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L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 31
2015 Best Science Fiction and alien anthology, Publisher's Weekly Science Fiction Best Seller
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —Orson Scott Card
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —Orson Scott Card
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
About the author
David Farland
156 books1,209 followersDavid Farland is the author of the bestselling Runelords series, including Chaosbound, The Wyrmling Horde and Worldbinder. He also writes science-fiction as David Wolverton. He won the 1987 Writers of the Future contest, and has been nominated for a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award. Farland also works as a video game designer, and has taught writing seminars around the U.S. and Canada. He lives in Saint George, Utah. He passed away on January 14, 2022.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidf...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidf...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
August 15, 2016
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This collection is supposed to feature some of the best sci-fi short stories by non professional writers, supported by illustrations by promising artists and I have to tell you it does not disappoint. It is just a shame that I could not view them in all their splendour in my Kindle Paperwhite as they seemed truly amazing.
The anthology opens with a bang. Switch was amazing, easily a five star story, even though at some point there was too much action for my personal taste.
The main character's development was superb and the world created here blew me away. I would really love to read a full-length novel of this. Unfortunately it seems even though the author has written it he has not had luck having it published.
The writing is right up my alley. The author does not waste time with unnecessary flourishes nor long winded details and yet is able to paint the picture so clearly, grasping the reader's attention.
I was truly impressed. I absolutely loved the sci-fi stuff, the complexity of the character, the fast paced development of the narrative and the touching, bittersweet ending.
It is impossible that the author of The Dog Whisperer has not seen Cesar Milan's show, of which I am a huge fan. What a witty story! Such a wonderful play on it, not just the title. It is so wonderfully, quirkily believable, with an Alice in Wonderland sort of feel. So short and yet so satisfying. Full 5 stars as well!
Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss is probably the longest story of the bunch and it stands well on its own. Humans colonising other planets and genetically changing to adapt is not a new concept but this novella takes it to a new level, with Darwin quotes on the spaceships and several other particularities. I have to admit I did not see the development coming and while I began by twisting my nose at it, I opened my mind to it and you know what? It's great sci-fi. I am still not entirely sold on some things but as a whole this story was very well achieved. 4.75 stars.
Art was, in my opinion, unnecessary. A clinical article such as this has no room amongst short stories. Perhaps as an introduction to the anthology but never here. I found it boring and out of context.
When Shadows Fall did not impress me in the least for quite a while, other than the fact that it portrayed an Earth more ruined than I had ever read about. I didn't even know how people could survive in such conditions and I had trouble remembering the characters.
In the end it turned out to be a story told in the way of a parable, about greed, past offences, what it takes to get past them and who is willing to get it done. Quite beautiful, really. 4.25 stars.
A Revolutionary Guide to Practical Conjuration was not one of my favourites. I did not much care for the characters or story. Every time it seemed it was about to get interesting, there was a lot of info dumping. I liked the idea of an interactive book but that was about it.
The character evolution did not make sense to me either, as he never seemed particularly bright, which the plot twist near the end required.
I didn't get the ending. Meh. 2.5 stars.
Twelve minutes to Vinh Quang was surprising! The story had a tense build up which culminated quite unexpectedly - for me, at least. I loved how the sci-fi gadgets were introduced noncommittally and how the characters' roles progressively reversed.
I even loved the old lady.
It was a very entertaining story without superfluous flourishes but which still managed to feel complete, well put together and very real. This is a great example of great sci-fi, when a story is obviously futuristic but you feel like you could be there and all that stuff could be happening. 5 stars.
Planar Ghosts takes place in a bleak post-apocalyptic world. I could not connect to it. The world, characters or story just did not even tickle me entertained. The idea of it could have been interesting and the plot twist was ok but in the end it was just a little below average. 2 stars
Fiction on Paper is a non-fiction text written by Orson Scott Card. It starts off really well, with an analysis on how writing and the various forms of writing have evolved over the years; how reading is becoming less and less sought out as a form of entertaining when there are so many instant alternatives out there that do not require imagination. Then it turns into a self-eulogy of the Writers of the Future anthology and how it is the absolute best platform to launch new sci-fi and fantasy writers. Again, that struck me as unnecessary. 2.75/5 stars
The idea for Rough Draft told in the author's bio was almost more interesting than the story itself. The fact is it asks for quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. We are presented to a world where travelling to parallel universities is normal and I felt I did not get a solid enough foundation for that. Also, as intricate as it seemed to be to the society, the law system sure didn't make sense.
I found the premise not that interesting. The time-travel company brings a book from another university that was never published in this one and the author, who turned into a hermit after one hit, does not like it one bit. The narrative unfurls as you would expect, with no real surprises. It has value merely as an inspiring, motivational tale. 2.5 stars
Between Screens reminded me a bit of A Clockwork Orange, oddly enough. A group of kids with their own language up to no good, skipping around in Space.
I didn't really get how it worked because the viewings were described as live but yet the characters seemed to have seen it before, but it was an interesting tale and the character's (d)evolution was rather unsettling. I felt the skipping was overwhelming and that I wanted more backstory but that is a very personal opinion, as there really was a bit of everything, it was a balanced story. A dark, intense story. 4.25 stars
Unrefined did not work for me at all. Corporate, hard sci-fi is just not my thing. It started out exhaustingly descriptive, with a lot of tell and not nearly enough show, and it evolved into a weird narrative full of motivational speeches and stilted dialogues, with a main character I could never find interesting. Nuh huh. 1.5 stars
Half Past was a lovely short story, very well written and with an interesting premise. Externalising strong emotions in such a way is so clever!
The plot twist was surprising but it did not quite fit in the rest of the story for me. It was still a wonderful fantasy tale and I give it 4 stars.
Purposes Made for Alien Minds features a humanoid creature that can only think and speak in 5 worded sentences. The entire thing felt like a challenge the author put himself up to, to write an enthralling story only 5 words at a time. In my opinion, it didn't work. Not only did I keep having brainfreezes, the story would go round and round and it just wasn't worth it. 1 star
Inconstant Moon is an okay apocalyptic tale. I felt the sense of doom but there was nothing there that made me go 'wow'. 2.75 stars
The Illustrators of the Future is a text about the importance of illustrators and more self-praise to the anthology.
The Graver is easily the most emotional story in the anthology. It started really well, with all the fantasy, sci-fi and supernatural elements inherent to the story being introduced in a very organic manner. The resolution itself did not wow me but all the elements make for a very good story indeed. 4.5 stars
Wisteria Melancholy features such a curious notion - that when people are emotionally disturbed they experience morphological changes. The concept and context was introduced very well, no info dumping, all very natural. Then as it developed I lost a bit of interest and I can't even really tell you why. It's like there's this concept that is so cool that I wish more had been done with it and that even though it depends on the characters being emotional, how it was done was just not appealing to me. Much like the ending, it left me wanting. Also, I would have liked to see or at least hear about more morphological changes - invisibility is so overdone at this point.
However, I still found the concept very intriguing and had fun reading it. 4.25 stars
Poseidon's Eyes was enthralling on several levels – the setting, the spirits, the characters… It bothered me I didn’t get that the main character was female until about half through the story and there were minor things here and there but overall it was excellent. 4.75 stars
On the Direction of Art, along with the other two texts, is what makes me want to bring the rating down even more. I just feel that these texts have no place in such an anthology. In my opinion, self-gratifying eulogies along with essays on the importance of reuniting writers and illustrators of sci-fi and fantasy are fine on the back cover, introduction and/or as a way to promote the anthology, but taking up space in itself just feels unnecessary and redundant.
Overall I enjoyed the short stories quite a lot and it has got to be one of the best collections of the genre I have read.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This collection is supposed to feature some of the best sci-fi short stories by non professional writers, supported by illustrations by promising artists and I have to tell you it does not disappoint. It is just a shame that I could not view them in all their splendour in my Kindle Paperwhite as they seemed truly amazing.
The anthology opens with a bang. Switch was amazing, easily a five star story, even though at some point there was too much action for my personal taste.
The main character's development was superb and the world created here blew me away. I would really love to read a full-length novel of this. Unfortunately it seems even though the author has written it he has not had luck having it published.
The writing is right up my alley. The author does not waste time with unnecessary flourishes nor long winded details and yet is able to paint the picture so clearly, grasping the reader's attention.
I was truly impressed. I absolutely loved the sci-fi stuff, the complexity of the character, the fast paced development of the narrative and the touching, bittersweet ending.
It is impossible that the author of The Dog Whisperer has not seen Cesar Milan's show, of which I am a huge fan. What a witty story! Such a wonderful play on it, not just the title. It is so wonderfully, quirkily believable, with an Alice in Wonderland sort of feel. So short and yet so satisfying. Full 5 stars as well!
Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss is probably the longest story of the bunch and it stands well on its own. Humans colonising other planets and genetically changing to adapt is not a new concept but this novella takes it to a new level, with Darwin quotes on the spaceships and several other particularities. I have to admit I did not see the development coming and while I began by twisting my nose at it, I opened my mind to it and you know what? It's great sci-fi. I am still not entirely sold on some things but as a whole this story was very well achieved. 4.75 stars.
Art was, in my opinion, unnecessary. A clinical article such as this has no room amongst short stories. Perhaps as an introduction to the anthology but never here. I found it boring and out of context.
When Shadows Fall did not impress me in the least for quite a while, other than the fact that it portrayed an Earth more ruined than I had ever read about. I didn't even know how people could survive in such conditions and I had trouble remembering the characters.
In the end it turned out to be a story told in the way of a parable, about greed, past offences, what it takes to get past them and who is willing to get it done. Quite beautiful, really. 4.25 stars.
A Revolutionary Guide to Practical Conjuration was not one of my favourites. I did not much care for the characters or story. Every time it seemed it was about to get interesting, there was a lot of info dumping. I liked the idea of an interactive book but that was about it.
The character evolution did not make sense to me either, as he never seemed particularly bright, which the plot twist near the end required.
I didn't get the ending. Meh. 2.5 stars.
Twelve minutes to Vinh Quang was surprising! The story had a tense build up which culminated quite unexpectedly - for me, at least. I loved how the sci-fi gadgets were introduced noncommittally and how the characters' roles progressively reversed.
I even loved the old lady.
It was a very entertaining story without superfluous flourishes but which still managed to feel complete, well put together and very real. This is a great example of great sci-fi, when a story is obviously futuristic but you feel like you could be there and all that stuff could be happening. 5 stars.
Planar Ghosts takes place in a bleak post-apocalyptic world. I could not connect to it. The world, characters or story just did not even tickle me entertained. The idea of it could have been interesting and the plot twist was ok but in the end it was just a little below average. 2 stars
Fiction on Paper is a non-fiction text written by Orson Scott Card. It starts off really well, with an analysis on how writing and the various forms of writing have evolved over the years; how reading is becoming less and less sought out as a form of entertaining when there are so many instant alternatives out there that do not require imagination. Then it turns into a self-eulogy of the Writers of the Future anthology and how it is the absolute best platform to launch new sci-fi and fantasy writers. Again, that struck me as unnecessary. 2.75/5 stars
The idea for Rough Draft told in the author's bio was almost more interesting than the story itself. The fact is it asks for quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. We are presented to a world where travelling to parallel universities is normal and I felt I did not get a solid enough foundation for that. Also, as intricate as it seemed to be to the society, the law system sure didn't make sense.
I found the premise not that interesting. The time-travel company brings a book from another university that was never published in this one and the author, who turned into a hermit after one hit, does not like it one bit. The narrative unfurls as you would expect, with no real surprises. It has value merely as an inspiring, motivational tale. 2.5 stars
Between Screens reminded me a bit of A Clockwork Orange, oddly enough. A group of kids with their own language up to no good, skipping around in Space.
I didn't really get how it worked because the viewings were described as live but yet the characters seemed to have seen it before, but it was an interesting tale and the character's (d)evolution was rather unsettling. I felt the skipping was overwhelming and that I wanted more backstory but that is a very personal opinion, as there really was a bit of everything, it was a balanced story. A dark, intense story. 4.25 stars
Unrefined did not work for me at all. Corporate, hard sci-fi is just not my thing. It started out exhaustingly descriptive, with a lot of tell and not nearly enough show, and it evolved into a weird narrative full of motivational speeches and stilted dialogues, with a main character I could never find interesting. Nuh huh. 1.5 stars
Half Past was a lovely short story, very well written and with an interesting premise. Externalising strong emotions in such a way is so clever!
The plot twist was surprising but it did not quite fit in the rest of the story for me. It was still a wonderful fantasy tale and I give it 4 stars.
