And I am a weapon of massive consumption...
A bunch of stories here I quite liked -- am currently making my way through the tasty layers of Eclipse 2, may emerge to give a fuller report on that one later in the week. In the mean time...
"Bluer Skies," Sue Isle, Ticon4
A really interesting, compelling story about the teenagers of a lunar community who want to go home, told from the point of view of the examiner whose job is to decide who stays and who goes.
"Dream Seed," Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Lone Star Stories - a sweet, layered story about a girl with many layers of hurt and an aunt who always manages to send the perfect present. I wanted more, but Hoffman paints a large story on a small canvas, and it felt like a real treat to read even if it was only a sliver of a story.
"The Andrassaii Agreement," Stephanie Burgis, Lone Star Stories - this story of family, politics and alien ambassadors just made me giggle. It reminded me of some of Connie Willis's SF screwball comedies, and the humour piled on as the story continued. Helen's mother is dating the gender-bending Ambassador from an alien planet. While running a public event for the aliens and the English Prime Minister, Helen has to juggle opinions on her mother's relationship from humans and aliens alike, and the madness just snowballs as everyone builds towards a grand announcement. Is the Prime Minister really going to announce that humans will be travelling off world as alien breeding stock? The gender bending nature of the aliens adds extra humour and kink factor, and the whole thing was just silly and wonderful.
"The Coldest War," Matthew Johnson, Asimov's Feb, a solid depiction of the harshness of Arctic exploration, vividly written.
"Colliding Branes," Bruce Sterling & Rudy Rucker, Asimov's Feb - not quite sure if I love this one or hate it, but it was so weirdly compelling I couldn't look away. Two bloggers meet up at the end of the world, to discover just how much their awesome internet skills translate to survival skills during an apocalypse - and, of course, to have sex with each other.
"Bluer Skies," Sue Isle, Ticon4
A really interesting, compelling story about the teenagers of a lunar community who want to go home, told from the point of view of the examiner whose job is to decide who stays and who goes.
"Dream Seed," Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Lone Star Stories - a sweet, layered story about a girl with many layers of hurt and an aunt who always manages to send the perfect present. I wanted more, but Hoffman paints a large story on a small canvas, and it felt like a real treat to read even if it was only a sliver of a story.
"The Andrassaii Agreement," Stephanie Burgis, Lone Star Stories - this story of family, politics and alien ambassadors just made me giggle. It reminded me of some of Connie Willis's SF screwball comedies, and the humour piled on as the story continued. Helen's mother is dating the gender-bending Ambassador from an alien planet. While running a public event for the aliens and the English Prime Minister, Helen has to juggle opinions on her mother's relationship from humans and aliens alike, and the madness just snowballs as everyone builds towards a grand announcement. Is the Prime Minister really going to announce that humans will be travelling off world as alien breeding stock? The gender bending nature of the aliens adds extra humour and kink factor, and the whole thing was just silly and wonderful.
"The Coldest War," Matthew Johnson, Asimov's Feb, a solid depiction of the harshness of Arctic exploration, vividly written.
"Colliding Branes," Bruce Sterling & Rudy Rucker, Asimov's Feb - not quite sure if I love this one or hate it, but it was so weirdly compelling I couldn't look away. Two bloggers meet up at the end of the world, to discover just how much their awesome internet skills translate to survival skills during an apocalypse - and, of course, to have sex with each other.