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BEYOND HUMAN: TALES OF THE NEW US
They may soon live among cyborgs, genetically enhanced humans, interspecies hybrids, androids, artificial intelligences, aliens in disguise. How will they feel and act toward their human siblings? How will humans react to them? And how will all our lives change as a result?
These questions are answered in Beyond Tales of the New Us, the second anthology from Lower Deck Press. Featuring 22 short stories produced by the Crew’s Quarters writing group, this collection highlights the perspectives and experiences of writers from all walks of life and from all across the globe. What awaits at the intersection of the strange and the familiar is … Beyond Human.
Including short stories from Briana Bedore, Emma Berglund, Jason Clor, A. Raven Demory, Greg Derrickson, Duncan Ellis, Amber Forbes, Vera M. Key, Jim W. Lai, Tiffanie LaMonte, A. L. MacDonald, Ramona Marr, Donn Martyn, Marten Norr, B. K. Ntouris, Rohan O’Duill, Anna Otto, RLNPK, Rachel A. Rosen, S. A. Sackinger, Wendy Wee, and Ben Winter.
Edited by Emma Berglund, Jason Clor, Vera M. Key and Rohan O’Duill.
All proceeds from the sale of this anthology go to The World Literacy Foundation.
These questions are answered in Beyond Tales of the New Us, the second anthology from Lower Deck Press. Featuring 22 short stories produced by the Crew’s Quarters writing group, this collection highlights the perspectives and experiences of writers from all walks of life and from all across the globe. What awaits at the intersection of the strange and the familiar is … Beyond Human.
Including short stories from Briana Bedore, Emma Berglund, Jason Clor, A. Raven Demory, Greg Derrickson, Duncan Ellis, Amber Forbes, Vera M. Key, Jim W. Lai, Tiffanie LaMonte, A. L. MacDonald, Ramona Marr, Donn Martyn, Marten Norr, B. K. Ntouris, Rohan O’Duill, Anna Otto, RLNPK, Rachel A. Rosen, S. A. Sackinger, Wendy Wee, and Ben Winter.
Edited by Emma Berglund, Jason Clor, Vera M. Key and Rohan O’Duill.
All proceeds from the sale of this anthology go to The World Literacy Foundation.
501 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 25, 2023
I read Lower Deck Press's 'Into the Unknown' last year, and was excited to see they had a new anthology! Some new writers; some familiar ones--plenty of quality riffing on what exactly IS it that makes us human--or close enough.
Some standout faves:
SolidAIrity (When creative ''content'' making AI go on a strike...) by Rachel A. Rosen
The Perfect Daughter (Dani had never felt at home in her family. And when the girl she was cloned from comes home one day, she finally understands why...) by Ramona Marr
In Our Midst (They're waiting, when she gets infected...) by Emma Berglund
The Last Part (Are her stranger and stranger experiences mere coincidences as she goes to get her Last Part?) by Ben Winter
Transmogrification (Convicts aren't just being sent to synch with monsters to fight even bigger monsters, they're----) by Marten Norr
A Work in Progress (A psychiatrist whose own life is falling apart, visits his own AI psychiatrist...) by Anna Otto
Host (The only thing that can save Ciara's brother's life is the last thing he wants...) by Rohan O'Duill
Street Wise (Maybe the only way to end human misery is to have us get controlled by symbiotes.) by S. A. Sackinger
There were other stories that I also enjoyed, these were merely the ones I found particularly memorable. There were also a few stories I skipped, as they could not hold my attention--that's what I love about anthologies though. If you're not feeling it, you move on to the next story. (And I should say, it was not the quality of writing that made me move on; there are simply some sci-fi topics that categorically bore me from the get-go). Many interesting little worlds and scenarios examined here, from a wide variety of perspectives--pick this up if you enjoy sci-fi in real time, dissecting some of the many issues coming up in our day to day.
Some standout faves:
SolidAIrity (When creative ''content'' making AI go on a strike...) by Rachel A. Rosen
The Perfect Daughter (Dani had never felt at home in her family. And when the girl she was cloned from comes home one day, she finally understands why...) by Ramona Marr
In Our Midst (They're waiting, when she gets infected...) by Emma Berglund
The Last Part (Are her stranger and stranger experiences mere coincidences as she goes to get her Last Part?) by Ben Winter
Transmogrification (Convicts aren't just being sent to synch with monsters to fight even bigger monsters, they're----) by Marten Norr
A Work in Progress (A psychiatrist whose own life is falling apart, visits his own AI psychiatrist...) by Anna Otto
Host (The only thing that can save Ciara's brother's life is the last thing he wants...) by Rohan O'Duill
Street Wise (Maybe the only way to end human misery is to have us get controlled by symbiotes.) by S. A. Sackinger
There were other stories that I also enjoyed, these were merely the ones I found particularly memorable. There were also a few stories I skipped, as they could not hold my attention--that's what I love about anthologies though. If you're not feeling it, you move on to the next story. (And I should say, it was not the quality of writing that made me move on; there are simply some sci-fi topics that categorically bore me from the get-go). Many interesting little worlds and scenarios examined here, from a wide variety of perspectives--pick this up if you enjoy sci-fi in real time, dissecting some of the many issues coming up in our day to day.
August 3, 2023
The title says it all: this science fiction anthology gives us 22 stories orbiting the same theme: What may come next in our species’s headlong rush towards self-directed (or self-inflicted) evolution?
