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Tesseracts Anthology #3
Tesseracts 3
In this third anthology of modern Canadian speculative fiction, explore new worlds of alternate realities in time and space by new and established Canadian authors.
Travel to a planet where the five senses are not good enough ... watch a baseball game on Mars ... fly with Garuda, the king of birds, to see what kind of human folly he can find to amuse the gods ... visit a laundromat that can take you anywhere in space and time ... stroll through a holograph of the last forest on earth ... see if time will end with a jolt or a gradual slide.
Tesseracts3 includes works from authors Dave Duncan, Charles de Lint, Hugo and Nebula award winner William Gibson, and Margaret Atwood, winner of the Giller Prize, the Governor Generals Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction.
Travel to a planet where the five senses are not good enough ... watch a baseball game on Mars ... fly with Garuda, the king of birds, to see what kind of human folly he can find to amuse the gods ... visit a laundromat that can take you anywhere in space and time ... stroll through a holograph of the last forest on earth ... see if time will end with a jolt or a gradual slide.
Tesseracts3 includes works from authors Dave Duncan, Charles de Lint, Hugo and Nebula award winner William Gibson, and Margaret Atwood, winner of the Giller Prize, the Governor Generals Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction.
437 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1990
60 people want to read
About the author
Candas Jane Dorsey
45 books49 followersCandas Jane Dorsey (born November 16, 1952) is a Canadian poet and science fiction novelist.
Born and still living in Edmonton, Alberta, Dorsey became a writer from an early age, and a freelance writer since 1980. She writes across genre boundaries, writing poetry, fiction, mainstream and speculative, short and long form, arts journalism and arts advocacy. Dorsey has also written television and stage scripts, magazine and newspaper articles, and reviews.
Dorsey currently teaches, does workshops and readings. She has served on the executive board of the Writers' Guild of Alberta and is a founder of SF Canada. In 1988, Dorsey received the Aurora, Canadian science fiction and fantasy award.
Dorsey was editor-in-chief of The Books Collective (River, Slipstream and Tesseract Books) from 1992 through 2005.
- Source: Wikipedia
Born and still living in Edmonton, Alberta, Dorsey became a writer from an early age, and a freelance writer since 1980. She writes across genre boundaries, writing poetry, fiction, mainstream and speculative, short and long form, arts journalism and arts advocacy. Dorsey has also written television and stage scripts, magazine and newspaper articles, and reviews.
Dorsey currently teaches, does workshops and readings. She has served on the executive board of the Writers' Guild of Alberta and is a founder of SF Canada. In 1988, Dorsey received the Aurora, Canadian science fiction and fantasy award.
Dorsey was editor-in-chief of The Books Collective (River, Slipstream and Tesseract Books) from 1992 through 2005.
- Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 5, 2024
This is the third of a long-running series of English language anthologies of science fiction by Canadian authors, with the French writers in translation. Some of the stories and poems are reprinted from other sources, and some are original to this publication. Almost all were written in the late 1980s. Many of these are very short (34 stories in 438 pages), and so I am only posting individual comments on the longer ones. (>20 pages). I was disappointed by some of the stories that seemed like episodes from a novel, rather than stories unto themselves. There might be interesting development of a character or situation, but in the end, the story would merely portend further plot turns to come. However, one story stood out as particularly excellent - A Niche, by Peter Watts.
Despite what editor Candas Jane Dorsey says in her Afterward about “What for…” instead of “What if…”, I did not see a uniquely Canadian voice in the writing collected here – more an anthology of SF that happens to be by Canadian writers. (It is possible, that being from the Upper Midwest myself, I’m just not seeing the distinction.) In terms of quality, I found it to be made up of mostly reasonably good but not outstanding shorter 1980s SF works, by writers less known outside their geographic region of the SF world.
The Gift, by Pat Forde. A sentimental story of a dying physicist who finds inspiration in a tutored student. A character story with little actual speculative content. First published in Analog December 1987. Sturgeon Award honorable mention. My Rating 2/5.
Breaking Ball, by Michael Skeet. Baseball on Mars is described as emblematic of all the changes that the human settlers on Mars are making. The UN sends an older brother to his childhood farm home on Mars, now run by his younger brother, to convince him that Martian independence is unrealistic. Original to this anthology. My Rating 3/5.
