Paul McAuley. Rats Dream of the Future. (Asimovs June 2016)
Some science goes terribly, terribly wrong in a story that works well.
Reviewing short SF since 2000
Some science goes terribly, terribly wrong in a story that works well.
A neat story from McAuley .
A post-Collapse setting, but an unlikely one, with a bee keeper the main protagonist. But she’s not an ordinary apiarist, and they’re not ordinary bees…
A shortish extrapolation of biotech – some technical issues once a-life starts to mutate, and what opportunities might arise.
Set in McAuley’s Jackaroo universe, a great little story of an elderly beachcomber who finds a man at her remote door. Who he was, or what he is, is a mystery, perhaps tied in with the ancient semi-submerged alien factories on the nearby beaches of the remote planet gifted to humanity by the Jackaroo.
Near-future post-icecap-melt story, that looks at some of the risks to the previously inaccessible wilderness of the Antartic.
A gentler story than you might expect, set post-Quiet War.
In McAuley’s Jackaroo series, a young man finds himself setting out on the beginning of a great adventure
A taut story in McAuley’s Jackaroo sequence, set in Norfolk, when the consequences of contact with alien technology unfold.
Excellent hard SF from McAuley, in a narrative that gradually reveals more as it progresses
A collection of excellent stories.
Post-zombie-apocalypse, with one of the survivors relating the slow encroachment of the zombie invasion, and postulating a more scientific and much bigger picture rationale.
Sanford and McAuley provide top-notch SF.
One Last Game. Robert Reed. Another story from Reed, who has taken over the baton
A list of authors on the front cover which promises a lot! Charles Stross. Nightfall.
Paul McAuley. The Assassination of Faustino Malartre. I’ve only just read ‘Making History’, published two
I’ve been reading e-versions of Asimovs for some months now, but went back to the
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Aliette de Bodard, Charles Coleman Finlay, Daryl Gregory, Dominic Green, Elizabeth Bear, Garth Nix, Geoff Ryman, Gord Sellar, Greg Egan, Gwyneth Jones, Hannu Rajaniemi, Ian McDonald, James Alan Garner, James. L. Cambias, Jay Lake, Karl Schroeder, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul McAuley, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Ted Kosmatka
As with #1, another handsome collection of short SF from some of the biggest names in SF. Praise especially for making room for the lengthy Rosenbaum/Doctorow story.
The stories are almost without exception an excellent introduction to the genre, covering a wide spread and with something for most readers. If your kids are past the Harry Potter stage, then give them this hefty volume to help them take a step (or rather, a giant leap) in the right direction.
Overall, the quality of the stories is high, and a fine collection showcasing primarily British authors, although perhaps just a tad below the quality of last year’s ‘Constellations’.
If it’s SFnal bang for your buck you’re after, you won’t get much better value for money than this during 2005.
Stories by : Adam Roberts, Alastair Reynolds, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Bruce Stirling, Bud Sparhawk, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, David Langford, Gardner R Dozois, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Hannu Rajaniemi, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, Justina Robinson, Ken MacLeod, Larissa Lai, Lauren McLaughlin, Liz Williams, Matthew Jarpe, Michael Swanwick, Neal Asher, Oliver Morton, Paul McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, R. Garcia y Robertson, Rudy Rucker, Stephen Baxter, Ted Chiang, Tobias S. Buckell, Vonda N McIntyre.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Alex Irvine, Bruce Sterling, Charles Coleman Finlay, Charles Stross, Chris Beckett, Eleanor Arnason, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Van Pelt, John Kessel, John Meaney, Kage Baker, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Molly Gloss, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Richard Wadholm, Robert Reed, Steven Popkes, Walter Jon Williams
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Allen M. Steele, Andy Duncan, Brenda W. Clough, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Charles Stross, Chris Beckett, Dan Simmons, Eleanor Arnason, Geoff Ryman, Howard Waldrop and Leigh Kennedy, Ian R. Macleod, James Kelly, Jim Grimsley, Ken MacLeod, Michael Blumlein, Michael Cassutt, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul Di Filippo, Paul McAuley, Robert Reed, Simon Ings, William Sanders.