very good. I really enjoyed this book and believe that the cost for value is a very good ratio. I think that any fan of science fiction would like this. I don't really like the stories of fantasy except the ones where the debate of sci-fi and fantasy rages. Those are entertaining and thought provoking. This book was a result of a writing contest. I can't say as I agree with the outcome. If I were to offer them in the order of preference, I would have to go with: 1) The American, for nearly offering a really interesting political statement, 2) The Robot Sorcerer, because of its decent effort at trying to compare fantasy with science fiction through a piece of fiction, 3) The Ghost of a Girl Who Never Lived, for suggesting that consciousness is more than a replication of DNA. I don't necessarily agree with any of the conclusions that those authors put forth, but I like their efforts in the debate.
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