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The Mammoth Book of Mind Blowing SF
Many readers are attracted to science fiction for that singular moment when a story expands your imagination, enabling you to see something in a new light. Not all SF works this way! This volume collects the very best of it that does, with 25 of the finest examples of mind-expanding and awe-inspiring science fiction.The storylines range from a discovery on the Moon that opens up vistas across all time to a moment in which distances across the Earth suddenly increase and people vanish. These are tales to take you from the other side of now to the very end of time - from today's top-name contributors including Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Silverberg, Gregory Benford and Robert Reed.
546 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2009
36 people are currently reading
377 people want to read
About the author
Mike Ashley
278 books130 followersMichael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 19, 2019
The title attracted me to pick up this book, as one of my favorite aspects of Science Fiction is that sense of wonder. The publisher has an interesting series with other compilations such as The Mammoth Book of Pirates, The Mammoth Book of Fast Puzzles, and let’s not forget, the Mammoth Book of Limericks. In all seriousness, you just put Arthur C. Clark’s name on anything and I’ll buy it.
This is a collection of twenty-one science fictions short stores, hung together by a theme of positivity and wonder. This theme was central to the science fiction of the fifties and sixties, but we don’t see it as much these days with so much dystopian and horror. Wonder was what attracted me to sci-fi as a kid and I’m always mining for that vein, when I go book shopping.
The stories range from 1952 to 2009 and the book was published nine years ago in 2009. As with most anthologies, the quality is very uneven. There are some fantastic stories here, and some that I just didn’t connect with. In the interest of positivity, I’m just going to focus on my favorites:
“Out of the Sun” – Arthur C. Clarke – this is one that lives up to title, both mind blowing and hits that sense of wonder perfectly. A group of scientists are on Mercury, studying the sun, when a solar flare ejects more than just hydrogen gas. In just six or seven pages, Clarke pulls me in more than some full novels!
“The Hole in the Hole” – Terry Bisson – a fun story about a different way to get to the moon. Bisson makes a junk yard and finding the junk yard, somewhere in between Brooklyn and Queens feel like a magical journey. And what we find in this junk yard is wondrous indeed.
“The Width of the World” – Ian Watson – this highly imaginative story about a strange occurrence where reality stretches out. Somehow, it takes longer to get from point a to point b. Air travel is no longer possible and travel by car can take a very long time. Luckily for the inhabitants of this reality, it’s only a temporary event, because this extra distance between all things, really creates some problems!
“Our Lady of the Sauropods” – Robert Silverberg – This story is a bit like Jurassic Park, but in space! You should know that this story was published about ten years before Crichton published Jurassic Park. Our main character, is basically marooned on a station of resurrected dinosaurs. However, the ending is much darker than Crichton’s.
This compilation includes two novella length stories. The first is “Cascade Point” by Timothy Zahn at almost 20,000 words. It’s an intriguing story about a particular type of hyperspace travel that has some fascinating side effects. It’s an enjoyable story with mystery, suspense, and well-developed characters. The second novella is almost 25,000 words and takes us inside a moon of Uranus, where four explorer’s/adventures and their robot assistant have become trapped deep underground. “Into the Miranda Rift” by G. David Nordley is a suspenseful and harrowing tale that explores relationships as well as the bowels of the Miranda moon.
The collection finishes strong, with two very appropriate final short stories – both investigate the end of all things, or a new beginning. “The Rest is Speculation” by Eric Brown and “Vacuum States” by Geoffrey A. Landis are both perfect endings to this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this anthology. Not all the stories were “Mind Blowing” and in fact, not all the stories were good. Interestingly enough, I found the older the stories, the more I enjoyed it.
This is a collection of twenty-one science fictions short stores, hung together by a theme of positivity and wonder. This theme was central to the science fiction of the fifties and sixties, but we don’t see it as much these days with so much dystopian and horror. Wonder was what attracted me to sci-fi as a kid and I’m always mining for that vein, when I go book shopping.
The stories range from 1952 to 2009 and the book was published nine years ago in 2009. As with most anthologies, the quality is very uneven. There are some fantastic stories here, and some that I just didn’t connect with. In the interest of positivity, I’m just going to focus on my favorites:
“Out of the Sun” – Arthur C. Clarke – this is one that lives up to title, both mind blowing and hits that sense of wonder perfectly. A group of scientists are on Mercury, studying the sun, when a solar flare ejects more than just hydrogen gas. In just six or seven pages, Clarke pulls me in more than some full novels!
“The Hole in the Hole” – Terry Bisson – a fun story about a different way to get to the moon. Bisson makes a junk yard and finding the junk yard, somewhere in between Brooklyn and Queens feel like a magical journey. And what we find in this junk yard is wondrous indeed.
“The Width of the World” – Ian Watson – this highly imaginative story about a strange occurrence where reality stretches out. Somehow, it takes longer to get from point a to point b. Air travel is no longer possible and travel by car can take a very long time. Luckily for the inhabitants of this reality, it’s only a temporary event, because this extra distance between all things, really creates some problems!
“Our Lady of the Sauropods” – Robert Silverberg – This story is a bit like Jurassic Park, but in space! You should know that this story was published about ten years before Crichton published Jurassic Park. Our main character, is basically marooned on a station of resurrected dinosaurs. However, the ending is much darker than Crichton’s.
