short SF

[opabinia]

'Round 2000, I borrowed a couple of short Science Fiction anthologies from atalanta. Most of the stories were uninspiring (just as she had warned me), but the few gems made perfect MBTA companions, and they reminded me that I enjoy good* SF.

Years later ('04? '05?), I picked up a few more anthologies for train rides, flights and such, with a similar ROI. They were cheap, so I came out ahead again.

Now we're coming up on The Year We Make Contact, and I've snagged a few more paperbacks from eBay. Year's Best SF 2, (c)1997, cost me five bucks, including shipping. That's 20% off the 1997 cover price, and I didn't even have to unglue my ass from the computer.


I liked

"Breakaway, Backdown," by James Patrick Kelly: Living and working in space is incredibly fulfilling, but it doesn't come cheap. Not my favorite narrative technique, and the topic is hardly original, but it's still good.

"Life Edit," Damon Knight: People can switch from one reality path to another, using a life-editing machine. (Presumably, if someone edits out an event that someone else leaves in, those two people split off into their preferred branches.)

"Counting Cats in Zanzibar," Gene Wolfe: A married couple discovered how to create self-aware androids. They chose to hide their discovery, but someone else re-traced their steps. That's the backstory. The story is a series of conversations on a boat. The sex was superfluous, but the plot is satisfying. Felt a little like a Hitchcock movie.

"Doblin's Lecture," Allen Steele. Eesh.

"Columbiad," Stephen Baxter. Space travel, Verne-style. Really Verne-style. Very cool.


* By "good," I mean, that I like. ;P

Comments

[atalanta.livejournal.com]

wish ted chiang would write more ...