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Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild Anthologies #8
Winds of Change
From the first roiling dust clouds, "Winds of Change" draws the reader in with tales of darkness and horror, of wonder and hope. Twenty four authors demonstrate the vitality and diversity of the current Australian speculative fiction scene.
232 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 18, 2012
Another good anthology from CSFG.
Full Disclosure: I was involved with the preparation of this anthology as slush wrangler and proofreader. I am also a member of the CSFG and had a short story published in the previous anthology.
I really like these broad-themed, title-based anthologies because it gives the authors free reign to explore a whole range of possibilities. Having said that, there are quite a few of the stories that have an Australian flavour, which I find to my taste.
Because of potential conflict of interest, I won't go into detail about specific authors and stories here except to say, vale James Goodrum.
Jimmy was the author of 'Watcher's Pool' and was tragically taken from us recently in a swimming accident. You will be missed.
Full Disclosure: I was involved with the preparation of this anthology as slush wrangler and proofreader. I am also a member of the CSFG and had a short story published in the previous anthology.
I really like these broad-themed, title-based anthologies because it gives the authors free reign to explore a whole range of possibilities. Having said that, there are quite a few of the stories that have an Australian flavour, which I find to my taste.
Because of potential conflict of interest, I won't go into detail about specific authors and stories here except to say, vale James Goodrum.
Jimmy was the author of 'Watcher's Pool' and was tragically taken from us recently in a swimming accident. You will be missed.
December 5, 2011
I love short stories that chronicle change, whether it’s personal change or shifts in global or galactic balance. So I was very excited to read "Winds of Change"… and it didn’t disappoint.
Starting with the lyrical writing of Jason Nahrung in his restless story "Wraiths", "Winds of Change" took me on a journey through time and space to visit diverse worlds, experience the universe through very different eyes, and shudder at the changes these twenty-four amazing authors envisaged.
My favourite stories were "Time Capsule" by Tsana Dolichva, about an historian with nothing to loose; "Babel" by Robin Shortt, which hummed a unspoken truth to me; "Time Spent" by David Coleman, whose incarcerated utility android has one last card to play; and "Children of the Ashes" by Greg Mellor, whose love story reached supernova proportions.
Admittedly, there were a handful stories in here whose storylines seemed a little tired to me, too done-before. But the imaginative flow that saturated the rest more than made up for those tiny few. And, after attending the launch of "Winds of Change" at this year’s Conflux 7 in Canberra, I was amazed at how different readers rated the same stories. It just goes to show – a good anthology needs variety to satisfy its readers.
I only hope that most readers like the story "Trigger" on page 39, written by me(!) – one captain’s obsession with a girl leads to intergalactic changes that endanger more than just his reputation… if only he knew what he was doing. Ooooo!
Starting with the lyrical writing of Jason Nahrung in his restless story "Wraiths", "Winds of Change" took me on a journey through time and space to visit diverse worlds, experience the universe through very different eyes, and shudder at the changes these twenty-four amazing authors envisaged.
My favourite stories were "Time Capsule" by Tsana Dolichva, about an historian with nothing to loose; "Babel" by Robin Shortt, which hummed a unspoken truth to me; "Time Spent" by David Coleman, whose incarcerated utility android has one last card to play; and "Children of the Ashes" by Greg Mellor, whose love story reached supernova proportions.
Admittedly, there were a handful stories in here whose storylines seemed a little tired to me, too done-before. But the imaginative flow that saturated the rest more than made up for those tiny few. And, after attending the launch of "Winds of Change" at this year’s Conflux 7 in Canberra, I was amazed at how different readers rated the same stories. It just goes to show – a good anthology needs variety to satisfy its readers.
I only hope that most readers like the story "Trigger" on page 39, written by me(!) – one captain’s obsession with a girl leads to intergalactic changes that endanger more than just his reputation… if only he knew what he was doing. Ooooo!
January 8, 2012
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
August 6, 2016
This is a great collection of speculative fiction short stories. It amazed me how some of the authors could transport me so quickly to another place, tell a story and give a satisfying sense of completion in so few pages.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews