Find a limit and push it

kw: book reviews, fantasy, science fiction, anthologies

In her introduction, editor Ellen Datlow writes of the new worlds created by the writers in the volume, "I hope you enjoy your excursion into some of those following." That "some of" is crucial, as if she knows not all of them are enjoyable. What I mean will become clear in due time.

The sixteen stories in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy do indeed explore new worlds, with writers both new and established pushing the limits of their imaginations. I read the first half of the volume at a sitting, so to the story ideas:

• The Elephant Ironclads by Jason Stoddard – An Alternate History in which the Diné (Navajo) comprise an independent nation in the desert Southwest. Their power base is some of the elephants sent by the King of Siam to President Lincoln (never mind that it was Mongkut's father who offered to send elephants to Benjamin Harrison a generation earlier, a fact got wrong in "The King and I"). In this setting, two boys struggle to come of age as contrasting cultures vie for their attention. The author's skill here is to foment a growing sense of dread.
  
• Ardent Clouds by Lucy Sussex – The title mis-translates the Geological expression nueés ardentes, "glowing clouds", which refers to the superheated clouds of ash that burst from stratovolcanoes such as Mt. St. Helens or Vesuvius. The first-person "powdermonkey" reminds me of my uncle, a geologist who tithed into a "volcano account", and would dash half across the planet for a first-hand look at any new eruption. I think he disappointed himself by dying in bed. This powdermonkey does not die on the volcano either, much to her surprise, I think.
  
• Gather by Christopher Rowe – Another alternate history, of Kentucky as a theocracy with a very real God, and two people who decide to visit the deity.
  
• Sonny Liston Takes the Fall by Elizabeth Bear – Maybe this is alternate history, and maybe not. It is a paean to Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, played as a riff on Liston's ties with the Mob.
  
• North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud – A fantasy around a sticky, glowing something that washes ashore. The three people who encounter it are the real monsters (yes, all three. Read to see why).
  
• All Washed Up While Looking for a Better World by Carol Emshwiller – I guess Ms Emshwiller is trying out something radical. The story is circular, and nobody learns anything. It does make one think about whether our pets understand our speech…
  
• Special Economics by Maureen F. McHugh – Though this is speculative fiction, it is likely based on very real reality. Feudalism is the first resort of unwatched, incompetent entrepreneurs. Remember the lyrics to "Sixteen Tons": "I owe my soul to the company store."
  
• Aka St. Mark's Place by Richard Bowes – Coming of age, in stages, where it is the seemingly more sophisticated one who needs to grow the most. Set in a virtual neighborhood in Manhattan, and in the minds of the characters. The only fantastical element is a bit of mind-reading and prognostication.
  

Is it just me, or did nearly all these authors value form over function? The first story is the closest to science fiction, and yet it is of the alternative history type, so is really speculative fiction. Its thrust is political rather than technical. "Special Economics" is the most satisfying of the lot. I'll soon know if the rest of the volume contains any genuine SciFi.