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sonofthe's review against another edition
4.0
When I downloaded this issue and saw an article titled "We're All Dreaming," Arctor Said: Drugs in Science Fiction, from the 1960s to the Present" I had to jump in right at that point. After a spate of more cursory articles in my recent reading, this more in-depth survey was welcome--not only for the info about SF, but for the more general stats on drugs and culture.
The interview with Jo Walton made me eager for her upcoming novel, and Wesley Chu's piece gave me a few good laughs.
Of the stories, [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1286481871p2/27841.jpg]'s Cody worked best for me. It evoked the spirit of classic cyberpunk stories, even using the classic data courier trope, but taking various advances into account. The title and name as used throughout the story make me think there's some call-back I'm missing.
[a:Robert Reed|57814|Robert Reed|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-3fbaf32fc1fc48e6ffaf3f63a026f0ff.png] delivered with Pernicious Romance as he almost always does for me. I'm constantly impressed with the volume and quality of his short fiction output. This story could operate as a portal fantasy, but leaves that in question and could also be about dreams. Regardless, it left me with questions about love and identity. Good stuff.
The Vorkuta Event by [a:Ken MacLeod|108281|Ken MacLeod|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1283522468p2/108281.jpg] was a fun pastiche, perhaps of Lovecraft, but certainly of an older, wordier style. It was initially a problem for me--I always have trouble concentrating when the language leans toward purple--but I did get into it. Mystery surrounds a central element to this story, and it left me thinking a bit pessimistically about human nature. It also left me wishing for more MacLeod stories.
[a:Matthew Kressel|4127611|Matthew Kressel|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png]'s Cameron Rhyder's Legs is a new take on time travel for me and also has lots of food for thinking about human nature. The whole story centers on a concert and gives the view of various members of the crowd.
[a:Ken Liu|2917920|Ken Liu|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1400610835p2/2917920.jpg]'s The Long Haul... was the most disappointing story of the bunch for me. Not because it was bad--it was still above average--but because I've come to expect excellence from Liu. A journalist joins a long-haul zeppelin crew and we get the story he published. The strengths lie in the characters and relationships here, giving us a look into the lives of two people who spend most of their time near each other, but also separated by their work shifts. We get to see some of the common struggles that married couples face, but which are there to some extent in all human relationships. The weaknesses were both more personal: I'm not generally a fan of steampunk; and some of the environmental contrivances were distracting for me.
Definitely good for a read straight through.
The interview with Jo Walton made me eager for her upcoming novel, and Wesley Chu's piece gave me a few good laughs.
Of the stories, [a:Pat Cadigan|27841|Pat Cadigan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1286481871p2/27841.jpg]'s Cody worked best for me. It evoked the spirit of classic cyberpunk stories, even using the classic data courier trope, but taking various advances into account. The title and name as used throughout the story make me think there's some call-back I'm missing.
[a:Robert Reed|57814|Robert Reed|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-3fbaf32fc1fc48e6ffaf3f63a026f0ff.png] delivered with Pernicious Romance as he almost always does for me. I'm constantly impressed with the volume and quality of his short fiction output. This story could operate as a portal fantasy, but leaves that in question and could also be about dreams. Regardless, it left me with questions about love and identity. Good stuff.
The Vorkuta Event by [a:Ken MacLeod|108281|Ken MacLeod|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1283522468p2/108281.jpg] was a fun pastiche, perhaps of Lovecraft, but certainly of an older, wordier style. It was initially a problem for me--I always have trouble concentrating when the language leans toward purple--but I did get into it. Mystery surrounds a central element to this story, and it left me thinking a bit pessimistically about human nature. It also left me wishing for more MacLeod stories.
[a:Matthew Kressel|4127611|Matthew Kressel|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png]'s Cameron Rhyder's Legs is a new take on time travel for me and also has lots of food for thinking about human nature. The whole story centers on a concert and gives the view of various members of the crowd.
[a:Ken Liu|2917920|Ken Liu|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1400610835p2/2917920.jpg]'s The Long Haul... was the most disappointing story of the bunch for me. Not because it was bad--it was still above average--but because I've come to expect excellence from Liu. A journalist joins a long-haul zeppelin crew and we get the story he published. The strengths lie in the characters and relationships here, giving us a look into the lives of two people who spend most of their time near each other, but also separated by their work shifts. We get to see some of the common struggles that married couples face, but which are there to some extent in all human relationships. The weaknesses were both more personal: I'm not generally a fan of steampunk; and some of the environmental contrivances were distracting for me.
Definitely good for a read straight through.
scamp1234's review against another edition
3.0
First couple of stories were great. An average Ken Liu story and the rest were just ok.
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