Anthologies Books

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Stephen King, Cory Doctorow, George R. R. Martin, Octavia E. Butler, Jonathan Lethem, Orson Scott Card, Gene Wolfe, Jack McDevitt, Tobias S. Buckell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Post-Apocalyptic Primer 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The individual stories that make up this collection are very good. Tastes differ from reader to reader, but there's something for everyone in this long, varied collection. The best thing about this book, as others have mentioned, is the range of stories included.

Most of us come to post-apocalyptic literature from one angle or another, and Adams provides a good mix of the range of ideas that have swirled around the sub-genre since its inception. If you're new to the sub-genre, this is a great place to start. If you're familiar with it, these stories (and the appended bibliography) tell you where to go among today's authors for contemporary visions of Life After.

Editorial Review:

Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon - these are our guides through the Wastelands... From the Book of Revelations to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

These Are the Best??????? 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Starting from an incomprehensible story about flying whales, that ends unsatisfactorily, to the usual darlings of the genre, Van Pelt, Baxter, etc., who must brownnose the editor at various scifi cons, and British writers who are mostly and vastly over-rated and likewise poor writers, these are boring, poorly written stories, selected for God only knows what reason when there are so many better stories out there. Dozios is a poor writer himself so perhaps that explains the boring, incomprehensible stories selected. Skip this "best of" and consider others - I wish I had.

Editorial Review:

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world.

This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Ian McDonald, Stephen Baxter, Michael Swanwick, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kage Baker, Walter Jon Williams, Alastair Reynolds, and Charles Stross . And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

The Living Dead

Stephen King, Joe Hill, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Laurell K. Hamilton, Joe R. Lansdale, Poppy Z. Brite, Harlan Ellison

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Editorial Review:

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth!" From White Zombie to Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil to World War Z, zombies have invaded popular culture, becoming the monsters that best express the fears and anxieties of the modern west. Gathering together the best zombie literature of the last three decades from many of today's most renowned authors of fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror, including Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Joe R. Lansdale, The Living Dead covers the broad spectrum of zombie fiction.

The Malloreon, Vol. 1 (Books 1-3): Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda

David Eddings

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Discover the magic of The Malloreon–David Eddings’s acclaimed series, the sequel to his bestselling The Belgariad. Now the first three Malloreon books appear in a single volume, taking us on an epic quest across strange lands among gods, kings, sorcerers, and ordinary men. It is a gripping tale of two ancient warring destinies fighting a battle of good against evil.

Garion has slain the evil God Torak and is now the King of Riva. The prophecy has been fulfilled–or so it seems. For there is a dire warning, as a great evil brews in the East. Now Garion once again finds himself with the fate of the world resting on his shoulders. When Garion’s infant son is kidnapped by Zandramas, the Child of Dark, a great quest begins to rescue the child. Among those on the dangerous mission are Garion and his wife, Queen Ce’Nedra, and the immortal Belgarath the Sorcerer and his daughter, Polgara. They must make their way through the foul swamps of Nyissa, then into the lands of the Murgos. Along the way, they will face grave dangers–captivity, a horde of demons, a fatal plague–while Zandramas plots to use Garion’s son in a chilling ritual that will make the Dark Prophecy supreme. . .

Steampunk

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An effective overview of the genre 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

For those who aren't familiar with steampunk, it's sort of hard to define. I would loosely describe it as people running around a retro-futuristic, usually Victorian society employing improbable weapons and machinery powered by steam and clockwork. The back cover claims "Steampunk is Victorian elegance and modern technology: steam-driven robots, souped-up stagecoaches, and space-faring dirigibles fueled by gaslight romance, mad scientists, and very trim waistcoats," which does give a pretty good idea of the sort of things you're likely to find in the anthology. To break it down:

Introduction: The 19th Century Roots of Steampunk (Jess Nevins) - This essay covered a lot of things regarding steampunk's relationship with and reaction against dime novels that I hadn't heard before, making several of the stories in the anthology make a lot more sense. I think most of Nevins's arguments primarily apply to steampunk literature and don't necessarily cover its other aspects, but it's very interesting and useful information.

Benediction: Excerpt from The Warlord of the Air (Michael Moorcock) - I don't really approve of including excerpts from novels in an anthology, using the reasoning that if I've just bought a book, I would rather have an entire story than an extended advertisement for another book. This is a good introduction to the steampunk feel, though, as it's basically one extended airship battle.

Lord Kelvin's Machine (James P. Blaylock) - This is one of those that is helped by the explanations in Nevins's essay; it's heavily based on the dime novel tradition, although with a wink and a nod. An inventor must use his ingenuity to save the world both from a villain and from his well-meaning but foolish compatriots in the face of a deadly comet.

The Giving Mouth (Ian R. MacLeod) - While this story really didn't even try to make sense by the end, the world it's set in is fascinating - I've never heard of medieval steampunk before, but I absolutely adore it.

A Sun in the Attic (Mary Gentle) - A woman's husband (or one of them, anyway, as the story takes place in a polyandrous society) uncovers something that some feel the world may not need to know; the story questions the positive and negative aspects of scientific discovery and humanity's reactions to it.

The God-Clown is Near (Jay Lake) - A strange story about an inventor who is asked by a shady organization to build a "moral clown", an automaton that will pass judgment on their society. I think the world it's set in is part of a series by the author, and I'm tempted to track down one of his books; I liked the story well enough, but it seems to lack the context that would ground it a little and give it some weight.

The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel (Joe R. Lansdale) - I have to say, this story goes against pretty much all of my personal preferences. The idea isn't bad - that the Time Traveler from H.G. Wells's The Time Machine accidentally damaged the space-time continuum, causing Very Bad Things to happen - but the violence is extremely graphic, and I can't reconcile Wells's Time Traveler with the one in this story at all.

The Selene Gardening Society (Molly Brown) - This one is based on Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, which I haven't read, but it's still a cute story even without the background knowledge. In an attempt to distract her husband from tearing up her garden, a society wife begins planning a garden on the moon.

Seventy-Two Letters (Ted Chiang) - Again, the world in which this story is set is what makes it interesting; here certain names, when impressed on inorganic objects (and even, they find, organic ones), will give them movement and even life. As the science progresses, the scientists working on the naming project must deal with the ethical implications of playing God.

The Martian Agent, A Planetary Romance (Michael Chabon) - A historical revision, featuring the struggles of two brothers in a world where a Declaration of Reunion has brought America back under British control and the Civil War has turned into a second Revolutionary War. This feels like the prologue to a larger narrative, although as far as I know, this is all there is.

Victoria (Paul Di Filippo) - A burlesque comedy in which a very young Queen Victoria has run away, and a scientist must track her down (while donating his creation, a half-newt prostitute that bears an odd resemblance to Victoria, to temporarily take her place in Buckingham Palace). Utterly ridiculous, but goofy and fun, and with several unexpectedly funny in-jokes for people who read too much Victorian lit.

Reflected Light (Rachel E. Pollack) - A series of wax cylinder diary entries by a factory worker. Extremely short, but surprisingly interesting.

Minutes of the Last Meeting (Stepan Chapman) - A declining Russia in a nuclear era. I'm not sure I would consider this story particularly steampunk, and it's a bit too dark for my taste.

Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of Tribes of the Pacific Coast (Neal Stephenson) - Again, this is more cyberpunk than steampunk if you ask me, but it stands moderately well as a short story in its own right, if you don't mind accepting that two sides are duking it out over the distribution of information without really understanding what they're going on about.

The Steam-Driven Time Machine: A Pop Culture Survey (Rick Klaw) - A chronological rundown of major steampunk movies, games, etc. It reads mostly like a guy reminiscing about his hobby - which is basically what it is, come to think of it.

The Essential Sequential Steampunk: A Modest Survey of the Genre within the Comic Book Medium (Bill Baker) - Same as above, only with graphic novels.

It's hard to really give a final opinion on an anthology; there are always going to be good stories and lousy stories (really, I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could). Still, I enjoyed this, and even the bad stories tended to be at least interesting in the sheer variety of settings and technology employed.

Editorial Review:

Replete with whimsical mechanical wonders and charmingly anachronistic settings, this pioneering anthology gathers a brilliant blend of fantastical stories. Steampunk originates in the romantic elegance of the Victorian era and blends in modern scientific advances—synthesizing imaginative technologies such as steam-driven robots, analog supercomputers, and ultramodern dirigibles. The elegant allure of this popular new genre is represented in this rich collection by distinctively talented authors, including Neal Stephenson, Michael Chabon, James Blaylock, Michael Moorcock, and Joe R. Lansdale.

I, Robot (The Robot)

Isaac Asimov

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 209 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

More Valuable for Its Contribution to Robot Lore than as Literature. 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"I, Robot" is a collection of 9 short stories by Isaac Asimov that were originally published in magazines in the1940s, then cobbled together into a loose narrative for this book in 1950. To give the stories some cohesion, they are presented as the recollections of Dr. Susan Calvin, an elderly "robopsychologist" who was responsible for much of the advancement in robots' positronic brains during her long career at U.S. Robot & Mechanical Men Corporation, the premier robot manufacturer and patent-holder. Over the course of several interviews in the mid-21st century, Dr. Calvin tells stories that illustrate the history of robots from before they had the ability to speak until they could be made nearly indistinguishable from humans, though robots are banned on inhabited worlds.

Dr. Calvin's stories deal with the problems in understanding and trouble-shooting robots as their brains become more advanced, their roles more complicated, while their fundamental programming, the Three Laws of Robotics, remains the same. The Three Laws of Robotics are thus: 1. A robot may not injure a human or, through inaction, cause a human to be harmed. 2. A robot must obey the orders of humans, except when in conflict with Rule 1. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, except when in conflict with Rule 1 or 2. The stories are basically intellectual exercises in working out the conundrums that the Three Rules create. Though these rules keep robots safe and humans safe from them, in real life situations, they produce contradictions.

Unfortunately, the stories in "I, Robot" are little more than intellectual exercises in the Three Laws, and not very intellectual at that. The exception is the story "Liar!", in which the predicament of the robot comments on the nature of the humans. The book is written on a level suitable for pre-teen children. Even so, the characters are one-dimensional and the stories not very interesting. Dr. Calvin professes to prefer robots to humans, yet she treats them callously. I suppose that Isaac Asimov was trying to tell his readers that technology is a good thing, and those who fear it are foolish and, indeed, blind to their own reliance upon it. In the 1940s, his new way of portraying robots influenced a lot of sci-fi to come. But reading it now, I found "I, Robot" primarily a series of dubious brainteasers.

Editorial Review:

In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics. Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov's trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction.

The Malloreon, Vol. 2 (Books 4 & 5): Sorceress of Darshiva, The Seeress of Kell

David Eddings

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Here is the epic conclusion of David Eddings’s enthralling series The Malloreon–two magnificent novels in one volume. This monumental fantasy follows the story of two age-old opposing destinies locked in a seven-thousand-year war for control of the world, its gods, and its men. Indeed the victor will determine nothing less than the fate of all creation.

Troubles mount as King Garion, Belgarath, and Polgara pursue Zandramas, the Child of Dark, across the known world. The wicked creature has abducted the King’s infant son for sinister purposes. If Garion and his companions cannot reach the Place Which Is No More, as the Seeress of Kell has warned, then Zandramas will use Garion’s son in a rite that will raise the Dark Prophecy to eternal dominion over the universe. Only the Seeress of Kell can reveal the mysterious locale, but first Garion and Polgara must fulfill an ancient prophecy in the mountain fastness of the Seers. Although Kell is closed to Zandramas, her dark magic can forcefully extract the intelligence she needs from one of Garion’s party. Setting traps and dispatching her foul minions, she is determined to claim the world for the Dark Prophecy. But Garion will let nothing stand between himself and his son. . . .

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you own only one anthology of classic science fiction, it should be The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. Selected by a vote of the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), these 26 reprints represent the best, most important, and most influential stories and authors in the field. The contributors are a Who's Who of classic SF, with every Golden Age giant included: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Other contributors are less well known outside the core SF readership. Three of the contributors are famous for one story--but what stories!--Tom Godwin's pivotal hard-SF tale, "The Cold Equations"; Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life" (made only more infamous by the chilling Twilight Zone adaptation); and Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" (brought to mainstream fame by the movie adaptation, Charly).

The collection has some minor but frustrating flaws. There are no contributor biographies, which is bad enough when the author is a giant; but it's especially sad for contributors who have become unjustly obscure. Each story's original publication date is in small print at the bottom of the first page. And neither this fine print nor the copyright page identifies the magazines in which the stories first appeared.

Prefaced by editor Robert Silverberg's introduction, which describes SFWA and details the selection process, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964 is a wonderful book for the budding SF fan. Experienced SF readers should compare the table of contents to their library before making a purchase decision. Fans who contemplate giving this book to non-SF readers should bear in mind that, while several of the collected stories can measure up to classic mainstream literary stories, the less literarily-acceptable stories are weighted toward the front of the collection; adult mainstream-literature fans may not get very far into The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. --Cynthia Ward

Galactic North

Alastair Reynolds

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Future in Smaller Doses 5 out of 5 stars.
47 of 47 people found this review helpful.

Galactic North (2006) is a collection of SF stories set in the Revelation Space universe. It contains eight stories and an Afterword by the author.

Great Wall of Mars is a Conjoiner story about Nevil Clavain and Galiana in the home nest. Glacial relates another Clavain and Galiana tale about a failed outsystem colony. A Spy in Europa recounts a Demarchist tale about an enemy agent who gives his all. Weather describes the rescue of a Conjoiner from a pirate ship and how she returns the favor.

Dilation Sleep tells of a refugee from Yellowstone who operates on a crewmember with the Melding Plague. Grafenwalder's Bestiary features a collector of rare beasts in the Yellowstone Rust Belt. Nightingale is about a mission to retrieve a Sky Edge war criminal from a lost hospital ship. Galactic North takes a ramliner captain on a millennia long pursuit of a pirate ship.

These stories convey various short subjects within the RS milieu. It covers all the several technological/political groups found within the novels, but develops their characteristics in greater detail. Since the novels are packed with strange technologies and politics, this collection makes a great introduction to the longer works. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Reynolds fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of lightspeed ships, exotic technology and outsystem colonies.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Editorial Review:

The first short story collection by “ONE OF SCIENCE FICTION’S BEST AND MOST AMBITIOUS NOVELISTS”(SFX).

With eight short stories and novellas, Galactic North imparts the centuriesspanning events that have produced this dark and turbulent world.

Centuries from now, solidarity stretches thin as humanity spreads past the solar system and to the nearest stars. Technology has produced powerful new tools, but lethal risk accompanies each new advancement.

WarCraft Archive (Warcraft)

Blizzard Entertainment, Richard A. Knaak

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the mist-shrouded haze of past, the world of Azeroth teemed with wonders of every kind. Magical races and ancient beasts strode alongside the tribes of man -- until the arrival of the demonic Burning Legion and its baneful lord, Sargeras. Now dragons, elves, orcs, and dwarves all vie for supremacy across their scarred, war-torn kingdoms -- all part of a grand, malevolent scheme to determine the fate of the world of...

WARCRAFT

DAY OF THE DRAGON: A terrifying upheaval among the highest ranks of the world's Wizards sends the maverick Mage, Rhonin, on a perilous journey into the Orc-controlled lands of Khaz Modan. What Rhonin uncovers is a vast, far-reaching conspiracy, darker than anything he ever imagined -- a threat that will force him into a dangerous alliance with ancient creatures of air and fire if the world of Azeroth is to see another dawn.

LORD OF THE CLANS: Slave and Gladiator. Shaman and Warchief. The enigmatic Orc known as Thrall has been all of these. Raised from infancy by cruel human masters who sought to mold him into their perfect pawn, Thrall was driven by both the savagery in his heart and the cunning of his upbringing to pursue a destiny he was only beginning to understand -- to break his bondage and rediscover the ancient traditions of his people. Now the tumultuous tale of his life's journey -- a saga of honor, hatred, and hope -- can at last be told.

THE LAST GUARDIAN: The Guardians of Tirisfal were a line of champions imbued with godlike powers, each one through the ages charged with fighting a lonely secret war against the Burning Legion. Medivh was fated from birth to become the greatest and most powerful of this noble order. But from the beginning a darkness tainted him, corrupting his soul and turning to evil the powers that should have fought for good. Medivh's struggle against the malice within him became one with the fate of Azeroth itself...and changed the world forever.

OF BLOOD AND HONOR: The paladin Tirion Fordring had always believed the Orcs were vile and corrupt, but an unexpected act of honor and compassion sets in motion a chain of events that will challenge his most fundamental beliefs and force him to decide, once and for all, who are the men...and who are the monsters.