E-Mails From The Future by Robert J Sawyer

This was a fun little email exchange with an agent negotiating a writing contract for an author.

The exercise in this story is projecting what the world will be like 10 years in the future.

Making it even more fun was that it was written in 2008.

Some of Sawyer's ideas are still a ways out, while much of what is in the story is not that far fetched any more.

A nice little chocolate mint of a story at the end of a lovely banquet of interesting and entertaining short stories.

Well done sir.  Well done.

Guardian Angel by Mike Resnick

A "concerned" mother hires Jake Masters, private investigator, to find her son who has run away with the circus.  A space circus - so that makes it science fiction.

I joke, but a traveling circus is a big part of the story here.  The story was written as a straight up detective story, which I appreciated.  There is something engaging when the problems we deal with today are the same in the future.  Only the scenery changes.  And the FTL travel too.

One aspect of this future society that I found particularly interesting, sad but interesting, was the segregation of aliens from humans.  It was a bitter example of history repeating itself.  Even though it had nothing to do with the case it added atmosphere to the whole world Resnick created.

It was a well told story, with double crosses, shady deals and shifting loyalties.

It was a good opening entry in a collection of SF mysteries.

Mike Resnick's website - http://mikeresnick.com/

Mike Resnick

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 edited by N. K. Jemisin & John Joseph Adams - Book Report #250

I have avoided previous editions of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy because of the title.  You see, I am not much of a Fantasy fan and I believed I'd only enjoy about half the offerings.  With this opportunity, I was exposed to stories outside my comfort zone.  And isn’t that what reading should be all about?

Many stories in this collection are so broad that, to be squeezed into a Fantasy or Science Fiction label, is a bit constricting.  But then I was left wondering; if the editors wanted to increase awareness of these authors, where else could they have showcased them?  Of all the genres out there F&SF are the most accommodating.

In all cases, the quality of the writing was so good that I found myself transported into the stories.  There is something here to appeal to just about everybody but that doesn't mean I enjoyed each one.  Some genres simply do not appeal to me.  Each story had an interesting twist that pushed the boundaries and created something unexpected and interesting.

The deeper I got into the collection, I began to suspect that the fiction selected was geared more to introducing the curious to genre fiction than to entertaining the entrenched reader.  However, the skill of the editors was evident whenever I found myself sighing, wondering when I would return to a science fiction story.  The pacing and placement of the stories rewarded me for reading through the stuff I found challenging.

Some of the standouts were penned by Charles Payseur, Jaymee Goh, A. Merc Rustad and Rachael K. Jones.

I wouldn't say that the book was an easy read because some stories either frustrated or disturbed me in some way.  I will say that it was a rewarding experience; I did not plow through the anthology but let each story sit with me for a while before moving on to the next one.  Some of the more challenging ones stayed in my mind for days, they gave me something valuable to think about.  There was often more going on between the words than the story that lived on the surface of the text.

And that would be my advice to readers of this book - take your time with it, read only one story a day.  Believe in the editors, they saw something in each tale that was worthy of them being collected here.  I have been constantly impressed with how some stories expanded in my mind over a day or two to make me feel that I had read a novel.

In the coming days and weeks, I will review each story in the collection individually.

Full Disclosure - I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

N. K. Jemisin's website - http://nkjemisin.com/

John Joseph Adams' website - http://www.johnjosephadams.com/

N. K. Jemisin

John Joseph Adams

Biding Time by Robert J Sawyer

I was happy to return to New Klondike on Mars with PI Alex Lomax and to discover how much of a badass he was.

He has a new case, tracking down the killer of a recent Transfer, which leads him to an impounded ship.

When Lomax was gathering evidence in the shipyards, I was thinking how much I'd love to read more stories around ships, smugglers and underhanded plans.

Then I remembered I had purchased Sawyer's 2013 novel Red Planet Blues!  I ran to my basement bookshelf, blew the dust off the paperback and now it is on my TBR shelf.  Yes!  More Lomax goodness.

