Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories edited by John Joseph Adams

…Brave New Worlds is as perfect an anthology as you could hope for… One of the great things about a broad anthology like this one, collecting 33 different stories that still all fall under the umbrella of dystopian SF, is that you get the chance to sample a large variety of styles and approaches. Classics and brand new stories, short vignettes and longer tales… Almost anything that could conceivably go wrong with our world goes wrong in one or more of these stories… There are a few stories in Brave New Worlds that will simply stay with you forever… It doesn’t happen very often that you find an anthology that’s perfectly executed from start to finish, but Brave New Worlds is exactly that. The stories in this collection are science fiction in the truest sense of the word, starting from an often painful sociological premise and extrapolating it to the most private and emotional aspects of our lives. The only reasons I can think of for not liking this book would be if you have an aversion to either dystopian SF or short fiction. If you don’t fall in either of those categories, you simply won’t find a finer anthology than Brave New Worlds. Read the rest.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams

John Joseph Adams assembles a wide variety of apocalypse-related fiction in Wastelands. some of which are older than I am, while others are more recent. What you end up with is a diverse anthology covering topics such as religion, war, and exploration while containing horror, comedy, and a sense of wonder… Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse is an interesting ensemble and I enjoyed many of the stories in this anthology. Adams succeeds in providing a diverse array of pieces despite the seemingly specific theme… Read the rest.

METAtropolis edited by John Scalzi

… All in all, I loved the premise of METAtropolis, the authors did a great job with their collaboration, and the production, by Brilliance Audio, was excellent. However, I only truly enjoyed half of the collection because, until John Scalzi’s story, I just got tired of reading about climate change, zero footprint, carbon load, globalization, resource drains, big-capital, etc. These anti-everything messages aren’t new and interesting ideas anymore, and they were just too heavy-handed for greedy humans like me… Read the rest.

Metatropolis by John Scalzi (editor)

… due to environmental change and political upheaval, the idea of national government has been superseded by something akin to city states… Each of the five stories collected in Metatropolis explores the concept of what such a city or society might be like in interesting, different and (mostly) successful ways. If you’re not sold yet, the list of authors reads like a veritable All Star team of current, interesting SFF authors: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder and John Scalzi… On one level, the anthology has an important and relevant message about the state of our present society and the direction we’re heading in. On another, it’s just a great read with some truly memorable stories. Read the rest.

The Alchemist and The Executioness by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell

The Alchemist and The Executioness caught my eye as soon as it went up at Audible.com. Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell offering linked fantasy novellas that take place in a shared world?… What could be more promising?… It was intriguing to explore the idea that small and secret lawbreaking, even for a good cause, can accumulate to destroy a nation or, as one of Bacigalupi’s characters says: “If we grant individual mercies, we commit collective suicide.” That got me thinking of all sorts of current political, economic, and social parallels. With The Executioness, Tobias Buckell becomes the hero of middle-aged mothers everywhere… I can highly recommend The Alchemist and The Executioness to fantasy lovers of all ages. I wish it had been longer. Read the rest.

Speculative Horizons edited by Patrick St. Denis

Speculative Horizons is a lovely little anthology edited by book blogger Patrick St. Denis (of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist fame). When the good people at Subterranean Press asked him whether he’d be interested in editing a short story collection, he understandably jumped on the idea (who wouldn’t?!), but asked that a portion of the proceeds be donated to breast cancer research. Not only is this an absolutely wonderful initiative, but it also means that you now have an excellent chance to buy a book and actually feel good about it. This 128 page anthology contains five short stories by authors whose names many people who are interested in speculative fiction will instantly recognize: Celia S. Friedman, Tobias Buckell, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Brian Ruckley and Hal Duncan. Each story has a brief introduction by its author, and the book closes with an afterword by editor Patrick St. Denis, giving the reader a fun glimpse into the writing process and the making of this anthology. On to the stories!… Read the rest.

At The Edge of the Universe, we review books that may not be classified SFF but that incorporate elements of speculative fiction. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.

Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell

Tobias Buckell offers up a fast-paced near-future technothriller in his latest novel, Arctic Rising. Two strong main characters, an intriguing and just-detailed-enough future setting, and crisp, clear prose make it mostly a winner, with only a few flaws to spoil the fun.

Arctic Rising takes place roughly 50 years from now, by which time global warming has freed up most of the northern ocean, meaning the long-sought Northwest Passage is finally open for business. Which is good, as the lack of sea ice has also begun a boom in oil and other resource mining in the “Arctic Tiger” countries (Greenland can’t mine the stuff fast enough and has to import guest workers), which include the big players (Canada, the U.S. Russia, China), some consortiums of small players (the Caribbean islands for instance), and an autonomous enclave called Thule made up of a hodgepodge of differently-governed demesnes, including one with an official “benevolent dictator.”

The northern region is the 21^st century’s Wild West, but a lot less simple than in the Westerns. There are a host of players here, and the good guys and bad guys (not to mention the sundry grey guys) are a lot harder to tell apart and a lot more varied. For one, they’re not all guys, not even close. And they’re just as likely to sport dreads as black or white hats, hailing from a range of nations and quasi-nations.

Our main character, Anika Duncan, is originally from Nigeria, and has taken a job as an airship pilot for the UN, monitoring the northern waters and especially keeping an eye out for illegal dumping. Her attempt to pull over a suspicious ship goes quickly awry early on, and soon she is on the run — trying to avoid getting killed or arrested by a variety of adversaries, moving in and out of the embrace of a variety of allies (none of whom she is sure she can trust), and trying to solve the case that started the whole thing, which may or may not involve a stray nuclear missile and may or may not result in another World War or just possibly the end of the world as we know it.

Her possible allies include a local drug dealer (though that doesn’t do her justice) named Violet who seems to have a thing for Anika (Anika isn’t quite sure if it’s reciprocal) and a freelance spy named Roo whose island home sank beneath the rising sea waters. Her possible adversaries include a ruthlessly methodical yet sorrowful agent whose employers are never quite clear.

One of the pluses is that these characters aren’t the run-of-the-mill types; in a shrinking world it’s nice to see other nations and nationalities take some of the stage. Their differing backgrounds also offer up an unusual perspective on the Great Game of the 20^th and 21^st Centuries. At times this threatens to turn into speechifying or call too much overt attention to itself (such as a scene drawing attention to Anika’s sexuality which seemed way too forced), but these moments are rare and are more than outweighed by the positive impact of such diversity on story and character.

Specifically, Anika is a strong, determined character who simply refuses to bow out of the game no matter how many chances she gets to do so. And thanks to her background — both official and unofficial — her ability to manage events never feels implausible, as can happen at times when the ordinary person is thrust into action situations. (Violet on the other hand is a little less plausible, but not horribly so.) I actually liked Roo even better, with his relatively calm demeanor and conflicted reaction to events. Gabriel, the mysterious agent, is also painted in shades rather than broad strokes, taking on a much more intriguing role than generic bad cop.

The setting is quickly and economically conveyed, though it doesn’t lack for interest despite the relative brevity of description. Buckell leaves you wanting more: more on Thule, more on the Arctic change over time, more on what is happening with the superpowers and not-so-superpowers, more on what is happening down at the southern pole. The book has more than sufficient detail about this world; you don’t want more because the novel is lacking what it needs — you want more because it’s all so interesting and so well presented.

The action for the vast majority of Arctic Rising is fluidly and plausibly handled, especially in the first half, with a good sense of pace and sharp moments of sudden violence and longer periods of tension nicely broken up with quieter scenes of simple dialog between two or three of the characters. One reason for the fluidity is the sharp, clear prose throughout. The action spirals ever upward into higher and higher stakes the more Anika pursues things, finally reaching the aforementioned end-of-the-world scenario, which is an effectively compelling structure. The novel is weakest in its last 50 pages or so; the action feels less smoothly presented, less plausible, less clear. A few characters that appear at the end are a bit abruptly released onto the plot, and what eventually comes together doesn’t feel as well integrated as earlier plot points. A running subplot of possible romance between Anika and Violet also never felt real to me.

But despite some minor disappointment toward the end, and while I can’t say it pulled me too deeply in, Arctic Rising was an enjoyably quick read (I read it in a single sitting) that betters my (admittedly limited) past experience with the technothriller genre, thanks to the way it handles its topical themes of environmentalism, globalism, near-future economics, and Great Game politics and also thanks to its diverse cast. Recommended.