Reviews

Interesting science fiction scenarios presented by Weinstein. Some fall flat though because of lackluster and stupid characters and too broad a focus on a great deal of different technologies. The stories seem to shine when the main plot points of the story are pushed along by one significant technological change and the crux of the story and characters are dependent upon that one change. Most of his stories though succeed in demonstrating the connections formed and severed by technology and the continuation marching forward of progress, whether good or bad.

The Year of Nostalgia: High 7, a solid story with interesting characters especially in the mother and her relationship to the people around her and the protagonist's exploration of her mother and the relationships she has with the people around her.

Beijing: Mid 9, great story with a really immersive world and characters. Ending felt off to me but otherwise excellent.

Comfort Porn: High 8, interesting characters and extrapolation of technology that seems pretty possible at times. Good ending as well.

We Only Wanted Their Happiness: Solid 3, I did not like this.

Purple Heart: High 6, bit corny at times but has a heartfelt message and an interesting way of telling a "war" story in a sense.

True Love Testimonials: Mid 7, interesting way of presenting a story and still communicates the technology well through the testimonials that I can really get a sense of all the issues raised in the testimonials as well, making it seem even more realistic.

Childhood: Solid 5, literally just human kids but robots doing drugs.

Sanctuary: High 4/Solid 5, felt off and not as reflective of real life as many of his other stories.

Infinite Realities: Low 2, protagonist really killed it for me.

Mountain Song: High 7, potent and soft, just did not enjoy it as much as others.

Islanders: Solid 9, the father son dynamic is so potent and reflects so much of real life that it punched me in real life. An interesting world is presented as well and expands on the science fiction themes by regressing technology and presenting a ruined world.

margeryb's review against another edition

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5.0

An amazing book of short stories exploring how potential near future technologies (and some climate change in some stories) will affect the ways human beings live and relate to each other. These include explorations of romantic, friendship, and family love (or lack thereof). I enjoyed every single one. For me, the stories really hit a sweet spot in between exploring big ideas while also grounding them in the personal stories of the main characters. Definitely worth checking out!

dalhausen's review against another edition

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3.0

This is on par with his first book of short stories and it feels about the same, in terms of having a kind of shoegaze quasi sci-fi feel. I loved his exploration of abandoned cities/structures in Children of the New World and was pleased to find it here, too, as well as some interesting new ideas that would transfer perfectly to an episode of Black Mirror or the newest Twilight Zone reboot. His style is very accessible, some of his ideas are clever, and though none of these stories particularly stood out to me as incredible, a few were very good.

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