This story made for a nice bookending of the collection, even though it was the penultimate story, it was a very satisfying way to sequence the stories.

I have thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this anthology.

Get your hands on it, it is well worth the effort to find.

Originally published here.

James Bond 007: Hammerhead by Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Luca Casalanguida - A Graphic Novel Review

This book was a spot-on delivery of what we've expected from Bond over the years.

There is action, humour, style and cutting-edge technology.

I found the art and the depiction of violence, in particular, to be cinematic.  In that, it wasn't overly gratuitous.  In the past couple of books I've reviewed, I've found the blood, guts and gore splattered on walls a bit too self-serving.

I am sure the body count is about the same but it was handled with a more practiced hand here.

The story was spot on and I was happy to see Diggle bring out the secondary characters, proving they are in positions for more than their typing skills.

And this was a classic plotline; a new weapon is developed to replace ageing infrastructure.  However, what is good for national defence is also good for organized crime and a race is on to control the Hammerhead weapon.

An excellent entry in Dynamite Entertainment's Bond series.

Andy Diggle's website - http://www.andydiggle.com/

Art by Luca Casalanguida

Relativity by Robert J Sawyer

This is where Sawyer shines - showing the human impact to the large, high-concept ideas of science.

Relativity is a hard notion to get my head around especially when we are talking about near-lightspeed travel.

An astronaut accepts a mission to a distant world, a trip that will take seven years, to her and the crew, but over 30 will pass on Earth.

What will it be like when she returns and tries to reconnect with the husband and family she left behind?


I am no further along to understanding the phenomena but I don't need to, to understand the human impact.

This is what I like about Sawyer's writing; he goes past the shiny, "gee-whiz" aspects and brings it to the day-to-day realities of living in a world where these advances are commonplace.

Well done.

Flashes by Robert J Sawyer

Oh my!  I was struck by this one.

Good science fiction tries to tackle the big What If? questions.  And this one certainly did.

What if there is intelligent life "out there?"  What if they contact us?  What if they share everything they know with us?

There are many times in life where I wish somebody would just give us the answer to cancer or cold fusion so we can get on with our lives.

But for everything there is a cost or a consequence and here Sawyer explores some of the negatives of reading the Encyclopedia Galactica.

Chilling and yet, thank goodness, Sawyer still managed to add his indelible optimism into a short sentence.  Or maybe that was me.  Maybe I was simply projecting some hope into the story.

In any case it was a good read and allowed me to consider the ramifications of knowledge gained without earning it.

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor - Book Report #249

Right from the start, I was put off by the aliens. I can’t help it; I am instantly bored when I’m confronted with space-jellyfish that breath clouds of gas out their transparent domes.  Then there all the strange words to learn, that take me out of the story, before the plot can move on.

But, since I enjoyed the first book, I forced my way through all that exposition. 

Throughout the book I found myself pushing through it.  I was never taken by the story because, well, there wasn't one.  Binti is lovely and ultimately misunderstood, resented and mistrusted. 

Honestly, I don’t actually know why the author chose SF to tell this story.  It’s a story of a person wanting more from her life than tradition allows. 

Although I prefer stories about people being people, I have no patience for bigotry and unending self-doubt.  I like it when they are trying to accomplish something.  This navel-gazing and emotional hand-wringing that comes from keeping people in their “place” really makes me weary and angry. 

I want to see us overcome but, for 162 pages, nothing actually happened

On and on and on and on, Binti struggled with her self-identity and prejudice, her own and from others.  Obviously, Okorafor has something to say, I just wish she could have said it in the context of a story, with a plot.

I am so disappointed in this book since I was taken by the first one.

Nnedi Okorafor's website - http://nnedi.com/

Nnedi Okorafor

Driving a Bargain by Robert J Sawyer

You know, I kept thinking this felt like a movie Steven Spielberg would direct.  In that it was a very American suburban story.

A young man worked hard all summer so he could buy himself a car before the start of the school year.  All he wants is to turn heads and impress the girl he has a crush on.

