Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Knivesout no more
This one's probably a year old, but I've been reading Gardner Dozois' 15th 'Mammoth Book of Best New SF' lately. Apart from quality contributions by favourite authors like Ken MacLeod and Ian R MacLeod, I've had a chance to read some very cool stories by other authors of the 90s and the 00s whom I have not yet sampled in the longer format. Some of these:
Glacial : Alastair Reynolds
An SF whodunnit that works on both counts - as a plausible, thought-provoking SFnal future-fantasy AND as a cracking good whodunnit, complete with a neat identity mix-up. I've heard that his novels are also SF mysteries, and if they are both SF and mystery fiction of this calibre, they are bound to be very good indeed.
Lobsters: Charles Stross
His novel, Singularity Sky, seems to be a riff on various themes that are very hep in the SF world now, and so is this story. However, apart from its up-to-the-minute themes, it is also a well-written tale with strong characters and an intriguing plot. This bodes well for his longer work, I hope.
The Dog Said Bow-Wow: Michael Swanwick
I haven't been able to work out from reviews exactly what Swanwick writes. This exuberant science-fantasy romp doesn't clarify matters, but it does speak of a whimsical yet disciplined fancy and a good mix of light and serious elemnts. Easily the most entertaining and unusual story I've read in while.
The Days in Between: Allan Steele
I've never heard of Steele, but this sympathetic, moving protrayal of a spaceman revived from suspended animation too soon on light-speed journey, and doomed to live out his remaining days all alone on a spaceship, suggests that I ought to remedy that situation as soon as possible. Scores on all fronts: tech spec, human interest, prose and plotting and also works as a tribute to the healing powers of the human imagination. It also had slight resonances with James Blish's 'Common Time', possibly one of the finest SF short stories ever.
I've tended to stay away from anthologies of new SF short stories for a while, for whatever reason, but I'm glad I took a chance on this one. SF is alive and well in the 21st century, and shorts are still cool.
Have you read any good, new sf/f short stories lately? Tell us about them!
Glacial : Alastair Reynolds
An SF whodunnit that works on both counts - as a plausible, thought-provoking SFnal future-fantasy AND as a cracking good whodunnit, complete with a neat identity mix-up. I've heard that his novels are also SF mysteries, and if they are both SF and mystery fiction of this calibre, they are bound to be very good indeed.
Lobsters: Charles Stross
His novel, Singularity Sky, seems to be a riff on various themes that are very hep in the SF world now, and so is this story. However, apart from its up-to-the-minute themes, it is also a well-written tale with strong characters and an intriguing plot. This bodes well for his longer work, I hope.
The Dog Said Bow-Wow: Michael Swanwick
I haven't been able to work out from reviews exactly what Swanwick writes. This exuberant science-fantasy romp doesn't clarify matters, but it does speak of a whimsical yet disciplined fancy and a good mix of light and serious elemnts. Easily the most entertaining and unusual story I've read in while.
The Days in Between: Allan Steele
I've never heard of Steele, but this sympathetic, moving protrayal of a spaceman revived from suspended animation too soon on light-speed journey, and doomed to live out his remaining days all alone on a spaceship, suggests that I ought to remedy that situation as soon as possible. Scores on all fronts: tech spec, human interest, prose and plotting and also works as a tribute to the healing powers of the human imagination. It also had slight resonances with James Blish's 'Common Time', possibly one of the finest SF short stories ever.
I've tended to stay away from anthologies of new SF short stories for a while, for whatever reason, but I'm glad I took a chance on this one. SF is alive and well in the 21st century, and shorts are still cool.
Have you read any good, new sf/f short stories lately? Tell us about them!