Purposes Made for Alien Minds features a humanoid creature that can only think and speak in 5 worded sentences. The entire thing felt like a challenge the author put himself up to, to write an enthralling story only 5 words at a time. In my opinion, it didn't work. Not only did I keep having brainfreezes, the story would go round and round and it just wasn't worth it. 1 star
Inconstant Moon is an okay apocalyptic tale. I felt the sense of doom but there was nothing there that made me go 'wow'. 2.75 stars
The Illustrators of the Future is a text about the importance of illustrators and more self-praise to the anthology.
The Graver is easily the most emotional story in the anthology. It started really well, with all the fantasy, sci-fi and supernatural elements inherent to the story being introduced in a very organic manner. The resolution itself did not wow me but all the elements make for a very good story indeed. 4.5 stars
Wisteria Melancholy features such a curious notion - that when people are emotionally disturbed they experience morphological changes. The concept and context was introduced very well, no info dumping, all very natural. Then as it developed I lost a bit of interest and I can't even really tell you why. It's like there's this concept that is so cool that I wish more had been done with it and that even though it depends on the characters being emotional, how it was done was just not appealing to me. Much like the ending, it left me wanting. Also, I would have liked to see or at least hear about more morphological changes - invisibility is so overdone at this point.
However, I still found the concept very intriguing and had fun reading it. 4.25 stars
Poseidon's Eyes was enthralling on several levels – the setting, the spirits, the characters… It bothered me I didn’t get that the main character was female until about half through the story and there were minor things here and there but overall it was excellent. 4.75 stars
On the Direction of Art, along with the other two texts, is what makes me want to bring the rating down even more. I just feel that these texts have no place in such an anthology. In my opinion, self-gratifying eulogies along with essays on the importance of reuniting writers and illustrators of sci-fi and fantasy are fine on the back cover, introduction and/or as a way to promote the anthology, but taking up space in itself just feels unnecessary and redundant.
Overall I enjoyed the short stories quite a lot and it has got to be one of the best collections of the genre I have read.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
December 12, 2016
(I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
BLURB
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —ORSON SCOTT CARD
OVERALL REVIEW OF THE BOOK
This book is without a doubt one of the best collections of Science Fiction and fantasy. The stories amazed me so much with the imagination that must have gone into creating them. Each story was unique and beautifully written. The stories deal with almost every science fiction aspect from Alien schools and humans colonizing other planets to apocalyptic worlds and alternate worlds. I personally enjoyed almost all the stories in the anthology. I'm only going to review my most favorite stories below as a review of the entire book would take too much time and would be too long.
A REVOLUTIONARY'S GUIDE TO PRACTICAL CONJURATION by Auston Habershaw
This was an absolute favorite! The setting for the story was amazing and I loved the vivid descriptions that helped me visualize the places in the story. I just learnt from the author's Goodreads page that his novels are set in the same world *squeal with excitement* I will definitely be checking them out! Back to the story, it deals with an interactive magic book with so much sass! Do I need say more?
TWELVE MINUTES TO VINH QUANG by Tim Napper
A unique read with some really interesting characters. The whole story is set at a single place and yet moves at a breakneck speed. Things were changing before I could say 'science-fiction'. It is a futuristic world yes but somehow feels familiar. The amazing futuristic gadgets while a part of the story, in a way remain in the background. I'd love to see this short story be developed into a full fledged novel as it definitely has the potential.
ROUGH DRAFT by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
The story of a writer in a world where travelling to alternate worlds and parallel universes is a common occurrence. It is a slight complex background and I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had elaborated about the laws and such in the world. The premise was beautiful and I particularly liked the main character's decision at the end of the story even though I hadn't liked him much in the beginning.
HALF PAST by Samantha Murray
This is the story of a girl who makes echos of herself during times of extreme and heightened emotions. A very interesting and magical tale with quite the twist at the end. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
INCONSTANT MOON by Larry Niven
It's about enjoying life in the face of impending doom. A man and his girlfriend spend their time enjoying on their last day on Earth. I loved how beautiful the story turned out to be despite apocalypse looming over the characters.
WISTERIA MELANCHOLY by Michael T. Banker
People when feeling dark emotions, face morphological changes. The story is about a bunch of kids who suffer from this kind of psychomorphical 'disorders'. The story was happy and sad at the same time and so beautifully written.
CONCLUSION
A highly enjoyable anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories. Each story is unique and beautiful in it's own way. I would recommend this to just about anyone!
BLURB
The future is here…the future is now! Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.
A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.
From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.
Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.
“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —ORSON SCOTT CARD
OVERALL REVIEW OF THE BOOK
This book is without a doubt one of the best collections of Science Fiction and fantasy. The stories amazed me so much with the imagination that must have gone into creating them. Each story was unique and beautifully written. The stories deal with almost every science fiction aspect from Alien schools and humans colonizing other planets to apocalyptic worlds and alternate worlds. I personally enjoyed almost all the stories in the anthology. I'm only going to review my most favorite stories below as a review of the entire book would take too much time and would be too long.
A REVOLUTIONARY'S GUIDE TO PRACTICAL CONJURATION by Auston Habershaw
This was an absolute favorite! The setting for the story was amazing and I loved the vivid descriptions that helped me visualize the places in the story. I just learnt from the author's Goodreads page that his novels are set in the same world *squeal with excitement* I will definitely be checking them out! Back to the story, it deals with an interactive magic book with so much sass! Do I need say more?
TWELVE MINUTES TO VINH QUANG by Tim Napper
A unique read with some really interesting characters. The whole story is set at a single place and yet moves at a breakneck speed. Things were changing before I could say 'science-fiction'. It is a futuristic world yes but somehow feels familiar. The amazing futuristic gadgets while a part of the story, in a way remain in the background. I'd love to see this short story be developed into a full fledged novel as it definitely has the potential.
ROUGH DRAFT by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
The story of a writer in a world where travelling to alternate worlds and parallel universes is a common occurrence. It is a slight complex background and I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had elaborated about the laws and such in the world. The premise was beautiful and I particularly liked the main character's decision at the end of the story even though I hadn't liked him much in the beginning.
HALF PAST by Samantha Murray
This is the story of a girl who makes echos of herself during times of extreme and heightened emotions. A very interesting and magical tale with quite the twist at the end. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
INCONSTANT MOON by Larry Niven
It's about enjoying life in the face of impending doom. A man and his girlfriend spend their time enjoying on their last day on Earth. I loved how beautiful the story turned out to be despite apocalypse looming over the characters.
WISTERIA MELANCHOLY by Michael T. Banker
People when feeling dark emotions, face morphological changes. The story is about a bunch of kids who suffer from this kind of psychomorphical 'disorders'. The story was happy and sad at the same time and so beautifully written.
CONCLUSION
A highly enjoyable anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories. Each story is unique and beautiful in it's own way. I would recommend this to just about anyone!
May 5, 2015
Re-posted from Elitist Book Reviews:
Writers of the Future is quite easily one of, if not THE, most prestigious contests in the world for speculative short fiction. The contest runs each quarter of the year, with the top three stories in the bunch being awarded with publication in the anthology, a place-dependent cash prize, royalties on the anthology they are published in (I believe), and a free week-long writing retreat with all of the new authors published in the anthology being taught by a large cadre of impressive, published authors. It's no small thing, this “little” contest. If you're a new writer, you should absolutely be starting off by sending your short stories there. Start at the top, I always say. Don't short-change yourself by starting anywhere else. If you're not a new writer though, and you find yourself picking this anthology up, you can be sure to find lots of interesting Science Fiction to satiate your palette.
The 31ST VOLUME OF THE WRITERS OF THE FUTURE ANTHOLOGY is exactly what I expected it to be: a solid collection of science fiction stories or stories written with a science fictional flair (yes, even the fantasy), with an emphasis on good writing. This is pretty much a definition that I've come to associate with the anthologies of the past, and my personal opinion.
The contest and I have had a fairly strong love-hate relationship since I first became aware of it. For a handful of years, I submitted stories to the contest every quarter. New story each quarter. I got a bunch of quarterfinalist awards, a few semi-finalist, but never anything more. Never breaking through to the coveted finalist position. To try and figure out exactly what I might be doing wrong (and at the behest of many of the published authors touting the contest) I started reading the anthologies. I read every story from volumes 18 through 26, and I found that although there was a certain sort of consistency to them, it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea.
In this volume there were thirteen stories, with the twelve quarterly winners and one published finalist (which happens occasionally based on the length of the stories that won). Among the stories, my opinion was pretty split with four a-piece in the Like, Mediocre, and Didn't Like categories, leaving one for my coveted Love. There were also a few essays/stories from some of the published authors associated with the contest. In general, I wasn't very impressed with any of the extra content. Although, Orson Scott Card's essay on why he thinks short fiction has died off and why it is yet so vitally important was really quite good.
So how 'bout those stories? I'll highlight a few of the ones that made the biggest impact with me.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joos – This was easily the story that most prominently stood up and screamed that it was science fiction. It was about a girl in an off-earth colony that is struggling with a dwindling population who makes a connection with an individual from an alien species that changes her life completely. It dealt with issues of doing things for the good of the community, what it means to be human, and the importance of fiction in our culture. Very good writing. It was everything science fiction is supposed to be. It was also overly long, incredibly sparse on character, and rather boring.
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman – This was my second favorite story of the anthology and was also the published finalist in the group. Go figure. A kid living on a space station is ditching out on school to go skipping across the universe with his friends to catch glimpses of planet-ending catastrophes. They hit low-use stations and hack the local telescope to view the destruction. As time passes, the gig gets more popular. The only thing this story lacked was an ending. Lots of fun otherwise.
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray – Very well-written story about a girl that subconsciously creates echoes of herself in times of extreme emotion. Each of them lasts for years and are stuck in the time immediately around their creation. The previous night, she had a fight with her father, and has decided to leave his house. Thus she's going around the house saying goodbye to her echoes, and the life she's known, when her aunt shows up at the front door to do a bit more than just say hello. Really quite good and my favorite story of the bunch.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper– This could have been another contender for my favorite story, but it also lacked any kind of an ending. Grumble. This one was about a girl trying to help purchase passage for refugees into the country, and she has to distract two unexpected government officers long enough to let her contact transfer the payments through the proper channels as they all sit at a table in a restaurant. As you can probably tell from my description, his one really didn't depend much on the science fiction elements, but they were there in the story. Still, it felt more like the first chapter of a book, and that kinda rubbed me the wrong way as this is a contest for short stories.
In general, I think if you're a lover of science fiction, you'll find that this anthology has quite a lot of intriguing stuff to offer. It's fun to see the cream of the newest stuff brought together in a single place. I do wish that the anthology had more fantasy in the mix, but as I mentioned before this is really a science fiction anthology, and that's mostly what you'll find.
Regardless, if you're a new author, you should check this out. It can seriously bring you nothing but good.
Age: 16+, I guess. Although see my comment about sex.
Profanity: A fair amount in some stories, but not used profusely. F-words sparingly in one story.
Violence: Death and some description of its means.
Sex: Moderately-detailed alien sex with a minor; a couple other sex scenes that are low detail but were a bit more than I expected for a "high-school aged" story collection.
Writers of the Future is quite easily one of, if not THE, most prestigious contests in the world for speculative short fiction. The contest runs each quarter of the year, with the top three stories in the bunch being awarded with publication in the anthology, a place-dependent cash prize, royalties on the anthology they are published in (I believe), and a free week-long writing retreat with all of the new authors published in the anthology being taught by a large cadre of impressive, published authors. It's no small thing, this “little” contest. If you're a new writer, you should absolutely be starting off by sending your short stories there. Start at the top, I always say. Don't short-change yourself by starting anywhere else. If you're not a new writer though, and you find yourself picking this anthology up, you can be sure to find lots of interesting Science Fiction to satiate your palette.
The 31ST VOLUME OF THE WRITERS OF THE FUTURE ANTHOLOGY is exactly what I expected it to be: a solid collection of science fiction stories or stories written with a science fictional flair (yes, even the fantasy), with an emphasis on good writing. This is pretty much a definition that I've come to associate with the anthologies of the past, and my personal opinion.
The contest and I have had a fairly strong love-hate relationship since I first became aware of it. For a handful of years, I submitted stories to the contest every quarter. New story each quarter. I got a bunch of quarterfinalist awards, a few semi-finalist, but never anything more. Never breaking through to the coveted finalist position. To try and figure out exactly what I might be doing wrong (and at the behest of many of the published authors touting the contest) I started reading the anthologies. I read every story from volumes 18 through 26, and I found that although there was a certain sort of consistency to them, it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea.
