Raising the bar of Science Fiction
358985
Science fiction is a genre that surely brings a set of expectations about the creative and, usually, irrational leaps that the author will make. Stan I.S. Law's version of science fictions makes some of those leaps, but somehow they all seem entirely plausible. After reading the Gift of Gamman, I'm entirely convinced that this is our very near future. It's almost as if this journey has already taken place, and by Stan I.S. Law himself, because of the detail-oriented nature of the book, the flow of events, and the way everything culminates into something grander that will move mankind further ahead.

I'm still processing a lot of the book, well after finishing, because it was simply so much to take in. I'm very struck by these spectacular characters and their various gifts. Stan I.S. Law, I am looking forward to your continued ownership and raising the bar of the science fiction genre!
3708490
Speculative fiction isn't like it was when I was a boy. H.G. Wells was just starting out, and Jules Verne was but a pup. Well, not quite that long agobut it was still called science fiction and wasn't taken as seriously as it is today. What hasn't changed is the wonder of it all, and editor extraordinaire Steve Berman has collected some wondrous pieces indeed for his latest edition of Wilde Stories. The opener (Breakwater in the Summer Dark by L. Lark) and closer (Keep the Aspidochelone Floating by Chaz Brenchley are reprised from Bermans own The Touch of the Sea collection as are a couple of other items here, but their second appearance does nothing to dull their sheen. I was totally capitvated by Hal Duncans Sic Him, Hellhound! Kill! Kill!, a clever story of love and devotion between a vampire-hunting werewolf and his boy. Told from the werewolf POV, this story is as smart as it is smart-assed, with a powerful, unique voice and an action-packed climax that will have you on the edge of your chair. Its impressive fiction, the speculative label notwithstanding. But Berman and Lethe Press have done much to expand that rather limiting label, providing us with collections that mystify, astound, and inspire. I cant wait for the next one.
182933
I was given the opportunity to read The Chapters of Brian Able recently, and, while not completely swept up in the tale, I found some promising potential in this new author's work. Being an avid reader and re-reader of classic and contemporary sci-fi and fantasy, I have developed an appreciation of someone who can weave a story both fantastic and theoretically plausible, who can imagine creatures, races, and worlds with exacting detail and whisk me away from where I lounge reading, sad to turn the last page but happy to speculate on what they might write next. B. J. Kelly needs more experience and polish, but he is headed in the right direction with his writing. While ungainly in some areas, this story had enough purpose and creativity to keep me reading to the end.

The story is epic in scope, and seems to have just gotten rolling by the end of this book. It has many elements of classic hard sci-fi: in depth technical descriptions (some of which bog down the writing's flow), alien races, galactic war, time travel, and one man the seeming linchpin pawn of the universe. There is an overt exploration of religious themes in this book, for the most part Christianity, as a heads up to people who may not care for that in their fiction. The author is has woven many direct biblical references and descriptions relating to overtly heavenly or hellish creatures throughout the book. Faith, in many forms, is another main theme throughout the story, as is a dose of vague black magic with stereotypical satanic overtones.

The main character, Brian, is complex and flawed, and while he grows throughout the story, remains for the most part immature at the close of this book. His reaction to the situations he is thrust into is very human--he is not a perfect hero. He whines, wavers, and changes his mind. He lets people down, and makes mistakes. I found myself more drawn to some of the supporting characters in many cases, even though most of them had little more than surface development; they left me more interested in their hinted back stories than much of what I had learned about the sort of man the main character currently was.

There were descriptions so beautifully done they seem ready for movie post production, and others that seemed to be missing elements and jarred me out of the flow of the story wondering `where did that come from?' The battle scenes were exciting and vivid, and will please any fan of the space marine genre, or Halo-type video games.

