Zenith 2: The best in new British science fiction

Zenith: The Best in New British Science Fiction #2

by David S. Garnett (Editor)

Comprising:

Winning by Ian MacDonald
The Time She Became by Storm Constantine
A Journey to the King Planet by S.M Baxter
X-calibre by Garry Kilworth
A Passion for Lord Pierrot by Colin Greenland
The Death of Cassandra Quebec by Eric Brown
The Pill by Jojo Bling
The Furniture of Life's Ambition by Brian Stableford
Dead Television by Lisa Tuttle
Insight by John Gribbin
Different Cities by Simon D. Ings
The Careine Purse by Michael Moorcock

Genres: Science Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

David S. Garnett (born 1947) is a UK science fiction author and editor whose novels include Cosmic Carousel, Stargonauts and Bikini Planet. He edited a paperback anthology revival of Michael Moorcock's New Worlds magazine, two Zenith anthologies of original British SF stories, and three Orbit Science Fiction Yearbooks.

Reviews

[Jeanette Greaves]

Multi author, non themed sf anthology, with some interesting stories.

It was good to re-read Dead Television by Lisa Tuttle, and Different Cities by Simon Ings. Elements of both stories had lingered in my mind since my first reading 26 years ago, and it felt good to recognise them and reunite them with their stories.

[K. Axel]

Looking over the authors in this book, there are only a few that I know, like Storm Constantine, Lisa Tuttle, Brian Stableford and, of course, Michael Moorcock. Of those, I've only read stories by Lisa Tuttle and Michael Moorcock, and of those two, I would only presume to know the writings of Michael Moorcock.

Also, with a subtitle like "The Best in New British Science Fiction", how can one not be intrigued by this book? Anyways, time to delve into the small gems that this book is is sure to hold.

Winning by Ian McDonald (28 pages)
Winning is the story about a moslem runner named Hammadi, whose father forces him to make choices against his will, in order to gain a good life for himself. In this near future, athletes are seen as greek gods and companies are willing to pay enormous sums of money to make sure that they are the best in the world. Hammadi becomes part of this, and is not only enhanced in size, but gain all the latest technology to ensure that he can beat the rest. This story is not your traditional sci-fi shortstory, as you might have gathered from my short summary of the plot. It takes sport to extreme, in a world where doping is legal, and in fact... used by all the companies. And yes, we are not talking about teams, we are talking about companies, commercial companies, with highly commercial interests. However, the question is, will Hammadi allow himself to be treated like an object, or will he be true to his religion? Highly recommended. (4 stars)

[Gideon]

One question: 'Different Cities', what is it about?!

This short story has perplexed me for years.