Isaac's Universe Volume Two: Phases In Chaos

Isaac's Universe #2

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Isaac Asimov (Introduction/Contributor), Allen M. Steele (Contributor)

Contents:
Introduction: Concerning Tolkien - Isaac Asimov
Mecca - Allen Steele
Thirty Pieces - Harry Turtledove
Phases in Chaos - Hal Clement
The Soul of Truth - Karen Haber
Keeping the Faith - Lawrence Watt-Evans
Winging It - Janet Kagan
The Reinvention of War - George Alec Effinger
Woodcraft - Poul Anderson

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

273 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of three volumes of original short fiction that Greenberg edited that were set in a fictional construct of Asimov that were written by other well-known sf authors of the day. I wasn't much impressed by the first volume but picked this one up because it had a story by Allen Steele. Other than it, I remember enjoying the stories from George Alec Effinger and Hal Clement, disliking the ones by Poul Anderson and Harry Turtledove, and I'm afraid that I don't remember the other three at all. I believe the authors would have all been better off writing their own stories without the imposed infrastructure.

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a good collection of stories. I'd probably give this 3.5 stars if I could. This was the second time I've read it, though I didn't really remember any of the stories from when I read it 20 years ago. The Soul of Truth was probably the weakest of the stories. Winging It was probably the strongest, it certainly evoked the strongest emotional response from me. Mecca probably had the best storyline concept, I just didn't care for the style of it.

Mecca by Allen Steele is told in an interview style. It's told by the sole survivor of a pirate crew whose ship was shot down and is the story of how the survivors were forced to labor to repair the damage they had done. Interesting story, though the interview style was not as engaging as some other forms of storytelling.

Phases In Chaos by Hal Clement was a good, longer short story revolving around the need for disparate species to work together in order to survive while exploring dangerous territory. Though mistrustful of each other, they do end up with some mutual respect for each other.

The Soul of Truth by Karen Haber was a story that I found a little too simplified that revolved around malfunctioning technology. It's basically just another rehashing of the Frankenstein Complex.

Keep The Faith by Lawrence Watt-Evans was a cute little story about the cultural difference between two of the species. I found it rather humorous.

Winging It by Janet Kagen made me misty eyed as well as had me laughing. It's a story about a disabled Crotonite and a disabled human pushing each other out of their comfort zone. Somehow, I always feel so mournful whenever I read about the mutilations the Crotonites force on their 'ambassadors'. It's like they've been castrated.

The Reinvention of War by George Alec Effinger could probably be better titled Perversions. A Naxian makes claim to be a god on a world of primitive people and teaches them to wage war. A crotonite shows up and takes claims to be another god which the naxian is battling.

Woodcraft by Poul Anderson is the followup to his piece in volume one The Burning Sky. Larise and Copperhue are back, several decades later as the naxians are settling on New Halla. It's another rescue story, this time with a very ecocentric theme. Not a bad story, though a little preachy.