In summary, this installment in the saga of Brian Able is not an astounding award-winning novel. It's a young author's first book, and while the consistency of quality wavers and wanders, if you've ever looked up to the stars and wished you could get off this planet, no matter the circumstances, give it a try. I'll be interested to see the continuation of the story, and how the author grows.
1577170
Gardner Dozois shows us that 2007 was a better-than-average year for science fiction.  Per expectations from previous anthologies, this volume includes more than the selected stories.  The "Summation 2007" chapter reviews the state of science fiction for the year in exhaustive detail.  And the introductions to each of the 32 stories are particularly effective in highlighting other work by the respective authors.

My favorite five stories focus on emotional themes:

James Van Pelt's "Of Late I Dreamt of Venus" is an off-key story about love, patience and centuries-long dedication as two very different people work to change the face of Venus.

Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" explores the intertwining stories of time travelers and shows us several ways to find meaning from our losses.

Elizabeth Bear's "Tideline" traces the parental relationship between a boy and a damaged robot struggling to remember the past with honor.

Robert Reed's "Roxie" compares human denial in the face of an incoming asteroid to human denial of the failing health of a man's best friend.

Gregory Benford's "Dark Heaven" shows us death from many perspectives, from a coroner's detachment from the bodies in a homicide investigation, through a detective's feelings about his late wife, to the very different views held by a visiting alien race.

The collection as a whole is highly recommended.  My hope is that future collections will also appear in Kindle format, to allow surreptitious reading on my iPhone during the inevitable solemnly unimportant meetings of my life.
4741447
The Essence of Daedalus Rimes is a refreshing change from the typical science fiction offerings of new authors.  The book has the usual features of abductions, evil aliens, cloning, memory transplants and faster than light travel, but also has an alien species with surprising sensitivity and values, political intrigue, fire fights, and swordplay along with small doses of love, sex and rock an' roll.  The pace of the story is consistently fast, lacking the page filling and mind numbing quasi-technical explanations that bog down many author's first works.  H. W. Lewis' sensitive portrayal of the protagonist Teela's actions and thoughts as a feminine, but alien, character is impressive.  The author indicates the total story will be contained in three or more volumes.  If the succeeding books are as well written and entertaining as the first, the series deserves a wide and appreciative audience.
3765528
With thirty stories representing twenty-eight countries (twenty-seven of the thirty were originally in languages other than English) the scope is vast. And not just geographically. Genre-wise, as well.

There is literary fiction, which often took the form of snapshots of people's lives. The poignant 'Hospital Room Nr 13.54' by Olga Martynova stands out here.

There's magical realism like Adda Djorup's 'Birds', which was lovely in that Iris Murdoch I-think-I'm-missing-something-but-I-love-it-anyway sort of way.

'The Second-Hand Man' by Michael O Conhaile covered the humour area fairly well in a story that was very Irish. Read it and you'll see what I mean. There's a church and the Devil and God and a man with two tools. And I don't mean pliers.

If you're looking for straight up erotic 'Somavox' by Christopher Meredith definitely has that one covered, as does 'Dungeness' by Edy Poppy, though the former is a mix of science fiction while the latter is literary fiction.

Want to have your heart broken? 'What the Dying Heart Says' by John Toomey. There you go.

If modern vampire fiction is your thing there's a story for that. And other types of science fiction and eastern European dream state stories. There's even a choose your own adventure.

What's most impressive is that it all hangs together. There's a story near the beginning 'The Demise of Engineer G.' by Rein Raud about a man who creates incredible meals out of dishes from around the world where a flavour from one dish perfectly sets off something in the following or previous dish. That's what West Camel has done. It's the best anthology I've read yet.

With its variety of genres (and not a weak contribution in the bunch), Best European Fiction 2015 has something for every taste. I would definitely recommend it for fans of short fiction or people interested in expanding their reading life beyond works written originally in English.

An enthusiastic 5/5.