This compilation includes two novella length stories. The first is “Cascade Point” by Timothy Zahn at almost 20,000 words. It’s an intriguing story about a particular type of hyperspace travel that has some fascinating side effects. It’s an enjoyable story with mystery, suspense, and well-developed characters. The second novella is almost 25,000 words and takes us inside a moon of Uranus, where four explorer’s/adventures and their robot assistant have become trapped deep underground. “Into the Miranda Rift” by G. David Nordley is a suspenseful and harrowing tale that explores relationships as well as the bowels of the Miranda moon.
The collection finishes strong, with two very appropriate final short stories – both investigate the end of all things, or a new beginning. “The Rest is Speculation” by Eric Brown and “Vacuum States” by Geoffrey A. Landis are both perfect endings to this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this anthology. Not all the stories were “Mind Blowing” and in fact, not all the stories were good. Interestingly enough, I found the older the stories, the more I enjoyed it.
October 11, 2011
Out of the Sun by Arthur C. Clarke - 7/10
A nice simple short story looking at the possibility of sentient life within the sun. Short and sweet, but unfortunately average.
The Pevatron Rats by Stephen Baxter - 9/10
This is a good story about rats that appear inside a particle accelerator that show some very strange qualities that lead to an infestation the likes has not been seen before. I really enjoyed this one and like the twist in the story - a highlight of the collection.
The Edge of the Map by Ian Creasey - 8/10
A fairly simple story about the time when everywhere on Earth is mapped. In this we follow a reporter who just wants to record everything as she goes with a guide to the last possible place that will be mapped. Interesting twist and enjoyable.
Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn - 10/10
Definitely the highlight of the collection. This is a great story about a starship travelling to another planet by means of interstellar travel known as cascade points and what can happen when it goes wrong. The writing flows so easily off the page which makes one of the longest stories present one of the quickest reads. Excellent stuff.
A Dance to Strange Musics by Gregory Benford - 5/10
I just didn't enjoy this one at all about a crew that arrives at a new planet with some strange things happening on it. Meh.
Palindromic by Peter Crowther - 8/10
Nicely titled story this one. If you know what a palindrome is then you'll have a suspicion about the way the story is going, but it doesn't make this story about aliens landing on Earth any less enjoyable.
Castle in the Sky by Robert Reed - 9/10
An interesting story about a discovery on the moon and the implications of what it can do to the human race. I liked this, especially as it followed the logic of what emotional human beings would do in this given situation.
The Hole in the Hole by Terry Bisson - 8/10
The writing style is what I really enjoyed about this interesting wormhole idea. I really had to suspend my disbelief while reading this, but the characters shine through and carry the story very well.
Hotrider by Keith Brooke - 7/10
A tale of the best hotrider, Tin Man, when he gets told he no longer has the job of surfing the sulfur seas of Io - hotriding takes on a whole new meaning. Good, but not great.
Mother Grasshopper by Michael Swanwick - 3/10
Much more a fantasy type tale than sci-fi, even though it has sci-fi elements. Possibly one of the weakest in the collection and definitely shouldn't be here.
Waves and Smart Magma by Paul Di Filippo - 6/10
An okay story with some interesting characters and central idea. Worth reading, but not great.
The Black Hole Passes by John Varley - 7/10
A story that is as much about the characters as the situation and has some good interactions between the two. An old one, but still easily readable today.
The Peacock King by Ted White & Larry McCombs - 5/10
Another weak one in the collection and, unfortunately, rather forgettable.
Bridge by James Blish - 7/10
From what I can gather this is a story set early in a universe the author explored further and it does raise enough questions and gives plenty of sense-of-wonder and expectation. I may pick up these other stories based on this one.
Anhedonia by Adam Roberts - 8/10
One of the better stories in the collection and reminds me that I really should check out more of Roberts' stuff.
Tiger Burning by Alastair Reynolds - 9/10
I really enjoyed this one and found that the idea - dimensions that are linked to one another and each with different physical properties - raises many questions, the most important one addressed by the end.
The Width of the World by Ian Watson - 9/10
Another rather interesting story where the distances between places on Earth get larger and many people disappear. A good story with a good ending, well worth reading.
Our Lady of the Sauropods by Robert Silverberg - 7/10
Essentially Jurassic Park on a space station, but with a twist. An enjoyable tale but I couldn't stop thinking about the film, despite this story being written before it.
Into the Miranda Rift by G. David Nordley - /10
Another okay addition to the collection about vast, linked caverns under the surface of one of Uranus' moons and the trek that the characters face while trying to get out.
The Rest is Speculation by Eric Brown - 8/10
A far, far, far future story, and while enjoyable it doesn't have quite the sense of connection because of the setting. Still enjoyable though.
Vacuum States by Geoffrey A. Landis - 7/10
A very short story looking at zero-point energy and the first experiment to tap it. Not bad, but there is no resolution at all.
In conclusion, this collection has some very enjoyable stories while having weak ones too - very much like most collections I've read. However, my main gripe with this is the title - Mindblowing SF. I'm sorry, but it just isn't. Yes, some stories have great ideas and themes, but they're not mind blowing and don't often give the sense of wonder I expected. It's disappointing because of this, but put that out of your mind and you'll find some good stories in here, both old and new.