Cogito, by Elisabeth Vonarburg, translated by Jane Brierly. The human colony on Cybland was established to free its inhabitants to enhance all sensory inputs to their bodies. The emphasis in the story is on explaining the creatively imagined sensory perceptions of the Cyblanders, more than on the story of little Nathany Berkeley. First published in Imagine #46. Winner of 1990 Aurora Award, Short-Form French Language. My Rating 4/5.
Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair, by Charles de Lint. Magic is real in post-1960s San Francisco, when the consensual reality recognizes it, at least according to a book being read by Ellen Brady. There are numerous characters, but the primary plot that emerges involves Ellen and a young homeless man named Reece that she cares for. First published in Asimov’s November 1987. My Rating 3/5.
A Niche, by Peter Watts. Three kilometers under the sea, two engineers with surgically modified bodies prepare a power station built on a mid-ocean rift for the start of operations. But the deep sea is mysterious, filled with strange forms of life, and both kinds of pressure may be more than their personalities can withstand. This anthology was the first publication of Peter Watts’ first story, which was later expanded into his first novel, Starfish, and which grew into a series known as Rifters. Winner of 1992 Aurora Award, Short-Form English Language. My Rating 5/5.
Under Another Moon, by Dave Duncan. A straight-forward medieval story of a king’s betrayal of his loyal earl grows more complex with the gradual revelation of the unexpected sexual dimorphism of the humans of the story. It seems biologically infeasible, but then so do LeGuin’s Gethenians, of which this is perhaps imitative. Original to this anthology. My Rating 3/5.
Proscripts of Gehenna, by Jean-Louis Trudel, translated by John Greene. In the city of Jigansk on the planet of Gehenna, an Imperial Civil Servant named Francesco is attacked by a group of native Gehennite youths because he accidentally interfered with their persecution of a Wolfie. In the story, Francesco learns more about the Wolfies. The First Published in Solaris #71, 1987. My Rating 3/5.
Despite what editor Candas Jane Dorsey says in her Afterward about “What for…” instead of “What if…”, I did not see a uniquely Canadian voice in the writing collected here – more an anthology of SF that happens to be by Canadian writers. (It is possible, that being from the Upper Midwest myself, I’m just not seeing the distinction.) In terms of quality, I found it to be made up of mostly reasonably good but not outstanding shorter 1980s SF works, by writers less known outside their geographic region of the SF world.
The Gift, by Pat Forde. A sentimental story of a dying physicist who finds inspiration in a tutored student. A character story with little actual speculative content. First published in Analog December 1987. Sturgeon Award honorable mention. My Rating 2/5.
Breaking Ball, by Michael Skeet. Baseball on Mars is described as emblematic of all the changes that the human settlers on Mars are making. The UN sends an older brother to his childhood farm home on Mars, now run by his younger brother, to convince him that Martian independence is unrealistic. Original to this anthology. My Rating 3/5.
Cogito, by Elisabeth Vonarburg, translated by Jane Brierly. The human colony on Cybland was established to free its inhabitants to enhance all sensory inputs to their bodies. The emphasis in the story is on explaining the creatively imagined sensory perceptions of the Cyblanders, more than on the story of little Nathany Berkeley. First published in Imagine #46. Winner of 1990 Aurora Award, Short-Form French Language. My Rating 4/5.
Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair, by Charles de Lint. Magic is real in post-1960s San Francisco, when the consensual reality recognizes it, at least according to a book being read by Ellen Brady. There are numerous characters, but the primary plot that emerges involves Ellen and a young homeless man named Reece that she cares for. First published in Asimov’s November 1987. My Rating 3/5.
A Niche, by Peter Watts. Three kilometers under the sea, two engineers with surgically modified bodies prepare a power station built on a mid-ocean rift for the start of operations. But the deep sea is mysterious, filled with strange forms of life, and both kinds of pressure may be more than their personalities can withstand. This anthology was the first publication of Peter Watts’ first story, which was later expanded into his first novel, Starfish, and which grew into a series known as Rifters. Winner of 1992 Aurora Award, Short-Form English Language. My Rating 5/5.
Under Another Moon, by Dave Duncan. A straight-forward medieval story of a king’s betrayal of his loyal earl grows more complex with the gradual revelation of the unexpected sexual dimorphism of the humans of the story. It seems biologically infeasible, but then so do LeGuin’s Gethenians, of which this is perhaps imitative. Original to this anthology. My Rating 3/5.
Proscripts of Gehenna, by Jean-Louis Trudel, translated by John Greene. In the city of Jigansk on the planet of Gehenna, an Imperial Civil Servant named Francesco is attacked by a group of native Gehennite youths because he accidentally interfered with their persecution of a Wolfie. In the story, Francesco learns more about the Wolfies. The First Published in Solaris #71, 1987. My Rating 3/5.
April 6, 2012
A good, high-quality anthology of sci-fi by Canadian authors. I'd previously read #5 in this series and was disappointed - this was a MUCH stronger collection.
The Gift - Pat Forde
A sentimental, but excellent story about a young boy who seeks mentoring from a brilliant but discredited mathematician.
The Other Eye - Phyllis Gotlieb
I'd read this story before, in Gotlieb's 'Blue Apes' collection. It's one of those stories where it ends and you're like, "Wow! Just.. wow. Wait, what?" A haunting depiction of a young person in a repressive, underground society, experiencing bizarre visions.
Breaking Ball - Michael Skeet
There's a bit too much baseball in this story... but it's really about two very different brothers, one full of resentment about the past - and the realization that the future can be different - on two wildly different levels. Reminded me a bit of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
Tales from the Holograph Woods - Eileen Kernaghan
A poem.
Cogito - Elizabeth Vonarburg
Sorry, I found this story deeply annoying. The didactic way in which it is narrated made me want to strangle someone, and the oh-so-philosophical denouement was of a truly 'does-a-bear-shit-in-the-woods' complexity. Too bad, because if she'd just gone with telling a story instead of trying to be 'deep,' the premise - a future colony where people augment their senses to the point where a 'normal' person isn't considered to have a life worth living - was interesting.
Homelanding - Margaret Atwood
I'd read this story before, but it is worth re-reading. A woman tries to describe humanity to aliens. Meaningful, funny and insightful.
Uncle Dobbins Parrot Fair - Charles deLint
I didn't love the ending - but there are some truly weird and haunting moments in this story about how the magic inside every person can become real... and escape. Better make sure that what you're loosing on the world is lovely, not awful!
Invisible Boy - Cliff Burns
Eh. This story about a boy living with two people who fight all the time and are no good at parenting tries a bit too hard.
A Niche - Peter Watts
A really excellent story of psychological horror. Two women are on a submarine mission, alone on an undersea base. Both have varied issues. Is it because they are suited to the circumstances? Or are there other reasons?
Hanging Out in the Third World Laundromat - Leslie Gadallah
Yes, laundromats are boring and make you want to escape into fantasy worlds. I'm aware of that.
Happy Days in Old Chernobyl - Claude-Michel Prevost
I didn't like this one. It's an experimentally told story. "In this story, there is..." and then something. Repeatedly. It's annoying, and not much happens.
Carpe Diem - Eileen Kernaghan
Some old women in a nursing home... variously rebellious, resigned, depressed... It bears some similarity to Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go.'
Spring Sunset - John Park
Very brief piece on how the younger generation is quicker to accept the new... and how change comes with a sense of loss for the older.
Iserman's Override - Scott MacKay
An original twist on the theme of the ship's computer that's convinced it has to kill everyone aboard.
Only a Lifetime - Daniel Sernine
A meditational piece from the point of view of a generation ship's consciousness.
An Alien Sun - Leah Silverman
A poem.
Against the Dust - Kelly Graves
A very Ray Bradbury feel to this one, with it's nostalgia-infused reminiscences of a small boy, playing in the fields and dirt, digging up lost things with a stick... but then he finds something more unusual than old bottles and debris...
She Announces... - Tom Henighan
Paolo to Francesca - Tom Henighan
Poems.
The Pools of Air - Karl Schroeder
I only discovered Karl Schroeder recently, but I really, really enjoy his writing. A media team goes up to an unmanned probe exploring Jupiter for a human-interest story. But something goes terribly wrong, and the three of them will have to re-examine their priorities if they're to have any chance of survival.
Vishnu's Navel - Ben Begamudre
A Hindu-inspired neo-folktale.
The Winds of Time - Joel Champetier
Very brief sci-fi tale with the feel of an ancient folk tale, where artifacts from other times are borne on the wind, and repressive regimes try to prevent revolution. Lovely.
Birthday - PK Page
Hmm. A short story on the theme of death/rebirth. I didn't think it was the most successful piece here.
Phoenix Sunset - Colleen Anderson
A dystopian cyberpunk YA story, which might win an award for Most Frickin' Hopeless and Depressing Thing Ever! But I don't mind that.
Muffin Explains Teleology to the World At Large - James Alan Gardner
Why are wise men showing up in his yard, and random people adulating his six-year-old sister? Jamie's not sure. But Muffin knows more than she's telling. I don't usually like this sort of quirky/absurdist thing - but somehow, I quite enjoyed this.
Canadola - Esther Rochon
A woman reminisces about a time period where she did rough contract work on a remote planet. She had some grotesque and weird experiences. (Though I REALLY wanted the evil heads to come after her like in the 80's video game 'Space Harrier'...)
In the Land of Unblind - Judith Merril
It's kind of a poem and kind of a story, and it's really sexy...
North of Whitehorse Station - Leona Gom
It's one of those futures where there are no men. This time it was some kind of plague where all the men died. That was a while ago... long enough ago that when boys are born, they hide in fear. I dunno. I didn't really like the assumption that even trained into submissiveness, that awful male aggression will threaten to burst out... Overall, I had a very been there, done that feeling about this. It was interesting - once.
Under Another Moon - Dave Duncan
I only read one novel by Duncan, years ago, and I don't remember being impressed by it. But I actually loved this story. It had a VERY original take on gender relations - but it also told a good story while exploring it. (Basically, children and the elderly are considered to be gender neutral, and every individual goes through a life phase as a woman, and then as a man.)
Proscripts of Gehenna - Jean-Louis Trudel
Remote colony. Life is tough. Surrounded by werewolves. The werewolves will inherit the world... I liked it.
Doing Television - William Gibson
William Gibson is one of my very favorite authors. This is very good, but it's not one of his major works. Cyber-mood piece.
The Water Man - Ursula Pflug
Hmm. Water. Is it a drug? Not sure. Trippy and surreal, set in an artists' studio.
Guinea Pig - Francine Pelletier
Shades of 'Never Let Me Go,' again... the rich mysteriously get organ donations... and a little girl flees after hearing some half-understood but disturbing words...
Final Instructions - Lesley Choyce
A final poem.
The Gift - Pat Forde
A sentimental, but excellent story about a young boy who seeks mentoring from a brilliant but discredited mathematician.
The Other Eye - Phyllis Gotlieb
I'd read this story before, in Gotlieb's 'Blue Apes' collection. It's one of those stories where it ends and you're like, "Wow! Just.. wow. Wait, what?" A haunting depiction of a young person in a repressive, underground society, experiencing bizarre visions.
Breaking Ball - Michael Skeet
There's a bit too much baseball in this story... but it's really about two very different brothers, one full of resentment about the past - and the realization that the future can be different - on two wildly different levels. Reminded me a bit of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
Tales from the Holograph Woods - Eileen Kernaghan
A poem.
Cogito - Elizabeth Vonarburg
Sorry, I found this story deeply annoying. The didactic way in which it is narrated made me want to strangle someone, and the oh-so-philosophical denouement was of a truly 'does-a-bear-shit-in-the-woods' complexity. Too bad, because if she'd just gone with telling a story instead of trying to be 'deep,' the premise - a future colony where people augment their senses to the point where a 'normal' person isn't considered to have a life worth living - was interesting.
Homelanding - Margaret Atwood
I'd read this story before, but it is worth re-reading. A woman tries to describe humanity to aliens. Meaningful, funny and insightful.
Uncle Dobbins Parrot Fair - Charles deLint
I didn't love the ending - but there are some truly weird and haunting moments in this story about how the magic inside every person can become real... and escape. Better make sure that what you're loosing on the world is lovely, not awful!
Invisible Boy - Cliff Burns
Eh. This story about a boy living with two people who fight all the time and are no good at parenting tries a bit too hard.
A Niche - Peter Watts
A really excellent story of psychological horror. Two women are on a submarine mission, alone on an undersea base. Both have varied issues. Is it because they are suited to the circumstances? Or are there other reasons?
Hanging Out in the Third World Laundromat - Leslie Gadallah
Yes, laundromats are boring and make you want to escape into fantasy worlds. I'm aware of that.
Happy Days in Old Chernobyl - Claude-Michel Prevost
I didn't like this one. It's an experimentally told story. "In this story, there is..." and then something. Repeatedly. It's annoying, and not much happens.
Carpe Diem - Eileen Kernaghan
Some old women in a nursing home... variously rebellious, resigned, depressed... It bears some similarity to Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go.'
Spring Sunset - John Park
Very brief piece on how the younger generation is quicker to accept the new... and how change comes with a sense of loss for the older.
Iserman's Override - Scott MacKay
An original twist on the theme of the ship's computer that's convinced it has to kill everyone aboard.
Only a Lifetime - Daniel Sernine
A meditational piece from the point of view of a generation ship's consciousness.
An Alien Sun - Leah Silverman
A poem.
Against the Dust - Kelly Graves
A very Ray Bradbury feel to this one, with it's nostalgia-infused reminiscences of a small boy, playing in the fields and dirt, digging up lost things with a stick... but then he finds something more unusual than old bottles and debris...
She Announces... - Tom Henighan
Paolo to Francesca - Tom Henighan
Poems.
The Pools of Air - Karl Schroeder
I only discovered Karl Schroeder recently, but I really, really enjoy his writing. A media team goes up to an unmanned probe exploring Jupiter for a human-interest story. But something goes terribly wrong, and the three of them will have to re-examine their priorities if they're to have any chance of survival.
Vishnu's Navel - Ben Begamudre
A Hindu-inspired neo-folktale.
The Winds of Time - Joel Champetier
Very brief sci-fi tale with the feel of an ancient folk tale, where artifacts from other times are borne on the wind, and repressive regimes try to prevent revolution. Lovely.
Birthday - PK Page
Hmm. A short story on the theme of death/rebirth. I didn't think it was the most successful piece here.
Phoenix Sunset - Colleen Anderson
A dystopian cyberpunk YA story, which might win an award for Most Frickin' Hopeless and Depressing Thing Ever! But I don't mind that.
Muffin Explains Teleology to the World At Large - James Alan Gardner
Why are wise men showing up in his yard, and random people adulating his six-year-old sister? Jamie's not sure. But Muffin knows more than she's telling. I don't usually like this sort of quirky/absurdist thing - but somehow, I quite enjoyed this.
Canadola - Esther Rochon
A woman reminisces about a time period where she did rough contract work on a remote planet. She had some grotesque and weird experiences. (Though I REALLY wanted the evil heads to come after her like in the 80's video game 'Space Harrier'...)
In the Land of Unblind - Judith Merril
It's kind of a poem and kind of a story, and it's really sexy...
North of Whitehorse Station - Leona Gom
It's one of those futures where there are no men. This time it was some kind of plague where all the men died. That was a while ago... long enough ago that when boys are born, they hide in fear. I dunno. I didn't really like the assumption that even trained into submissiveness, that awful male aggression will threaten to burst out... Overall, I had a very been there, done that feeling about this. It was interesting - once.
Under Another Moon - Dave Duncan
I only read one novel by Duncan, years ago, and I don't remember being impressed by it. But I actually loved this story. It had a VERY original take on gender relations - but it also told a good story while exploring it. (Basically, children and the elderly are considered to be gender neutral, and every individual goes through a life phase as a woman, and then as a man.)
Proscripts of Gehenna - Jean-Louis Trudel
Remote colony. Life is tough. Surrounded by werewolves. The werewolves will inherit the world... I liked it.
Doing Television - William Gibson
William Gibson is one of my very favorite authors. This is very good, but it's not one of his major works. Cyber-mood piece.
The Water Man - Ursula Pflug
Hmm. Water. Is it a drug? Not sure. Trippy and surreal, set in an artists' studio.
Guinea Pig - Francine Pelletier
Shades of 'Never Let Me Go,' again... the rich mysteriously get organ donations... and a little girl flees after hearing some half-understood but disturbing words...
Final Instructions - Lesley Choyce
A final poem.
February 13, 2018
Surprisingly good for a second hand anthology that I picked at random. Some stories and all the poetry I skipped, but felt happy there were plenty of stories that appealed to me. Unlike modern anthologies, the stories were not written in the clichéd modern styles and were not overly long, and actually had something to say.
December 15, 2019
A strong entry into this long running series.
November 15, 2011
Of the different Tesseracts Anthologies I have read, this edition had the widest selection of stories I could give a solid thumbs up to. Unlike the previous Tesseracts on my shelf, this one also came front loaded with good reads, with only a couple of stories getting an I'll Pass before I'd reached the halfway point.
September 4, 2009
My story "The Water Man" appeared in Tesseracts Three.
"The Water Man" was reprinted in Air Fish (Cat's Eye, San Diego) in 1993 and in BBR # 23, in 1997.
Back issues of the impeccable Back Brain Recluse, including # 23:
http://www.bbr-online.com/backbrainre...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews