I
have had a like/dislike (as opposed to love/hate) relationship with
editor Jonathan Strahan’s ongoing Infinity series of science
fiction anthologies (seven and counting). The introductions not
always belying subsequent content, not to mention hard sf a medium
that can drop the ball in terms of intellectual or emotional
engagement, there is a lot of hit and miss. Regardless, there are
many good, solid entries scattered throughout the anthologies, and
I’ve never regretted reading one. Purporting to examine the
limitless possibilities of our solar system as well as draw the
Infinity series to a close is 2018’s Infinity’s End.
The
anthology opens with “Foxy and Tiggs” by Justina Robson. A
detective story starring a velociraptor and furry animal, the pair
look for a murderer on a tourist pleasure planet. Essentially a poor
man’s Darger & Surplus story, it feels far more post-human than
hard sf, not to mention is highly dependent on the reader’s
appreciation of Robson’s sense of humorous wit. A spot of YA space
thriller, “Once on the Blue Moon” by Kristine Kathryn
Rusch tells of young Colette’s experiences on board the titular
spaceship when it is attacked by pirates, and how she thwarts
their evil intents a la Macaulay Culkin.
One
of the poorer, if not the poorest selection in the anthology, “Swear
Not by the Moon” by Seanan McGuire tells of an entrepreneur who
buys Titan, and the melodrama that ensues—a real yaaaawner. More
science than fiction, “Last Small Step” by Stephen Baxter takes a
passage from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and
extrapolates upon it in—ahem—less than engaging fashion, i.e. two
space explorers chase high risk chance using their collective
knowledge of geology, chemistry, etc. to deduce the location of
Swift’s mysterious planetoid. In “Prophet of the Roads” by
Naomi Kritzer, a woman searches for the second half of a broken AI,
hoping to complete a whole that will return humanity to a prior state
of civilization. Her search has as surprise at the end.
A
story set in the author’s Quiet War setting, “Nothing Ever
Happens on Oberon” by Paul McAuley tells of a woman on Uranus who
starts digging into the mystery of an unidentified person who comes
flying into the planet’s atmosphere in a special suit under strange
circumstances. It’s not necessary to know the Quiet War setting (I
don’t and understood the story), but said knowledge I think would
give the story context it otherwise might need to feel complete. As
it stands, the ‘poignant’ moments didn’t hit me as hard as it
seems they should have. A story looking at the ennui of prolonged
existence, “Death’s Door” by Alastair Reynolds juxtaposes
lengthy mortality against the wonders of the universe. A story that
perhaps should build more emotional charge than it does, Reynolds
nevertheless gets his point across in imaginative fashion, at least.
Post-human
heartbreak trying to tug the heart strings, the emotion of “A
Portrait of Salai” by Hannu Rajaniemi remains dependent on how far
one is able to suspend their disbelief—a complicated matter when
“humans” are not involved. More directly relatable, “Longing
for Earth” by Linda Nagata tells of a man who spent his life
terraforming worlds, and the hike he takes on a mountain he designed.
Saying “farewell” in his own way, the story is the end of an
era. As average as average gets, “Talking to the Ghost at the
Edge of the World” by Lavie Tidhar is a vignette featuring a
detective on Titan reclaiming memory tech from a corpse. Written
like sf from the 50s or 60s (seemingly unintentionally), “Cloudsong”
by Nick Wolven keeps the average vibe rolling in this story of
bizarre, evolved human culture. Closing the collection with a bit of
energy that the majority of the preceding stories lack is “Kindred”
by Peter Watts. The voice of a hive mind talking to a mere human,
Watts’ signature hardline view to the foibles of human psychology
and behavior comes to dynamic center. But it’s not enough to save
the anthology.
My
biggest complaint about Infinity’s End is the lack of range
prosaically and idea-wise. Nearly all the story’s written are in
the same 21st century writing workshop, polished yet too uniform
text. There is flow, but unfortunately through the whole rather than
within individual stories, which, for a short story anthology, is a
real Achilles heel. You want variety, a switching of gears in terms
of style or approach. None of the stories, however, feature a
minimalist, elegant, or lush writing style—no William Gibson,
Catherynne Valente, Michael Swanwick, or other, less standard stylist
to shake things up. Looking at imagination, there is no Jeff Noon,
Paul Di Filippo, or Charles Stross to take the road far-less-traveled
executing their vision (save perhaps the J. Robson selection). The
scenes and settings are generally quite familiar—a lack of true
dynamism to the spectrum of vision presented.
It’s
always good for an anthology series to go out on its own accord
(rather than due to poor sales, poor editing, etc.), and if nothing
else, Strahan’s Inifinity series can at least hold its head high in
this regard. Infinity’s End, however, doesn’t go out on a
bang, rather a room temperature bleat. Not the strongest anthology
of original science fiction ever to be published, Meeting Infinity
remains the high point of the series as the stories included in End
are simply too blasé, too similar in mood, and too analogous in
style to have any distinguishing or notable features that would allow
the anthology to poke its nose above the crowd, or anywhere else for
that matter. Hopefully Strahan will collect his energy and point it
in a fresh direction for his next anthology series.
The
following are the fourteen original short stories selected for
Infinity’s End:
Foxy
and Tiggs by Justina Robson
Intervention
by Kelly Robson
Nothing
Ever Happens on Oberon by Paul McAuley
Prophet
of the Roads by Naomi Kritzer
Death's
Door by Alastair Reynolds
Swear
Not by the Moon by Seanan McGuire
Last
Small Step by Stephen Baxter
Once
on the Blue Moon by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A
Portrait of Salai by Hannu Rajaniemi
Longing
for Earth by Linda Nagata
The
Synchronist by Fran Wilde
Talking
to the Ghost at the Edge of the World by Lavie Tidhar
Cloudsong
by Nick Wolven
Kindred
by Peter Watts
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