A nice simple short story looking at the possibility of sentient life within the sun. Short and sweet, but unfortunately average.
The Pevatron Rats by Stephen Baxter - 9/10
This is a good story about rats that appear inside a particle accelerator that show some very strange qualities that lead to an infestation the likes has not been seen before. I really enjoyed this one and like the twist in the story - a highlight of the collection.
The Edge of the Map by Ian Creasey - 8/10
A fairly simple story about the time when everywhere on Earth is mapped. In this we follow a reporter who just wants to record everything as she goes with a guide to the last possible place that will be mapped. Interesting twist and enjoyable.
Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn - 10/10
Definitely the highlight of the collection. This is a great story about a starship travelling to another planet by means of interstellar travel known as cascade points and what can happen when it goes wrong. The writing flows so easily off the page which makes one of the longest stories present one of the quickest reads. Excellent stuff.
A Dance to Strange Musics by Gregory Benford - 5/10
I just didn't enjoy this one at all about a crew that arrives at a new planet with some strange things happening on it. Meh.
Palindromic by Peter Crowther - 8/10
Nicely titled story this one. If you know what a palindrome is then you'll have a suspicion about the way the story is going, but it doesn't make this story about aliens landing on Earth any less enjoyable.
Castle in the Sky by Robert Reed - 9/10
An interesting story about a discovery on the moon and the implications of what it can do to the human race. I liked this, especially as it followed the logic of what emotional human beings would do in this given situation.
The Hole in the Hole by Terry Bisson - 8/10
The writing style is what I really enjoyed about this interesting wormhole idea. I really had to suspend my disbelief while reading this, but the characters shine through and carry the story very well.
Hotrider by Keith Brooke - 7/10
A tale of the best hotrider, Tin Man, when he gets told he no longer has the job of surfing the sulfur seas of Io - hotriding takes on a whole new meaning. Good, but not great.
Mother Grasshopper by Michael Swanwick - 3/10
Much more a fantasy type tale than sci-fi, even though it has sci-fi elements. Possibly one of the weakest in the collection and definitely shouldn't be here.
Waves and Smart Magma by Paul Di Filippo - 6/10
An okay story with some interesting characters and central idea. Worth reading, but not great.
The Black Hole Passes by John Varley - 7/10
A story that is as much about the characters as the situation and has some good interactions between the two. An old one, but still easily readable today.
The Peacock King by Ted White & Larry McCombs - 5/10
Another weak one in the collection and, unfortunately, rather forgettable.
Bridge by James Blish - 7/10
From what I can gather this is a story set early in a universe the author explored further and it does raise enough questions and gives plenty of sense-of-wonder and expectation. I may pick up these other stories based on this one.
Anhedonia by Adam Roberts - 8/10
One of the better stories in the collection and reminds me that I really should check out more of Roberts' stuff.
Tiger Burning by Alastair Reynolds - 9/10
I really enjoyed this one and found that the idea - dimensions that are linked to one another and each with different physical properties - raises many questions, the most important one addressed by the end.
The Width of the World by Ian Watson - 9/10
Another rather interesting story where the distances between places on Earth get larger and many people disappear. A good story with a good ending, well worth reading.
Our Lady of the Sauropods by Robert Silverberg - 7/10
Essentially Jurassic Park on a space station, but with a twist. An enjoyable tale but I couldn't stop thinking about the film, despite this story being written before it.
Into the Miranda Rift by G. David Nordley - /10
Another okay addition to the collection about vast, linked caverns under the surface of one of Uranus' moons and the trek that the characters face while trying to get out.
The Rest is Speculation by Eric Brown - 8/10
A far, far, far future story, and while enjoyable it doesn't have quite the sense of connection because of the setting. Still enjoyable though.
Vacuum States by Geoffrey A. Landis - 7/10
A very short story looking at zero-point energy and the first experiment to tap it. Not bad, but there is no resolution at all.
In conclusion, this collection has some very enjoyable stories while having weak ones too - very much like most collections I've read. However, my main gripe with this is the title - Mindblowing SF. I'm sorry, but it just isn't. Yes, some stories have great ideas and themes, but they're not mind blowing and don't often give the sense of wonder I expected. It's disappointing because of this, but put that out of your mind and you'll find some good stories in here, both old and new.
Read
January 5, 2020VERDICT: 2.51 stars. Some slightly mind-stretching stories; nothing mind-blowing. Mostly 2-3 stars. Worst = 1 star, best= 4.1.
August 15, 2017
Good for whiling away a leisurely 10 min here and there, but contains nothing that blows the mind, nor is even particularly memorable.. Bolded are ones I particularly enjoyed.
-----
Out of the sun - Arthur C Clark
Might be great, but I literally cannot recall it without having to reread it.
The Pevatron Rats - Stephen Baxter
A quick and absorbing read about time travel and its effect on rodent evolution.
Edge of the Map - Ian Creasy
In a world blanketed by nanocams, what space is left for the monstrous and strange? A journalist makes her last attempt of onsite reporting in the last Net-free corner of the world. Interesting premise, but ends with a sigh and a whimper.
Cascade Point - Timothy Zahn
Mm. Something about traveling through special kind of space, during which you could visibly see all the selves you could have been right now, had you made different choices.
A dance to strange music - Gregory Benford
This one I quite like. Earth scientists explore a planet where all life is energized by massive exchanges of information, and are daunted by the utterly alien qualities they found. Some interesting work-through of evolution here.. And a commentary on the beginning of our eventual complete immersion in virtual reality?
Palindromic - Peter Crowther
Friendly aliens who, albeit inadvertently, causes destruction as an accident causes them to live life in opposite direction to humans, who must decide on how to decide how to deal with them. The conveniently smart person was TOO smart. The gimmick was too obvious...
Castle in the sky - Robert Reed
Quite like this one. An indestructible mysterious discovery on the moon. What if we had viewing access to the 4th dimension? Conclusion, neither Gods nor aliens cared so much about humanity as humanity does itself.
The hole in the hole - Terry Bisson
A hole linking earth and the moon exists in an automobile junkyard. Kind of a shaggy dog story.
Hotrider - Keith Brooke
Generic. On some planet covered by lava, where cities float on lava, hotriders ride the lava on scooters. One hotrider faces the end of his career and acts out.
Mother grasshopper - Michael Swanwick
Really like this one. Almost a science fantasy, or a fable. Humanity lived on a planet the shape of a grasshopper, having conquered death. And yet. We are not meant to be deathless. The funny thing is, most other reviewers seem to hate this one. I can only say I'm more a fantasy reader, and the lyrical absurdity of this story is right up my alley.
Waves and smart magma - Paul Di Filippo
An adventure story with fantasylike beats. Humans having evolved beyond the physical plane, they left behind AI and genetically modified guardians to watch over Earth. A segment of this AI breaks off and becomes rogue, and a band of guardians go forth to destroy it.
The black hole passes - John Varley
Ugh. A man in a space station driven crazy by isolation, clinging to long distance (like, couple of lightdays away long distance) relationship with a strong woman. Then, a black hole sweeps through their area. Robinson Crusoe, in space. I kind of hated the whiney man, though.
The peacock king - Ted White & Larry McCombs
Hyperspace apparently feels like becoming schizophrenic. Two people with high ESP are trained via Buddhist philosophy and LSD to mentally prepare for the journey. A plotless story, full of shallow spirituality. What really bothered me is the depiction of zen Buddhism and how other subjects failed because they cannot deal with man's existential aloneness. Because that is precisely one ultimate point of zen, the understanding and acceptance of that aloneness. What a ridiculous cop-out to depict this couple as successfully navigated that truth bc they merged minds and know they are not actually alone. Truly, this could only have been written in the 70s.
Bridge - James Blish
Written in the 1950s, the vision of constructing a giant ship in the ice of Jupiter, of how space travel/living may be like, the equality between men and women space operators. Very advanced for its time, I think. The only sign of age is fear of the Soviets taking over the world, background of McCarthyism, and imminent decline of the West as a culture.
Anhedonia - Adam Roberts
I disagree vehemently with the premise of this story--the very scientific basis. It posits the universe as unbearably wondrous, enough to blow the overly-sensitive human mind. Remnant from days when we do not know enough about the brain. The brain cannot perceive what is beyond its capacity to conceive. Awareness of beauty is complex conglomeration of thought and emotion, and not a physical senses like hearing or sight. While we can see light so bright as to blind us, or encounter sound so loud as to deafen, we cannot be overawed by beauty beyond our cognitive abilities to encompass and appreciate. This scenario is, to me, viscerally incorrect, and I cannot suspend belief to appreciate the underlying idea.
Tiger burning - Alastair Reynolds
This one is weird, in a good way. I would like to read more stories based in this world, which has discovered endless dimensions and can travel through them via ever-degrading replication. An investigator travels to the farthest world (by this point, a limited personality-slice of the original human and not technically considered alive) to investigate the death of 1/2 of a husband-wife scientist team. The wife is researching a gigantic relic from long-vanished alien culture. This relic can calculate into the far future to stop a thing from happening at inception, and prevent that thing from ever happening throughout all instances of time and space.
Width of the world - Ian Watson
Space inexplicably widens, a 20 min journey home suddenly requires 50 min, and people begin disappearing. Like bees who swarm away to form another hive when the hive population reaches a certain point, the world shifts into some other, unseen dimension, taking with it about 10% of the population. Including the protagonist's wife. My critique is, how human- and earth-centric. Why should the entire world (universe?) split into 2 just because a tiny backwater planet on the ass-end of the Milk Way becomes a bit full of people?
Our Lady of the sauropods - Robert Silverberg
A scientist "ship"-wrecked on a space island with re-engineered dinosaurs in re-created natural climate. She goes native within 30 days and becomes connected to this primitive community. Apparently raw dinosaur meat is perfectly edible for humans and would not cause any diseases or even indigestion. Meh.
Into the Miranda rift - G. David Nordley
Miranda, a Uranus satellite, is riddled with holes. An expedition is trapped in these collapsing cave system as the holes begin to shrink in the midst of quakes. It shrinks some more, and they are alternatively trapped inside a cave like babies in a birth canal, or emerging suddenly into mega-caves with sharp drops that could kill even in a low-grav fall. A claustrophobic adventure story. Gripping, scientifically sound, with good psychology too. A highlight of this collection.
The rest is speculation - Eric Brown
Another science-fantasy. A man regenerated 2 billion years after the human species have died, along with 2 creatures from 2 later races, led by a "crab" through the dried sea bed with the sun so near it took up most of the sky. Written in mythic tones a la any-sufficiently-advanced-science-is-akin-to-magic; pseudo-religious; in fact, very similar to the Dying Earth, and literally concerns the death of Earth itself, universe tore open to reveal ....
Vacuum states - Geoffrey A. Landis
A gimmick choose-the-ending-of-the-universe story.
-----
Out of the sun - Arthur C Clark
Might be great, but I literally cannot recall it without having to reread it.
The Pevatron Rats - Stephen Baxter
A quick and absorbing read about time travel and its effect on rodent evolution.
Edge of the Map - Ian Creasy
In a world blanketed by nanocams, what space is left for the monstrous and strange? A journalist makes her last attempt of onsite reporting in the last Net-free corner of the world. Interesting premise, but ends with a sigh and a whimper.
Cascade Point - Timothy Zahn
Mm. Something about traveling through special kind of space, during which you could visibly see all the selves you could have been right now, had you made different choices.
A dance to strange music - Gregory Benford
This one I quite like. Earth scientists explore a planet where all life is energized by massive exchanges of information, and are daunted by the utterly alien qualities they found. Some interesting work-through of evolution here.. And a commentary on the beginning of our eventual complete immersion in virtual reality?
Palindromic - Peter Crowther
Friendly aliens who, albeit inadvertently, causes destruction as an accident causes them to live life in opposite direction to humans, who must decide on how to decide how to deal with them. The conveniently smart person was TOO smart. The gimmick was too obvious...
Castle in the sky - Robert Reed
Quite like this one. An indestructible mysterious discovery on the moon. What if we had viewing access to the 4th dimension? Conclusion, neither Gods nor aliens cared so much about humanity as humanity does itself.
The hole in the hole - Terry Bisson
A hole linking earth and the moon exists in an automobile junkyard. Kind of a shaggy dog story.
Hotrider - Keith Brooke
Generic. On some planet covered by lava, where cities float on lava, hotriders ride the lava on scooters. One hotrider faces the end of his career and acts out.
Mother grasshopper - Michael Swanwick
Really like this one. Almost a science fantasy, or a fable. Humanity lived on a planet the shape of a grasshopper, having conquered death. And yet. We are not meant to be deathless. The funny thing is, most other reviewers seem to hate this one. I can only say I'm more a fantasy reader, and the lyrical absurdity of this story is right up my alley.
Waves and smart magma - Paul Di Filippo
An adventure story with fantasylike beats. Humans having evolved beyond the physical plane, they left behind AI and genetically modified guardians to watch over Earth. A segment of this AI breaks off and becomes rogue, and a band of guardians go forth to destroy it.
The black hole passes - John Varley
Ugh. A man in a space station driven crazy by isolation, clinging to long distance (like, couple of lightdays away long distance) relationship with a strong woman. Then, a black hole sweeps through their area. Robinson Crusoe, in space. I kind of hated the whiney man, though.
The peacock king - Ted White & Larry McCombs
Hyperspace apparently feels like becoming schizophrenic. Two people with high ESP are trained via Buddhist philosophy and LSD to mentally prepare for the journey. A plotless story, full of shallow spirituality. What really bothered me is the depiction of zen Buddhism and how other subjects failed because they cannot deal with man's existential aloneness. Because that is precisely one ultimate point of zen, the understanding and acceptance of that aloneness. What a ridiculous cop-out to depict this couple as successfully navigated that truth bc they merged minds and know they are not actually alone. Truly, this could only have been written in the 70s.
Bridge - James Blish
Written in the 1950s, the vision of constructing a giant ship in the ice of Jupiter, of how space travel/living may be like, the equality between men and women space operators. Very advanced for its time, I think. The only sign of age is fear of the Soviets taking over the world, background of McCarthyism, and imminent decline of the West as a culture.
Anhedonia - Adam Roberts
I disagree vehemently with the premise of this story--the very scientific basis. It posits the universe as unbearably wondrous, enough to blow the overly-sensitive human mind. Remnant from days when we do not know enough about the brain. The brain cannot perceive what is beyond its capacity to conceive. Awareness of beauty is complex conglomeration of thought and emotion, and not a physical senses like hearing or sight. While we can see light so bright as to blind us, or encounter sound so loud as to deafen, we cannot be overawed by beauty beyond our cognitive abilities to encompass and appreciate. This scenario is, to me, viscerally incorrect, and I cannot suspend belief to appreciate the underlying idea.
Tiger burning - Alastair Reynolds
This one is weird, in a good way. I would like to read more stories based in this world, which has discovered endless dimensions and can travel through them via ever-degrading replication. An investigator travels to the farthest world (by this point, a limited personality-slice of the original human and not technically considered alive) to investigate the death of 1/2 of a husband-wife scientist team. The wife is researching a gigantic relic from long-vanished alien culture. This relic can calculate into the far future to stop a thing from happening at inception, and prevent that thing from ever happening throughout all instances of time and space.
