Altered States: a cyberpunk sci-fi anthology

Altered States: A Cyberpunk Anthology #1

by Roy C. Booth (Editor), Jorge Salgado-Reyes (Editor), C.J. Cherryh (Contributor)

Take a flight of the imagination to near-future cyberpunk worlds, travel beyond the stars, and to divergent universes like and unlike our own. Travel to the enigmas of science and time…travel to the altered states of the mind.
Stories by upcoming and established cyberpunk/sci- fi authors, curated by Roy C Booth and Jorge Salgado-Reyes.

This anthology represents the very first publication of science fiction by Indie Authors Press.

Genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 14, 2014

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this collection because the first story is by C.J. Cherryh, an author I have been reading since DAW first published her work. Her story is predictably good. What surprised me is the quality of the other stories. I will be looking for additional work by several of the other authors. I am not familiar with cyberpunk, but whatever it is or isn't, these stories should appeal to any aficionado of science fiction.

[Brainycat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brainycat's 5 "B"s :
blood: 4
boobs: 2
bombs: 4
bondage: 1
blasphemy: 3
Stars : 3.5
Bechdel Test : PASS
Deggan's Rule : PASS (with a non-literal interpretation of the test that preserves the intention)
Gay Bechdel Test : PASS

Please note: I don't review to provide synopses, I review to share a purely visceral reaction to books and perhaps answer some of the questions I ask when I'm contemplating investing time and money into a book.

To be honest, I'm not sure I'd call most of the included stories "cyberpunk" but I'm an old school first wave cyberpunker from way back in the days of Omni v1. Hipster reviewer says, "I was cyberpunk before Neuromancer was published". Nor are many of the stories post-cyber or transhumanist. If I were editing the blurb, I'd say most of these are dark-scifi or future-horror. Despite being disappointed that the contents do not match the tin, I persevered on through the 17 included stories. The older stories all feel dated, and most of the new stories feel derivative. Unlike most anthologies, I don't recall any stand-outs - I believe the best of the bunch is "pretty good".

I read a CJ Cherryh novel many years ago; I recall not enjoying the experience and I've since avoided her canon. The short story Mech did nothing to change my opinion of her writing. She's accomplished, skilled and confident - but her tone, verbiage and general "style" just don't do it for me I'm afraid. Let this be an example of my own shortcomings as a reader and not her skills as a writer. Also, the story was originally published over twenty years ago and doesn't survive the "dated" feeling well.

Last Human by Jorge Salgado-Reyes is definitely dark-scifi. "Will the last one left alive please turn off the lights?" would be another apt title. In fact, I think it's the title of a totally unrelated short that covers the exact same territory. That's my long-winded way of saying, "This wasn't particularly original".

Gregory J. Wolos's Annabelle's Children is the first to bring up a theme that's in a lot of these stories - the ubiquity of mass media and it's ability to manipulate people. This story emphasizes the effects on one person's legacy after her death through a mechanism I consider gimmicky; YMMV. I'd file this under future-horror as well.

Tom Borthwick's Living in the Singularity took too long to get to where it was going, and didn't surprise anyone once it got there. Not the strongest story in the anthology by any means. I'd call this future-horror; the only scifi element of the story is the gimmick the author uses to talk about loneliness.

Cotner's Bot by D.L. Young is one of the more traditionally cyberpunky stories in the anthology, and even starts to brush up against interesting notions of how much humanity does an entity need to be human - but rather than dig into the meat of the question, we keep to the periphery with a focus on the shenanigans of the people trying to pass off the forgeries.

Midnight Pearls Blue was "First published in Stardate magazine, Oct. 1985" according to the blurb. The film Bladerunner came out in 1982.
"Do you believe [this story] is a replicant, Mr. Deckard?"
Yes, Rachael, I do.
And I do mean exactly that it's a ripoff of Bladerunner and not DADoES.

Better Than Everything by Malon Edwards is another solidly cyberpunk story, and one of the top three stories in the collection. How can you grow up and move on when your first love is always available in a new iteration?

Cynthia Ward's Ex Machina reads like Sturgeon's More than Human for the Nintendo generation, written with a dose of "Kid Sister's Gangster Street Cred" trope thrown in for absolutely no reason at all. I think there's a kernel of a great story in here, but it needs some more workshopping before it develops it's unique voice.

Island by Terry Faust - As I look over the text for this review, I remember reading this but it made absolutely no impression on me whatsoever. And that's all I have to say about that.

John Shirley comes to the rescue and makes the anthology worth the couple of quid I paid for it with Meerga. Truly cyberpunk, truly thoughtful and truly one of the best stories in the book. Worth most of the price of admission right there.

To Sleep, Perchance is Mark Terence Chapman's contribution to the anthology. A super quick read, I think it's a great premise for the obvious conclusion but just needed a bit more honesty and vulnerability from the author to make the story really connect at a human level. Also, I think this is squarely in the "dark scifi" genre and isn't even remotely cyberpunk.

The Walk by Druscilla Morgan carries the posthumanist torch for the anthology, though again it would be better labeled Future Horror rather than cyberpunk. Mostly because it features a plot hole so big it could only be filled in with supernatural woowoo.

