Review of The Feminine Future: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers ed. by Mike Ashley

Regardless of preferred genre, most readers know the names Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, and H. Rider Haggard.  On the strength of Jekyll and Hyde, Captain Nemo, the lost worlds of Africa, and Martians attacking Earth, they are considered pioneers, and by default, stanchions of science fiction and fantasy of the late 19th century.  And all are men.  Who were the women writing speculative fiction at the time?   Unless the reader is a connoisseur of 19th and early 20th century genre, their answer is probably like mine: don’t know even if there were women writing spec fic.  Having just finished editor Mike Ashley’s The Feminine Future: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers (2015, Dover Publications), I have been educated: there were women writing in that period, and not just writing, but producing stories of similar, groundbreaking quality as Verne, Wells, Stevenson, Haggard, and the rest.

The Feminine Future anthologizes fourteen short stories published between 1876 and 1930 by women writers.  Having read this byline, my initial concern was that Ashley had little material to work with, and therefore selected stories with only the thinnest of connections to sf.  My concerns were very misplaced. The stories selected are undeniably genre.  The speculative elements not minor or incidental, they occupy fundamental positions or are the foundations upon which the stories are built.  Whether it be robots or alternate history, shifts in time or social experiments, each possesses a recognizable trope or element still in use today, including some that are arguably their first appearance in print.

Review of "Crystal Express" by Bruce Sterling

Crystal Express is a 1989 collection of Bruce Sterling short stories published between 1982 and 1987.  A variety, five of the stories are set in his Shaper/Mechanist universe made popular in Schismatrix, three are general science fiction, and four lean toward the fantasy end of genre.  The stories grouped along these lines, the following is a brief summary of each.

Shapers/Mechanist

“Swarm” (1982) – Certainly one of Sterling’s initial forays into the S/M universe if not the first, this story is poorly written (it has almost a cartoon presentation), but does a solid (if overt) job of delineating the differences between Shapers and Mechanists. Otherwise, it is the tale of two people trapped inside an asteroid filled with Investor youth and their plans for genetic modification.

“Spider Rose” (1982) – A heavily modified Shaper working alone as a deep space miner finds an unusual object for trade.  But the Investors who come looking to haggle have more than she bargained for.  A better written story than the first, not to mention containing more imagination, things turn out like no one could predict.  But then, that’s Sterling’s point when post-humanism is at play.

Review of "The Moon Moth and Other Stories" by Jack Vance

Neither prolific or close-mouthed, Jack Vance has written a few dozen short stories in his career.  And of these, “The Moon Moth” is the best.  Period.  Full stop.  End of story.  Thus, The Moon Moth & Other Stories is worth owning for the title story alone—or any other collection which contains it, for that matter.  But before I get ahead of myself, the following is a rough breakdown of the eleven stories in the VIE collection.

“The Kokod Warriors” – A funny caper involving mini-warriors on a touristy planet.  (George R.R. Martin may or may not have taken his inspiration for “Sandkings” from this.)  This story can likewise be found in a few other Vance collections.

“The New Prime” (aka “The Brain of the Galaxy”) - One man is thrown naked into a party; another suddenly faces a firefight with aliens; an artist must make impromptu mental creations; a relic hunter has his loyalty tested.  This is one of Vance’s better ideas given the insightful ending which draws these threads together.

“The Men Return” - A bizarre story with ‘80s computer animation imagery. Evolution has never been so surreal.

Review of "Pump Six and Other Stories" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pump Six and Other Stories is a selection of short stories written between 1999 and 2008 from the up and coming Paolo Bacigalupi.  Published before the overwhelming success of his first novel, 2009’s The Windup Girl, the collection features a variety of mostly original bio- and cyberpunk stories, a handful nominated for awards.  Lacking the polished technique of many of these sub-genre’s great stylists and too often depending on shock value, the following is a brief rundown of the ten stories in the collection.

“Pocketful of Dharma” (1999) – This is the story of beggar boy Wang Jun in near-future Chengdu, China.  After a run in with a gang of thugs, Wang comes into the possession of an object that could make him rich or kill him in the offing.  Highly reminiscent of a Gibson novel (without the style), this story is a solid, but unspectacular opener to the collection.

“The Fluted Girl” (2003) – A girl named Lydia attempts to remain hidden in the castle of her patron, Baleri, who has biologically modified her and her twin sister.  A creepy story of the potential for bioengineering with a macabre, Gothic twist (reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Veniss Underground), it gets a bit sensationalist toward the end, but is overall a well-developed story.  Tim Burton would love it.

Review of "The State of the Art" by Iain M. Banks

The State of the Art is a collection of short fiction by Iain Banks written between’84 and ’87.  Surprisingly, it is the only such collection the author has published.  Given Banks’ fourteen mainstream novels and twelve sci-fi novels, one would expect a much larger output of short stories and novellas.  Continuing to defy expectation, all the stories in the collection (save one) are science fiction—the genre for which he is less known.  The following is a brief summary of the eight stories (three of which are Culture related).

“Road of Skulls” – Not a story in any conventional sense, the collection opens with the bickering of Mc9 and a companion whose name “he’d never bothered to find out” while they sit on the back of a cart being pulled over a road paved with enemy skulls.  A short, macabre tribute to storytelling.

Review of "Tales from Earthsea" by Ursula Le Guin

In 1972 Ursula Le Guin completed The Farthest Shore and felt the Earthsea series was finished at three books.  However, in 1994 she published Tehanu:The Last Book of Earthsea in an attempt to revision the gender and social roles she’d laid out in that original trilogy.   Based on the title, this too was supposed to be the be-all, end-all.  Apparently not satisfying enough, 2001 saw Le Guin publishing two additional books in the Earthsea Cycle, The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea, that both complement and redress the original books.  The former a novel that rounds out the entirety of Earthsea’s story into a nice whole, the latter is a collection of short stories that fills certain gaps Le Guin identified in Earthsea’s mythos.  The following is a loose breakdown of those stories.

“The Finder” – The opening story in the collection tells of the boy Otter, his imprisonment and escape, and subsequent joining of the Roke school of magic.  Not what is expected given the state of the school readers have become familiar with, Le Guin shows that education regarding wisdom and magic in Earthsea once had a different root.

“Darkrose & Diamond” is a short, simple tale of youth, lost love, and a person finding their way in life.  Traveling musicians and magic the motifs, Le Guin tells the story of a young man and the conflicts he has with an overbearing father.  A relatively light tale, thankfully Le Guin does not linger long on romantic elements, focusing instead on talent and the importance of understanding.

“The Bones of the Earth” – The shortest in the collection, it is the story of how Ogion saved Gont Town in his youth from an earthquake.  In addition to telling the real story behind the legends that have grown around the silent mage, the tale also tells of Ogion’s master and his training, proving there are different forces than nature to defy.

“On the High Marsh” is the story of a sick man wandering the wastelands of Semmel Island.  Suffering from fatigue and memory loss, the man knows only that he wants to help and heal.  He boards with a lonely family and offers what services he can to their inflicted livestock.  Given its themes of forgiveness and a new start, this may be the most emotionally impacting in the collection and is an excellent prelude to The Other Wind.

“Dragonfly” – Perhaps the least coherent story in the collection, “Dragonfly”, on top of being a sort of postscript to Tehanu, is the story of a young woman who becomes more than she is—or thought she was.  The symbolism inherent to In the tale’s conclusion slightly saccharine, not to mention the journey to that point overflowing with overt moralizing, the story nevertheless shows Le Guin walking the talk of her intentions to revision Earthsea from a feminist point of view.

“A Description of Earthsea” – Not a story, Le Guin offers a survey of the archipelago in demographic fashion.  Almost as if taken from her personal notes, the cultures, mages, history, dragons, islands, etc. are relayed in formal text that both summarizes what attentive readers already know, congealing the raw data of the setting and cultures into a single essay.

From the origins of the Roke school to the revelation of what happened to the Master Summoner in The Other Wind, Le Guin attempts to fill certain voids in the mythos of Cycle with Tales from Earthsea.  With the inclusion of thematic material like freedom of choice, gender equality, and the value of breaking from oppressive tradition, she likewise tries to bring into balance the qualities of theme in the Cycle as a whole.  Though not all the stories are award winners, they nevertheless have the desired effect: Earthsea becomes more multi-layered, and in turn relatable.  Recommended only for those who have read and loved the Cycle to date, including Tehanu.

(For those who have read the book and the Earthsea Cycle as a whole, you may be interested in reading a paper I wrote on its Daoist tenets and angles on contemporary theory called "Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle: Paralleling Contemporary Theory with an Eye to the Past".  Part I is here and Part II, here.)  

(This review has also been posted at www.fantasyliterature.com) 

Review of "Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance" ed. by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

(Note: this review is for the collection as a whole rather than individual short stories.)

Encomium is a tribute album created in the ‘90s in honor of Led Zeppelin.  (Have patience, this review is about the Dying Earth.) The artists who contributed were given free rein, save repeat performances.  With Zeppelin’s oeuvre the field of choice and all musical interpretations welcome, some of the performers decided to contribute safe, emulative covers much in the vein of the originals, while others chose to experiment, trying their own band’s style on a Zeppelin tune.  The result is an eclectic album that remains listenable for both its differences and similarities to the Zeppelin originals, not to mention the limited number of tributes.  Sadly, Songs of the Dying Earth, the anthology of short stories in honor of Jack Vance, does not parallel this concept. 

Vance being one of the most important writers in sci-fi, the idea of creating a tribute anthology in his honor seems wholly appropriate.  But when actually made a reality, something was lost.  Rather than leave the gates wide open for the all-star cast of writers to contribute as they pleased, George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, editors of the 2009 anthology, saw fit to limit them to the Dying Earth.  While this setting alone is imaginative enough to allow an infinite number of yarns, such limitation would be the same as Encomium’s producers preventing bands from interpreting anything other than “Stairway to Heaven”.  What kind of tribute would that be?

Another problem is quantity.  With twenty-three stories in play (almost twice the number of a typical short story collection), it seems anybody who contributed was published, no filter in place to weed out sub-par performances.  With such a large number of writers solicited, surely the editors could have chosen the best of, rather than simply putting them all in the 620 page (620 pages of short stories!) collection?


When these two issues are combined, suffice to say, the individual pieces of Songs of the Dying Earth too quickly meld together, individuality and unique expression muddled in the press.  Every story in the anthology seems to feature a red sun fading on the horizon, wily magicians, pelgranes, roguery, attempts at clever Vancian dialogue, deodands, as well as a dearth of magical-mystical names for spells and places that only sometimes live up to the quality of the originator’s. 

Vance’s oeuvre—Durdane, Alastor, Lyonesse, etc.—would have been a much better playground for Martin and Dozois to allow their talented cast of writers to frolic in.  Vance having probably penned his last, such a collection would give readers one more opportunity to experience the Pnume, check in on what Kirth is doing now, or learn what events have transpired on Blue World since the death of King Kragen.  Creative writers like Dan Simmons, Robert Silverberg, Jeff Vandermeer and the like would have also been free to come up with their own Vancian settings, characters, and motifs.  Alas, such is not the case.  These writers must huddle together, bumping elbows, and drawing lines over one another in the relatively limited space of the Dying Earth.

For readers who indulge only in epic or high fantasy, the length and uniformity of the collection will probably go overlooked, and the similarity of the details, unnoticed.  However, for readers who prefer variety, the never-ending take on the Dying Earth theme may quickly become stale.  For the latter, it’s quickly apparent that reading the book straight through is not the best option.  Taking in a story here and there between other reading projects seems wise if the imagination and individual efforts of the contributors are to truly be appreciated.  Otherwise, the monotony may overwhelm.

And there is imagination.  Reading the stories, there can be no doubt that each of the contributing authors has an affection for Vance.  But like most short story collections, readers will enjoy some and despise others--a point exacerbated by the quantity.  Affection does not automatically translate to quality.  Many attempt to emulate the master but fall flat.  Whether it be dialogue, tone, or plot development, some aspect of Vance’s talents is often missing.  Others succeed mightily, but very few of the contributors actually capture the feel of Vance’s craft, strengthening the argument that the collection should have been culled. What remained would have been a stronger collection--and tribute--for it.

In the end, Martin and Dozois’s intentions are beyond reproach. Vance is truly a grand master of the genre and is fully deserving of the recognition.  The manner in which the two pay tribute, however, falls suspect.  By limiting writers like Silverberg, Simmons, Tad Williams, Tanith Lee, and a host of other well-known authors to one setting alone, in addition to including more than twenty stories, their efforts get lost amongst one another.  The pair would have been better off opening the doors to Vance’s oeuvre to allow every sort of adventure its place, space to the fantastic, thus providing the reader a more varied experience, not to mention eliding the less quality contributions.  This would have paved the way for a more justifiable tribute to Vance’s works.  Thus, Songs of the Dying Earth will not be for everybody, including die-hard Vance fans.  The imagination is there, but when funneled into a single bottle, the colors get mixed, producing a uniform rather than varied result. 

…and did I mention the sour notes on which the anthology opens and ends—Dean Koontz’s self-indulgent pity party with Vance pushed to the background for an introduction, bookended by Neil Gaiman’s equally self-indulgent anti-Vance story as a saccharine bow out?  Not very stylish…

Review of "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson

William Gibson is a unique figure in science fiction.  Able to parallel and juxtapose prescient technology across profound social and cultural lines in literary style, his writing can be both appreciated by genre fans and savored by an aesthete.  Published in 1986, Burning Chrome is a collection of Gibson’s short fiction from the early part of his career, 1977-1985.  Despite that much of the content pre-dates the success of Neuromancer, all the elements which inform the Sprawl world and the novels which follow can be found here.  Thus, the collection is a great introduction to not only that series, but the author’s worldview and style in general.  What follows is a short commentary on each piece in the collection.

“Johnny Mnemonic” – Unlike the film, the original does not try to jam all of Gibson’s ideas into a two hour popcorn marathon, nor does it translate to the imagination in such tones of… unintentional comedy.  The short story is tightly focused plot and character-wise and contains some of the most overt description of the Sprawl in print.  Not the best of the collection, it’s nevertheless a solid opener. 

“The Gernsback Continuum” – This piece highlights Gibson’s wider spread interests as an artist and presents his view of the genre of science fiction.  Modernist gushing of the early 20th century in focus, the hope and dreams of another time find their meaning changed in the future.  One of the best in the collection, this story is one of the defining moments of the cyberpunk movement--thematically, that is.

“Fragments of a Hologram Rose” – James Cameron would later (unadmittedly) borrow the premise of this story for his movie Strange Days, namely: what the effect of being able to replay memories has on lost love.  Suffice to say, Gibson’s original possesses none of the Hollywood flair and is relayed in far more convincing tones. 

“The Belonging Kind” (with John Shirley) – This look at the bar scene is the story of an introverted man trying to fit in.  Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground springing to mind (the surreal version, that is), the story is a harsh or uplifting commentary on nightlife and humanity's social side, depending how you view it.

“Hinterland” – Daily life on Straylight, or a shorter, lonelier vision of Pohl’s Gateway, either way, it is a haunting story of humanity and companionship in the isolation of space.

“Red Star, Winter Orbit” (with Bruce Sterling) – Perhaps the weakest in the collection, this story is of the cycles of political, societal, and technological power that Russia and the USA have had, have, and most importantly, perhaps will have.

“New Rose Hotel” – A hauntingly poetic entry, Gibson finds his groove in a Sprawl biotech deal gone wrong, the conspirator holed up in a Japanese tube hotel (a-la Case at the beginning of Neuromancer), fearing for his life. (Note: this story was made into a film starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and Asia Argento.  Easily outpacing Johnny Mnemonic, it is the best screen adaptation of Gibson's work produced thus far.)

“A Winter Market” – A Sprawl story that lays the groundwork for Slick, Gentry, Cherry, and Little Bird in Mona Lisa Overdrive, it asks the question: what if you could escape physical pain without committing suicide by casting aside your mortal body for a digital life inside cyberspace?

“Dogfight” (with Michael Swanwick) – Perhaps the most fun and entertaining of the collection, this story takes the joy of video gaming to the next level, and drags along with it drugs, tech, and the angst of youth.

“Burning Chrome” – The icing on the cake, this Sprawl story caps the collection in glorious fashion.  Harddrives smoking, ‘trodes channeling the matrix, and reality two steps behind, this is stereotypical cyberpunk in a neon nutshell - and may be the best of the collection.

In the end, Burning Chrome is not one of those short story collections intending to simply cash in on a writer's early success.  Though some stories are stronger than others, all have been crafted with the same literary care Gibson invests in his novels.  Each sentence, phrase, and word is parsed for meaning and impact.  Moreover, almost all the themes and plot devices which can be found in his novels can be found here in capsular form.  Thus, if you’re unsure of whether or not to invest yourself in Gibson’s works, this is a great place to start without having to worry about the filler publishers often try to push on readers.  For those who have read the Sprawl series but not Burning Chrome, then the recommendation is obvious: I wish I had read it first.

Review of "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" by Roger Zelazny

(This review has also been posted at www.fantasyliterature.com) 

My experience with Roger Zelazny has been hit or miss, and while I consider The Doors of his Face, the Lamps of His Mouth a miss, it’s not terrible.  The main fault of the fifteen stories is that characterization remains uniform throughout.  The same cigarette smoking, coffee drinking, detective noir Joe Cool hero populates the main character role of seemingly every story.  Though likeable, this lack of variety gets monotonous.  Secondly, that the outcome of every story has the hero victorious and triumphant, albeit in occasionally surprising ways, the general predictability likewise undermines the integrity of the collection.  Smoking butts, throwing never-miss left hooks, and having the suave line for the ladies are par for the course of this short story collection.  

There are strong points, however.  Zelazny excels as a stylist. Dialogue wonderful and emotion fully shown rather than told, the predictability of the plots can be overlooked by the ease with which the narratives develop.  Thematic content is also respectable. Ideas routinely touched upon in the stories include the long term evolution of culture and societies, man vs. the elements, and the social motivation for individual’s major life changing decisions.

In the end, I would say that if you are already a Zelazny fan, this book will undoubtedly be of interest.  Every story is fully in line with the other works of his I’ve read.  If you enjoyed some of Zelazny’s works, but not others, then this book will probably not open your eyes to anything new.  And if you’ve never read anything by him, then it would probably be best if you started somewhere else.  Taking full advantage of his strengths as a writer, Lord of Light or ...This Immortal are among the best science fiction produced after WWII, and are a better starting place, if not better, more distinguished writing.