But there is something odd about the person he bought the car from and there is something odd about the car itself too.

There was a paranormal story.  I instantly liked the protagonist.

Well done.

Originally published here.

Normandy Gold story by Megan Abbott & Alison Gaylin art by Steve Scott & Rodney Ramos - A Graphic Novel Review

Once again Hard Case Crime and Titan Comics have published a story that is gritty, violent, scary and just uncomfortable enough to keep the reader engaged.

Normandy is a county sheriff who is a witness, well ear-witness, who hears her troubled sister murdered while on the phone.

Set in the dirty 70's the look and feel of the book drew inspiration from such movies as Taxi Driver and All the Presidents Men.  The murder is largely ignored since Normandy's sister was a prostitute.  So she takes up the investigation.

But in this story she is no cop, she is out for revenge and to hurt as many people as she can along the way.

I liked the story but as I said, it was disturbing too.  The lengths Normandy went to learn the truth made me question her sanity.  But then that edginess kept me reading too.

In the end, I needed to take a walk to get some fresh air and then to take a shower, just to remove the effect the story had on me.

The style of the artwork is a perfect rendering of those times and just like those movies, I did not come away feeling good about humanity.

The ending was satisfying but I came away from it questioning my own sense of justice as much as Normandy Gold's

Read this carefully and do not let children near it.

Megan Abbott's website - https://www.meganabbott.com/

Alison Gaylin's website - https://www.alisongaylin.com/

Kata Bindu by Robert J Sawyer

Here is an odd story of uploaded consciousness, and the steps taken to preserve those who've been uploaded and no longer have a physical form.

To do so they had to make sure that no one was left on Earth who could fiddle with the computers and servers that hold the accumulated knowledge and experiences of humanity.

There were some primitive tribes that were moved to a secure location where they could live out their lives in peace.  But humans are a curious bunch and what happens, generations later, when some adventurous members of that sequestered group of people starts to question and explore their environment?

A clever story of the consequences of decisions made with repercussions that extend far past the influence of the decision makers.

The story stayed with me for a long time.

Robert J Sawyer's website - https://www.sfwriter.com/

Originally published here.

Beru Whitesun Lars by Meg Cabot

A brief exploration of Aunt Beru from beyond the grave.

This was certainly a warm and charming story.  A nice exploration of the responsibility she and her husband took on 20 years prior.

A heartfelt addition to the collection.

Well done.

Meg Cabot's website - https://www.megcabot.com/

Meg Cabot

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor - Book Report #248

Lovely.  Different. Scary. Inspiring.

Binti is a young woman who decides to leave everything behind; her family, her home, her life and her planet, to attend Oomza University in a far off solar system.

Along the way she makes friends and discovers the hatred and violence of the Meduse, an alien race in conflict with her very university.

This is the kind of SF I generally don't go for, with aliens and magical super-powers.  I like to read Mundane, Hard SF.

But there is something special about the fish out of water story; I always find myself hoping the best for our character.

Binti is a terrific character too.  She is so strong and determined and yet she suffers the self-doubt we all do.

It is through this character that I was willing to put my biases aside and read on.  I am glad that I did.  It was a rewarding story and I have ordered the next installment in the series.  I am looking forward to spending more time in Nnedi Okorafor's capable hands.

Recommended.

Nnedi Olorafor's website - http://nnedi.com/

Nnedi Okorafor

The Right's Tough by Robert J Sawyer

This was an odd little story with a terrific premise.

What if you are a crew of astronauts on a 150-year mission to a nearby star?  When you finally make it back from the journey everything, and I mean everything, has changed?  How do you cope?

The only trouble I had with the story is that the focus of the story was not primarily on the crew but on two residents of Washington DC who cross paths with some of the astronauts.

I don't know, it just didn't gel for me.  I can't put my finger on it but somehow it lost focus making the ending strange.  It made perfect sense to conclude the story the way it did but coming to that ending was done in the background and felt a bit odd.

It was a rare instance where a story in this collection did not work for me.  But that's the way it goes, right?

Robert J Sawyer's website - https://www.sfwriter.com/

Ineluctable by Robert J Sawyer

First Contact!

Earth receives its first intelligent signals from space.

A series of multiple choice questions are sent to humanity. As the questions get more difficult the answers begin to take on mere meaning.

I’ve always found First Contact stories a bit suspect; why do we always assume we will be able to speak to each other?  And why do we believe that our logic paths will be similar?

Sawyer takes on these very assumptions here.

I liked it very much. It had just a hint of dark humour to it.

Well done.

First Published in the November 2002 issue.

Mikeys by Robert J Sawer

Sawyer wrote, in the introduction to this story, that he wrote it in 1978.  What surprised me is how using Deimos as a space station, orbiting observatory or base for missions to Mars were being considered way back then.

It is still considered a good idea today when missions to Mars are considered.  I had no idea the concept was so old.  Cool.

This story revolves around the first landing attempt on Mars but, much like Apollo, the mission will require men in orbit to support the team that will walk on the surface of the planet.  The B team if you will.

In order for the mission to succeed a base needs to be established on the little moon before the landing team arrives at Mars.  While setting up they go exploring and discover something wonderful.

This reminded me of the old stuff that Robert Heinlein wrote.

Robert J Sawyer's website - https://www.sfwriter.com/

Originally published here.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown - Book Report #247

Oh, what a warm and lovely story.

I stumbled across this title from a suggestion algorithm, I spotted the book cover at the bottom of my screen and clicked on it.

I've often mentioned how I wish novels came with some illustrations and I got my wish with this one.

Sure it's a kids book, aimed at the middle school years (grades 6 through 8) but don't let that deter you from reading it.  Honestly, it is well written and charming.  It is such a breath of fresh air.

The chapters are super small so I could dip in and out with ease but I kept finding myself reading "just one more chapter" often enough that I was swept up in it.

Roz the robot washes ashore having survived a stormy shipwreck.  A pack of otters inadvertently activate her and what comes next is a delightful story of a "monster" coming to terms with existence and deciding what her place in the world should be.

Because the book is aimed at pre and early teens the sentence structure is pretty basic but the story is complex and there is some real peril that younger kids would find upsetting.

Reading this as an adult, the plot is predictable.  But that's not where the joy lies; it's in the details and the charm of the writing.  I loved the illustrations, which were also done by Brown.  This book brought back the joy of reading to me.  More adult novels should be like this.

Highly recommended.

Peter Brown's website - http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/

Master And Apprentice by Claudia Gray

This was a lovely addition to this collection.

Obi-Wan is now back in the fight against the Empire.

But he has been out of action for twenty years and is not confident in his abilities any longer.

He calls on his old master Qui-Gon for council.

It was humanizing to see Obi-Wan turn to his old master in this way.  It adds to all the encouragement he gives to Luke in the next few scenes.

Well done.

Claudia Gray's website - http://www.claudiagray.com/

Claudia Gray

Triggerman by Walter Hill and Matz

Hard Case Crime is one of my favourite imprints.

It has been a few years since I've read something from them and today I was taken aback.  Maybe I'm getting old, I dunno, but I found this story excessively violent.  Bullets fly, blood splatters and bodies pile up with quick regularity.

Set in the American west during the height of gangsters and prohibition; Roy is released from prison in order to do a contract revenge job for his employer.  Corruption is everywhere and everybody is out to stab each other in the back.

This was Noir Fiction at its most distilled.  The artwork, by Jef, is dark and gloomy and utterly bleak; perfect for this story.

As good as it was, it was actually a bit too long, considering that nearly every character had to double cross somebody and pay for it in some way.  Much of the violence felt gratuitous.

For a first taste of Hard Case Crime's graphic novel series this one left me a bit disappointed.

This in no way will prevent me from reading their other offerings, I know they publish a terrific variety of crime fiction.  This one was simply not for me.

Hard Case Crime website - http://www.hardcasecrime.com/

Walter Hill's Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hill

Walter Hill