Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Zachary Mason, who retold Homer’s story of the wanderings of Odysseus in his well-received 2007 debut novel, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, takes on Ovid‘s epic narrative poem Metamorphoses in his latest work, Metamorphica (2018). Mason distills Metamorphoses’ over 250 Greek myths into 53 brief stories, including the tales of Arachne, Daedalus and Icarus,
August 16th, 2018. Tadiana Jones and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Zachary Mason | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Future is Blue by Catherynne M. Valente
Fans of Catherynne M. Valente who especially love her line-by-line prose will be pleased with her 2018 story collection, The Future is Blue. Fifteen of Valente’s shorter works are showcased here. The title piece is a novelette. The similarity they share is the priority of narrative voice and prose above other story elements, even those of character and plot.
I recommend that readers who love Valente’s prose consider this book as a box of gourmet chocolates,
July 31st, 2018. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Catherynne M. Valente | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Secret of This Book by Brian W. Aldiss
Brian Aldiss was one of the most versatile writers in speculative fiction. Published in a variety of forms (poetry, plays, short fiction, novels, and non-fiction), a variety of genres and sub-genres (fantasy, science fiction, and realism — to cover the big ones) and in a variety of writing styles, his dynamism, willingness to try new modes, and experimentation with prose made him one of the most important writers in the field. Capturing this versatility is Aldiss’s 1995 collection The Secret of This Book.
July 28th, 2018. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 4.5 | Brian W. Aldiss | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Our exploration of free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. Here are a few recent stories we’ve read that we wanted you to know about.
“Meat And Salt And Sparks” by Rich Larson (June 2018, free at Tor.com, 99c Kindle version)
Al Huxley and Cu are detectives and partners in this near-future SF tale. Cu is a chimpanzee whose intelligence has been enhanced to human-level through a company’s cruel and illegal experimentation. Granted “personhood” rights ― and a hefty settlement ― in a court case,
July 16th, 2018. Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds | Pat Murphy, Tina Connolly | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Best of Analog edited by Ben Bova
The Best of Analog is filled with high-caliber stories by all-star writers: Alfred Bester, Roger Zelazny, George R.R. Martin, Vonda McIntyre, Gene Wolfe, and more. Published in 1978, this anthology contains three novellas, ten shorts, and one poem — pieces that have by and large stood the test of time on both feet. It is a collection of bright, interesting sci-fi shorts, some of which won awards.
July 11th, 2018. Jesse Hudson | Alfred Bester, Ben Bova, Gene Wolfe, George R.R. Martin, Gordon R. Dickson, Joe Haldeman, Larry Niven, Roger Zelazny, Vonda N. McIntyre | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Scattered Among Strange Worlds by Aliette de Bodard
Scattered Among Strange Worlds (2012) contains two short stories and a sample chapter of Aliette de Bodard‘s debut novel Servant of the Underworld. The first story is “Scattered Along the Rivers of Heaven,” first published in the January 2012 issue of Clarkesworld, where it can still be read and listened to for free. It is a far-future science fiction story that incorporates some lines of classic Chinese poetry.
July 11th, 2018. Rob Weber´s rating: 5 | Aliette De_Bodard | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic is well and good, but bullets are often swifter.
Brief Cases (2018) is a collection of a dozen short stories set in the world of Harry Dresden, a private investigator and talented wizard living in Chicago. Harry is the main character in most of the stories, but not all; a few other characters in Jim Butcher’s DRESDEN FILES universe get their chance to relate their adventures in their own voices.
This is the case with one of my favorite stories,
June 28th, 2018. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Jim Butcher | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Machine Learning by Hugh Howey
Odds are good that you’ve heard of Hugh Howey — whether you’ve read one of his novels or short stories, or even if you’re just aware of the runaway success of his SILO trilogy, which began with Wool. Machine Learning (2017) is the first collection of his short stories (and one novelette), most of which were published elsewhere in various times and places, and it’s an excellent display of his range,
June 25th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Hugh Howey | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts
Having never read one of Peter Watts’ novels before, I thought a short novel like The Freeze-Frame Revolution (2018) would be a good place for me to start. After all, I like science fiction, generation-style ships, rogue AIs, and solid narratives about mutinous crews. Watts delivers on those elements and many more, but the story never really coalesced for me, and I had trouble connecting with the narrator.
Over the last sixty million years, Sunday Ahzmundin and the rest of the Eriophora’s crew have been traveling the galaxy,
June 22nd, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 2 | Peter Watts | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Time Was (2018), a novella by Ian McDonald, is billed as a time-travel love story, but really, there’s not a lot of depiction of either in this slim work, and while it’s often linguistically/stylistically beautiful, in the end I was more disappointed than not.
Emmet Leigh is a used book dealer who specializes in WWII. He comes across a 1930’s book, Time Was, with a letter inside from Tom Chappel to his lover Ben Seligman dating from the war.
June 21st, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Ian McDonald | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Thanks for the kind words, Ira! Much appreciated!
Fine review
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!