In this volume there were thirteen stories, with the twelve quarterly winners and one published finalist (which happens occasionally based on the length of the stories that won). Among the stories, my opinion was pretty split with four a-piece in the Like, Mediocre, and Didn't Like categories, leaving one for my coveted Love. There were also a few essays/stories from some of the published authors associated with the contest. In general, I wasn't very impressed with any of the extra content. Although, Orson Scott Card's essay on why he thinks short fiction has died off and why it is yet so vitally important was really quite good.
So how 'bout those stories? I'll highlight a few of the ones that made the biggest impact with me.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joos – This was easily the story that most prominently stood up and screamed that it was science fiction. It was about a girl in an off-earth colony that is struggling with a dwindling population who makes a connection with an individual from an alien species that changes her life completely. It dealt with issues of doing things for the good of the community, what it means to be human, and the importance of fiction in our culture. Very good writing. It was everything science fiction is supposed to be. It was also overly long, incredibly sparse on character, and rather boring.
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman – This was my second favorite story of the anthology and was also the published finalist in the group. Go figure. A kid living on a space station is ditching out on school to go skipping across the universe with his friends to catch glimpses of planet-ending catastrophes. They hit low-use stations and hack the local telescope to view the destruction. As time passes, the gig gets more popular. The only thing this story lacked was an ending. Lots of fun otherwise.
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray – Very well-written story about a girl that subconsciously creates echoes of herself in times of extreme emotion. Each of them lasts for years and are stuck in the time immediately around their creation. The previous night, she had a fight with her father, and has decided to leave his house. Thus she's going around the house saying goodbye to her echoes, and the life she's known, when her aunt shows up at the front door to do a bit more than just say hello. Really quite good and my favorite story of the bunch.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper– This could have been another contender for my favorite story, but it also lacked any kind of an ending. Grumble. This one was about a girl trying to help purchase passage for refugees into the country, and she has to distract two unexpected government officers long enough to let her contact transfer the payments through the proper channels as they all sit at a table in a restaurant. As you can probably tell from my description, his one really didn't depend much on the science fiction elements, but they were there in the story. Still, it felt more like the first chapter of a book, and that kinda rubbed me the wrong way as this is a contest for short stories.
In general, I think if you're a lover of science fiction, you'll find that this anthology has quite a lot of intriguing stuff to offer. It's fun to see the cream of the newest stuff brought together in a single place. I do wish that the anthology had more fantasy in the mix, but as I mentioned before this is really a science fiction anthology, and that's mostly what you'll find.
Regardless, if you're a new author, you should check this out. It can seriously bring you nothing but good.
Age: 16+, I guess. Although see my comment about sex.
Profanity: A fair amount in some stories, but not used profusely. F-words sparingly in one story.
Violence: Death and some description of its means.
Sex: Moderately-detailed alien sex with a minor; a couple other sex scenes that are low detail but were a bit more than I expected for a "high-school aged" story collection.
February 21, 2017
Book received from NetGalley.
I have read some of the older books in this series, but this is the first one in many years that I have picked up. I liked all of the stories but two of the stories I absolutely loved. Those were "Switch" by Steve Pantazis and "Stars that Make the Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss. Each of those stories had me hooked from the first sentence. "Switch" had a cop drama mystery feel and I've been slightly hooked on those lately. "Stars that Make the Dark Heaven Light" made me think of parts of the Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey and the Darkangel series by Meredith Ann Pierce. I know a certain famous author that's mentioned in this book in the series is not the best person, and many people have issues with him and his work, but I did my best to ignore his issues and give the new authors the chance they deserved. There are a few authors in this book that I'm hoping get more of their work published because I really enjoyed reading their stories.
I have read some of the older books in this series, but this is the first one in many years that I have picked up. I liked all of the stories but two of the stories I absolutely loved. Those were "Switch" by Steve Pantazis and "Stars that Make the Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss. Each of those stories had me hooked from the first sentence. "Switch" had a cop drama mystery feel and I've been slightly hooked on those lately. "Stars that Make the Dark Heaven Light" made me think of parts of the Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey and the Darkangel series by Meredith Ann Pierce. I know a certain famous author that's mentioned in this book in the series is not the best person, and many people have issues with him and his work, but I did my best to ignore his issues and give the new authors the chance they deserved. There are a few authors in this book that I'm hoping get more of their work published because I really enjoyed reading their stories.
April 26, 2015
"Writers of the Future Volume 31" is this year's collection of 13 best sci-fi stories by new writers. The stories (most of which are quite enjoyable) are interspersed with occasional essays on writing by L. Ron Hubbard, Orson Scott Card, etc. Overall, the collection had some nice gems and should give every sci-fi fan hours of enjoyment. (Or days, if you'd like to stretch it out!) Each story has an amazing illustration to go with it. The artists are featured alongside the authors, so who knows - maybe this book will be the big break they need.
Brief reviews:
"Switch" by David Farland - a cop using mental performance-enhancing drug is on the case to find the drug's manufacturer after a series of violent crimes. Interesting if you're into police stories and action movies.
"The God Whisperer" by Daniel J. Davis - what if people had minor gods as pets? Funny and creative story - shame it was so short, because there's definitely enough potential for a book.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss - a teenage girl from a space colony of genetically modified humans discovers an intelligent lifeform in her backyard. The story has a Young Adult feel to it and it's beautifully written.
"When Shadows Fall" by L. Ron Hubbard - a 1948 story about three men's attempts to save a dying, suffocating Earth in the distant future. An enjoyable yet unusual story written more like a parable.
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw - a teenager acquires a magical book to, well, learn magic and right the wrongs in his society (and his gang). Creative and entertaining, with a great twist at the end.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper - a deal between a Vietnamese gangster and a young woman who wants to smuggle some people through the border suddenly gets very complicated. Short and sweet, with a badass heroine but not a lot of action or plot development.
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton - a kid wanders the scorched steppes of the futuristic, post-global-warming world, with a strange purple ghost of a girl as his companion. Interesting idea, but the execution could be slightly better.
"Rough Draft" by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta - a bestselling sci-fi writer who stopped writing receives a novel written by himself - from a parallel universe. The story deals with practical applications of milking the multiverse for new content by artists and writers - and how it affects the creators who are still alive in this universe.
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman - a gang of teenagers livng on a space station teleport around the universe and hijack telescopes to watch other worlds get destroyed by natural disasters. Gloomy and disturbing, if you're into that kind of thing.
"Unrefined" by Martin L. Shoemaker - a metal refining station in deep space gets destroyed. Told from the point of view of the station creator's bodyguard, the story is mostly about flying around and trying to save a collapsing station, followed by a story of the employees pulling themselves up by bootstraps. If you're an Ayn Rand-loving engineer, you might enjoy it.
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray - a magician's daughter who creates "echoes" of herself during emotional outbursts learns something very disturbing when she decides to move out on her own. An interesting slow-paced tale of emotion, magic and different stages of growing up.
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" by Scott R. Parkin - a malfunctioning android who can only speak and think in 5-word sentences is sent to an alien world to discover why the aliens are killing off human colonists. Strange but overall enjoyable story.
"Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven - late at night, a freelance writer suddenly realizes that the ridiculously bright moon means something really, really bad is coming. A fun story about a guy and his girlfriend enjoying their last night on earth.
"The Graver" by Amy M. Hughes - in a world where super-powered people can suck out your soul, a widower is trying to protect his teenage daughter. Dark but creative.
"Wisteria Melancholy" by Michael T. Banker - a man who gets as heavy as lead when he feels sad moves into a clinic for other psychomorphically unstable people (mostly kids). Interesting concept, well written, contains some great quotable stuff.
"Poseidon's Eyes" by Kary English - something about a struggling artist, her magical redneck friend who lives on the beach, some ghosts, etc... If you enjoy very slowly developing stories, this might be the one for you - I ended up skipping to the end when I was halfway through.
Score: 4 stars
Brief reviews:
"Switch" by David Farland - a cop using mental performance-enhancing drug is on the case to find the drug's manufacturer after a series of violent crimes. Interesting if you're into police stories and action movies.
"The God Whisperer" by Daniel J. Davis - what if people had minor gods as pets? Funny and creative story - shame it was so short, because there's definitely enough potential for a book.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss - a teenage girl from a space colony of genetically modified humans discovers an intelligent lifeform in her backyard. The story has a Young Adult feel to it and it's beautifully written.
"When Shadows Fall" by L. Ron Hubbard - a 1948 story about three men's attempts to save a dying, suffocating Earth in the distant future. An enjoyable yet unusual story written more like a parable.
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw - a teenager acquires a magical book to, well, learn magic and right the wrongs in his society (and his gang). Creative and entertaining, with a great twist at the end.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper - a deal between a Vietnamese gangster and a young woman who wants to smuggle some people through the border suddenly gets very complicated. Short and sweet, with a badass heroine but not a lot of action or plot development.
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton - a kid wanders the scorched steppes of the futuristic, post-global-warming world, with a strange purple ghost of a girl as his companion. Interesting idea, but the execution could be slightly better.
"Rough Draft" by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta - a bestselling sci-fi writer who stopped writing receives a novel written by himself - from a parallel universe. The story deals with practical applications of milking the multiverse for new content by artists and writers - and how it affects the creators who are still alive in this universe.
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman - a gang of teenagers livng on a space station teleport around the universe and hijack telescopes to watch other worlds get destroyed by natural disasters. Gloomy and disturbing, if you're into that kind of thing.
"Unrefined" by Martin L. Shoemaker - a metal refining station in deep space gets destroyed. Told from the point of view of the station creator's bodyguard, the story is mostly about flying around and trying to save a collapsing station, followed by a story of the employees pulling themselves up by bootstraps. If you're an Ayn Rand-loving engineer, you might enjoy it.
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray - a magician's daughter who creates "echoes" of herself during emotional outbursts learns something very disturbing when she decides to move out on her own. An interesting slow-paced tale of emotion, magic and different stages of growing up.
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" by Scott R. Parkin - a malfunctioning android who can only speak and think in 5-word sentences is sent to an alien world to discover why the aliens are killing off human colonists. Strange but overall enjoyable story.
"Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven - late at night, a freelance writer suddenly realizes that the ridiculously bright moon means something really, really bad is coming. A fun story about a guy and his girlfriend enjoying their last night on earth.
"The Graver" by Amy M. Hughes - in a world where super-powered people can suck out your soul, a widower is trying to protect his teenage daughter. Dark but creative.
"Wisteria Melancholy" by Michael T. Banker - a man who gets as heavy as lead when he feels sad moves into a clinic for other psychomorphically unstable people (mostly kids). Interesting concept, well written, contains some great quotable stuff.
"Poseidon's Eyes" by Kary English - something about a struggling artist, her magical redneck friend who lives on the beach, some ghosts, etc... If you enjoy very slowly developing stories, this might be the one for you - I ended up skipping to the end when I was halfway through.
Score: 4 stars
June 6, 2015
This 31st WotF volume is another very good entry in the series. This year the book was edited by David Farland, who was Dave Wolverton in the last couple of volumes-- I'm not sure if that has any significance or not. The first story, Switch, is a pretty good near-future police-procedural with the none-too-subtle message that drugs are bad. The God Whisperer is an amusing short fantasy, and reminded me of the kind of thing that Hubbard himself frequently produced for Campbell's Unknown Worlds magazine. The third story, Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light, is a post-human exploration of adaptation and evolution, and reminded me quite a bit of some of the works of Ursula LeGuin or Kate Wilhelm from thirty or forty years ago. I've read that this one won the overall best-of-the-book award for the year, but it was among my least favorite; I thought it was too long and slow-paced and it just didn't do much for me. It's followed by an essay by Hubbard that didn't strike me as too worthwhile, and then by a fine old story of Hubbard's, When Shadows Fall, which is an excellent golden-age tale. Next up is the story with the longest title, A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration, which was one of my favorites; it's a very good fantasy story in which the book the protagonist is using to learn magic re-writes itself to argue with the reader. Very clever piece, very nicely written. Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang is a high-tech organized crime story which had a lot of potential but was written with too much Vietnamese language; it became quite distracting. Planar Ghosts is a nicely thought-out post-apocalypse romance which would have been much better if not told in an awkward present tense. Orson Scott Card contributed an essay about writing on paper vs. screen, or long vs. short, which quickly becomes a WotF testimonial. The next story is another reprint, Rough Draft by Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, a nice recursive Analog story about writing in the field. The next new story, Between Screens, is a good, very dark, short sf piece. It is followed by my favorite story in the book, Unrefined, which is a very good hard-sf adventure with excellent characterization and puzzling problems. I enjoyed it very much. Half Past is a very clever and quirky ghost story, deftly written. Purposes Made for Alien Minds is a story told all in five word sentences; it was more like watching a parlor trick than reading a story. Inconstant Moon by Larry Niven is the last of the reprints. Man, I -loved- this story when I first read it forty-some years ago, but I hadn't revisited it in some time. I was struck by just how dated it has become, much more so than the Hubbard in many ways. It's still a terrific story, but very much a contemporary 1970 story; I guess it's become an alternate-history now. It's followed by an essay written by Bob Eggleton about the Illustrators of the Future portion of the contest, of which he is the director. He also provided the cover of the book, which is a very nice and colorful futuristic scene. I did not care for the next new story, The Graver, which I found very unclear and too dark and confusing. The next story, Wisteria Melancholy, was also a little confusing and odd, but in a nice kind of upbeat way; I liked it quite a bit. The final entry, Poseidon's Eyes, is a very good urban fantasy, with some excellent main characters and an interesting plot, but which suffered some from having too many side characters that weren't well enough defined to keep straight. One of the best parts of the volume is that all of the illustrations of the book, one for each story, appears with the story it illustrates in traditional black-and-white, and then on lovely glossy slick paper in full color together at the end. I particularly liked the paintings done for Planar Ghosts and Unrefined and The God Whisperer. My favorite was the one for When Shadows Fall, which perfectly captures the look and feel of the old covers that Paul Orban and Kelly Freas did for Astounding. The book ends with a brief recap of the year from editor Farland. All in all it's an excellent and attractive volume, and I was pleased to win my copy from Goodreads. I'll start looking forward to the 32nd volume now!
May 6, 2016
This is a compilation of 13 short stories plus a few additional non-fictional works. As per most of these compilations or anthologies, it is a mix of good and not so good stories. If I were to be rating them individually, they would all be 2, 3 and 4 stars. Contrary to what I had originally thought when reading the synopsis, there are no fictional stories from Niven or Card.
Of all the stories, four stood out for me. They are:
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray
These stories alone made WOTF Vol 31 time well spent. Of those four, the first by Sharon Joss is the one I consider to be the best. If I could make one comment to the author on this, it would be that the story should have been more developed and published as a stand-alone. It was that good.
Of all the stories, four stood out for me. They are:
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray
These stories alone made WOTF Vol 31 time well spent. Of those four, the first by Sharon Joss is the one I consider to be the best. If I could make one comment to the author on this, it would be that the story should have been more developed and published as a stand-alone. It was that good.
May 3, 2015
Review: L. RON HUBBARD PRESENTS WRITERS OF THE FUTURE 31
Release May 4 2015
An electrifying collection of speculative fiction and art from some of the new talents in the field, Writers of the Future 31 is a book to curl up with, to dream, to expand your imagination and let your mind explore new universes. Here is living proof that speculative fiction is not only alive, but flourishing. Included also are stories from past and present greats, including the late L. Ron Hubbard, and Larry Niven, Rebecca Moesta, and Kevin J. Anderson. [Included is my supreme favorite by Larry Niven, "Inconstant Moon."]
Release May 4 2015
An electrifying collection of speculative fiction and art from some of the new talents in the field, Writers of the Future 31 is a book to curl up with, to dream, to expand your imagination and let your mind explore new universes. Here is living proof that speculative fiction is not only alive, but flourishing. Included also are stories from past and present greats, including the late L. Ron Hubbard, and Larry Niven, Rebecca Moesta, and Kevin J. Anderson. [Included is my supreme favorite by Larry Niven, "Inconstant Moon."]
May 6, 2015
First, a wee disclosure. My review of Martin Shoemaker's story Unrefined may be colored by our friendship and mutual admiration of Indian food. That said, I found WotF v31 an enjoyable anthology of SF stories. More enjoyable than other SF anthologies I've read. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that most of the prose is by newbies who are more concerned with demonstrating their storytelling chops than by making some literary statement--but I digress.
"Switch" is a police procedural set in the near future about a drug called "switch." Imagine a drug that takes your normal Mark 1 Model A human and amplifies him by 10 or 100. Sounds good, right? Yet Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said, "the line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man." And on this axis turns an exellent story about a cop investigating an illegal drug ring.
"The God Whisperer" is a fun little story of a suburban everyman who keeps a death-god as a pet. Be grateful your cat just pukes on your furniture next time you leave it home when you have to work late.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" is a story that explores the ecology of an alien world and the sociology of a struggling colony. Speaking of love it reminds us of the Bard who invited us to ponder, 'What a piece of work is a man!"
"When Shadows Fall" is a golden-age story that suggests that there are times when a Poet can manage that which Bankers and Generals cannot.
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" is a sly tale of a haunted book of magic and the revolutionary-naif who somehow manages to own it. When you sign a contract make sure you read the fine print.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" is a most satisfying crime story thatreminds us that some business is always personal.
"Planar Ghosts" is a story that takes place in one of those depressing post-apocalyptic settings where an underdog manages to lose everything but use his wits to win much more in the end.
"Rough Draft" is a story about an award winning SF writer who receives a draft of a sequel to his only award winning novel. Only problem is that he wrote it in a parallel universe. There's a lot of insight into SF writing, publishing, and fandom in this cute little story.
"Between Screens" is a story about a bunch of teenage thrill seekers who hack a galaxy-wide teleport network like the phone phreaks and joy riders of old. Joseph Stalin once said that when millions die it it a statistic and the story's young protagonist learns this first-hand.
"Unrefined" starts with a bang and follows a hard-pressed group of people through a difficult time. The physics is good--a necessary thing in a Hard SF story. But so is the human element. Mr. Shoemaker does a good job of evoking human emotion. I was made to care about the characters and their relationships in the story. Anyone familiar with project management and technical leadership in organizations will resonate with the protagonist's challenges and what he manages to accomplish.
"Half Past" is a bittersweet tale of anger, sadness, and magic that has a satisfying disclosure at its end.
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" This is a gimmick story. Do you like iambic pentameme? Each sententence has five words. Its meter soon annoyed me.
"Inconstant Moon" is a story I first enjoyed many years ago. It could not be set in this time, so dated references to Johnny Carson and Apollo are OK. A beautiful night holds a terrifying portent.
"The Graver" is a dark story of grief and regret and the souls of lost loved ones.
"Wisteria Melancholy" bids us imagine psychological disorders manifesting themselves not with phobias, cutting, or delusions, but with superhero powers straight out of the X-Men. In this context the protagonist deals with the guilt he feels over losing his sister.
"Poseidon's Eyes" is a beautiful tale of a haunted village by the sea. Like "Switch" the story shows us the good and evil of every man amplified (in this case) by supernatural means.
OH MY. I was a little disappointed when I read this anthology because all of the illustrations were rendered in black and white and wished that I could see them in color. When I finished the book just now I discover to my delight that all of the illustrations are reprised in color at the end.
"Switch" is a police procedural set in the near future about a drug called "switch." Imagine a drug that takes your normal Mark 1 Model A human and amplifies him by 10 or 100. Sounds good, right? Yet Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said, "the line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man." And on this axis turns an exellent story about a cop investigating an illegal drug ring.
"The God Whisperer" is a fun little story of a suburban everyman who keeps a death-god as a pet. Be grateful your cat just pukes on your furniture next time you leave it home when you have to work late.
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" is a story that explores the ecology of an alien world and the sociology of a struggling colony. Speaking of love it reminds us of the Bard who invited us to ponder, 'What a piece of work is a man!"
"When Shadows Fall" is a golden-age story that suggests that there are times when a Poet can manage that which Bankers and Generals cannot.
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" is a sly tale of a haunted book of magic and the revolutionary-naif who somehow manages to own it. When you sign a contract make sure you read the fine print.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" is a most satisfying crime story thatreminds us that some business is always personal.
"Planar Ghosts" is a story that takes place in one of those depressing post-apocalyptic settings where an underdog manages to lose everything but use his wits to win much more in the end.
"Rough Draft" is a story about an award winning SF writer who receives a draft of a sequel to his only award winning novel. Only problem is that he wrote it in a parallel universe. There's a lot of insight into SF writing, publishing, and fandom in this cute little story.
"Between Screens" is a story about a bunch of teenage thrill seekers who hack a galaxy-wide teleport network like the phone phreaks and joy riders of old. Joseph Stalin once said that when millions die it it a statistic and the story's young protagonist learns this first-hand.
"Unrefined" starts with a bang and follows a hard-pressed group of people through a difficult time. The physics is good--a necessary thing in a Hard SF story. But so is the human element. Mr. Shoemaker does a good job of evoking human emotion. I was made to care about the characters and their relationships in the story. Anyone familiar with project management and technical leadership in organizations will resonate with the protagonist's challenges and what he manages to accomplish.
"Half Past" is a bittersweet tale of anger, sadness, and magic that has a satisfying disclosure at its end.
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" This is a gimmick story. Do you like iambic pentameme? Each sententence has five words. Its meter soon annoyed me.
"Inconstant Moon" is a story I first enjoyed many years ago. It could not be set in this time, so dated references to Johnny Carson and Apollo are OK. A beautiful night holds a terrifying portent.
"The Graver" is a dark story of grief and regret and the souls of lost loved ones.
"Wisteria Melancholy" bids us imagine psychological disorders manifesting themselves not with phobias, cutting, or delusions, but with superhero powers straight out of the X-Men. In this context the protagonist deals with the guilt he feels over losing his sister.
"Poseidon's Eyes" is a beautiful tale of a haunted village by the sea. Like "Switch" the story shows us the good and evil of every man amplified (in this case) by supernatural means.
OH MY. I was a little disappointed when I read this anthology because all of the illustrations were rendered in black and white and wished that I could see them in color. When I finished the book just now I discover to my delight that all of the illustrations are reprised in color at the end.
February 22, 2016
"Writers of the Future Volume 31" is a collection of 13 sci-fi stories.
Every story has a picture and there are a few essays in between, but I will rate only the stories.
I will give a short review to each story:
"Switch" by David Farland -a drug addicted cop on a murder-case involving the drug he is addicted to. *A bit boring, interesting in the end again.*
"The God Whisperer" by Daniel J. Davis - gods as small pets. *good idea, wanted to read more*
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss - space colony, who genetical modified their offspring to the planet they are on, POV is from the oldest of these children. *great idea, good story, ending was a bit easy*
"When Shadows Fall" by L. Ron Hubbard - Earth has been slowly dying for a long time after being
the center of power of a giant imperium. *The story is from 1948 and it shows, can not recommend*
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw - a man from "the wrong side of the tracks" in a city, damaged by war, wants to learn magic to better his situation and learns that it is not that easy * liked the story very much, nice ending*
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper - a people-smuggler meeting in a vietnamese restaurant gets interesting *interesting tec, nice story*
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton - a boy wanders post-apocalyptic earth and is the only one who can see a "ghost". *i would like to read a full book about this*
"Rough Draft" by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta - a writer stopped writing after publishing his one and only very well received novel, one of his fans brings him a novel he wrote in a paralell universe *good idea, great execution*
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman - teenagers and teleportation *dark, depressing story - well written - not my cup of tea*
"Unrefined" by Martin L. Shoemaker - a nearly finished refining station gets destroyed through sabotage *man fixes nearly everything through testosterone and will power - well written, but this kind of fix-it, id-fiction is not for me*
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray - the daughter of a magician is making echos of herself at emotional stressful or happy moments *beautiful, poetic story*
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" by Scott R. Parkin - POV is an android made for contact with an unknown alien entity, who can only think in 5-word sentences *I found the form frustrating, the ideas were nice*
"Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven - a man notices, that the moon is way to bright and understands, what must have happened - spends the night with his girlfriend, without telling anyone *beautiful story, great idea, well written*
"The Graver" by Amy M. Hughes - people can remove souls, widower seeks sense of life *interesting idea, not so well written*
"Wisteria Melancholy" by Michael T. Banker - emotions can make you heavy or invisible *nice idea, I liked it*
"Poseidon's Eyes" by Kary English - a town near the sea, with fog-like ghosts that reflect the peoples emotions *I liked the idea that after tragedy, there is a chance for another life, a nice ending for the anthology*
something about a struggling artist, her magical redneck friend who lives on the beach, some ghosts, etc... If you enjoy very slowly developing stories, this might be the one for you - I ended up skipping to the end when I was halfway through.
Every story has a picture and there are a few essays in between, but I will rate only the stories.