My favourite entries include pieces by Rachel A. Rosen, Ramona Marr, Emma Berglund, Marten Norr, RLNPK, Anna Otto, and Briana Bedore.
I review the book at greater length on Medium (un-paywalled link).
My favourite entries include pieces by Rachel A. Rosen, Ramona Marr, Emma Berglund, Marten Norr, RLNPK, Anna Otto, and Briana Bedore.
I review the book at greater length on Medium (un-paywalled link).
January 3, 2024
A worthy contender for the title of "Most depressing book ever written."
Each story depicts a world more dismal than the last. I kept reading in hopes of finding just one that posited at least a glimmer of optimism or a suggestion that AI could have SOME possible benefit to the human condition. Nope. The future is bleak indeed if it's anything like that described in these stories.
That said, the writing, apart from a few in which the author uses plural pronouns when referring to an individual, is generally decent and I recall finding but a single typo in the whole book. Also, the stories are imaginative despite the nearly unrelenting misery they envision. So, if you like being depressed, you might enjoy this book.
Each story depicts a world more dismal than the last. I kept reading in hopes of finding just one that posited at least a glimmer of optimism or a suggestion that AI could have SOME possible benefit to the human condition. Nope. The future is bleak indeed if it's anything like that described in these stories.
That said, the writing, apart from a few in which the author uses plural pronouns when referring to an individual, is generally decent and I recall finding but a single typo in the whole book. Also, the stories are imaginative despite the nearly unrelenting misery they envision. So, if you like being depressed, you might enjoy this book.
May 23, 2023
Lower Decks Press has done it again, producing another anthology of undeniably modern short stories that reads like Golden Age science fiction. I grew up reading ‘Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine’, and these stories feel as familiar as rereading those yellowing pages. But between the alien battles and unintended consequences of cybernetic technology, the themes of this anthology belong firmly in 2023.
We live in a world where late-stage capitalism is turning every aspect of our lives into a commodity to be optimised, not for ourselves, but for our employers. Workplaces put on wellness seminars because mentally and physically healthy employees work harder. In Beyond Human, undertested technology is used to maximise workers’ productivity, from those in office jobs to working personal protection. Consent becomes an illusion, if the truth of what you are consenting to is withheld, or if the consequences for failing to abandon your bodily autonomy are more severe than the risk.
I also see a trans reading in many of the stories. Society dictates what transformations must be imposed on us, but also which we are denied. Parents, religious leaders, and governments refuse to allow some people to replace broken body parts with cybernetics, or to upload their minds to the cloud. In a world where trans people are all-too-often denied the agency to modify their bodies, science fiction is the perfect vehicle to show the injustice in these stories.
In some ways, the most hopeful stories in this anthology are those with the reverse message. Instead of humans becoming alien to themselves, we learn to see the humanity in that which is unlike us. Whether it is the space dinosaur trying to save our doomed planet or the aliens who cannot survive without merging with us, Beyond Human asks us to see the other in a new, kinder light.
We live in a world where late-stage capitalism is turning every aspect of our lives into a commodity to be optimised, not for ourselves, but for our employers. Workplaces put on wellness seminars because mentally and physically healthy employees work harder. In Beyond Human, undertested technology is used to maximise workers’ productivity, from those in office jobs to working personal protection. Consent becomes an illusion, if the truth of what you are consenting to is withheld, or if the consequences for failing to abandon your bodily autonomy are more severe than the risk.
I also see a trans reading in many of the stories. Society dictates what transformations must be imposed on us, but also which we are denied. Parents, religious leaders, and governments refuse to allow some people to replace broken body parts with cybernetics, or to upload their minds to the cloud. In a world where trans people are all-too-often denied the agency to modify their bodies, science fiction is the perfect vehicle to show the injustice in these stories.
In some ways, the most hopeful stories in this anthology are those with the reverse message. Instead of humans becoming alien to themselves, we learn to see the humanity in that which is unlike us. Whether it is the space dinosaur trying to save our doomed planet or the aliens who cannot survive without merging with us, Beyond Human asks us to see the other in a new, kinder light.
July 24, 2023
Beyond Human is an excellent anthology that explores the rise of AI, what it means for humanity, and what does it even mean to be human. I enjoyed all 22 stories within, and they all had their own interesting take on this topic. I'm looking forward to reading more from Lower Decks Press and all the authors who contributed.
April 30, 2024
Basically a good collection worth the read.
BEYOND HUMAN: TALES OF THE NEW US (Lower Decks Press Anthologies Book 2)
22 short stories + excellent preface produced by the Crew’s Quarters writing group.
Basically a good collection worth the read. Esp Avalanche 1.2 by T. E. (Tiffanie) LaMonte, and Reiko by Greg Derrickson. Plus excellent Preface by Jason Clor.
BEYOND HUMAN: TALES OF THE NEW US (Lower Decks Press Anthologies Book 2)
22 short stories + excellent preface produced by the Crew’s Quarters writing group.
Basically a good collection worth the read. Esp Avalanche 1.2 by T. E. (Tiffanie) LaMonte, and Reiko by Greg Derrickson. Plus excellent Preface by Jason Clor.
June 30, 2023
I would buy it just for the first short story.
SolidAIrity by Rachel Rosen
Other stories are fun too.
SolidAIrity by Rachel Rosen
Other stories are fun too.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews