kw: book reviews, science fiction, anthologies
From an introductory note: "Phobos Books has stakes its reputation on new, rather than established, voices in science fiction, because, as Orson Scott Card wrote in his introduction to our very first anthology, Empire of Dreams and Miracles, 'Science Fiction, of all genres of storytelling, is the one that hungers most for new writers.'"
This sentence makes it clear why Sandra Shulberg is a publisher, not a writer. It is also an example of the sloganeering that seems to characterize American culture since the 1970s. From time to time it is well to remember, like those late night bull sessions, the guys who have the most to say about their 'conquests' are the insecure ones. Those who talk don't do, and those who do, aren't talking.
D'ya wanna make a difference in the world? Don't say it, do it.
As it happens, the 2004 Phobos offering, Absolutely Brilliant in Chrome (edited by Keith Olexa), contains some gems among its "new voices." My idea and comment list for this volume, ten stories by six writers and a collaboration (Gordon Gross is a couple's pseudonym):
"Letters to a Sister by Rebecca Carmi. A truly touching series of letters from an Earthbound woman to her sister, who is on an 800-year starflight in suspended animation. Collapse of the global economy and Chinese takeover.
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" by Daniel Conover. A sickly hilarious sendup of the G.W. Bush administration. One of the aliens recovered in Roswell, NM in 1947 has been living underneath the White House ever since. More aliens show up, philistine interstellar tourists, and fireworks ensue.
"The Ants of Imhotep" by Carl Frederick. An Egyptian fantasy. The son of a pharaoh, "amberized" rather than embalmed, has a strange affinity for the young son of an archaeologist. Ants crawling on a stone slab reveal a map to a hidden chamber hiding his remains.
"Absolutely Brilliant in Chrome" by James Maxey. A cheap treatment of an interesting idea: What will we do when synthetic skin, initially created for burn victims, becomes better than the original ... Kevlar(R) plus Teflon(R) ...!
"Ascension" by Matthew S. Rotundo. A new redaction of the 'mountain makes the man' archtype. This mountain is the hardest climb on the known worlds (of course).
"A Meeting of Minds" by Gordon Gross. People have been getting frozen at death for some decades now (background fact), in hopes of being thawed and healed later. When the technology is perfected to create a digital version of one's personality, to take care of the assets of the 'frozen asset,' how do you know you are you, and not a better digital version?
"Promise" by James Maxey. I guess the editor really liked the Title story, because he gave the author another whack. I wasn't surprised that a sexual coming-of-aged figured strongly. The writer takes a whack at religious extremism, but his straw man is a pitiful caricature.
"A Debt Unpaid" by Justin Stanchfield. The planets are up for grabs, in an Oklahoma-style land run (ten days to stake your claim). Can a former Government agent become a trusted homesteader? The ending is a cop-out.
"Perfect" for Each Other by Daniel Conover. Hometown hicks make good, courtesy of a government that needs a better "Charly" to fight terror, and which is willing to "enhance" his wife to match. Ends on a note of hope, but rather weakly.
"Deep Flows the River of Time" by Carl Frederick. Fun premise: Physics post-doc lets his mentor maneuver him into testing a new time machine by going back 20 years in time; he rescues his mother and young self from his own miserable youth, and gets rescued in turn by the mentor.
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