I will give a short review to each story:
"Switch" by David Farland -a drug addicted cop on a murder-case involving the drug he is addicted to. *A bit boring, interesting in the end again.*
"The God Whisperer" by Daniel J. Davis - gods as small pets. *good idea, wanted to read more*
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" by Sharon Joss - space colony, who genetical modified their offspring to the planet they are on, POV is from the oldest of these children. *great idea, good story, ending was a bit easy*
"When Shadows Fall" by L. Ron Hubbard - Earth has been slowly dying for a long time after being
the center of power of a giant imperium. *The story is from 1948 and it shows, can not recommend*
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" by Auston Habershaw - a man from "the wrong side of the tracks" in a city, damaged by war, wants to learn magic to better his situation and learns that it is not that easy * liked the story very much, nice ending*
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper - a people-smuggler meeting in a vietnamese restaurant gets interesting *interesting tec, nice story*
"Planar Ghosts" by Krystal Claxton - a boy wanders post-apocalyptic earth and is the only one who can see a "ghost". *i would like to read a full book about this*
"Rough Draft" by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta - a writer stopped writing after publishing his one and only very well received novel, one of his fans brings him a novel he wrote in a paralell universe *good idea, great execution*
"Between Screens" by Zach Chapman - teenagers and teleportation *dark, depressing story - well written - not my cup of tea*
"Unrefined" by Martin L. Shoemaker - a nearly finished refining station gets destroyed through sabotage *man fixes nearly everything through testosterone and will power - well written, but this kind of fix-it, id-fiction is not for me*
"Half Past" by Samantha Murray - the daughter of a magician is making echos of herself at emotional stressful or happy moments *beautiful, poetic story*
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" by Scott R. Parkin - POV is an android made for contact with an unknown alien entity, who can only think in 5-word sentences *I found the form frustrating, the ideas were nice*
"Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven - a man notices, that the moon is way to bright and understands, what must have happened - spends the night with his girlfriend, without telling anyone *beautiful story, great idea, well written*
"The Graver" by Amy M. Hughes - people can remove souls, widower seeks sense of life *interesting idea, not so well written*
"Wisteria Melancholy" by Michael T. Banker - emotions can make you heavy or invisible *nice idea, I liked it*
"Poseidon's Eyes" by Kary English - a town near the sea, with fog-like ghosts that reflect the peoples emotions *I liked the idea that after tragedy, there is a chance for another life, a nice ending for the anthology*
something about a struggling artist, her magical redneck friend who lives on the beach, some ghosts, etc... If you enjoy very slowly developing stories, this might be the one for you - I ended up skipping to the end when I was halfway through.
May 8, 2015
This excellent collection brings together the winning short stories from previously unpublished fantasy and science fiction authors and winning illustrators from the long-running contest founded by L. Ron Hubbard. It also contains a few consistently decent founder and judge short stories and some skip-able, pointless nonfiction essays that add nothing to the collection. They are about as welcome as the President of the Academy speech in the middle of the Oscars. Between the forward, introduction, filler non-fiction essays, and ample after-words, the collection contains a lot of blather that takes away from the anthology.
The contest winners are excellent. Seven of the twelve winners have 4 or 5-star stories. The best of the best is Steve Pantazis'"Switch" a sci-fi, noir crime tale told through a haze of drug addiction. The collection contains off-world tales, dystopian Earth-futures, and god-intervention humor. It's a broad net, but worth it.
I've reviewed each fictional story in the collection. The contest winners:
Pantazis, Steve--"Switch"--5 stars
Davis, Daniel J.--"The God Whisperer"--4 stars
Joss, Sharon--"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light"--4 stars
Habershaw, Auston--"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration"--4 stars
Napper, Tim--"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang"--4 stars
Claxton, Krystal--"Planar Ghosts"--4 stars
Murray, Samantha--"Half Past"--4 stars
Shoemaker, Martin L.--"Unrefined"--3 stars
Hughes, Amy M.--"The Graver"--3 stars
English, Kary--"Poseidon's Eyes"--3 stars
Barker, Michael T.--"Wisteria Melancholy"--2 stars
Parkin, Scott R.--"Purposes Made for Alien Minds"--1 star
Also included:
Hubbard, L. Ron--"When Shadows Fall"--3 stars
Anderson, Kevin J. and Rebecca Moesta--"Rough Draft"--3 stars
Chapman, Zach--"Between Screens"--3 stars
Niven, Larry--"Inconstant Moon"--3 stars
The contest winners are excellent. Seven of the twelve winners have 4 or 5-star stories. The best of the best is Steve Pantazis'"Switch" a sci-fi, noir crime tale told through a haze of drug addiction. The collection contains off-world tales, dystopian Earth-futures, and god-intervention humor. It's a broad net, but worth it.
I've reviewed each fictional story in the collection. The contest winners:
Pantazis, Steve--"Switch"--5 stars
Davis, Daniel J.--"The God Whisperer"--4 stars
Joss, Sharon--"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light"--4 stars
Habershaw, Auston--"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration"--4 stars
Napper, Tim--"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang"--4 stars
Claxton, Krystal--"Planar Ghosts"--4 stars
Murray, Samantha--"Half Past"--4 stars
Shoemaker, Martin L.--"Unrefined"--3 stars
Hughes, Amy M.--"The Graver"--3 stars
English, Kary--"Poseidon's Eyes"--3 stars
Barker, Michael T.--"Wisteria Melancholy"--2 stars
Parkin, Scott R.--"Purposes Made for Alien Minds"--1 star
Also included:
Hubbard, L. Ron--"When Shadows Fall"--3 stars
Anderson, Kevin J. and Rebecca Moesta--"Rough Draft"--3 stars
Chapman, Zach--"Between Screens"--3 stars
Niven, Larry--"Inconstant Moon"--3 stars
August 2, 2015
This is an excellent selection of fantasy and science fiction.
The grand prize winner, Sharon Joss, "Stars That Make the Dark Heaven Light," is about the power of love... titled from a line in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this story takes place on an alien world where a young woman who hasn't quite evolved like the other humans due to factors explained in the story takes up with another alien with whom she feels close and discusses culture and fiction. "Why do humans write fiction?" The Alien Tok asks.
Stars That Make the Dark Heaven Light is romance though quotes form Darwin, Shakespeare and Marilyn Monroe head each chapter. I think this story will stick with booksellers and literature lovers as well as Sci Fi fans.
In "Unrefined" Martin Shoemaker provides a future space drama with a trip to Mars and a leadership crisis that needs to be solved after the loss of the captain.
Wisteria Melancholy the characters have the charm of the kids and sibling jests and foolery as in the Movie The Incredibles, but instead of a genetic family, the characters are in a house for unusual people with, perhaps, some mental powers they aren't quite in control of which is particularly fun of the twin boys and their ability to turn invisible. (Psychoporphically unstable!)
When Shadows Fall by L Ron Hubbard is included as a supplemental work. When Shadows Fall is a story of a future earth on it's last dreary legs. Earth has settled the galaxy and 3 space missions are sent out with three to attempt to gain aid as a last chance to have Earth Civilization resurrected. All looks lost until Lars the Ranger.... well I won't spoil the plot but the editor David Farland chose a story most befitting a storyteller"s heart.
There is a lot more. This volume is worth the reading and may be the best one done thus far.
Oh, Larry Niven's Inconsistent Moon is in as a supplementary piece.
It was nice to see a story spun off the scientific fact that primary influence on earth's weather is solar activity and that story is set during a sun flare which is heating up the earth quite quickly. I do remember when solar activity and its possible effect on Earth would come up as a subject in the news.
What would you do?
www.writersofthefuture.com has this books gala and awards celebration online with quick story synopsis, author and illustrator intros if you like your info "straight from the horse's mouth."
The grand prize winner, Sharon Joss, "Stars That Make the Dark Heaven Light," is about the power of love... titled from a line in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this story takes place on an alien world where a young woman who hasn't quite evolved like the other humans due to factors explained in the story takes up with another alien with whom she feels close and discusses culture and fiction. "Why do humans write fiction?" The Alien Tok asks.
Stars That Make the Dark Heaven Light is romance though quotes form Darwin, Shakespeare and Marilyn Monroe head each chapter. I think this story will stick with booksellers and literature lovers as well as Sci Fi fans.
In "Unrefined" Martin Shoemaker provides a future space drama with a trip to Mars and a leadership crisis that needs to be solved after the loss of the captain.
Wisteria Melancholy the characters have the charm of the kids and sibling jests and foolery as in the Movie The Incredibles, but instead of a genetic family, the characters are in a house for unusual people with, perhaps, some mental powers they aren't quite in control of which is particularly fun of the twin boys and their ability to turn invisible. (Psychoporphically unstable!)
When Shadows Fall by L Ron Hubbard is included as a supplemental work. When Shadows Fall is a story of a future earth on it's last dreary legs. Earth has settled the galaxy and 3 space missions are sent out with three to attempt to gain aid as a last chance to have Earth Civilization resurrected. All looks lost until Lars the Ranger.... well I won't spoil the plot but the editor David Farland chose a story most befitting a storyteller"s heart.
There is a lot more. This volume is worth the reading and may be the best one done thus far.
Oh, Larry Niven's Inconsistent Moon is in as a supplementary piece.
It was nice to see a story spun off the scientific fact that primary influence on earth's weather is solar activity and that story is set during a sun flare which is heating up the earth quite quickly. I do remember when solar activity and its possible effect on Earth would come up as a subject in the news.
What would you do?
www.writersofthefuture.com has this books gala and awards celebration online with quick story synopsis, author and illustrator intros if you like your info "straight from the horse's mouth."
June 2, 2015
I received this through Goodreads First Reads, and it's an overall impressive collection. In the introduction, editor David Farland calls the stories "perfect gems--gleaming and flawless," which is high praise and a high standard, but in truth, the majority of the tales here do definitely gleam. The only collection of similar girth I've read recently was last year's Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin, and while I enjoyed that, this volume 31 of WotF was, for me, even better.
I know I've at least seen the covers of some of the previous 30 volumes in this series through the years, but for some reason I never picked any of those up. Based on the strength of No. 31, I will amend that in the future.
Also in that intro, Farland notes almost offhandedly that this volume marks the end of the Illustrators of the Future contest, which has apparently been part of the series for 26 years. That, to me, is too bad because the art included with every story is part of what makes this book special--for sure it sets it apart from anything else I have on my shelves.
The collection includes four nonfiction pieces centered on the writing/illustrating craft--all short and all written by genre luminaries--which at first seemed like sort of odd little commercial breaks, but even those are interesting, and by the end I thought they, too, added to the book's appeal. Of those, I especially liked Orson Scott Card's "Fiction Without Paper," which anyone who's ever been involved with saving work to a floppy disk will appreciate.
Of the volume's 16 stories (13 of which were the results of the WotF international writers' program), the ones that stood out to me as the most vivid (or gleaming) were "Switch," "Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" (the contest's grand prize winner), "A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration," "Planar Ghosts," "Rough Draft," "Unrefined," and "Inconstant Moon" (the latter a classic from Larry Niven).
The volume seems like it would be an excellent self-contained introduction to the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and I look forward to seeing if others in the series have that same educational element and scope. This compilation definitely gives readers a reason to hope for the future.
I know I've at least seen the covers of some of the previous 30 volumes in this series through the years, but for some reason I never picked any of those up. Based on the strength of No. 31, I will amend that in the future.
Also in that intro, Farland notes almost offhandedly that this volume marks the end of the Illustrators of the Future contest, which has apparently been part of the series for 26 years. That, to me, is too bad because the art included with every story is part of what makes this book special--for sure it sets it apart from anything else I have on my shelves.
The collection includes four nonfiction pieces centered on the writing/illustrating craft--all short and all written by genre luminaries--which at first seemed like sort of odd little commercial breaks, but even those are interesting, and by the end I thought they, too, added to the book's appeal. Of those, I especially liked Orson Scott Card's "Fiction Without Paper," which anyone who's ever been involved with saving work to a floppy disk will appreciate.
Of the volume's 16 stories (13 of which were the results of the WotF international writers' program), the ones that stood out to me as the most vivid (or gleaming) were "Switch," "Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" (the contest's grand prize winner), "A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration," "Planar Ghosts," "Rough Draft," "Unrefined," and "Inconstant Moon" (the latter a classic from Larry Niven).
The volume seems like it would be an excellent self-contained introduction to the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and I look forward to seeing if others in the series have that same educational element and scope. This compilation definitely gives readers a reason to hope for the future.
June 15, 2015
Writers of the Future, Vol 31
There are 13 stories in this anthology of new writers, not all the best I’ve read, and some end abruptly and are annoying. But the majority are interesting and definitely worth your time.
I won’t go through all the stories; just the ones I liked.
