Paul J. McAuley. Elves of Antarctica. (Drowned Worlds)
Not too much by way of story, but the strength is in the detailed setting and the characterisation of the main character, who comes to term with his, and the Earth’s past, present and future.
Reviewing short SF since 2000
Not too much by way of story, but the strength is in the detailed setting and the characterisation of the main character, who comes to term with his, and the Earth’s past, present and future.
Hideaway, Alastair Reynolds. Far future, with humanity in dire straits. The enigmatic Waymakers have, perhaps,
Another excellent issue.
Interstitial. Paul J. McAuley. The Great Winter has forced humanity from then now-frozen Earth. The
This has quite simply got to be the strongest original collection in SF in recent years. If you are a regular visitor to Best SF and tend to concur with what I see as being the best in short SF, then this volume is a must have.
One of PS Publishing’s recent titles is a collection of Paul (J.) McAuley short stories
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Carol Emshwiller, Charlie Rosenkrantz, Claude Lalumiere, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, Edd Vick, Eileen Gunn, Gardner R Dozois, Gregory Benford, Heather Lindsley, Ian Creasey, Ian R. Macleod, Joe Haldeman, Kameron Hurley, Liz Williams, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Reed, Rudy Rucker, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Wil McCarthy.
Stories by : Brian Stableford, Brian W. Aldiss Steppenpferd, Charles Dexter Ward, Chris Beckett, Dan Simmons, Darrell Schweitzer, David Brin, David Langford, Greg Egan, Howard Waldrop, Joan Slonczewski, John M. Ford, Ken MacLeod, M. Shayne Bell, Michael F. Flynn, Nancy Kress, Norman Spinrad, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Stephen Baxter, Stephen Dedman, Tananarive Due, Ted Chiang, Ursula K. Le Guin
Stories by : A.M. Dellamonica, Alastair Reynolds, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Bruce McAllister, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, David D. Levine, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Greg Egan, Greg van Eekhout, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Jack Skillingstead, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, John Barnes, Justin Stanchfield, Kage Baker, Ken MacLeod, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Walter Jon Williams
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Albert E Cowdrey, Brian Stableford, Charles Stross, Eliot Fintushel., Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, John Kessel, Lucius Shepard, M. Shayne Bell, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Rick Cook and Ernest Hogan, Robert Charles Wilson, Severna Park, Stephen Baxter, Steven Utley, Susan Palwick, Tananarive Due, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Ben Bova, Charles Sheffield, Chris Lawson, David Marusek, Eleanor Arnason, Frederik Pohl, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Hal Clement, James Patrick Kelly, Kage Baker, Karl Schroder, Kim Stanley Robinson, M. John Harrison, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Paul J. McAuley, Richard Wadholm, Robert Grossbach, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Sage Walker, Sean Williams, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Walter Jon Williams.
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Cherry Wilder, Chris Lawson, Cory Doctorow, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gwyneth Jones, Howard Waldrop, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Jim Grimsley, Liz Williams, Michael Swanwick, Paul J. McAuley, Rob Chilson, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Ted Chiang, Tony Daniel, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Barton, William Browning Spencer
Stories by : Bill Johnson, Brian Stableford, Carolyn Ives Gilman, David Marusek, G. David Nordley, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre, Gwyneth Jones, Howard Waldrop, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Sean Williams and Simon Brown, Simon Ings, Stephen Baxter, Walter Jon Williams, William Sanders.
Stories by : Allen M. Steele, Brian Stableford, Dan Simmons, David Marusek, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael F. Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Paul J. McAuley, Poul Anderson, Robert Reed, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Sanders.
Stories by : Alexander Jablokov, Brian W. Aldiss, Chris Beckett, Connie Willis, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Jack Dann, James Patrick Kelly, Karen Joy Fowler, Kathe Koja, Kim Newman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lois Tilton, Mark L, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Paul J. McAuley, Rick Shelley, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Walter Jon Williams, William Gibson
Stories by : Alexander Jablokov, Bruce McAllister, Bruce Sterling, Dean Whitlock, Gene Wolfe., Howard Waldrop, Ian Watson, James Patrick Kelly, Joseph Manzione, Karen Joy Fowler, Kate Wilhelm, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lucius Shepard, Michael Bishop, Michael Flynn, Michael McDowell, Neal Barrett Jr, Octavia E. Butler, Orson Scott Card, Pat Cadigan, Pat Murphy, Paul J. McAuley, R. Garcia y Robertson, Robert Silverberg, Susan Palwick, Ursula K. Le Guin, Walter Jon Williams.
But, all in all, a bit of a curate’s egg. The early stories, and the final story, don’t quite fit IMHO. And with the lack of a ‘real’ introduction, and story intros, the extra size that this volume offers over ‘Mirrorshades’ hasn’t really be used to the full. A missed opportunity.
A nice volume to have on the shelves, with a wide range of quality content which showcases a wide range of SF, and high production values. The high price and limited print run will restrict the volume to collectors, but as the stories aren’t originals, we can’t complain that the average SF reader is being deprived.
This is a handsome hard-back book which would grace any shelf (albeit that the shape of the book will require a deep shelf!). The stories are of high quality, offering a lot of vision, and work together well. A recommended purchase for those of you who haven’t got the stories in their PS Publishing format.
‘Making History’ is a more thoughtful, human story than others in the sequence, although does suffer slightly as being more of a sequence, and quite possible, the foundation for a novelisation. The ending leaves plenty of scope for future developments.