[I received a free copy of this book to review, but it genuinely was spectacular.]
4868079
This amazing book manages to draw together disparate themes from sci-fi, speculative fiction, dystopian science, mathematics and religious and social philosophy, and still be a really exciting space adventure.
The Fishman species roam space as buccaneers raiding and destroying weaker and alien forms, like mankind. These level 3 creatures operate as, supposedly unauthorised privateers for the level 1 Foreverones' Empire. This vast conglomeration of subjugated species is a dominant force in our Universe. Before the Fishmen attack planet Earth and mankind's colonies on the Moon and Mars, humans hadn't even come to the notice of the Empire, and so we remain as an unclassified prey species. What is left of mankind abandons the Earth to hide in isolated groups in the Multiverse. We particularly follow one group whose spacecraft crashes on Al Theris and struggles to survive like pioneers in the "Wild West" of 18-19th Century America, only in a far more alien world.
Under the guidance of a spiritual leader, Krizel Kane, they learn to rebuild and enhance the elements of the physical "contex", allowing the expansion of thought and a form of telepathic communication. This type of brain expanding implant allows individuals to think on many levels solving different mental problems at the same time. Eventually mankind must face slavery or stand against the Empire. There is a good deal of originality in the construction of space and its variant life forms, but also plenty of connections with a hundred years of science fiction.
The book is very well written, in an easy style. The first, and short, part of the novel needs reading without worrying about detail, as this book is a sequel to "The Fifth Prophet", and "Time Travellers are Schizophrenic". I read this third book first, and very quickly caught up with the essential elements of the story, and am delighted I made the effort. A very great amount of scientific and artistic thought has gone into this creation.
If in any way the human mind doesn't merely predict but predetermines the future, then this vision is helping create a very interesting physical world. We have in Alan Davis a SF writer who adds true originality to our eclectic visions of futuristic times.
I have just started reading the Fifth Profit- Hooked already.
3143863
Professor Gary Wolfe in his course How great science fiction works  states that many historians believe this first issue marks the birth of science fiction as a clearly defined genre in the United States. And Gernsback himself starts the magazine A new sort of magazine  extravagant fiction today  .. cold fact tomorrow  Prominently features on this April 1926 cover are science fiction pioneers Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells, and Jules Verne. This is the first and longest-running English-language magazine dedicated science fiction (Which he called scientifiction. )
 I have to warn those interested in reading Vernes Off on a Comet , (the longest piece in this issue)  that only the first half of the novellas is included here.  The depiction of the trader Isaac Hakkubut is grossly anti-Semitic.  Still it is a good adventure tail, and the exuberance of the character Ben Zoof, and the sweetness of the child Nina are nice touches.
 I enjoyed Wells ..The New Accelerator,  but  I also particularly  liked The Man who saved the Earth by Autin Hall.  Poes very short story  The facts of the case of M. Valdemar .. deals with mesmerism and more of a horror story really.
 The original adds are included (eg. They called me a Human Clam, Villa Tasso Northwest Florida .. The most beautiful homeland in America, and the pages have a grey hue, that hurts the general readability.
3003642
[I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher via NetGalley.]

Editors Ben Bova and Eric Choi have collected seventeen short stories from authors across the globe, where the primary focus is on technology. These are stories of hard science fiction, where the scientific concepts provide not only a framework for the plot, but are so integral to the story being told that without such a tech-heavy conceit the story would be impossible to tell.

The anthology opens with The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever by Daniel H. Wilson (Robopocalypse). Here, we are introduced to a theoretical physicist who is so coldly rational and unemotional that he's very nearly a robot. If it weren't for his daughter, he'd likely have no humanity to him whatsoever, and she is what pins him to this earth. Far too late, he learns that his theoretical equations showing the existence of pinhole black holes are deadly accurate. While the physicist is cool and methodical, Wilson manages to wring the heartstrings for all their worth in an emotional wallop of a finale. Although the story itself is short, there's a lot going on here, and serves as a terrific opener to Carbide Tipped Pens.

I was also deeply impressed by Doug Beason's Thunderwell, which concerns a last-ditch effort to save an otherwise doomed mission to land the first team of human explorers on Mars. We get snippets of action from these intrepid astronauts, but the focus is on the Earth-based scientists' efforts to beat the odds and launch a care-package stocked rocket into space. There's a smidge of inspiration from Jules Verne at hand here, and it works very well. The technology at play here is also one we are deeply familiar with, using the physics of projectiles as the main thrust (forgive the pun) behind the narrative.

Liu Cixin delivers The Circle, a story adapted and expanded upon from his novel, The Three Body Problem. Ben Bova's contribution, Old Timer's Game, tells a straight-forward story about the future of baseball, as the sport is heavily impacted by medical advances and stem cell research. Habilis, by Howard Hendrix, is an interesting, dialogue-driven meditation on the 'handedness' of the universe, with insights in the left-favoring nature of electron orbits to the curves of letters and numbers driven home by a war vet with a prosthetic hand. David DeGraff's SIREN of Titan was another strong inclusion, focusing on the sudden sentience of a moon rover and some intriguing American politics generated by the Religious Right's fear of artificial intelligence.

I tend to find anthologies to be a mixed bag. Not every story can satisfy every single reader. For instance, I found Jack McDevitt's story, The Play's The Thing, to be interesting yet anticlimactic, and neither Aliette de Bodard's nor Kate Storey's efforts did much for me despite being well-written and having authentic feeling settings thanks to the strong world building in each of their works.

Taken as a whole, however, Carbide Tipped Pens is a solid collection of hard science fiction stories from many highly regarded authors in this genre and well worth the read. The stories themselves cover a broad swath of territory, from near-future Earth to far-flung empires of the distant future, where technology and scientific concepts are key. Recommended.
515558
Originally published as a trilogy, Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn sequence (published in the U.S. in six fat volumes) represents state-of-the-art space opera that makes up for in pace and sheer storytelling energy what it lacks in style. The first installment introduces us to the dualing doctrines of the neo-fundamentalist Adamists and telepathic Edenists (an ideological gulf suspiciously similar to that of the Shapers and Mechanists of Bruce Sterling's excellent "Schismatrix"). Hamilton's galaxy-spanning conflict is well-realized and fascinating, even if his characters occasionally succumb to the one-dimensional predictability of their pulp-fiction predecessors. "Emergence" is a promising far-future romp that successfully breathes new life into the much-chewed turf of galactic conflict and promises a lot of fun; I'll read later installments with interest.
Hamilton continues his bold galactic tale in "Expansion." The second half of "The Reality Dysfunction" is without doubt the best, and an absorbing reward for readers who decide to tag along after the introductory material covered in "Emergence." Brimming with capably written action sequences and harrowing excursions into uncharted interstellar depths, "Expansion" manages to boost the Night's Dawn sequence into literary escape velocity. Hamilton's main goal in writing this series is to tell a story, and he succeeds brilliantly, maintaining a sense of suspense while juggling a vast cast of characters and alien environments. A sort of cyberpunk fusion between Stephen King's "The Stand" and Isaac Asimov's "Foundation," "The Reality Dysfunction" is one of the most enjoyable and refreshingly unpretentious sagas to grace science fiction bookshelves in a long time.
"Consolidation," the first part of the second installment in Hamilton's sprawling Night's Dawn sequence, sees the characters and situations of the first two-part novel thrust deeper and farther into intricate and deftly balanced storylines. As the series matures and gathers momentum, Hamilton is able to develop and humanize his protaganists; more than before, the characters seem real enough to actually root for. Fortunately for readers who have made it this far, Hamilton manages to counter his incendiary action sequences with existential paradox and fiendish genre-crossing sensibility. The result is a completely arresting widescreen fiction experience that raises profound questions while maintaining a consistently high level of suspense. Hamilton's series is staggering in its kinetic, playful vision, and "Consolidation" leaves us thirsting for more.
3915970
Will It Go Faster If I Push This
Edited by C.C. Turner for Static Movement ([...])
Twelve eloquent and entertaining science fiction stories with themes from the creation of Adam to the colonization of planets.

Pet Miracles by A.J. French:
From machine to human to slave to rebellion. The only inhabitant of a planet asks the universe for a mate with strange and unanticipated results.

October Morning by Jason Barney
What would you do if you discovered that aliens were only days or hours away from landing on Earth? Jason has some thoughts about what might happen.

Love's Lost Colony by Jessy Marie Roberts
A woman searches the galaxy for her husband lost in vastness of space. What she finds is a delightfully wicked and cautionary tale of misplaced love and betrayal.

System Displacement by Joe Jablonksi
Environmental activists try to stop the first interplanetary spaceship from leaving the solar system in a shoot-em-up, bomb-planting act of terror. Do they succeed? Read and find out.

What They Didn't Know by Quinn Hernandez
A mediation on the nature and origin of Mankind and the fateful leap into the stars. One day we WILL confront the creator.

Eltanin Hoop Anomaly Rescue by Sean Monaghan
A mother searches for her daughter lost on a very odd planet and she finds more than she expected.

Cybergeists by Charles Ebert
A delightful outing with snobby critics and game shows; a wickedly funny story about artificial intelligence, love and human companionship.

Siegeriser: Return to the Stars by Bradley Descartes
In a future war, soldiers fight in giant war machines with swords, rockets and Gatling guns in a desperate attempt to reach a spaceport and escape. It's a small skirmish but it encapsulates all the glory and horror of war. Well done and heartfelt.

Pedal Power by Robert Harkess
This is the story on what might have been the Roanoke Colony on Mars but for the actions of the last man to survive.

River Land by Voicu Mihnea Simandan
100,000 years in the future, a father treats his sons to ice skating in a new and changed world. Eloquently said in so few words.

The Hot Tub Murders by Dave Fragments
A vacationing human is found dead in a hot tub on a colonial planet. It is up to seasoned detective, incarnated as a satyr, a green rookie incarnated as a wolf and a prosecutor incarnated as an anteater must determine if this is a conspiracy to overthrow the oligarchs or a cold-blooded murder. Jessica Fletcher, Miss Marple and Inspector Poirot would be jealous.

I must in all honesty say that the last story in the anthology is mine. It's published under by my writing persona. I no longer have to hide from evil wicked sorcerers, aliens and robots. I enjoyed reading all of these stories in the galley. Any lover of good science fiction will enjoy these stories as much as each author enjoyed writing the stories.
40055
Dan Luvisi is an up and coming GOD of the science fiction genre, I'm only about 20% through the book at the time of this review, and already I must say "god damn." The attention to detail is remarkable, going so far as including receipts from stores, product flyers, and menus to places that won't exist for another 650 years in an alternate universe. There's just so much, it's overwhelming, but in a good way.

If you're here, it means you have an interest, so just buy the thing already, and if you haven't already, be sure to like Dan's facebook page and follow his personal profile as well, he posts a lot more rough sketches and tasty treats on his personal profile than he does on his official page.
4628236
Atwood's skill with words far surpasses the average science fiction writer.  Labeling this book as either "feminist" or "science-fiction" risks pigeon-holing it; really its just good literature.
433876
Madeline Ashby's first novel is the best kind of speculative fiction. Thought-provoking, entertaining, and even shocking at times--I read it in one sitting. Set some decades from now in a recognizable American semi-dystopia, von Neumann (vN) self-replicating artificial beings are commonplace, in the early stages of moving from servant to equal partner. The protagonist is Amy, a young artificial Vn woman from a "blended" organic/vN family, whose life is disrupted by the appearance of her grandmother--a machine version of a sociopath. Amy goes on the run, and in the course of her journey she meets allies and confronts enemies in an world of humans, most of whom are terrified of the beings they have been exploiting. Not all organics are bad, and not all vN's are good. And the characters are realistically conflicted internally, as well--in certain cases the internal conflict is disturbingly explicit.

There are echoes of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein--and even more clearly the author is influenced by the anthropological genius of the great Ursula K Leguin. Like LeGuin, relationships matter. And like LeGuin at her best, there is suspense and action to bring the philosophy to life.

Any fan of of good, hard science fiction should buy this book. And I hope that Ms. Ashby is hard at work on her second novel. She's got a shot at joining the pantheon of great sci-fi writers.
37900
High Couch of Silistra, first volume of the Silistra Quartet. This novel changed the game for women characters in speculative literature and writers of science fiction. Based in myth but set far from Earth,  it's a provocative read about one women's quest to find her father,  her identity, her destiny. Estri, the main character, changes her world  and the readers' minds. Still challenging today, this book talks about the genetics of behavior, and the hard-wired nature of sex and passion. Janet Morris examines women's equality,sexuality, and power. At Silistra's core is philosophical fiction, speculative  fiction that asks questions more crucial today than when this book was written -- about the place of male and female principles in the universe. In High Couch of Silistra we confront problems of philosophy, biology, sexuality, and power. Full of action and adventure, High Couch of Silistra is not simply a space adventure, layered as it is with politics and science and metaphysics. It examines issues that make you think, set in a far-distant dystopia where the reader can see more clearly.  More akin to Animal Farm than Star Wars, Silistra is a must for thoughtful readers coming of age and coming to terms with being human.
3286763
I knew I had found a new favorite SF author, but I really did not expect the synergy to be found when the author weaves some of the best basic adventure situations with basic science knowledge most young readers would possess and advanced theoretical physics, mathematics, and cosmology physics to challenge all readers into either believing or researching story elements while being entranced and entertained while traveling at faster than light (FTL) speeds.

Many of the previous characters return and bring new friends.  The Drasin also bring friends, but they are not friendly.  Watch for hints and hidden agendas as the threat to all civilizations becomes almost incomprehensible but yet real beyond the wildest imagination.  The trip is bumpy and fascinating, with plenty of action, politics, and creativity.  Hang on to your space suit to not be left out.
2480714
It's been a long time since I've read a science fiction novel so good it kept me turning the pages on my Kindle for PC. As a teller of tales myself, some science fiction, others science fantasy or romance, I have my favorite authors--the Eddings, David and Leigh, JRR Tolkein, Anne McCaffrey, Gordon Dickson, and such. I'm now adding Joe Bergeron to my list. His characters are well-shaped, his worlds carefully developed, and his plots not easily guessed in advance. Even better, his science is solid and his understanding even clearer in some ways than the practitioners in the fields of physics and cosmology. I was starting to wonder if I was the only person who can glimpse the true nature of reality. I'm glad I am not.

Space Mariners is a great story for young adults (including the young at heart, like me), as it shows with almost painful clarity the confusion of the transition from childhood to adulthood. That transition is difficult enough without tossing into the mix an alien girl who may look like you, but most definitely is not, a robot known as the Prohibitor which is designed to keep you and your people in a state of relative innocence with respect to science and technology, and almost accidental access to forbidden knowledge. Only by finding ways to work together, despite the confusing storms of feelings that wash over them, are the heroes and heroines of this tale able to survive, escape the bounds of their world, and travel across space and time to a new world, on which they must deal with a whole new set of problems. In the end, they again succeed in escaping, but who knows where they will go next? I'm hoping there will be another tale about Valjhar and his friends.

I greatly appreciate all the work Amazon has done over the last ten years or so in developing the Kindle, as well as CreateSpace, to enable those of us who write very well, but whose stories the editors of the great publishing houses don't understand, or don't like, or don't think will ever gain enough of an audience to make it worth the money required to market our tales. Without Amazon, I would not be able to share my tales--and neither could Joe. While everyone else I listed among my favorites has been published by the great publishing houses, Joe has not--though that may change in time. Most of my favorite authors have been publishing for decades. The newer authors coming out of the great publishing houses don't write the kind of stories I like to read, and until now, I was starting to wonder if anyone did. It appears Joe does, though his tales are quite different than mine. That's okay. His tales stretch my mind, and I'm glad of that.

I plan to read the rest of his tales and share my thoughts about them in their own reviews. Meanwhile, if you like true science fiction and wonder whatever happened to it, try Space Mariners, as well as the other tales Joe tells. You won't regret it.