Rudy Rucker. Petroglyph Man. (Asimovs July 2015)
A photo app that uses quantum physics to alter the images it takes, leads to some Really Bad Shit.
Reviewing short SF since 2000
A photo app that uses quantum physics to alter the images it takes, leads to some Really Bad Shit.
The stoner surfer dudes from ‘The Perfect Wave’ from the January 2008 issue make a return, living by the coast, living for the surf. But there’s challenges to be faced as the very waves themselves are to be controlled by The Man, and there’s another evil dude, and a revenge to be wreaked.
I and I enjoyed this dread tale, ‘gnarly transrealism’, as it is described in the introduction.
Excellent collaboration which looks just a few technology steps into the future.
Entertaining techno-yarn, where things get very funky chicken.
Another strong collection from a mostly youthful group of authors, boding well for the future.
A milestone issue for Interzone, and it has reached #200 re-invigorated to an extent that
A return to reading the print version after several months reading e-versions, and a welcome
Rucker, Reed, Skillingstead and Kelly do it for me. Carter, Johnson, Creasey and Bernobich don’t, which makes it a 50/50 split, whereas I tend to get a 75/25 or 80/20 from Asimovs.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Ann Halam, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Jason Sanford, Jeff VanderMeer, Karl Schroeder and Tobias S. Buckell, Kathleen Ann Goonan, M Rickert, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Paolo Bacigalupi, Robert Reed, Rudy Rucker, Sue Burke, Ted Chiang, Ted Kosmatka, Vandana Singh.
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 : 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.
A cracking little paperback, which every self-respecting SF reader should have at home. The pbk version I have also features a neat reflective pair of shades (which my scanner totally fails to scan!).
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.
All in all, an interesting varied collection, and well worth the shelf-space.