Switch by Steve Pantazis was great. A society that has perfected a drug that will make you super human, but also brings you crashing down. After a friend dies he makes a personal vendetta out of finding the guy who sold his friend these super drugs. He finds him but also finds the fight of his life as the criminal has a better super drug. All in all several fun fight scenes.
God Whisperer by Daniel J. Davis was odd; a society that sells little Gods and how to train them as pets. Creepy story and ends abruptly.
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss, although the title is a bit long the story is not. Ettie is part of an experiment on this colony planet, where discoveries in genetics makes adaptation to other planets possible. But what if the changes to the human genome are such that you barely pass for human? And what if you run into a species that has not only perfected the science of this, but can become the species they meet? Fascinating premise; would make a cool novel.
I’ve read Hubbard’s articles and stories before. I always try to apply what he talks about in Art as a communication. When Shadows Fall is a fun sci-fi pulp story.
Larry Niven is no amateur and his story, Inconstant Moon, is great. I’ve read a lot of his early stories back in the day with his Kinzi and such. This story had a lot to do with humans not being able to fathom extinction. The story felt rushed, but was entertaining.
Poseidon’s Eyes by Kary English was fun too. It had me looking up all the Greek god and myth references throughout the story. Being part Greek myself, I could relate!
Bottom Line:
Overall a good start for many of these writers. I really hope they take advantage of this publicity and make a go of it. Kevin Anderson wrote a cool story in here about a guy who is a one hit wonder in the sci-fi world and never continued, but discovers an Alternate Earth where he did continue and the result. Fascinating stuff.
There are 13 stories in this anthology of new writers, not all the best I’ve read, and some end abruptly and are annoying. But the majority are interesting and definitely worth your time.
I won’t go through all the stories; just the ones I liked.
Switch by Steve Pantazis was great. A society that has perfected a drug that will make you super human, but also brings you crashing down. After a friend dies he makes a personal vendetta out of finding the guy who sold his friend these super drugs. He finds him but also finds the fight of his life as the criminal has a better super drug. All in all several fun fight scenes.
God Whisperer by Daniel J. Davis was odd; a society that sells little Gods and how to train them as pets. Creepy story and ends abruptly.
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light by Sharon Joss, although the title is a bit long the story is not. Ettie is part of an experiment on this colony planet, where discoveries in genetics makes adaptation to other planets possible. But what if the changes to the human genome are such that you barely pass for human? And what if you run into a species that has not only perfected the science of this, but can become the species they meet? Fascinating premise; would make a cool novel.
I’ve read Hubbard’s articles and stories before. I always try to apply what he talks about in Art as a communication. When Shadows Fall is a fun sci-fi pulp story.
Larry Niven is no amateur and his story, Inconstant Moon, is great. I’ve read a lot of his early stories back in the day with his Kinzi and such. This story had a lot to do with humans not being able to fathom extinction. The story felt rushed, but was entertaining.
Poseidon’s Eyes by Kary English was fun too. It had me looking up all the Greek god and myth references throughout the story. Being part Greek myself, I could relate!
Bottom Line:
Overall a good start for many of these writers. I really hope they take advantage of this publicity and make a go of it. Kevin Anderson wrote a cool story in here about a guy who is a one hit wonder in the sci-fi world and never continued, but discovers an Alternate Earth where he did continue and the result. Fascinating stuff.
August 8, 2015
Ok, I always read these collections worried about being labeled a Scientologist. Nope. Not even close. But year after year, I find that the editor does a beautiful job of finding great new talent with which to make up the year's volume. And this was no exception. Did not skip a single story. As with nearly every anthology, there are always amazing stories, and less terrific ones. Yet all in all, I think the book is full of winners. I look forward to seeing what some of these authors will gift to the world next. Grab a copy!!! Definitely time well spent.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.
November 30, 2016
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.25 of 5
Although this is a long-running series and has produced a number of popular authors today, I have never before read any of the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writer of the Future volumes. I am sorry for that because there really is some good writing inside (this volume, at least). But ...
...While there is some very good work within, there really isn't anything so outstanding that I've added the author to my 'watch' list. I think I enjoyed some of the essays by the established authors and artists more than most of the fiction here.
Of the stories, "Switch," the first story in the collection, by Steve Pantazis is a nice beginning and establishes that this will be a strong collection. The story is a sci-fi thriller in which an embedded drug allows for a direct link to the internet. It's a nicely written story, though the 'direct-link-to-internet' is not an uncommon theme anymore -- the Nexus series by Ramez Naam has done it exceedingly well.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper was one of the stronger stories for me. It was another thriller and perhaps I was in the mood for this sort of sci-fi?
If you've followed my reviews much, you will know that I do not like books that are all about form rather than story, so it may comes a surprise that I liked Scott R. Parkin's "Purposes Made for Alien Minds" as much as I did. The story begins with: "I think five word thoughts. I express five word sentences." And he does all through the story. It's clever and Parkin's does it well. The short story is EXACTLY where form should be experimented with - not the novel.
Other highlights in the book, for me, were L. Ron Hubbard's essay "Art"; Orson Scott Card's "Fiction without Paper"; "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven; and Bob Eggleton's "The Illustrators of the Future" and "On the Direction of Art" which was the first time I've ever really gotten any insight to the art direction process.
I was a little less excited by the artwork. Daniel Tyka (who is featured twice) and Greg Opalinski are the only two who stood out. Others were fine, but it's clear why this is an anthology of new, or raw, talent.
This book was certainly worthwhile and a good mix of new writers and established authors.
The book contains the following:
Preface
Introduction - David Farland
"Switch" - Steve Pantaszis; art - Daniel Tyka
"The God Whisperer" - Daniel J. Davis; art - Alex Brock
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" - Sharon Joss; art - Choong Yoon
"Art" - L. Ron Hubbard
"When Shadows Fall" - L. Ron Hubbard; art - Greg Opalinski
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" - Auston Habershaw; art - Shuangjian Liu
"Twelve Minutes to Vin Quang" - Tim Napper; art - Quinlan Septer
"Planar Ghosts" - Krystal Claxton; art - Amit Dutta
"Fiction without Paper" - Orson Scott Card
"Rough Draft" - Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta; art - Daniel Tyka
"Between Screens" - Zach Chapman; art - Trevor Smith
"Unrefined" - Martin L. Shoemaker; art - Tung Chi Lee
"Half Past" - Samantha Murray; art - Megan Kelchner
"Purposes Made for Aline Minds" - Scott R. Parkin; art - Emily Siu
"Inconstant Moon" - Larry Niven; art - Bernardo Mota
"The Illustrators of the Future" - Bob Eggleton
"The Graver" - Amy M. Hughes; art - Taylor Payton
"Wisteria Melancholy" - Michael T. Banker; art - Michelle Lockamy
"Poseidon's Eyes" - Kary English; art - Megen Nelson
"On the Direction of Art" - Bob Eggleton
Looking for a good book? Writers of the Future, Volume 31 is a decent collection of new talent (with some established authors for balance) and is nice if you're looking to see who is on the rise, but is otherwise a rough assortment.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Although this is a long-running series and has produced a number of popular authors today, I have never before read any of the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writer of the Future volumes. I am sorry for that because there really is some good writing inside (this volume, at least). But ...
...While there is some very good work within, there really isn't anything so outstanding that I've added the author to my 'watch' list. I think I enjoyed some of the essays by the established authors and artists more than most of the fiction here.
Of the stories, "Switch," the first story in the collection, by Steve Pantazis is a nice beginning and establishes that this will be a strong collection. The story is a sci-fi thriller in which an embedded drug allows for a direct link to the internet. It's a nicely written story, though the 'direct-link-to-internet' is not an uncommon theme anymore -- the Nexus series by Ramez Naam has done it exceedingly well.
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" by Tim Napper was one of the stronger stories for me. It was another thriller and perhaps I was in the mood for this sort of sci-fi?
If you've followed my reviews much, you will know that I do not like books that are all about form rather than story, so it may comes a surprise that I liked Scott R. Parkin's "Purposes Made for Alien Minds" as much as I did. The story begins with: "I think five word thoughts. I express five word sentences." And he does all through the story. It's clever and Parkin's does it well. The short story is EXACTLY where form should be experimented with - not the novel.
Other highlights in the book, for me, were L. Ron Hubbard's essay "Art"; Orson Scott Card's "Fiction without Paper"; "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven; and Bob Eggleton's "The Illustrators of the Future" and "On the Direction of Art" which was the first time I've ever really gotten any insight to the art direction process.
I was a little less excited by the artwork. Daniel Tyka (who is featured twice) and Greg Opalinski are the only two who stood out. Others were fine, but it's clear why this is an anthology of new, or raw, talent.
This book was certainly worthwhile and a good mix of new writers and established authors.
The book contains the following:
Preface
Introduction - David Farland
"Switch" - Steve Pantaszis; art - Daniel Tyka
"The God Whisperer" - Daniel J. Davis; art - Alex Brock
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" - Sharon Joss; art - Choong Yoon
"Art" - L. Ron Hubbard
"When Shadows Fall" - L. Ron Hubbard; art - Greg Opalinski
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" - Auston Habershaw; art - Shuangjian Liu
"Twelve Minutes to Vin Quang" - Tim Napper; art - Quinlan Septer
"Planar Ghosts" - Krystal Claxton; art - Amit Dutta
"Fiction without Paper" - Orson Scott Card
"Rough Draft" - Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta; art - Daniel Tyka
"Between Screens" - Zach Chapman; art - Trevor Smith
"Unrefined" - Martin L. Shoemaker; art - Tung Chi Lee
"Half Past" - Samantha Murray; art - Megan Kelchner
"Purposes Made for Aline Minds" - Scott R. Parkin; art - Emily Siu
"Inconstant Moon" - Larry Niven; art - Bernardo Mota
"The Illustrators of the Future" - Bob Eggleton
"The Graver" - Amy M. Hughes; art - Taylor Payton
"Wisteria Melancholy" - Michael T. Banker; art - Michelle Lockamy
"Poseidon's Eyes" - Kary English; art - Megen Nelson
"On the Direction of Art" - Bob Eggleton
Looking for a good book? Writers of the Future, Volume 31 is a decent collection of new talent (with some established authors for balance) and is nice if you're looking to see who is on the rise, but is otherwise a rough assortment.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
May 25, 2015
I received a copy of this book through the first reads give away program on Goodreads. I was really excited to receive this one because it had some big name authors and also some of my favorite authors that are becoming big names.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories in the book, and as a plus, there were some really nice illustrations to go with each. At the end of the book, there were quality color versions of all of them. I'll give each of the stories here a brief synopsis and rating.
Switch-
3/5
Detective Terrance Parker, a crooked cop, encounters a crime scene that affects him on a personal level. Not only did he know the victim, but the perpetrator was using a drug that has only recently become known to the world at large. A drug that Detective Parker has been using for the last two years. It makes you stronger, faster, and smarter until you need your next hit. But can you have too much of a good thing?
The God Whisperer-
5/5
Dog spelled backwards is god. This saying often is brought up to show the duality of man, but The God Whisperer gives the saying a different meaning. Instead of going to the pound to pick up a stray dog, one can pick of a stray god. Gods of trickery, war, love, honor, and every other style. Just make sure your god knows who is in charge. And if you're having trouble, call the God Whisperer.
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light-
5/5 (My favorite story from the book)
Humanity has taken to colonizing the galaxy with a retrovirus engineered for rapid adaptation. Sometimes, though the adaptations take a wrong turn and you might not get what you want. This story follows a colony that is struggling to adapt to an alien landscape, but they may have just encountered a species that can adapt faster than them.
When Shadows Fall-
3/5
Earth is a shadow of it's former self. Once the jewel of humanity's interstellar empire, now only an empty husk. Cities are in ruin, and the soil is nearly barren. Food, water, and fuel have nearly run out completely. The world may yet have a chance to survive if it pools its resources together. Can the leaders of the world find a way to revive the planet by going to the colonies of old; colonies that have been out of contact for hundreds of years?
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration-
5/5
Abe lives in a derelict city underground that has been ravaged by a magical war. Dark alleys are filled with demons and gangs. He has heard rumor of a book that may allow him to have a simpler life without the constant threat of robbery and death. Magic may solve all of his problems and the problems of the tcity. Unfortunately, it always comes at a price.
Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang-
2/5
Staying hidden when everything is recorded is a problem in this mini techno thriller. Especially when your livelihood involves illegally running families out of the country to safety. This is a story about an arrangement that's about to go awry.
Planar Ghosts-
4/5
Society has crumbled. The world is a series of oases from the heat, where one might buy their way inside during the hard months of the summer. This story follows Pup, and his invisible companion Ghost. Pup merely wants a safe haven for the impossible summer months. Though she cannot speak, Ghost is urging him to ignore the possibility of succor for something even greater.
Rough Draft-
5/5
Alternate realities are real, and Alternitech is mining them for cash. Alternate endings to famous movies, the lost plays of Shakespeare, new songs by dead artists that might not be dead in another reality: everything is worth something. Alternitech made the technology, and they're ready for their payoff.
Between Screens-
2/5
The galaxy is settled. The majority of people live on space stations and orbital settlements. Life is boring, and the young and reckless need something to keep themselves entertained. If you know when a disaster struck, and are able to find the right location at the right time, you have a new source of entertainment. Light takes time to reach across the galaxy, and you can watch the end of the world live.
Unrefined-
4/5
Disaster has struck this experimental orbital refinery. Worse yet, it doesn't seem to have been an accident. Does Sam have what it takes to pick up the pieces and take over as a leader before his dream is gone forever?
Half Past-
3/5
Elizabeth is a magician's daughter. Some of her father's power has transferred to her. Every time she experiences an emotional event, an echo of herself in that moment is formed. Each echo has a life of it's own, living in the moment for all eternity. They are her only friends, but she is tired of the life she is living. She wants to leave, but is she willing to leave these fragments of herself behind?
Inconsistent Moon-
4/5
Stan is staying up late watching TV when he notices that the moon is awfully bright. He continues to enjoy his night when he realizes that the moon is almost as bright as the sun. The novelty wears off quickly when he understands that it is sunlight reflecting off the moon, and that something horrible has happened. What would you do if you knew you only had a single night to live?
The Graver-
3/5
People have souls... maybe. Technology has found a way to pull the essence of a human's experiences and life from someone freshly dead and put them into the body of another. People who do this are called Gravers. The high of taking someone's "soul" is amazing, and some people will murder for it. But if someone eats your very existence, do you cease to exist?
Wisteria Melancholy-
4/5
This is a world where the emotionally unstable become physically unstable as well. Jason Fuller is a person that has experienced a great sense of loss that causes his body to grow dense, making it almost impossible to move. He must get past his sadness to function normally again. He goes to a home that deals in special cases like his. Can he experience true happiness again? Has he ever really experienced it before?
Poseidon's Eyes-
3/5
The seaside village of Summerland is a place of spirits. They can latch onto your feelings and magnify them. The homes there are rickety and full of holes, allowing the spirits to come and go as they please. But newer constructed homes are sealed up, letting the spirits in, but allowing no avenue of escape. When the spirits start to build up in one location for too long, even the briefest instances of unhappiness can become deadly.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories in the book, and as a plus, there were some really nice illustrations to go with each. At the end of the book, there were quality color versions of all of them. I'll give each of the stories here a brief synopsis and rating.
Switch-
3/5
Detective Terrance Parker, a crooked cop, encounters a crime scene that affects him on a personal level. Not only did he know the victim, but the perpetrator was using a drug that has only recently become known to the world at large. A drug that Detective Parker has been using for the last two years. It makes you stronger, faster, and smarter until you need your next hit. But can you have too much of a good thing?
The God Whisperer-
5/5
Dog spelled backwards is god. This saying often is brought up to show the duality of man, but The God Whisperer gives the saying a different meaning. Instead of going to the pound to pick up a stray dog, one can pick of a stray god. Gods of trickery, war, love, honor, and every other style. Just make sure your god knows who is in charge. And if you're having trouble, call the God Whisperer.
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light-
5/5 (My favorite story from the book)
Humanity has taken to colonizing the galaxy with a retrovirus engineered for rapid adaptation. Sometimes, though the adaptations take a wrong turn and you might not get what you want. This story follows a colony that is struggling to adapt to an alien landscape, but they may have just encountered a species that can adapt faster than them.
When Shadows Fall-
3/5
Earth is a shadow of it's former self. Once the jewel of humanity's interstellar empire, now only an empty husk. Cities are in ruin, and the soil is nearly barren. Food, water, and fuel have nearly run out completely. The world may yet have a chance to survive if it pools its resources together. Can the leaders of the world find a way to revive the planet by going to the colonies of old; colonies that have been out of contact for hundreds of years?
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration-
5/5
Abe lives in a derelict city underground that has been ravaged by a magical war. Dark alleys are filled with demons and gangs. He has heard rumor of a book that may allow him to have a simpler life without the constant threat of robbery and death. Magic may solve all of his problems and the problems of the tcity. Unfortunately, it always comes at a price.
Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang-
2/5
Staying hidden when everything is recorded is a problem in this mini techno thriller. Especially when your livelihood involves illegally running families out of the country to safety. This is a story about an arrangement that's about to go awry.
Planar Ghosts-
4/5
Society has crumbled. The world is a series of oases from the heat, where one might buy their way inside during the hard months of the summer. This story follows Pup, and his invisible companion Ghost. Pup merely wants a safe haven for the impossible summer months. Though she cannot speak, Ghost is urging him to ignore the possibility of succor for something even greater.
Rough Draft-
5/5
Alternate realities are real, and Alternitech is mining them for cash. Alternate endings to famous movies, the lost plays of Shakespeare, new songs by dead artists that might not be dead in another reality: everything is worth something. Alternitech made the technology, and they're ready for their payoff.
Between Screens-
2/5
The galaxy is settled. The majority of people live on space stations and orbital settlements. Life is boring, and the young and reckless need something to keep themselves entertained. If you know when a disaster struck, and are able to find the right location at the right time, you have a new source of entertainment. Light takes time to reach across the galaxy, and you can watch the end of the world live.
Unrefined-
4/5
Disaster has struck this experimental orbital refinery. Worse yet, it doesn't seem to have been an accident. Does Sam have what it takes to pick up the pieces and take over as a leader before his dream is gone forever?
Half Past-
3/5
Elizabeth is a magician's daughter. Some of her father's power has transferred to her. Every time she experiences an emotional event, an echo of herself in that moment is formed. Each echo has a life of it's own, living in the moment for all eternity. They are her only friends, but she is tired of the life she is living. She wants to leave, but is she willing to leave these fragments of herself behind?
Inconsistent Moon-
4/5
Stan is staying up late watching TV when he notices that the moon is awfully bright. He continues to enjoy his night when he realizes that the moon is almost as bright as the sun. The novelty wears off quickly when he understands that it is sunlight reflecting off the moon, and that something horrible has happened. What would you do if you knew you only had a single night to live?
The Graver-
3/5
People have souls... maybe. Technology has found a way to pull the essence of a human's experiences and life from someone freshly dead and put them into the body of another. People who do this are called Gravers. The high of taking someone's "soul" is amazing, and some people will murder for it. But if someone eats your very existence, do you cease to exist?
Wisteria Melancholy-
4/5
This is a world where the emotionally unstable become physically unstable as well. Jason Fuller is a person that has experienced a great sense of loss that causes his body to grow dense, making it almost impossible to move. He must get past his sadness to function normally again. He goes to a home that deals in special cases like his. Can he experience true happiness again? Has he ever really experienced it before?
Poseidon's Eyes-
3/5
The seaside village of Summerland is a place of spirits. They can latch onto your feelings and magnify them. The homes there are rickety and full of holes, allowing the spirits to come and go as they please. But newer constructed homes are sealed up, letting the spirits in, but allowing no avenue of escape. When the spirits start to build up in one location for too long, even the briefest instances of unhappiness can become deadly.
March 15, 2022
I was provided an early release galley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have a long history with short story anthology collections. Growing up, I often picked up paperbacks that had an array of tales or fantasy/sci-fi magazines that specialized in short fiction. It excited me to read about new and different worlds. The variety meant some would resonate with me and some might fall flat. That's the nature of the best with this kind of publication.
No surprise, the same happened for me with this latest volume of Writers of the Future. I'll briefly focus on the ones I enjoyed:
The God Whisperer by Daniel J. Davis: loved the concept and really would have liked to see it explored in a longer format
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration by Auston Habershaw: this was a fun fantasy piece with a number of cool elements to it
Rough Draft by Kevin J Anderson: the writer in me absolutely loved this one. So many elements that clicked with me here.
I also want to give some props to the artwork included in the collection. A number of pieces were absolutely perfect for the stories they were paired. They reminded me of covers of classic books and gaming magazines that filled my world in the 80's.
For those looking for some fresh new fantasy and science fiction tales, this is one to check out.
I have a long history with short story anthology collections. Growing up, I often picked up paperbacks that had an array of tales or fantasy/sci-fi magazines that specialized in short fiction. It excited me to read about new and different worlds. The variety meant some would resonate with me and some might fall flat. That's the nature of the best with this kind of publication.
No surprise, the same happened for me with this latest volume of Writers of the Future. I'll briefly focus on the ones I enjoyed:
The God Whisperer by Daniel J. Davis: loved the concept and really would have liked to see it explored in a longer format
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration by Auston Habershaw: this was a fun fantasy piece with a number of cool elements to it
Rough Draft by Kevin J Anderson: the writer in me absolutely loved this one. So many elements that clicked with me here.
I also want to give some props to the artwork included in the collection. A number of pieces were absolutely perfect for the stories they were paired. They reminded me of covers of classic books and gaming magazines that filled my world in the 80's.
For those looking for some fresh new fantasy and science fiction tales, this is one to check out.
November 20, 2023
This edition of Writers of the Future is mostly filled with science fiction, with some odd fantasy slipped in the mix. Often, the science fiction is mixed with other genres. The stories in here are mainly New Weird and cyberpunk, although some of them are grimdark. Most of the stories are very well done, even if they are more of the genre-blending type and some of their tropes are old hat to someone reading this almost a decade later.
This edition has many good stories. Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light is a sci-fi romance about a human colony on an alien planet that has some disturbing concepts in it. Switch is about a drug of the future and is possibly the only story in this anthology with a political slant. Half Past is a wistful, creepy story that made me cry like the dickens. Like all editions of Writers of the Future, this collection transcends its time and is worth a look.
This edition has many good stories. Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light is a sci-fi romance about a human colony on an alien planet that has some disturbing concepts in it. Switch is about a drug of the future and is possibly the only story in this anthology with a political slant. Half Past is a wistful, creepy story that made me cry like the dickens. Like all editions of Writers of the Future, this collection transcends its time and is worth a look.
June 22, 2021
Oddly enough, though I am a long time fan of science fiction and some fantasy, I had not heard of this series. I picked up a used copy of this particular volume and found out what the series was about- plus that this particular book had come from a convention and had been signed multiple times by the authors of various stories. So thank, Tina and Tyler, for taking it around! I have a friend I'm going to give it to who will appreciate the ambiance of this more than I do.
But to the point: this volume had several good solid stories and one I really liked a lot (Half Past, to be exact.) and a couple that landed with a dull thud for me...but overall, I give the whole work a better-than-average rating and therefore recommend it.
But to the point: this volume had several good solid stories and one I really liked a lot (Half Past, to be exact.) and a couple that landed with a dull thud for me...but overall, I give the whole work a better-than-average rating and therefore recommend it.
August 7, 2017
I got this from NetGalley to review:
As with any collection, there were some delightful stories, and some that I just didn't connect with. However, if this is a taste of how the genre is doing, then it's humming along just fine. I wasn't overly impressed with the artwork, but I did read it on a kindle, and artwork rarely translates well into that medium. A great sampler to maybe find your next new favorite writer.
As with any collection, there were some delightful stories, and some that I just didn't connect with. However, if this is a taste of how the genre is doing, then it's humming along just fine. I wasn't overly impressed with the artwork, but I did read it on a kindle, and artwork rarely translates well into that medium. A great sampler to maybe find your next new favorite writer.
August 1, 2017
This is the second consecutive WotF volume I've read, and what impressed me most with this edition was the variety. The stories run the spectrum of SF&F, and though the writing quality varied, the ideas were consistently fresh.
As always, the illustrations were a highlight of the volume. They bring the stories to life in the mind in a way words simply can't.
As always, the illustrations were a highlight of the volume. They bring the stories to life in the mind in a way words simply can't.
August 10, 2017
Mixed bag I read intermittently showing, I think, a slight preference for world-building over ground-breaking narrative. 'Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light' by Sharon Joss was a standout. As for 'Purposes Made for Alien Minds' by Scott R Parkin, written in five-word sentences: Stop this Drivel Now Please.
March 17, 2024
As always, Writers of the Future volumes make great short story collections. The stories can vary wildly (in style, subject, and length) so they don't get boring.
favorites:
Wisteria Melancholy - fun creative concept and good contained story
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration
Half Past
Others I liked:
Planar Ghosts
Poseidon’s Eyes
Unrefined
favorites:
Wisteria Melancholy - fun creative concept and good contained story
A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration
Half Past
Others I liked:
Planar Ghosts
Poseidon’s Eyes
Unrefined
January 1, 2019
Wow! This collection of sci fi tales was so consistently GOOD. Usually, sci fi collections are hit or miss. I was impressed and entertained. Eager to read all the others.