The Electrified Ants by Jetse de Vries is the third story that carries this anthology, and one of the stories that relies on the relationship between ubiquitous surveillance and nonstop consumerism. Imagine if Mark Zuckerberg ran GCHQ, and 10 Downing Street was a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton- that's the setting and origin of the conflict for this story. One of the longer stories in the collection, it reminded me of Wolf Time by Walter Jon Williams because of the bittersweet relationship stuff laid on top of some good ol' fashioned rebels vs. the Corporate Government.

Extrenum is a joint project from R. Thomas Riley and Roy C. Booth. I don't know who was responsible for which part of the finished product. It was originally in Apexology, and I've long been a huge fan of Apex Publications. This is not an example of the best work Apex has ever published. I'd call this just straight horror; the only thing remotely scifi about the whole thing is that it's set on Mars. Other than that, it reads like nearly every other multiple personality inspired short horror story.

Kerry G.S. Lipp's Attention Whore used a lot of words to make it's point. Too many words, actually. Speaking for myself, I'dve liked to have seen more conflict (story) and less exposition. It's a good start to what could be a great short, but like others in this collection it could use some more workshopping to develop the plot and tighten the characters. This story is overtly and self-admittedly based on the woowoo, and as such I'd call it Future Horror.

Frank Roger got shortchanged when they put his Unholy Grail in the same anthology as The Electrified Ants. For all intents and purposes, both of these stories cover EXACTLY the same intellectual territory and this makes it impossible for me not to compare them. I'd say Jetse's story is slightly better; but a significant part of my reasoning is the plot is more developed. Unholy Grail isn't as long, though, so it scores higher on the "brevity breeds eloquence" scale. I'd say this story gets an honorable mention, and helps make the anthology worth what I paid for it.

I think the people who put this anthology together read a lot of the same things I do (actually, they read a lot more than I do which is why they're putting this together and I'm buying it) and we share a lot of the same aesthetics. I am disappointed that the majority of the stories don't fit my strict definition of Cyberpunk, but since I like dark scifi and future horror I was still able to appreciate the stories. There aren't many "top shelf" writers in the collection, and this shows in the overall quality. Nevertheless, nobody gets to launch their writing career fully formed and at the top of their game - so we can forgive a bit of youthful exuberance and appreciate the efforts. I got this on Kindle Unlimited; I think the out of pocket price is about 3 quid, and I think that's a fair deal.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Altered States is an anthology containing a number of excellent science fiction stories. I was recommended this anthology by the good folks at the Cyberpunk Science Fiction and Culture. There's a number of great stories in this book with my favorite being "Meegra" while others aren't really great. Even so, it's good to have fiction which falls squarely into the genre. Too often, people try to write outside of the genre and attempt to pass themselves off as cyberpunk just because there's a bad corporation or cybernetics.

Here, it's more thematic cyberpunk with the stories following people having technology having ruined their lives in various ways they are trapped by. It's less Gibson criminals and more Brazil with people struggling in Kafka-esque dystopias with Asimov-like technology but I think that's spiritually cybernetic rather than trappings-wise.

It's not my favorite cyberpunk but it's an oasis in the desert.

8/10

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this anthology, but there were only about five or six "excellent" stories out of a collection containing seventeen stories. Also, some of these stories aren't actually cyberpunk. One was basically horror (The Walk) and another a highly sexual romance story (The Electrified Ants). My actual cumulative rating for the stories themselves is three stars, but I'm reducing the rating to two stars because of the book's editing, which I found to be severely lacking.

Some stories, like Mech, literally had dozens of errors. Mostly it's just small stuff, like missing double quotes or periods, misspelled words, and etc., but when there are dozens of them in a single story it becomes quite obvious and, in my opinion, reduces the enjoyment of the reading experience. This wasn't helped by the fact that some stories had more serious errors that actually reduced their readability and made entire sentences confusing, such as missing words.

Overall, some of the stories were great, but most of them are pedestrian at best and not even cyberpunk or terrible at worst. It pains me but I would recommend passing on this anthology. There are far better cyberpunk anthologies out there.

[Katherine Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a captivating journey that I didn’t want to end. The author’s talent for world-building is extraordinary, pulling you into a vibrant and engaging setting. The characters were well-developed, with rich backstories that made them feel real. I’m still thinking about it days later. Simply outstanding!

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Altered States is a terrible cyberpunk anthology. I had to read it off and on with Year's Best Weird Fiction Volume 2 to offset how terrible it was. The writing was bland, elementary, undeveloped. There were two—maybe three—good stories in this collection: "Better Than Everything", "Meerga", and perhaps "Extra Credit". The rest ended stories without going anywhere ("Extremum", "Attention Whore"), treated its readers like idiots, or did nothing particularly interesting. A good idea is nothing if it isn't a good story (cough cough "The Electrified Ants"). The book was full of bad worldbuilding/infodumping, almost no notable or interesting characters (a lot of sex-obsessed middle class men), and both of these contributed to having very little weight when someone dies or something goes wrong. If I don't care about anything, or if I'm told to care in a stupid, stupid way, then I won't. And the only emotion I'll feel is disappointment when I finish the story.
I expected a good cyberpunk collection. Very little of it felt cyberpunk. Where's the alleyways, the weird meats, the cool drugs and dense architectures? The opening story, "Mech," and "Meerga" probably had the most cyberpunk stuff, the rest felt contrived or paper-thin.
Let me just end with this: the writing is not vomitosis. It's just not good. I've seen high school sophomores do better dozens of times. I don't want to spend my time reading something that's not only not good, but not what I paid for. That's why it earns two stars.

[Ryan Mangrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good stories in here. but they're not cyberpunk. Some aren't even Sci-fi. There's only 1 story that comes close to cyberpunk. Some of the stories are more like ghost stories influenced by science.

There are some enjoyable tales, but if you're looking for cyberpunk, this isn't it.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is Cyberpunk?

What better way is there of getting your head around the genre, than to read an anthology by respected authors in the field? To have a variety of takes, rather than the one? This is a collection of previously published short stories and flash fiction.

Here we have cyberwars, teen angst, the criminal underworld and domestic noir. For me, the nearest of future dystopia work the best: the nightmare of our current world, rather than a different world entirely. On the whole, the writing and the individual stories are of a good standard, and the collection works well together. Stand-outs for me were Ex Machina by Cynthia Ward, Better than Everything by Malon Edwards, and Island by Terry Faust.

[Ishmael Soledad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had looked forward to reading this volume, unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. In the main a re-print of previously published short stories, most of which refresh established (or worn out) themes, the volume is book-ended by two quite good ones from DJ Cherryh and Paul Levinson, with far less engaging ones filling up the intervening pages.

An ok read, but not one that will stay in my mind for very long.

[Kirsten Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely captivated by this from the very first page. The author’s storytelling is exceptional, weaving together a tale that is both gripping and thought-provoking. The characters felt like real people, and I was invested in their journeys. I was sad to see it end. This one is an absolute must-read!

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

There were a lot of great stories in here. Often I wished I could read a full length novel to give me more details about the setting. Sometimes it seemed like the story was part of a greater work, or could be. Its useful for me to find new authors to read.

[Yasmin Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page-turner from beginning to end! The twists and turns kept me guessing, and the characters were richly developed. I loved the unexpected surprises that were sprinkled throughout. It’s rare to find something that keeps you hooked like this. Definitely one of the best reads this year!

[Sarah Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few good stories in here ("Better Than Everything", "Cotner's Bot", "The Electrified Ants") but mostly pretty amateurish.

[Book lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

An anthology of tech based sci-fi stories. It didn't hit the cord for me. It wasn't bad but if wasn't great either. At least I managed to finish it.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories. They each made me think.

[Nikolaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a couple of standout stories that deserve way more than 3 stars (Meerga, The Electrified Ants), but most of the other stories simply aren't cyberpunk, or anything close to it.

[Geir Friestad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clear-cut case of false advertising – the majority of these stories are not even remotely cyberpunk. That said, some of them were enjoyable nevertheless.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few really good stories here and a bunch of OK ones. Some of the stories weren't exactly cyberpunk, but what does cyberpunk mean these days, anyway?

[Tyler Tork · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a mixed bag. There were some good stories by some old reliables -- CJ Cherryh, John Shirley, and William F Wu, notably. The contributions of Terry Faust and Jetse de Vries were very nice. Jorge's story was pretty good, and a few others weren't bad. But there were about five stories here that I thought had serious defects of plausibility -- as in, I accept the fantastic premise, but I can't accept that people would react to it in the way these characters do. It's a problem I see often from beginners in the field, especially those who have a lot of experience with literary fiction and magical realism, and don't understand what science fiction is really about. The fantastic premise has the effects the author wants to write about. Everyone reacts to it in the same way. As opposed to the complex and varied and ramifying and resistant and playful ways people really do react to new technologies.

[Joseph Cautilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Altered States is a testament to cyberpunk, speculative fiction. This anthology offers the reader seventeen possible views of a dystopic impersonal future. A gut wrenching anthology that pushes the reader to explore the boundaries of what the human mind is capable of coping. These stories, some many years old still resonate with the reader today as they lead one to ask what the basic social needs of humans are, and highlight all our basic fears of the future. As technology becomes more and more the mainstream of our lives, it is important to review what the man - machine relation as well as the man-world relation is and what it will be. I really enjoyed this tome. It belongs on every bookshelf.

Joseph Cautilli, Ph.D.
coauthor Zombies vs. Robots book series

[Shalon Sprimgman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid Lineup

Every story was well done and engaging. Not a clunker in the bunch. The 5th star is for editing. I'm not sure why but spelling and punctuation can make or break a book for me. Well done

[Jake Mcivry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent anthology. Not all of the stories are even close to what I consider cyberpunk.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are no really bad stories there are also none that top shelf. Several of the stories do not seem to be related to cyberpunk. In addition, most if not all are reprints.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great collection of short stories. I highly recommend this.

[Muyojoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection

This has a good breadth from a variety of very good authors. This is a fun ride for the sci-fi enthusiast.