Width of the world - Ian Watson
Space inexplicably widens, a 20 min journey home suddenly requires 50 min, and people begin disappearing. Like bees who swarm away to form another hive when the hive population reaches a certain point, the world shifts into some other, unseen dimension, taking with it about 10% of the population. Including the protagonist's wife. My critique is, how human- and earth-centric. Why should the entire world (universe?) split into 2 just because a tiny backwater planet on the ass-end of the Milk Way becomes a bit full of people?
Our Lady of the sauropods - Robert Silverberg
A scientist "ship"-wrecked on a space island with re-engineered dinosaurs in re-created natural climate. She goes native within 30 days and becomes connected to this primitive community. Apparently raw dinosaur meat is perfectly edible for humans and would not cause any diseases or even indigestion. Meh.
Into the Miranda rift - G. David Nordley
Miranda, a Uranus satellite, is riddled with holes. An expedition is trapped in these collapsing cave system as the holes begin to shrink in the midst of quakes. It shrinks some more, and they are alternatively trapped inside a cave like babies in a birth canal, or emerging suddenly into mega-caves with sharp drops that could kill even in a low-grav fall. A claustrophobic adventure story. Gripping, scientifically sound, with good psychology too. A highlight of this collection.
The rest is speculation - Eric Brown
Another science-fantasy. A man regenerated 2 billion years after the human species have died, along with 2 creatures from 2 later races, led by a "crab" through the dried sea bed with the sun so near it took up most of the sky. Written in mythic tones a la any-sufficiently-advanced-science-is-akin-to-magic; pseudo-religious; in fact, very similar to the Dying Earth, and literally concerns the death of Earth itself, universe tore open to reveal ....
Vacuum states - Geoffrey A. Landis
A gimmick choose-the-ending-of-the-universe story.
January 9, 2021
Not exactly mindblowing, but good— that would be my summing-up of this tome. Most of the stories are good, with several of them rather gimmicky and oversmart to achieve their ends. If you are tired with the politically correct varieties of SFF and would rather like to read some old-fashioned stuff, you might enjoy this more than me. Fortunately, even I found almost all of them to be readable. Some were rather trying to get over with. But there were some jewels which made the experience of reading them truly memorable. These were~
1. G. David Nordley's 'Into the Miranda Rift'
2. Alastair Reynold's 'Tiger Burning'
3. Peter Crowther's 'Palindromic'.
Overall, compared to the more theme-based and nuanced anthologies these days, this one was old-fashioned collection trying to impress us with its oeuvre.
As I said. It's good, but NOT mindblowing.
1. G. David Nordley's 'Into the Miranda Rift'
2. Alastair Reynold's 'Tiger Burning'
3. Peter Crowther's 'Palindromic'.
Overall, compared to the more theme-based and nuanced anthologies these days, this one was old-fashioned collection trying to impress us with its oeuvre.
As I said. It's good, but NOT mindblowing.
January 31, 2014
Does what it says on the tin.
The stories, a mix of old and new, are consistent with the theme of taking an angle that stretches the reader's mind a bit. No home runs, maybe, but mostly solid hits.
Some are just an author playing with an idea, but in a short story that's fine. Mostly established authors.
It was interesting to read the Blish story that gave us the spindizzy; I hadn't seen it before. And I particularly liked "The Rest Is Speculation" just for being different.
The stories, a mix of old and new, are consistent with the theme of taking an angle that stretches the reader's mind a bit. No home runs, maybe, but mostly solid hits.
Some are just an author playing with an idea, but in a short story that's fine. Mostly established authors.
It was interesting to read the Blish story that gave us the spindizzy; I hadn't seen it before. And I particularly liked "The Rest Is Speculation" just for being different.
August 13, 2020
There aren't any bad stories in this collection - in fact, there are some pretty good stories in this collection. But, fundamentally, the collection as a whole just doesn't stick in the mind. I read this over a period of just under 5 months, so some of them were read a while ago, but I cannot honestly say that I recall the details, plot, titles - or even author names - of any of the stories I read longer ago that this week.
September 12, 2010
While I did not feel that this book lived up to the claim of its title, it is a very interesting collection of modern SF stories. The variety of stories is good. My favorite by far is Eric Brown's "The Rest is Speculation," which reads like an up to date version of an Olaf Stapledon story, perhaps the highest compliment I can pay. This short story led me to read more of Eric Brown's work.
September 20, 2014
Some of these could genuinely be described as 'mind-blowing', but for the most part these stories were pretty average. And some were just down-right weird. But that's probably something you're going to get with any anthology, and there are certainly some good ideas within.
December 4, 2018
The worst part of this book? The title. How often does anything in media blow your mind? How often does a book? What are the chances that all of the 21 stories in this book would blow your mind?
The "mammoth" part of the title I cannot protest. Oh my god, this book was long.
While these stories may not have been mind blowing (not a single one of them), they were almost without exception very good. Maybe 4 of the 21 didn't work for me, which is a really, really good ratio. Many of them were downright great.
So many authors I hadn't previously read (but should have!). Arthur C. Clarke, Timothy Zahn, and Robert Silverberg were some of the biggest names. Only a couple stories were newly written for this book, the rest went back as old as 1958.
All of the stories were hard scifi -- all were about science and discoveries and such, which I completely enjoyed. After the 50% point I was chomping at the bit to move on to a different book, but since there were so many different stories I kept reading until the very end. And I'm glad I did, since they were all so good.
The "mammoth" part of the title I cannot protest. Oh my god, this book was long.
While these stories may not have been mind blowing (not a single one of them), they were almost without exception very good. Maybe 4 of the 21 didn't work for me, which is a really, really good ratio. Many of them were downright great.
So many authors I hadn't previously read (but should have!). Arthur C. Clarke, Timothy Zahn, and Robert Silverberg were some of the biggest names. Only a couple stories were newly written for this book, the rest went back as old as 1958.
All of the stories were hard scifi -- all were about science and discoveries and such, which I completely enjoyed. After the 50% point I was chomping at the bit to move on to a different book, but since there were so many different stories I kept reading until the very end. And I'm glad I did, since they were all so good.
September 2, 2019
I have such an issue with the guy who compiled this. I got it at a library book sale and did not notice before shoving it into my $5 bag that he included no female writers in this, nor did he bother including any in his other sci-fi anthology. I mean what a coincidence that the 21 finest stories of science fiction just happened to be written by men. And not only does he exclude women from this, he takes the time to patronizingly compile anthologies just featuring women writers. Separate but equal, I guess. Writing apparently means male writing and everything else needs to be hermetically sealed off in its own category where no one will pay any attention to it. Don't reward this with your money or reading.
April 5, 2022
RA
A varied collection brimming with bright ideas and styles, from humour (the lunar rover story) to profound (helping dinosaurs regain their rightful place). The expanding Earth was genius: with a correct use of the word "decimate". Only one story was interminable, like being on a never ending potholing expedition! There is a lot of fun here, even if "anhedonic" at times: still, you can have a lot of pleasure with a thumb-size story!
A varied collection brimming with bright ideas and styles, from humour (the lunar rover story) to profound (helping dinosaurs regain their rightful place). The expanding Earth was genius: with a correct use of the word "decimate". Only one story was interminable, like being on a never ending potholing expedition! There is a lot of fun here, even if "anhedonic" at times: still, you can have a lot of pleasure with a thumb-size story!
October 15, 2022
This one is full of delightfully bizarre stories! I bought it back in the day (like 6-7 years ago) and apparently never reviewed it on Goodreads... It's been too long for me to remember all the stories, but I do remember liking all of them. Plus there's some Timothy Zahn in here, and that's always good. (The story is called "Cascade Point," if you're wondering.)
December 27, 2017
I don't actually have the copy with me, to tell you all which of the stories I noted to investigate further. Suffice it to say that several were marked for future exploration either to the works in which they are set or for other works b their authors I have yet to read.
November 11, 2020
I liked this book of sci-fi short stories. There was a range of interesting stories with a couple of novellas thrown in too. Enjoyed the read.
January 3, 2014
I do realize that the word "mindblowing" in the title has a lot to do with marketing, but I was very disappointed when I realized it had much more to do with marketing than I assumed. The book opens up with a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, "Out of the Sun". It is a fairly good story and it made me think the book is going in the right direction.
Truth is, it's all just downhill from there on, with a couple of exceptions, such as "The Hole in the Hole" by Terry Bisson, which is a nice and relaxing read, but hardly mindblowing; and "The Black Hole passes" by John Varley, which is more of a love story with elements of SF, than SF with elements of a love story. The high point of the book, in my opinion, is "Cascade Point" by Timothy Zahn, a story in which the protagonist is followed on a journey through alternate realities that has gone terribly wrong, then backtracks on a series of educated guesses, all the while being tormented by the event that takes place during each of the jumps through the realities only to realize in the end that what he sees - the results of the numerous alternative choices he could have made in the past - should not torment him at all.
Then again, there are stories in this book with an underlying man-hating premise, which spoils any story, however good the ideas. Two most prominent of these are "Anhedonia" by Adam Roberts and "Our Lady of the Sauropods" by Robert Silverberg, one suggesting that our capacity for experiencing pleasure only gets in the way of our intellectual abilities (more precisely in space exploration), and the other suggesting that our intellectual abilities are hampering what is deemed as more important by the author - the feeling of togetherness and belonging.
Then again there are stories which just seem too plain silly to have ever made it to paper, let alone book form. Such are "The Pevatron Rats" by Stephen Baxter, featuring mutant rats that can travel through time and multiply uncontrollably; "The Edge of the Map" by Ian Ceasey, with the idea of microscopic cameras filming at all times every square inch of the Earth - and I mean EVERY square inch; "A Dance to Strange Musics" by Gregory Benford, teaching us that some places are better left unexplored; "Mother Grasshopper" by Michael Swanwick, featuring a grasshopper-shaped planet where death walks in flesh, etc.
The book earns its second star only on the merit of containing the stories I mentioned first. If they were mindblowing like the title promises, I might have given it the third star. The most you can expect from this book are some original ideas, but nothing more.
Truth is, it's all just downhill from there on, with a couple of exceptions, such as "The Hole in the Hole" by Terry Bisson, which is a nice and relaxing read, but hardly mindblowing; and "The Black Hole passes" by John Varley, which is more of a love story with elements of SF, than SF with elements of a love story. The high point of the book, in my opinion, is "Cascade Point" by Timothy Zahn, a story in which the protagonist is followed on a journey through alternate realities that has gone terribly wrong, then backtracks on a series of educated guesses, all the while being tormented by the event that takes place during each of the jumps through the realities only to realize in the end that what he sees - the results of the numerous alternative choices he could have made in the past - should not torment him at all.
Then again, there are stories in this book with an underlying man-hating premise, which spoils any story, however good the ideas. Two most prominent of these are "Anhedonia" by Adam Roberts and "Our Lady of the Sauropods" by Robert Silverberg, one suggesting that our capacity for experiencing pleasure only gets in the way of our intellectual abilities (more precisely in space exploration), and the other suggesting that our intellectual abilities are hampering what is deemed as more important by the author - the feeling of togetherness and belonging.
Then again there are stories which just seem too plain silly to have ever made it to paper, let alone book form. Such are "The Pevatron Rats" by Stephen Baxter, featuring mutant rats that can travel through time and multiply uncontrollably; "The Edge of the Map" by Ian Ceasey, with the idea of microscopic cameras filming at all times every square inch of the Earth - and I mean EVERY square inch; "A Dance to Strange Musics" by Gregory Benford, teaching us that some places are better left unexplored; "Mother Grasshopper" by Michael Swanwick, featuring a grasshopper-shaped planet where death walks in flesh, etc.
The book earns its second star only on the merit of containing the stories I mentioned first. If they were mindblowing like the title promises, I might have given it the third star. The most you can expect from this book are some original ideas, but nothing more.
November 16, 2012
Definitely not mind-blowing, that's for sure. The stories in here are all pretty good, but, for the most part, don't really rise above the pack in terms of wonder or storytelling or anything else. The first two stories, "Out of the Sun" and "The Pevatron Rats", are a strong start, and "Cascade Point" is a good solid novella. "Castle in the Sky," "The Hole in the Hole," "Mother Grasshopper," "The Black Hole Passes," and "The Width of the World" are all above-average, with ncie little twists on reality and/or well-rounded imaginary worlds. However, the rest of the stories fail to achieve that level - they're competent, but not exciting. The second half of the book, in particular, suffers from an over-abundance of merely average stories.
September 2, 2016
Like many anthologies, it's hard to review this one as a whole. Some of the stories are excellent, some are average. I didn't think any were terrible. My favorites were the stories by Clarke, Baxter, Zahn, Crowther, Swanwick, Reynolds, Silverberg, and Brown. I thought the Eric Brown story was most indicative of the sense of wonder promised by the title of the anthology. It seems that the editor agreed since the cover art was inspired by that story. I read bits and pieces of this over time, which often works best for me with anthologies. Overall, there's some great stuff here that's worth the effort. My biggest criticism is that it's a shame that in an anthology with so many authors there is not a single woman author.
Read
August 11, 2011Most of the stories here weren't exactly mindblowing. Robert Reed's effort,Castle In the Sky was the strongest one.Michael Swanwyck's Mother Grasshopper was also well put together. The Peacock King ,Anhedonia,The Width of the World and Our Lady of the Sauropods both had interesting premises as well but the other stories seemed quite bland.
September 26, 2011
This is an above average anthology of SF stories. “The Rest Is Speculation” is a special story that stays with you. “Bridge”, a James Blish story offers a nice insight into the concerns and anxieties of the early '50s. “Anhedonia” speculates on a different way to reach the stars. Overall, it's a nice mix of old and new, long and short. For SF fans its worth picking up.
September 8, 2016
Above average:
Baxter: "The Pevatron Rats"
Watson: "The Width of the World"
Silverberg: "Our Lasy of the Sauropods"
Below Average:
Benford: "A Dance to Strange Musics"
Swanwick: "Mother Grasshopper"
Blish: "Bridge"
Absolutely Horrendous:
White & McCombs: "The Peacock King"
Still Have No Idea How To Rate It:
Roberts: "Anhedonia"
Average:
Everything else
Baxter: "The Pevatron Rats"
Watson: "The Width of the World"
Silverberg: "Our Lasy of the Sauropods"
Below Average:
Benford: "A Dance to Strange Musics"
Swanwick: "Mother Grasshopper"
Blish: "Bridge"
Absolutely Horrendous:
White & McCombs: "The Peacock King"
Still Have No Idea How To Rate It:
Roberts: "Anhedonia"
Average:
Everything else
August 3, 2014
An excellent anthology which delivers what it says on the cover. Good value for money. Recommended. For a detailed, review, please visit my blog here: http://tesatorul.blogspot.ro/2014/08/....
March 27, 2011
I don't know how much it blew my mind, but it was pretty damned good.
July 29, 2011
Mostly let's solve a problem with clever technology stories, which don't do it for me, but I loved Our Lady of the Sauropods by Robert Silverberg and Tiger Burning by Alistair Reynolds.
August 8, 2011
Really enjoyed Tiger Burning, Peacock King, Mother Grasshopper, The Width of the World, & Into the Miranda Rift.
February 16, 2013
Great 'hard' sf stories by the masters- Varley, Blish...an others.
June 18, 2014
Not every story is great but it was certainly broad with lots of interesting subjects. A solid handful of very strong stories as well. Worth dipping in and out of.
March 13, 2023
3.4 stars!
January 1, 2015
Some epic tales and intriguing stories. Easily read and lots of fun.
April 10, 2015
Loved the stories. Have read it through twice.
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