September 30, 2022
An interesting collection of stories, some better than others, but all worth reading. Some good authors.
November 8, 2023
I have to look up several authors who impressed me from this anthology
February 25, 2016
3.5 stars - rounded up
While the book as a whole was satisfying, not all the stories were. I guess this is a fact that comes with any anthology. But I enjoyed these stories enough that I am seriously looking into getting each of the annual releases, just to have quality short fiction on my bookshelf.
Switch
The details were vivid enough that the drug use was very believable. The plot takes the reader on a ride through the "Mindnet" and true speculative fiction. A debut author makes a great first impression.
The God Whisperer
A satirical story about what happens when you have a mini-God for a pet. A puppy might piddle, but a deity can rain destruction on your furniture (and your sanity). Fun, quick read.
Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light
My apologies to the author but this one was one of those that fell short. It wasn't necessarily poorly told, it was just that the plot felt like one of those movies that tugs at your heart strings by climbing on your chest and yanking on them. Girl finds little alien "pet" and ends up going through a transformation that is unforgettable. For me though: It felt forced and self-serving as I read about the little creature. The rest was kind of predictable.
A Revolutionary’s Guide to Practical Conjuration
This was a neat story; a little dirty, dark and dystopian. I like those authors who take risks and try unique ideas and plot devices. More fantasy than anything else, a dark book of magic plays havoc with the protagonist as the reader tries to figure out the ending before the book does.
Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang
Another dark tale that has enough plot twists and unclear motives that the reader can't wait to find out what happens. A thriller, more or less, that follows a smuggler who gets more than he bargains for.
Planar Ghosts
A cute story with a great setting. The author does a great job bending reality as you try to figure out if a ghost is a ghost or something else. The details and tone are engaging and realistic.
Rough Draft
Going to other dimensions to get story ideas. This is a SF story written by a SF author about a SF author writing SF stories. You get the point...?
Between Screens
Was not as memorable as the others. Teenagers hoping around to various locations just to watch planets die. Kind of pointless.
Unrefined
A lot of flying around to save a station. Forgettable.
Half Past
A unique fantasy story about a girl who makes copies of herself. A sort of sad tale about being trapped at home? I guess? Not sure. Wasn't impressed.
Purposes Made for Alien Minds
What if the android trying to stop the killing of colonists could only talk in 5 word sentences? You get this unique tale. A bit tedious at times, but uniquely fun if you're in the mood for it.
Inconstant Moon
The moon is growing brighter. What do you do on your last night on earth? Especially if you missed the fact that it was ending... Another unique story that demonstrates some great thinking out of the box rather than derivative retreads of worn out plotlines.
The Graver
This one was a little dark and specific for my tastes. The author is a good story-teller, I just didn't care for the story as much as the others. Well told if you like this kind of tale.
Wisteria Melancholy
This was fun. Imagine a place where psychomorphically unstable kids go when they need help/treatment. Imagine walking in feeling depressed which could increase your density mass enough that gravity would pull you through the floorboards. The unique disabilities and the characters that fill this story are what makes this an engaging tale.
Poseidon's Eyes
Too slow to get going, and sadly I just didn't care. The author did ok, the story is just not my cup of sea water.
All of the authors demonstrated their ability to weave a story together. No matter what I thought about the story, the telling was above par and should make the authors proud.
While the book as a whole was satisfying, not all the stories were. I guess this is a fact that comes with any anthology. But I enjoyed these stories enough that I am seriously looking into getting each of the annual releases, just to have quality short fiction on my bookshelf.
Switch
The details were vivid enough that the drug use was very believable. The plot takes the reader on a ride through the "Mindnet" and true speculative fiction. A debut author makes a great first impression.
The God Whisperer
A satirical story about what happens when you have a mini-God for a pet. A puppy might piddle, but a deity can rain destruction on your furniture (and your sanity). Fun, quick read.
Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light
My apologies to the author but this one was one of those that fell short. It wasn't necessarily poorly told, it was just that the plot felt like one of those movies that tugs at your heart strings by climbing on your chest and yanking on them. Girl finds little alien "pet" and ends up going through a transformation that is unforgettable. For me though: It felt forced and self-serving as I read about the little creature. The rest was kind of predictable.
A Revolutionary’s Guide to Practical Conjuration
This was a neat story; a little dirty, dark and dystopian. I like those authors who take risks and try unique ideas and plot devices. More fantasy than anything else, a dark book of magic plays havoc with the protagonist as the reader tries to figure out the ending before the book does.
Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang
Another dark tale that has enough plot twists and unclear motives that the reader can't wait to find out what happens. A thriller, more or less, that follows a smuggler who gets more than he bargains for.
Planar Ghosts
A cute story with a great setting. The author does a great job bending reality as you try to figure out if a ghost is a ghost or something else. The details and tone are engaging and realistic.
Rough Draft
Going to other dimensions to get story ideas. This is a SF story written by a SF author about a SF author writing SF stories. You get the point...?
Between Screens
Was not as memorable as the others. Teenagers hoping around to various locations just to watch planets die. Kind of pointless.
Unrefined
A lot of flying around to save a station. Forgettable.
Half Past
A unique fantasy story about a girl who makes copies of herself. A sort of sad tale about being trapped at home? I guess? Not sure. Wasn't impressed.
Purposes Made for Alien Minds
What if the android trying to stop the killing of colonists could only talk in 5 word sentences? You get this unique tale. A bit tedious at times, but uniquely fun if you're in the mood for it.
Inconstant Moon
The moon is growing brighter. What do you do on your last night on earth? Especially if you missed the fact that it was ending... Another unique story that demonstrates some great thinking out of the box rather than derivative retreads of worn out plotlines.
The Graver
This one was a little dark and specific for my tastes. The author is a good story-teller, I just didn't care for the story as much as the others. Well told if you like this kind of tale.
Wisteria Melancholy
This was fun. Imagine a place where psychomorphically unstable kids go when they need help/treatment. Imagine walking in feeling depressed which could increase your density mass enough that gravity would pull you through the floorboards. The unique disabilities and the characters that fill this story are what makes this an engaging tale.
Poseidon's Eyes
Too slow to get going, and sadly I just didn't care. The author did ok, the story is just not my cup of sea water.
All of the authors demonstrated their ability to weave a story together. No matter what I thought about the story, the telling was above par and should make the authors proud.
June 2, 2015
Review:
Switch written by Steve Pantazis, Illustrated by Daniel Tyka
Switch, a mind altering drug with the capability of super-human strength, ability to multi-task with just a thought in your mind, and the ability to counteract everything negative or positive in your mind. Temporal Lobe Implant, TLI, a techno-biological implant that allows the owner to access the internet with just a thought across their mind, it’s said to replace computers and smartphones – can you imagine that?
A police detective investigating the death of a teenage user of Switch all the while hiding his own addiction to the same drug that caused this young man to go on a shooting spree – how can he hide his own addiction while working as a police detective investigating the same crimes he himself is purporting?
A short story that packs a lot of punch in just 45 pages! Amazingly the author is able to develop a modern world inside our seemingly simple one – technology overlaying drugs overlaying everyday life.
The God Whisperer written by Daniel J. Davis, Illustrated by Alex Brock
Imagine being able to walk into the Humane Society and instead of adopting a furry four-legged friend you could adopt a God from another planet? What is that same God was a “bad God” and one that no matter what you’ve tried – training classes, dominance training, peaceful training, etc. just would not cooperate and you needed the Cesar Milan of the God World! That’s exactly what happens in this cute story of a single young man named Jack, who adopts a God aptly named, Zu’ar, that is more than a handful for him to handle alone. He destroys his garden, has attacked the neighbors, destroys his home, and just all around does not cooperate – that is until Jack calls in the God Whisperer, Doris. She comes and does her overall introduction and they immediately get to work.
A fun filled story that takes me back to watching episodes of the Dog Whisperer with my kids on television – time and time again we watched Cesar Milan work his magic on troublesome dogs and never in a million years thought someone would write a story like this one that packs a punch!
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light written by Sharon Joss, Illustrated by Choong Yoon
Life on a distant planet, somewhere in the future as seen through the eyes of a 17yr old woman-child who longs to become a woman. However, something in her DNA has prevented that from happening, a mutation that has occurred to those children born on the Dominion Colony – not every female child matures to become a woman able to bear children, for Netta that is the one thing she yearns for the most – to be more than the Nanny to the colonies children – she yearns for the unconditional love that that someone special would bring into her life. Then one day while digging up Lapids with the children of the colony she finds a rare one that has a yellow strip – there are only four others unlike the other Lapids – four with yellow stripes. And as they begin to grow and develop they turn out to be much more than Lapids, they are Tok, members of a culture long forgotten on the planet Dominion currently inhabits – as they grow and change – Netta does as well – she learns to love – more than the parent-child love she’s experienced – but the romantic love she’s yearned for all of her life. And she goes to the ends of her world to protect that love.
The author managed to develop a life, a world, and an entire culture in this short novella – as I cannot call it a short story sitting at 17 chapters – it’s a story told beautifully through the eyes of Netta, not in her first person, but narrated as she sees it! Her love for Vox goes to the realm of almost impossible in her culture, but the bond forged between him in his pupae stage is one that is completely undeniable. I can’t stop thinking about this story and only yearn for more from Sharon Joss!
Switch written by Steve Pantazis, Illustrated by Daniel Tyka
Switch, a mind altering drug with the capability of super-human strength, ability to multi-task with just a thought in your mind, and the ability to counteract everything negative or positive in your mind. Temporal Lobe Implant, TLI, a techno-biological implant that allows the owner to access the internet with just a thought across their mind, it’s said to replace computers and smartphones – can you imagine that?
A police detective investigating the death of a teenage user of Switch all the while hiding his own addiction to the same drug that caused this young man to go on a shooting spree – how can he hide his own addiction while working as a police detective investigating the same crimes he himself is purporting?
A short story that packs a lot of punch in just 45 pages! Amazingly the author is able to develop a modern world inside our seemingly simple one – technology overlaying drugs overlaying everyday life.
The God Whisperer written by Daniel J. Davis, Illustrated by Alex Brock
Imagine being able to walk into the Humane Society and instead of adopting a furry four-legged friend you could adopt a God from another planet? What is that same God was a “bad God” and one that no matter what you’ve tried – training classes, dominance training, peaceful training, etc. just would not cooperate and you needed the Cesar Milan of the God World! That’s exactly what happens in this cute story of a single young man named Jack, who adopts a God aptly named, Zu’ar, that is more than a handful for him to handle alone. He destroys his garden, has attacked the neighbors, destroys his home, and just all around does not cooperate – that is until Jack calls in the God Whisperer, Doris. She comes and does her overall introduction and they immediately get to work.
A fun filled story that takes me back to watching episodes of the Dog Whisperer with my kids on television – time and time again we watched Cesar Milan work his magic on troublesome dogs and never in a million years thought someone would write a story like this one that packs a punch!
Stars that Make Dark Heaven Light written by Sharon Joss, Illustrated by Choong Yoon
Life on a distant planet, somewhere in the future as seen through the eyes of a 17yr old woman-child who longs to become a woman. However, something in her DNA has prevented that from happening, a mutation that has occurred to those children born on the Dominion Colony – not every female child matures to become a woman able to bear children, for Netta that is the one thing she yearns for the most – to be more than the Nanny to the colonies children – she yearns for the unconditional love that that someone special would bring into her life. Then one day while digging up Lapids with the children of the colony she finds a rare one that has a yellow strip – there are only four others unlike the other Lapids – four with yellow stripes. And as they begin to grow and develop they turn out to be much more than Lapids, they are Tok, members of a culture long forgotten on the planet Dominion currently inhabits – as they grow and change – Netta does as well – she learns to love – more than the parent-child love she’s experienced – but the romantic love she’s yearned for all of her life. And she goes to the ends of her world to protect that love.
The author managed to develop a life, a world, and an entire culture in this short novella – as I cannot call it a short story sitting at 17 chapters – it’s a story told beautifully through the eyes of Netta, not in her first person, but narrated as she sees it! Her love for Vox goes to the realm of almost impossible in her culture, but the bond forged between him in his pupae stage is one that is completely undeniable. I can’t stop thinking about this story and only yearn for more from Sharon Joss!
July 23, 2024
I enjoy all the short stories in all the annual volumes I have read. This one is no exception. Truly these stories are the best of the best.
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