Benjamin Crowell. A Hole in the Ether. (Asimovs September 2013)
Excellent, cautionary story from Crowell, which loks at the potential risks of technology, allied with decisions made on copyright and IPR, on our future.
Reviewing short SF since 2000
Excellent, cautionary story from Crowell, which loks at the potential risks of technology, allied with decisions made on copyright and IPR, on our future.
A future in which genetic engineering in utero is the norm, hence the protagonists musical ability (dear me, if the future if jazz, stop the world this old punk wants to get off….)
With most of humanity having opted for a digital upload to an alien-provided nirvana/rapture, only a few small communities remain.
A bit of a deja vu feeling with the opening and closing stories, with two experienced writers re-treading footprints into the sfnal regolith, with the other stories being good without being great.
A cuddly toy with an AI chip finds itself a long way from home.
I started this issue expecting Rusch and Jablokov to supply the stronger stories, but in fact it is Zumsteg and Ludwigsten who tickled my fancy the most. Who’da thunk it?
It’s set in space, and there’s a bit of drama, and, erm, that’s really about it, in a fairly routine story.
This issue got caught up in the big revamp of Best SF, and wasn’t reviewed
The Goldstein and Rusch stories start and finish the issue strongly, with the other stories being good without being great. Other stories by Crowell, Cooper, Steinmetz, Oltion, Resnick, Robyn, Tem.
Nancy Kress. Act One. More of an Analog story than an Asimovs. Genetic modification is