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Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft
Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft is an anthology of new short work from some of the greatest science fiction writers in the field. These visionary stories explore prediction science, quantum computing, real-time translation, machine learning, and much more. The authors used inside access to leading-edge work from Microsoft Research as inspiration, crafting pieces that predict the near-future of technology%mdash;and examine its complex relationship to our core humanity.
Future Visions features contributions from:
Elizabeth Bear
Greg Bear
David Brin
Nancy Kress
Ann Leckie
Jack McDevitt
Seanan McGuire
Robert J. Sawyer
…along with a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, plus original illustrations by Joey Camacho.
These are some of today’s most visionary creators—and they’ve joined together to give us a preview of tomorrow.
Future Visions features contributions from:
Elizabeth Bear
Greg Bear
David Brin
Nancy Kress
Ann Leckie
Jack McDevitt
Seanan McGuire
Robert J. Sawyer
…along with a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, plus original illustrations by Joey Camacho.
These are some of today’s most visionary creators—and they’ve joined together to give us a preview of tomorrow.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 17, 2015
371 people are currently reading
1214 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
March 17, 2016
This volume is an interesting conceit - Microsoft gave a number of the top SF authors a 'behind-the-scenes' tour of tech they're working on, in return for stories. I was afraid the book in general would be more of an advertisement than it is - as a matter of fact, at least a couple of the stories are more cautionary than celebratory - but still, the majority did not feel genuinely inspired. The 'big names' drew me in, but with the exception of Ann Leckie's story, the pieces here aren't among these writers' best work. Still, the book is free - so there's no big commitment involved in checking it out!
*** Hello, Hello - Seanan McGuire
An advanced videophone interface with a built-in, adaptive translation feature helps the protagonist here stay in touch with her deaf sister. But when children start getting odd phone calls from a total stranger, a parent's instinctive alarm bells start ringing.
Interesting ideas here related to how technology often turns out to have utility far beyond what was planned - but the story itself was just OK.
*** The Machine Starts - Greg Bear
Experimental quantum computing leads to unforeseen side effects among the team of physicists working on the project. More 'cautionary' than I expected from this volume.
*** Skin in the Game - Elizabeth Bear
Performance is always about sharing with the audience. But a pop star's manager wants to take it a step further, when he pressures her to adopt the latest technology: a widget that will allow fans to share in the emotion of a live show. How far is too far?
*** Machine Learning - Nancy Kress
'MAIP' is an experimental piece of tutoring software that mimics AI - but the two researchers in charge of the project aren't sure if it will ever reach that level of sophistication where it shows true adaptive learning. But it's good enough that in addition to the test session where children use the software interactively, one of the researchers secretly begins to use it to assuage his own personal grief.
** Riding With the Duke - Jack McDevitt
Many people will undoubtedly be annoyed by this story's unquestioning iteration of the "Those who can't, teach" cliche. Walter Peacock gave up on completing his PhD in physics after realising he just wasn't brilliant enough. Conveniently, at this point in the story, he meets a gorgeous woman who gets him hooked up with a job teaching high school physics. Unfortunately, public speaking has always been his Achilles heel. Luckily, said gorgeous woman is more interested in watching movies at home than any other 'date' activities. She has the new setup where you can 'insert' yourself as a character into the action. And she (for reasons the story does not bother to explain) has an agenda involving guiding Walter into stories that will boost his self-confidence and enable him to be successful at work.
*** A Cop's Eye - Blue Delliquanti
Sweet, but containing Pollyanna-ish levels of naive optimism. A runaway hacker teen is sought by a policeman with the troubled girl's best interests at heart. He's assisted by his 'partner' - which is actually a Google Glass-style AI widget, capable of collating data from a multitude of sources, including surveillance cameras and databases, and coming up with results.
(Non story-related - Kindle did a great job of converting this graphic piece for an e-reader. Best I've seen yet.)
*** Looking for Gordo - Robert J. Sawyer
There's a debate amongst those concerned with SETI whether or not we should send out communications toward any potential alien listeners. Might our transmissions actually attract violent aliens who could destroy our planet?
In this story, we've received a large transmission from an alien culture: the equivalent of our Wikipedia. In order to help us understand the material, we've analyzed the data and from it, created an avatar of an alien which interacts much as - we hope - an actual member of the species would. Will a conversation with this 'virtual' alien help us decide whether we should try to initiate contact?
** The Tell - David Brin
Didn't really grab me. Too much of this 'story' felt like listening to someone going on a drunken monologue about what they do at work during a party. The narrator is a former Vegas performer with a 'magic' act, who's now gotten into the business of predictive analytics. The story cuts repeatedly between: telling us what he used to do, and why he got out of it, telling us what he's doing now (which involves some spycraft-type stuff), and him simply telling us 'about' stuff. In addition, there a bits that are supposed to be 'excerpts' on the topic. The plot feels both shoehorned in, and inconclusive.
***** Another Word for World - Ann Leckie
By far, the best piece in this collection. Leckie achieves the goal of the themed anthology by featuring a piece of new technology as an intrinsic and essential element to the story, discusses insightfully both the pros and cons of the ramifications of that technology - AND couches the discussion seamlessly within a tense, action-filled plot featuring two well-drawn, believable characters
Two ethnic groups, the Gidanta and the Raksamat, are approaching a state of war. Territorial tensions on a colonized planet have grown, with both sides claiming that the treaty that Ashiban Xidyla's mother negotiated has been breached. Now, Ashiban was on the way to talks with the Sovereign of Iss, hoping to smooth over the dissension and maintain peace. However, their flyer was shot down - and now Ashiban, elderly and suffering from a concussion, and the Sovereign, who turns out to be an untried teenager - are the only survivors. Their only means of communication is through an automatic translation gadget, and it nearly immediately becomes clear that the gadget - equipped with the very software that made the famous treaty possible, a generation earlier - has some significant flaws.
_____
March 2016: Nominated for Hugo.
*** Hello, Hello - Seanan McGuire
An advanced videophone interface with a built-in, adaptive translation feature helps the protagonist here stay in touch with her deaf sister. But when children start getting odd phone calls from a total stranger, a parent's instinctive alarm bells start ringing.
Interesting ideas here related to how technology often turns out to have utility far beyond what was planned - but the story itself was just OK.
*** The Machine Starts - Greg Bear
Experimental quantum computing leads to unforeseen side effects among the team of physicists working on the project. More 'cautionary' than I expected from this volume.
*** Skin in the Game - Elizabeth Bear
Performance is always about sharing with the audience. But a pop star's manager wants to take it a step further, when he pressures her to adopt the latest technology: a widget that will allow fans to share in the emotion of a live show. How far is too far?
*** Machine Learning - Nancy Kress
'MAIP' is an experimental piece of tutoring software that mimics AI - but the two researchers in charge of the project aren't sure if it will ever reach that level of sophistication where it shows true adaptive learning. But it's good enough that in addition to the test session where children use the software interactively, one of the researchers secretly begins to use it to assuage his own personal grief.
** Riding With the Duke - Jack McDevitt
Many people will undoubtedly be annoyed by this story's unquestioning iteration of the "Those who can't, teach" cliche. Walter Peacock gave up on completing his PhD in physics after realising he just wasn't brilliant enough. Conveniently, at this point in the story, he meets a gorgeous woman who gets him hooked up with a job teaching high school physics. Unfortunately, public speaking has always been his Achilles heel. Luckily, said gorgeous woman is more interested in watching movies at home than any other 'date' activities. She has the new setup where you can 'insert' yourself as a character into the action. And she (for reasons the story does not bother to explain) has an agenda involving guiding Walter into stories that will boost his self-confidence and enable him to be successful at work.
*** A Cop's Eye - Blue Delliquanti
Sweet, but containing Pollyanna-ish levels of naive optimism. A runaway hacker teen is sought by a policeman with the troubled girl's best interests at heart. He's assisted by his 'partner' - which is actually a Google Glass-style AI widget, capable of collating data from a multitude of sources, including surveillance cameras and databases, and coming up with results.
(Non story-related - Kindle did a great job of converting this graphic piece for an e-reader. Best I've seen yet.)
*** Looking for Gordo - Robert J. Sawyer
There's a debate amongst those concerned with SETI whether or not we should send out communications toward any potential alien listeners. Might our transmissions actually attract violent aliens who could destroy our planet?
In this story, we've received a large transmission from an alien culture: the equivalent of our Wikipedia. In order to help us understand the material, we've analyzed the data and from it, created an avatar of an alien which interacts much as - we hope - an actual member of the species would. Will a conversation with this 'virtual' alien help us decide whether we should try to initiate contact?
** The Tell - David Brin
Didn't really grab me. Too much of this 'story' felt like listening to someone going on a drunken monologue about what they do at work during a party. The narrator is a former Vegas performer with a 'magic' act, who's now gotten into the business of predictive analytics. The story cuts repeatedly between: telling us what he used to do, and why he got out of it, telling us what he's doing now (which involves some spycraft-type stuff), and him simply telling us 'about' stuff. In addition, there a bits that are supposed to be 'excerpts' on the topic. The plot feels both shoehorned in, and inconclusive.
***** Another Word for World - Ann Leckie
By far, the best piece in this collection. Leckie achieves the goal of the themed anthology by featuring a piece of new technology as an intrinsic and essential element to the story, discusses insightfully both the pros and cons of the ramifications of that technology - AND couches the discussion seamlessly within a tense, action-filled plot featuring two well-drawn, believable characters
Two ethnic groups, the Gidanta and the Raksamat, are approaching a state of war. Territorial tensions on a colonized planet have grown, with both sides claiming that the treaty that Ashiban Xidyla's mother negotiated has been breached. Now, Ashiban was on the way to talks with the Sovereign of Iss, hoping to smooth over the dissension and maintain peace. However, their flyer was shot down - and now Ashiban, elderly and suffering from a concussion, and the Sovereign, who turns out to be an untried teenager - are the only survivors. Their only means of communication is through an automatic translation gadget, and it nearly immediately becomes clear that the gadget - equipped with the very software that made the famous treaty possible, a generation earlier - has some significant flaws.
_____
March 2016: Nominated for Hugo.
November 20, 2015
If I could take out every story written by a dude and replace it with a story written by one of the ladies this book would probably be five stars. As it is, the dudes are bringing it down with their shitty, boring stories. Funny how that works.
February 8, 2017
I saw a story about this on io9 (original story and Microsoft link page) and even though I had several anthologies to read already, the premise sounded right up my alley and it had some authors I never pass up (Seanan McGuire) so I grabbed it because it was free. And I'm glad I did. I started it because I had the kindle out after finishing another book, thinking I'd just check out Seanan's story and maybe one or two others quickly and finish it later, but once I started it I didn't want to put it down. Few anthologies have the story success rate with me that this one had. They did a good job picking authors, sure, they're heavy hitters. But that often doesn't work or isn't consistent throughout a book. Like Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner R. Dozois was a bomb to me despite award acclaim. And the soon, below, often to be mentioned Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future, edited by Neal Stephenson. That book had a very similar mandate to this one, but it didn't work. Those authors also worked with scientists too, to write stories that were supposed to spur innovation in science and technology, explore ethical and social issues, and be inspiring as well. But they turned out mostly boring stories with only a few that were very interesting and a couple more pretty enjoyable. And it was the farthest thing from optimistic and inspiring, it was mostly apocalyptic and depressing and little of the tech involved was practical or inspiring despite the partnerships with scientists from Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination. It's a shame because it was such a cool project. This book was more focused, more positive but not without darker edges, and much more enjoyable. Not that I could see Microsoft sponsoring a depressing, apocalyptic book. "The authors all had the opportunity to visit with our researchers to hear about their latest thinking and see their leading-edge work, and to create fiction inspired by that work." It wouldn't look too good for the company if the stories inspired by their work were scary and depressing. It's just funny that this seems to fit so well with what Hieroglyph said they were doing. So were those authors unable to come up with positive visions of the future? Were these authors constrained into doing so because of their sponsor? Or did these editors just do a better job of curating the work? I don't know. I don't know what got decided when and how but this book was much more fun to read overall, though there were a handful of stories that I enjoyed in the other too.
Hard science fiction fans should enjoy this, there's a lot of technical talk, though others shouldn't be turned off. There were a lot of computing concepts (duh, Microsoft) and engineering ideas, pretty much all within the realm of a believable trajectory based on existing technology. Maybe the ideas weren't terribly new, or future forward. They were more ideas that people could work on the building blocks for now and hope to achieve in our lifetimes, or sooner. Is it propaganda for the computer industry, maybe. But that doesn't make it less legitimate. There things are happening, can happen, might happen, probably will happen. And if the goal was to leave me more interested in science and the technologies of the future, then it did that. It's so easy these days to be down about what's around the corner (especially with all of the apocalyptic story telling these days!), it's easy to forget what could be good coming down the pike too. And that it's exciting. The book definitely captured the sense of excitement and discovery, even when the stories were touching or emotional.
Seanan McGuire - Hello Hello - I loved it. Even though I totally saw what was coming. It was so nice to read an optimistic view of (near?) future technology, exactly what I was hoping for from Hieroglyph.
Greg Bear - The Machine Starts - Something about it reminds me of The Fold, maybe their stubbornness about giving up on the big new (dangerous) idea. It's certainly believable that scientists are doing things like this all the time, experimenting without a safety net, braking the rules. How bad the results could be as science explores greater, or tinier, horizons, is fittingly examined here. Lots of technical concepts that were a little confusing, but also cool.
Elizabeth Bear - Skin in the Game - I found it all believable, I just didn't like it, it didn't have a rhythm or pack a punch. It just ended with a whimper. The technology was interesting, both a warning and a hope of connection, like everything I guess. Neon pointed out that emotional projecting/recording (it was really more than that, it was her entire experience including her emotions) software/technology could be bad, filtering out all of the negative emotions and details (sand fleas, itches and irritations), setting up unreasonable expectations on many levels. And plenty of stories have been written about how people could get lost in other people's lives in lieu of their own. But it also could connect people, make the world smaller, make people understand experiences other than their own and be unable to deny other realities. If they're willing to experience them unedited. It's interesting to consider.
Nancy Kress - Machine Learning - This one was heartbreaking. Ethan kept watching the ten second recording of his daughter and it was just as tragic each time. I can barely stand to look at photos of my dogs two years later without sobbing. Much less my mother. Losing a child... I understood the kind of control he tried to live under too, I do that as well, just push it all away, what good does dwelling do but make you more miserable? The technology wasn't new compared to other science fiction stories I've read. Trying to get true AI through having it learn, that would be the real breakthrough. And some VR. And some major genetic research thrown in. It's really a human story with science as the scaffolding. A well-told and deeply affecting human story.
Jack McDevitt - Riding with the Duke - So this personal VR entertainment machine can put you in the movie or TV show in place of a character. It all gets acted out right in your living room. I don't know how much I'd like that, like literally how often would I like to see my little short dumpy self in the place of the stars? Most of the time it would probably look pretty silly. (Plus how does the original film adjust for height? Too picky, I know. The examples were everything from Casablanca to Good Morning Vietnam to Seinfeld. But I'm imagining tall guys dancing with tiny me instead of medium to tall actresses or something. I guess if it can do wardrobe it, can adjust all of the rest of the scene too, there would have to be thousands+++ of adjustments to make it work.) The story was kind of cheesy, just seeing yourself being better can make you stop underestimating yourself, even if you're just acting out roles in films (ones you've already seen too). But the brain is powerful and elastic, maybe there could be some merit there, a different kind of positive reinforcement therapy. More fun than most therapy. It was a light story, not too interesting but not bad.
Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal - A Cop's Eye - It was nice that they included a graphic novel in the book. These were the only authors/artists that I wasn't familiar with already. It was a good portrayal of the near future, where technology will probably be incorporated even more into our lives on many levels, as seen through a day in police officer's life while he searched for a missing girl. He's partnered with a new AI/Eye that helps him in many ways, he searches for the girl though social media, but she's a hacker and engineer who's already got the jump on him and deleted her online presence. The Eye helps him make a connection with the girl by knowing how to speak Korean, making suggestions on how to deal with various technical issues but also really acting as a partner, even if it's just a little device that looks a lot like a bluetooth headset. There's an assumption that becoming more human is a positive goal for the Eye, something it should want to achieve, as opposed to something we would want it to achieve. I'm not sure about that. But I was glad to see that many the people in the story were of color, including the main characters. I'm assuming it takes place in North America, probably Minneapolis/St. Paul since it refers to the cities and Delliquanti is from Minneapolis. It was nice to see a portrayal of future America that reflects the reality (or of current times for that matter) of people of all shades and appearances populating the city. It's a good little story. Not too deep or moving, but it was nice to see it included.
Robert J. Sawyer - Looking for Gordo - What a dumb title. It's about what to do about SETI, with a twist. There were no suggestions about how to address the legitimate doubts once he proved that a group of optimists might have faulty data. His stories usually fail to live up to their hype for me, despite his long list of accolades, which he will list for two pages in all of his books instead of hitting the highlights like most other very accomplished authors (like everyone in this book).
David Brin - The Tell - Apparently he meant "The Tell" literally. It starts with a huge lecture on the history of people trying to predict the future. I love learning while I'm reading, it's one of the main reasons I like sci-fi so much, but it has to be fun learning or I could read a text book - that's the -fi part that makes it fun. It was just boring, I didn't care about the character and there was barely any plot. Really disappointing, especially from him.
Ann Leckie - Another Word for World - it was weird that it was so completely different from the other stories, which all took place on Earth in the near future. This is far in the future on another planet more than one thousand years after it was settled. The original settlers are in conflict with people, refugees from somewhere, who showed up more recently and want to share the world, while the original settlers do not want them there. The technology is translators again, the issue being imperfect translations perpetuating misunderstanding, but translators being a necessary tool. It was interesting and a decent story. But for a story that was about twenty percent of the book, it just didn't really add as much to the intellectual side of things as I would have liked. It didn't take advantage of the far future setting by projecting major changes in technology far into the future as well. It was the only story in the book that had no science in it. I don't know. The points it made were good and it was enjoyable, I guess I hoped for more from her though, especially compared to the other stories in the book.
Hard science fiction fans should enjoy this, there's a lot of technical talk, though others shouldn't be turned off. There were a lot of computing concepts (duh, Microsoft) and engineering ideas, pretty much all within the realm of a believable trajectory based on existing technology. Maybe the ideas weren't terribly new, or future forward. They were more ideas that people could work on the building blocks for now and hope to achieve in our lifetimes, or sooner. Is it propaganda for the computer industry, maybe. But that doesn't make it less legitimate. There things are happening, can happen, might happen, probably will happen. And if the goal was to leave me more interested in science and the technologies of the future, then it did that. It's so easy these days to be down about what's around the corner (especially with all of the apocalyptic story telling these days!), it's easy to forget what could be good coming down the pike too. And that it's exciting. The book definitely captured the sense of excitement and discovery, even when the stories were touching or emotional.
Seanan McGuire - Hello Hello - I loved it. Even though I totally saw what was coming. It was so nice to read an optimistic view of (near?) future technology, exactly what I was hoping for from Hieroglyph.
Greg Bear - The Machine Starts - Something about it reminds me of The Fold, maybe their stubbornness about giving up on the big new (dangerous) idea. It's certainly believable that scientists are doing things like this all the time, experimenting without a safety net, braking the rules. How bad the results could be as science explores greater, or tinier, horizons, is fittingly examined here. Lots of technical concepts that were a little confusing, but also cool.
Elizabeth Bear - Skin in the Game - I found it all believable, I just didn't like it, it didn't have a rhythm or pack a punch. It just ended with a whimper. The technology was interesting, both a warning and a hope of connection, like everything I guess. Neon pointed out that emotional projecting/recording (it was really more than that, it was her entire experience including her emotions) software/technology could be bad, filtering out all of the negative emotions and details (sand fleas, itches and irritations), setting up unreasonable expectations on many levels. And plenty of stories have been written about how people could get lost in other people's lives in lieu of their own. But it also could connect people, make the world smaller, make people understand experiences other than their own and be unable to deny other realities. If they're willing to experience them unedited. It's interesting to consider.
Nancy Kress - Machine Learning - This one was heartbreaking. Ethan kept watching the ten second recording of his daughter and it was just as tragic each time. I can barely stand to look at photos of my dogs two years later without sobbing. Much less my mother. Losing a child... I understood the kind of control he tried to live under too, I do that as well, just push it all away, what good does dwelling do but make you more miserable? The technology wasn't new compared to other science fiction stories I've read. Trying to get true AI through having it learn, that would be the real breakthrough. And some VR. And some major genetic research thrown in. It's really a human story with science as the scaffolding. A well-told and deeply affecting human story.
Jack McDevitt - Riding with the Duke - So this personal VR entertainment machine can put you in the movie or TV show in place of a character. It all gets acted out right in your living room. I don't know how much I'd like that, like literally how often would I like to see my little short dumpy self in the place of the stars? Most of the time it would probably look pretty silly. (Plus how does the original film adjust for height? Too picky, I know. The examples were everything from Casablanca to Good Morning Vietnam to Seinfeld. But I'm imagining tall guys dancing with tiny me instead of medium to tall actresses or something. I guess if it can do wardrobe it, can adjust all of the rest of the scene too, there would have to be thousands+++ of adjustments to make it work.) The story was kind of cheesy, just seeing yourself being better can make you stop underestimating yourself, even if you're just acting out roles in films (ones you've already seen too). But the brain is powerful and elastic, maybe there could be some merit there, a different kind of positive reinforcement therapy. More fun than most therapy. It was a light story, not too interesting but not bad.
Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal - A Cop's Eye - It was nice that they included a graphic novel in the book. These were the only authors/artists that I wasn't familiar with already. It was a good portrayal of the near future, where technology will probably be incorporated even more into our lives on many levels, as seen through a day in police officer's life while he searched for a missing girl. He's partnered with a new AI/Eye that helps him in many ways, he searches for the girl though social media, but she's a hacker and engineer who's already got the jump on him and deleted her online presence. The Eye helps him make a connection with the girl by knowing how to speak Korean, making suggestions on how to deal with various technical issues but also really acting as a partner, even if it's just a little device that looks a lot like a bluetooth headset. There's an assumption that becoming more human is a positive goal for the Eye, something it should want to achieve, as opposed to something we would want it to achieve. I'm not sure about that. But I was glad to see that many the people in the story were of color, including the main characters. I'm assuming it takes place in North America, probably Minneapolis/St. Paul since it refers to the cities and Delliquanti is from Minneapolis. It was nice to see a portrayal of future America that reflects the reality (or of current times for that matter) of people of all shades and appearances populating the city. It's a good little story. Not too deep or moving, but it was nice to see it included.
Robert J. Sawyer - Looking for Gordo - What a dumb title. It's about what to do about SETI, with a twist. There were no suggestions about how to address the legitimate doubts once he proved that a group of optimists might have faulty data. His stories usually fail to live up to their hype for me, despite his long list of accolades, which he will list for two pages in all of his books instead of hitting the highlights like most other very accomplished authors (like everyone in this book).
David Brin - The Tell - Apparently he meant "The Tell" literally. It starts with a huge lecture on the history of people trying to predict the future. I love learning while I'm reading, it's one of the main reasons I like sci-fi so much, but it has to be fun learning or I could read a text book - that's the -fi part that makes it fun. It was just boring, I didn't care about the character and there was barely any plot. Really disappointing, especially from him.
Ann Leckie - Another Word for World - it was weird that it was so completely different from the other stories, which all took place on Earth in the near future. This is far in the future on another planet more than one thousand years after it was settled. The original settlers are in conflict with people, refugees from somewhere, who showed up more recently and want to share the world, while the original settlers do not want them there. The technology is translators again, the issue being imperfect translations perpetuating misunderstanding, but translators being a necessary tool. It was interesting and a decent story. But for a story that was about twenty percent of the book, it just didn't really add as much to the intellectual side of things as I would have liked. It didn't take advantage of the far future setting by projecting major changes in technology far into the future as well. It was the only story in the book that had no science in it. I don't know. The points it made were good and it was enjoyable, I guess I hoped for more from her though, especially compared to the other stories in the book.
April 30, 2019
Didn't like all the stories, unsurprisingly. But Greg Bear's The Machine Starts; The Tell by David Brin; Another Word for World by Ann Leckie were FANTASTIC.
Also this book is completely free on kindle.
Also this book is completely free on kindle.
February 21, 2024
4.5 stars
I got away for a long week-end and ended up with two books that I dnfed early on... A bit desperate, I checked Scribd to see if anything interesting was available - I was at the end of a cycle, so I had like 20 books available on the nearly 500 I saved. And I saw this short-story collection, got intrigued, decided to read it as I had nothing else!
I'm really glad I did because I think that it might have signed the end of my reading slump! (I don't want to say it too loudly, in case it comes back full force... but I really enjoyed this read and I might be loving the one I'm currently starting!)
I was intrigued by the mention of Microsoft and the fact that the authors were writing about technologies that might be developped in the future. I loved that they were invited to talk to Microsoft engineers and encouraged to be inspired by their talks, what they saw.
I'll know review every short story and then wrap it all up for the entire collection, but I can already tell you - I think you gathered - that I really enjoyed myself!
- "Hello, Hello", Seanan McGuire
I might too used to horror with this author: I was expecting something awful and felt a sense of foreboding from beginning to end! I was actually stressed and afraid of what might happen with these strange calls!
I really liked the story overall: it was fascinating to imagine!
- "The Machine Starts", Greg Bear
It's my least favorite of the bunch, the one I had the most difficulties with because it felt too complex and heavy for me - and it was also the point where I thought the reading slump would actually last forever if I kept on stumbling on this kind of stories. I thought about skipping it, but it didn't feel right, so I finished it.
I really didn't like it at all: I was lost and not involved in the story. The science was interesting, as was the theory; it was fascinating even. But this appeal was spoilt by the sexual thing about I mean, really?
- "Skin in the Game", Elizabeth Bear
This was the point in the collection where I really got involved in the stories I was reading. This one was really good!
I liked the tech mentioned and the questions it raised about ethics, authenticity and appearance (); I loved the writing-style and the ideas as I did the fact that it was set in the musical industry.
I'd love to read full novels by the author; I already got my eye on Range of Ghosts , The Stone in the Skull and multiple others!
- "Machine Learning", Nancy Kress
This is my favorite story of the collection!
It was moving: the reader knows where it's going and, at the same time, not really:
The tech was fascinating once again and a bit unsettling at the same time: I really LOVED the ending! I wanted more at this point!
In the end, this story was immensely sad, it broke my heart and I might have shed a tear or two where I not in an unfamiliar place when I read it.
- "Riding with the Duke", Jack McDevitt
This one was a good story. Once again, the tech is interesting even if, this time, I had a hard time imagining it because I didn't really understand how it worked - I don't know if I didn't pay enough attention or if it wasn't clear, but I didn't fully get the functional part of it.
It felt close to me as I'm a teacher and I
I'd love to read full novels by the author!
- "A Cop's Eye", Blue Delliquanti, Michele Rosenthal
I thought it cool to have another format in this anthology! I really liked the story, the technology involved; I thought the art was good. I would have liked more!
- "Looking for Gordo", Robert J. Sawyer
Again, with this one, I left the story wanting more!
The debate displayed here is quite interesting: is it a good idea to reach out to other lifeforms in the universe or not, because of the possibility of a berserk alien race who could be decimating others? I had never thought about it and thought it a bit unsettling.
The title made me think of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett: both of them felt really close!
I would like to read novels by the author!
- "The Tell", David Brin
As with the story by Greg Bear, I was a bit annoyed by the sexual innuendos and the focus of the narrator on his partner's body.
I liked the subject though, and liked to read the story and see it unfold slowly.
I would like to read other books by the author, hoping that it is lighter on the sexual side!
Fun fact about my reading: I tried to predict how long it would take me to read it midway and I was 4 minutes wrong - I finished it at 14 instead of 18!) I never did that before, so I guess the topic of the story got to me!
- "Another Word for World", Ann Leckie
I liked that there was a good political intrigue here, but I was a bit bothered by the overall use of the main character's name: it felt repetitive and annoying.
I would have loved to get more by the end: I want a full novel of this world!
I think I'll read other books by the author, including Ancillary Justice and The Raven Tower !
So, overall, it was a very good anthology, ranging a vast array of new technologies and opening up new ways of thinking the future. I discovered new authors that I want to read more from - nearly all of them, actually! - and others were already on my TBR or wish-list. Few were already read - I think I only read Seanan McGuire before getting into it! I would recommend it for readers curious about what the world could look like "soon"!
I got away for a long week-end and ended up with two books that I dnfed early on... A bit desperate, I checked Scribd to see if anything interesting was available - I was at the end of a cycle, so I had like 20 books available on the nearly 500 I saved. And I saw this short-story collection, got intrigued, decided to read it as I had nothing else!
I'm really glad I did because I think that it might have signed the end of my reading slump! (I don't want to say it too loudly, in case it comes back full force... but I really enjoyed this read and I might be loving the one I'm currently starting!)
I was intrigued by the mention of Microsoft and the fact that the authors were writing about technologies that might be developped in the future. I loved that they were invited to talk to Microsoft engineers and encouraged to be inspired by their talks, what they saw.
I'll know review every short story and then wrap it all up for the entire collection, but I can already tell you - I think you gathered - that I really enjoyed myself!
- "Hello, Hello", Seanan McGuire
I might too used to horror with this author: I was expecting something awful and felt a sense of foreboding from beginning to end! I was actually stressed and afraid of what might happen with these strange calls!
I really liked the story overall: it was fascinating to imagine!
- "The Machine Starts", Greg Bear
It's my least favorite of the bunch, the one I had the most difficulties with because it felt too complex and heavy for me - and it was also the point where I thought the reading slump would actually last forever if I kept on stumbling on this kind of stories. I thought about skipping it, but it didn't feel right, so I finished it.
I really didn't like it at all: I was lost and not involved in the story. The science was interesting, as was the theory; it was fascinating even. But this appeal was spoilt by the sexual thing about I mean, really?
- "Skin in the Game", Elizabeth Bear
This was the point in the collection where I really got involved in the stories I was reading. This one was really good!
I liked the tech mentioned and the questions it raised about ethics, authenticity and appearance (); I loved the writing-style and the ideas as I did the fact that it was set in the musical industry.
I'd love to read full novels by the author; I already got my eye on Range of Ghosts , The Stone in the Skull and multiple others!
- "Machine Learning", Nancy Kress
This is my favorite story of the collection!
It was moving: the reader knows where it's going and, at the same time, not really:
The tech was fascinating once again and a bit unsettling at the same time: I really LOVED the ending! I wanted more at this point!
In the end, this story was immensely sad, it broke my heart and I might have shed a tear or two where I not in an unfamiliar place when I read it.
- "Riding with the Duke", Jack McDevitt
This one was a good story. Once again, the tech is interesting even if, this time, I had a hard time imagining it because I didn't really understand how it worked - I don't know if I didn't pay enough attention or if it wasn't clear, but I didn't fully get the functional part of it.
It felt close to me as I'm a teacher and I
I'd love to read full novels by the author!
- "A Cop's Eye", Blue Delliquanti, Michele Rosenthal
I thought it cool to have another format in this anthology! I really liked the story, the technology involved; I thought the art was good. I would have liked more!
- "Looking for Gordo", Robert J. Sawyer
Again, with this one, I left the story wanting more!
The debate displayed here is quite interesting: is it a good idea to reach out to other lifeforms in the universe or not, because of the possibility of a berserk alien race who could be decimating others? I had never thought about it and thought it a bit unsettling.
The title made me think of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett: both of them felt really close!
I would like to read novels by the author!
- "The Tell", David Brin
As with the story by Greg Bear, I was a bit annoyed by the sexual innuendos and the focus of the narrator on his partner's body.
I liked the subject though, and liked to read the story and see it unfold slowly.
I would like to read other books by the author, hoping that it is lighter on the sexual side!
Fun fact about my reading: I tried to predict how long it would take me to read it midway and I was 4 minutes wrong - I finished it at 14 instead of 18!) I never did that before, so I guess the topic of the story got to me!
- "Another Word for World", Ann Leckie
I liked that there was a good political intrigue here, but I was a bit bothered by the overall use of the main character's name: it felt repetitive and annoying.
I would have loved to get more by the end: I want a full novel of this world!
I think I'll read other books by the author, including Ancillary Justice and The Raven Tower !
So, overall, it was a very good anthology, ranging a vast array of new technologies and opening up new ways of thinking the future. I discovered new authors that I want to read more from - nearly all of them, actually! - and others were already on my TBR or wish-list. Few were already read - I think I only read Seanan McGuire before getting into it! I would recommend it for readers curious about what the world could look like "soon"!
December 6, 2015
The book is a collection of sci-fi short stories inspired by technology currently in development. While some of the stories in the book are really good and thought worth, many of them are not so compelling.
My favorite stories from the book are:
- Looking For Gordo
- A Cop's Eye
- Hello, Hello
My favorite stories from the book are:
- Looking For Gordo
- A Cop's Eye
- Hello, Hello
December 27, 2015
Anthology of stories inspired by research currently happening at Microsoft. There was only one story I didn't bother with but on the whole a very good anthology by some big names in SF. The standout story by far was Ann Leckie's Another Word for World.
November 20, 2015
These are all hard-SF tales, and the science in them is pretty good, but the writing is also above average.
I have written a detailed review of Future Visions on Rocket Stack Rank, but there are two stories worth recommending in particular (rot-13 used to hide spoilers):
"The Machine Starts," by Greg Bear, which tells what happens when a big quantum computer starts to work following some unorthodox modifications.
Ceb: Gur pbaprcg vf irel pbby. Vg'f n avpr rkcybengvba bs fbzr bqq pbearef bs dhnaghz zrpunavpf fpnyrq hc gb znpeb fvmr. Vg'f pbby gur jnl gur yvggyr uvagf tenqhnyyl pbzr gbtrgure.
Gurer ner n ahzore bs phgr wbxrf sbe nalbar jub pna fcbg gurz. "Obfr" vf n phgr ersrerapr gb obfbaf, juvpu jbhyqa'g unir gurfr ceboyrzf. Naq gur gvgyr, "Gur Znpuvar Fgnegf" cynlf bss gur fgbel Gur Znpuvar Fgbcf, ol R.Z. Sbefgre.
Pba: Abar bs gur punenpgref ernyyl rire qrirybcf zhpu bs n crefbanyvgl. Jr qba'g unir nal srryvatf sbe gurz be gurve qhcyvpngrf. Vg'f n yvggyr bqq gung n srznyr Obfr pbasebagrq uvf jvsr. Lbh'q rkcrpg gubhfnaqf bs znyr barf gb unir nyernql qbar gung svefg. Va snpg, tvira gur fpnyr bs gur ceboyrz, lbh'q rkcrpg znff pbashfvba bire nyy gurfr qbccrytnatref.
Naq jung qbrf vg ernyyl zrna gb fnl gung fbzrbar sryg ur jnf va zhygvcyr cynprf ng bapr?
"Another Word for World," by Ann Leckie, which deals with language-translation software and high-stakes diplomacy.
Ceb: Ng gur fgneg, Nfuvona jnagf gb artbgvngr n crnpr qrny, naq sbe zbfg bs gur fgbel, fur whfg jnagf gb svaq uryc, ohg ol gur raq, fur'f sbhaq n arj checbfr, naq fb unf gur Fbirervta.
Gur fgbel qrirybcf Nfuvona naq gur Fbirervta'f yvzvgf tenqhnyyl. Ol gur gvzr gurl zrrg gur frggyref, jr'er abg fhecevfrq gung gurl trg yvggyr erfcrpg naq ab fhccbeg, jvgu gur fnzr erfhyg sebz gur Tvqnagnaf.
Gur onpxtebhaq unf orra frg sbe gur snpg gung gur Greensbezvat Pbhapvy vf gur erny tbireazrag ba gur cynarg, naq gung Nfuvona'f crbcyr unir orra gnyxvat gb gur jebat crbcyr nyy nybat, bjvat gb n genafyngvba reebe, fb vg'f zvyqyl fngvfslvat jura gung gheaf bhg gb or gehr.
Vg'f avpr gb frr n fgbel gung erpbtavmrf gung pbzchgre genafyngvbaf flfgrzf unir vaurerag ceboyrzf. Naq vg'f irel avpr gung gur pbapyhfvba vf gung gur Fbirervta naq Nfuvona ner tbvat gb sbphf ba znxvat orggre genafyngbef--abg ba fgveevat hc n jne be nalguvat yvxr gung.
Pba: N jubyr trarengvba vf n ybat gvzr sbe n genafyngvba reebe gb crefvfg. Gurer fubhyq unir orra fbzr ahzore bs ovyvathny puvyqera noyr gb pynevsl guvatf. Gurer'f nyjnlf fbzrbar jub'f fhcre-raguhfvnfgvp nobhg yrneavat gur bgure ynathntr, ernqvat gur cncref naq gur yvgrengher, rgp.
It's amazing that Microsoft is giving this away for free.
I have written a detailed review of Future Visions on Rocket Stack Rank, but there are two stories worth recommending in particular (rot-13 used to hide spoilers):
"The Machine Starts," by Greg Bear, which tells what happens when a big quantum computer starts to work following some unorthodox modifications.
Ceb: Gur pbaprcg vf irel pbby. Vg'f n avpr rkcybengvba bs fbzr bqq pbearef bs dhnaghz zrpunavpf fpnyrq hc gb znpeb fvmr. Vg'f pbby gur jnl gur yvggyr uvagf tenqhnyyl pbzr gbtrgure.
Gurer ner n ahzore bs phgr wbxrf sbe nalbar jub pna fcbg gurz. "Obfr" vf n phgr ersrerapr gb obfbaf, juvpu jbhyqa'g unir gurfr ceboyrzf. Naq gur gvgyr, "Gur Znpuvar Fgnegf" cynlf bss gur fgbel Gur Znpuvar Fgbcf, ol R.Z. Sbefgre.
Pba: Abar bs gur punenpgref ernyyl rire qrirybcf zhpu bs n crefbanyvgl. Jr qba'g unir nal srryvatf sbe gurz be gurve qhcyvpngrf. Vg'f n yvggyr bqq gung n srznyr Obfr pbasebagrq uvf jvsr. Lbh'q rkcrpg gubhfnaqf bs znyr barf gb unir nyernql qbar gung svefg. Va snpg, tvira gur fpnyr bs gur ceboyrz, lbh'q rkcrpg znff pbashfvba bire nyy gurfr qbccrytnatref.
Naq jung qbrf vg ernyyl zrna gb fnl gung fbzrbar sryg ur jnf va zhygvcyr cynprf ng bapr?
"Another Word for World," by Ann Leckie, which deals with language-translation software and high-stakes diplomacy.
Ceb: Ng gur fgneg, Nfuvona jnagf gb artbgvngr n crnpr qrny, naq sbe zbfg bs gur fgbel, fur whfg jnagf gb svaq uryc, ohg ol gur raq, fur'f sbhaq n arj checbfr, naq fb unf gur Fbirervta.
Gur fgbel qrirybcf Nfuvona naq gur Fbirervta'f yvzvgf tenqhnyyl. Ol gur gvzr gurl zrrg gur frggyref, jr'er abg fhecevfrq gung gurl trg yvggyr erfcrpg naq ab fhccbeg, jvgu gur fnzr erfhyg sebz gur Tvqnagnaf.
Gur onpxtebhaq unf orra frg sbe gur snpg gung gur Greensbezvat Pbhapvy vf gur erny tbireazrag ba gur cynarg, naq gung Nfuvona'f crbcyr unir orra gnyxvat gb gur jebat crbcyr nyy nybat, bjvat gb n genafyngvba reebe, fb vg'f zvyqyl fngvfslvat jura gung gheaf bhg gb or gehr.
Vg'f avpr gb frr n fgbel gung erpbtavmrf gung pbzchgre genafyngvbaf flfgrzf unir vaurerag ceboyrzf. Naq vg'f irel avpr gung gur pbapyhfvba vf gung gur Fbirervta naq Nfuvona ner tbvat gb sbphf ba znxvat orggre genafyngbef--abg ba fgveevat hc n jne be nalguvat yvxr gung.
Pba: N jubyr trarengvba vf n ybat gvzr sbe n genafyngvba reebe gb crefvfg. Gurer fubhyq unir orra fbzr ahzore bs ovyvathny puvyqera noyr gb pynevsl guvatf. Gurer'f nyjnlf fbzrbar jub'f fhcre-raguhfvnfgvp nobhg yrneavat gur bgure ynathntr, ernqvat gur cncref naq gur yvgrengher, rgp.
It's amazing that Microsoft is giving this away for free.
April 1, 2016
As the title suggests, this is a set of stories that were inspired by Microsoft... as I understand it, several authors were invited to tour the facilities and see stuff the company was developing, and write stories if they were inspired.
Now, "inspired" covers a lot of ground. Some of the stories involve ideas that you could see happening even relatively soon... others are stuff you could probably never expect to happen (even if they're based around tech that's reasonably plausible). But, even so, the stories to often seem to tread on each other's toes a little bit, like many of them took the same technology-in-development as a starting point. They still wrote very different stories, but it wasn't as different as you might get in an average anthology.
I mostly read this because it was free and an easy way to read more Hugo-eligible stories this year (since all of the stories were first published in this book, in 2015). None of them absolutely blew me away, but none of them completely stunk either. I think my favorites were Ann Leckie's "Another Word for World" and, to my surprise (because I didn't expect to like it from the first couple pages... I'm not even sure if it's objectively one of the ones I thought was better or if the fact that it became much better than I expected just made me like it more), Jack McDevitt's "Riding with the Duke".
Worth a look, at least.
Now, "inspired" covers a lot of ground. Some of the stories involve ideas that you could see happening even relatively soon... others are stuff you could probably never expect to happen (even if they're based around tech that's reasonably plausible). But, even so, the stories to often seem to tread on each other's toes a little bit, like many of them took the same technology-in-development as a starting point. They still wrote very different stories, but it wasn't as different as you might get in an average anthology.
I mostly read this because it was free and an easy way to read more Hugo-eligible stories this year (since all of the stories were first published in this book, in 2015). None of them absolutely blew me away, but none of them completely stunk either. I think my favorites were Ann Leckie's "Another Word for World" and, to my surprise (because I didn't expect to like it from the first couple pages... I'm not even sure if it's objectively one of the ones I thought was better or if the fact that it became much better than I expected just made me like it more), Jack McDevitt's "Riding with the Duke".
Worth a look, at least.
November 23, 2015
Microsoft managed to get a nice group of A-list SF authors to sign on for this anthology of stories inspired by an inside look at the leading edge of Microsoft research. Of course I thought some stories were better than others but I didn't think any were total duds. My favorites were "Hello, Hello" by Seanan McGuire and "Another Word for World" by Ann Leckie. Interestingly, both were about communication. A better than average collection and offered free. Definitely worth a read.
December 31, 2015
Not bad, for stories written to order. Most (not Nancy Kress's) have at least a tinge of optimism too, which is a nice change from all the dystopias. I think the highlights are Seanan McGuire's opener ("Holy shit. She's really talking to the bird. And the bird is really talking back.") and Ann Leckie's closer, about how a few mistranslated words bring two groups of people to the edge of war.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2015
Future Technology
This anthology commissioned by Microsoft gathers the top science fiction to weave stories that involve technology in the near future. If you want sf that stimulates your mind and fires up your imagination look no further.
This anthology commissioned by Microsoft gathers the top science fiction to weave stories that involve technology in the near future. If you want sf that stimulates your mind and fires up your imagination look no further.
May 27, 2016
A fun anthology with a lot of big names. Lots of tech heavy stories. This was exactly the sort of futurist trying out ideas near-future sci-fi that I have been craving.
October 18, 2023
Pretty low-level collection of short SF stories, with idea inspired, they say, by various researches at Microsoft -- machine learning/AI, quantum computing, automatic translators in handheld devices etc. Despite some of the big names in the authors list (Greg Bear, David Brin).
July 16, 2017
Nice short stories on near-term future options.
January 6, 2016
Overall Impression
I enjoyed this anthology a lot. I often find my experience very uneven -- that is, some stories that I love, some I hate, and a big range in between. This anthology surprised me by being very even in quality. There weren't any stories that I particularly disliked, which was nice. (There weren't any that I thought particularly amazing, either, but there you are). I could maybe have made some more graded distinctions between some of the three-star stories...but I'm too lazy.
As for the concept, I had some concerns that everything would end up reading like product placement, but for the most part the integration of the Microsoft tech stuff felt pretty seamless.
And the best part, of course, is that the anthology is FREE on Amazon.
So: overall very strong, with particular props to McGuire, Sawyer, and Leckie, who wrote my three favorite stories of the collection.
"Hello, Hello", Seanan McGuire Four Stars
A charming story. I liked that it presented a more optimistic outlook on future technology. I guessed the "twist" early on but still enjoyed reading it.
"The Machine Starts", Greg Bear Three Stars
A cool idea, but the story is like 60% technobabble that I couldn't parse at all, and there doesn't seem to be any actual conflict or resolution.
"Skin in the Game", Elizabeth Bear Three Stars
Cool concept, and Bear got me invested in these characters, and then again we failed to stick the landing. The ending feels like a total anticlimax.
"Machine Learning", Nancy Kress Three Stars
It's a technically skilled story, with a lot of great character work, but just not my thing. This was the classic "it's not you, it's me".
"Riding With the Duke", Jack McDevit Three Stars
I had to go back and check which story this was, which should tell you that it didn't make much of a lasting impression. It was all right, but not particularly impressive.
"A Cop's Eye", Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal Three Stars
Cute. I liked the illustration style. Story was solid.
"Looking for Gordo", Robert J. Sawyer Four Stars
Possibly my favorite of the collection. Hooked me right away. The characters took a back seat to the questions raised by the story, but it did present the SETI/METI debate in an interesting way, without feeling didactic or info-dumpy. The ending was open-ended yet optimistic. It was just really well done.
"The Tell", David Brin Three Stars
I would have preferred a little less exposition and a little more story, but what was there was interesting.
"Another Word for World", Ann Leckie Four Stars
Very nice. Another story about translation, but this time about interactions between culture and language. This was the only story that wasn't near-future SF, and also the least centered around technology. (Yes, it involves handheld auto-translators, but the central problem was a lack of understanding of those who programmed them, not anything about, say, machine learning). But I'm getting off topic -- it was a nice story.
I enjoyed this anthology a lot. I often find my experience very uneven -- that is, some stories that I love, some I hate, and a big range in between. This anthology surprised me by being very even in quality. There weren't any stories that I particularly disliked, which was nice. (There weren't any that I thought particularly amazing, either, but there you are). I could maybe have made some more graded distinctions between some of the three-star stories...but I'm too lazy.
As for the concept, I had some concerns that everything would end up reading like product placement, but for the most part the integration of the Microsoft tech stuff felt pretty seamless.
And the best part, of course, is that the anthology is FREE on Amazon.
So: overall very strong, with particular props to McGuire, Sawyer, and Leckie, who wrote my three favorite stories of the collection.
"Hello, Hello", Seanan McGuire Four Stars
A charming story. I liked that it presented a more optimistic outlook on future technology. I guessed the "twist" early on but still enjoyed reading it.
"The Machine Starts", Greg Bear Three Stars
A cool idea, but the story is like 60% technobabble that I couldn't parse at all, and there doesn't seem to be any actual conflict or resolution.
"Skin in the Game", Elizabeth Bear Three Stars
Cool concept, and Bear got me invested in these characters, and then again we failed to stick the landing. The ending feels like a total anticlimax.
"Machine Learning", Nancy Kress Three Stars
It's a technically skilled story, with a lot of great character work, but just not my thing. This was the classic "it's not you, it's me".
"Riding With the Duke", Jack McDevit Three Stars
I had to go back and check which story this was, which should tell you that it didn't make much of a lasting impression. It was all right, but not particularly impressive.
"A Cop's Eye", Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal Three Stars
Cute. I liked the illustration style. Story was solid.
"Looking for Gordo", Robert J. Sawyer Four Stars
Possibly my favorite of the collection. Hooked me right away. The characters took a back seat to the questions raised by the story, but it did present the SETI/METI debate in an interesting way, without feeling didactic or info-dumpy. The ending was open-ended yet optimistic. It was just really well done.
"The Tell", David Brin Three Stars
I would have preferred a little less exposition and a little more story, but what was there was interesting.
"Another Word for World", Ann Leckie Four Stars
Very nice. Another story about translation, but this time about interactions between culture and language. This was the only story that wasn't near-future SF, and also the least centered around technology. (Yes, it involves handheld auto-translators, but the central problem was a lack of understanding of those who programmed them, not anything about, say, machine learning). But I'm getting off topic -- it was a nice story.
November 29, 2015
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the great science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke used to invite himself (and later, used to be invited) to places like Bell Labs and Monsanto's research center. He did this to keep an eye on what was being invented in these "labs of the future", and incorporate them into his science fiction stories. It was at Bell Labs that he heard the first "talking computer", an IBM 709 that had been programmed to sing "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do..." A few years later, when Clarke envisioned a super-advanced computer called HAL9000 reverting to its more primitive state, he had the computer's last words be a slow-motion "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do..."
The idea of science fiction writers visiting advanced research labs seems to have died out in recent years, until Microsoft brought it back to produce this volume. Nine award-winning sci-fi authors – Elizabeth Bear, Greg Bear, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Seanan McGuire and Robert J. Sawyer – and graphic novelist Blue Delliquanti were given access to people and resources at Microsoft Research, which has more than 55 areas of research within it. They chose the areas of research they wanted to explore. Those nine authors then went off and wrote short stories based on the new, cutting edge technology they had just learned about.
When I heard about this project, my first thought was that there were three possible outcomes. Either the authors would be tame pets, and write glowing stories of how, thanks to the beneficence of the geniuses at Microsoft, these new technologies will soon make the world a better place. Or the authors could be total SFpunks, and create dystopian nightmares based on Microsoft research run amok. Or, of course, some authors could be in the first group, other authors in the second. (I, personally, would have put myself in the second group.)
Instead, all the stories in the book are intelligently crafted speculations of how these technologies -- or their future extrapolations -- would work in the real world. Some outcomes are positive, some are not. Which is the way it should be.
The idea of science fiction writers visiting advanced research labs seems to have died out in recent years, until Microsoft brought it back to produce this volume. Nine award-winning sci-fi authors – Elizabeth Bear, Greg Bear, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Seanan McGuire and Robert J. Sawyer – and graphic novelist Blue Delliquanti were given access to people and resources at Microsoft Research, which has more than 55 areas of research within it. They chose the areas of research they wanted to explore. Those nine authors then went off and wrote short stories based on the new, cutting edge technology they had just learned about.
When I heard about this project, my first thought was that there were three possible outcomes. Either the authors would be tame pets, and write glowing stories of how, thanks to the beneficence of the geniuses at Microsoft, these new technologies will soon make the world a better place. Or the authors could be total SFpunks, and create dystopian nightmares based on Microsoft research run amok. Or, of course, some authors could be in the first group, other authors in the second. (I, personally, would have put myself in the second group.)
Instead, all the stories in the book are intelligently crafted speculations of how these technologies -- or their future extrapolations -- would work in the real world. Some outcomes are positive, some are not. Which is the way it should be.
September 25, 2016
Corporate sponsorship has some upsides. When Microsoft wants to do a sci-fi anthology, it gets some of the most brilliant writers in the field. I think everyone here has at least one Hugo, Nebula, or Campbell award.
The stories lean towards hard sci-fi, and while they're generally optimistic about technology, Microsoft didn't buy loyalty. The company doesn't appear by name at all, and when a similar entity does show up (big Pacific NW tech company) its is usually as suits threatening to cut funding from the cool projects before they appear. Some guesses as to the cool tech demoed for the authors: machine translation, quantum computing, emotional intelligence, and SETI. Microsoft is more than Office and Xbox and a warehouse of unwanted Zunes. They want to remind people that they're on the cutting edge.
The stories are all solid, but my favorites came at the end. David Brin delivers a sharp and funny take on skeptical magicians debunking various types of fraudsters, and how we as a species can get better about thinking about the future (it'd be great if various speculating idiots were held to some level of accuracy in their speculation, which I'm sure we'll get around to doing in the next Critical Six Months, or Friedman), and Ann Leckie with a story about violence between two alien species variously aided and abetted by faulty machine translation.
Since last I checked this collection is free, you've got nothing to lose. Track down a link and enjoy the beneficence of the Beast of Redmond.
The stories lean towards hard sci-fi, and while they're generally optimistic about technology, Microsoft didn't buy loyalty. The company doesn't appear by name at all, and when a similar entity does show up (big Pacific NW tech company) its is usually as suits threatening to cut funding from the cool projects before they appear. Some guesses as to the cool tech demoed for the authors: machine translation, quantum computing, emotional intelligence, and SETI. Microsoft is more than Office and Xbox and a warehouse of unwanted Zunes. They want to remind people that they're on the cutting edge.
The stories are all solid, but my favorites came at the end. David Brin delivers a sharp and funny take on skeptical magicians debunking various types of fraudsters, and how we as a species can get better about thinking about the future (it'd be great if various speculating idiots were held to some level of accuracy in their speculation, which I'm sure we'll get around to doing in the next Critical Six Months, or Friedman), and Ann Leckie with a story about violence between two alien species variously aided and abetted by faulty machine translation.
Since last I checked this collection is free, you've got nothing to lose. Track down a link and enjoy the beneficence of the Beast of Redmond.
January 16, 2016
I'll admit: I'm a sucker for science fiction involving linguistics. So opening this up to a story with a protagonist who's a computational linguist working on multi-modal machine translation pretty much had me sold. I read a lot of science fiction, but it's rare for the "science" in books to have anything to do with the "science" I do. It was really exciting to read science fiction where the science is machine learning and natural language processing.
That being said, some of the writing wasn't really that great. The premise of the book is that Microsoft said to a bunch of sci-fi writers, "Come see our technology and write a story about it and we'll pay you and give it away for free!" (This makes the whole sort of like an ad, but if this is the future of advertising, I'm on board.) However, it seems like some of the writers wrote about the technology but forgot to put in an interesting story. Technology happens, and has an effect, but there's not much in the way of characters.
I really enjoyed Ann Leckie's story "Another Word for World." It had some good world building, interesting characters, and looked at both positives and negatives of machine translation.
That being said, some of the writing wasn't really that great. The premise of the book is that Microsoft said to a bunch of sci-fi writers, "Come see our technology and write a story about it and we'll pay you and give it away for free!" (This makes the whole sort of like an ad, but if this is the future of advertising, I'm on board.) However, it seems like some of the writers wrote about the technology but forgot to put in an interesting story. Technology happens, and has an effect, but there's not much in the way of characters.
I really enjoyed Ann Leckie's story "Another Word for World." It had some good world building, interesting characters, and looked at both positives and negatives of machine translation.
December 2, 2015
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
I didn't look into how this book came to be, but since it was free, I was quick to jump on it. This is the way I imagine it happening: Someone at Microsoft took a handful of technologies that are currently be worked on and asked a variety of authors to come up with a story that involved one of the technologies, but set in the future when the technology is either mature or just about there. So what you end up with is several short stories, each showcasing a different future technology. Each author took a different approach, and some even managed to develop interesting characters in the limited word count.
Keeping in mind that it is a free book, and that none of these stories will go down as "classics", I'd read it. The stories were interesting and most managed to teach a bit about how the technology is supposed to work. And not one mention of Windows 10!
I didn't look into how this book came to be, but since it was free, I was quick to jump on it. This is the way I imagine it happening: Someone at Microsoft took a handful of technologies that are currently be worked on and asked a variety of authors to come up with a story that involved one of the technologies, but set in the future when the technology is either mature or just about there. So what you end up with is several short stories, each showcasing a different future technology. Each author took a different approach, and some even managed to develop interesting characters in the limited word count.
Keeping in mind that it is a free book, and that none of these stories will go down as "classics", I'd read it. The stories were interesting and most managed to teach a bit about how the technology is supposed to work. And not one mention of Windows 10!
March 8, 2016
Hard to give a single rating to a book of short stories, especially when they are by different writers. I generally agree with Althea Ann's review but think overall this is a two-star book - which is not an altogether bad thing, "it was okay" on average. The stories I liked: The Machine Starts - Greg Bear, A Cop's Eye (graphic, i.e. comic strip) - Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, illustrations by Joey Camacho; Looking for Gordo - Robert J. Sawyer, The Tell - David Brin, Another Word for World - Ann Leckie. The Leckie is by far the best of the these, and the graphic story is second best. The others I didn't care for much.
Free from Amazon.
Free from Amazon.
Read
December 20, 2015A nice collection of science fiction short stories sponsored by Microsoft. So, it's a free collection that serves somewhat as free advertising.
The stories, however, are still worth reading. Seanan McGuire's story about translation software is especially lovely.
It also made me realize how much my standards for quality characters has gone up in recent years. Some of the stories in this collection are of the older tradition of SF where characters exist solely to prop up the Big Idea. I apparently have no patience for cardboard cutouts these days, no matter how great the idea is.
The stories, however, are still worth reading. Seanan McGuire's story about translation software is especially lovely.
It also made me realize how much my standards for quality characters has gone up in recent years. Some of the stories in this collection are of the older tradition of SF where characters exist solely to prop up the Big Idea. I apparently have no patience for cardboard cutouts these days, no matter how great the idea is.
January 4, 2016
Amazingly good for a free book (only three stinkers out of nine stories). All follow the same template: take existing (Microsoft...) technology and use it as the core of a story. All are well written, but some are dry due to the tech involved and the amount of explanations required to help readers understand the tech. That's probably why the best stories are the ones built around tech that's easy to grasp :)
Highlights: Seanan McGuire, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie.
Highlights: Seanan McGuire, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie.
December 21, 2015
I downloaded this collection of short stories. It was sponsored by Microsoft. They offered tours and meetings with their scientists to some of the top SF authors today. All of the stories are fairly firmly rooted in familiar technology but they do take it another step. There were two stories about mechanical translators and they were completely different. There's even a graphic novel. My favorites were Seanan Maquire's "Hello, hello" and David Brin's "The Tell."
February 6, 2017
A patchy anthology. I expected better of some of the authors in here. The Nancy Kress is the best story. Seanan McGuire was a good story, though a little obvious. Jack McDevitt and Robert J Sawyer were okay. The rest pretty much ended up 2 to in room explaining the science to each other and lacked a decent story.
February 5, 2017
Loved this!
Check out my review on my blog: https://cherylcan.wordpress.com/2015/...
Check out my review on my blog: https://cherylcan.wordpress.com/2015/...
December 16, 2015
Near future tech based stories; some to short and some way too long but a great mix from great writers.
January 17, 2016
Great set of stories based on it's premise.
August 14, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.25 of 5
The conceit for this book is that Microsoft gave a few prominent sci-fi and fantasy authors a look at their technology in progress in exchange for some stories. Given the rather strange circumstances for the anthology, this collection features some remarkable short fiction.
This is a short collection, but I found all the works to be engaging on some level, even if it wasn't something I'd want to really read again. The best story here I think was Elizabeth Bear's "Skin in the Game." Our pop stars are already tweeting and showing photos on Instagram with startling frequency. What happens if fans can be even closer their favorite stars by tuning in to a tech device that broadcasts emotions in real time?
Seanan McGuire, who I think is one of the best urban fantasy authors writing today, ran with a real interesting concept in "Hello, Hello" - how technology intended for good use can be dangerous when not monitored. But the story itself didn't really grab hold with me.
"A Cop's Eye" is a story told in comic-book or graphic novel format by Blue Delliquanti & Michele Rosenthal. The story follows a cop who tracks down a teenage hacker runaway and with the help of some amazing tech the cop sets out to help the girl.
Overall, this is a pretty decent collection
This book contains the following:
Foreword - Harry Shum
Introduction - Rick Rashid
"Hello, Hello" - Seanan McGuire
"The Machine Starts" - Greg Bear
"Skin in the Game" - Elizabeth Bear
"Machine Learning" - Nancy Kress
"Riding With the Duke" - Jack McDevitt
"A Cop's Eye" - Blue Delliquanti & Michele Rosenthal
"Looking for Gordo" - Robert J. Sawyer
"The Tell" - David Brin
"Another Word for World" - Ann Leckie
Looking for a good book? Future Visions is an anthology of sci-fi based on some the sci-fi-like technology currently (at the time of the writing of the stories) being developed and features some high-profile authors telling some good stories.
The conceit for this book is that Microsoft gave a few prominent sci-fi and fantasy authors a look at their technology in progress in exchange for some stories. Given the rather strange circumstances for the anthology, this collection features some remarkable short fiction.
This is a short collection, but I found all the works to be engaging on some level, even if it wasn't something I'd want to really read again. The best story here I think was Elizabeth Bear's "Skin in the Game." Our pop stars are already tweeting and showing photos on Instagram with startling frequency. What happens if fans can be even closer their favorite stars by tuning in to a tech device that broadcasts emotions in real time?
Seanan McGuire, who I think is one of the best urban fantasy authors writing today, ran with a real interesting concept in "Hello, Hello" - how technology intended for good use can be dangerous when not monitored. But the story itself didn't really grab hold with me.
"A Cop's Eye" is a story told in comic-book or graphic novel format by Blue Delliquanti & Michele Rosenthal. The story follows a cop who tracks down a teenage hacker runaway and with the help of some amazing tech the cop sets out to help the girl.
Overall, this is a pretty decent collection
This book contains the following:
Foreword - Harry Shum
Introduction - Rick Rashid
"Hello, Hello" - Seanan McGuire
"The Machine Starts" - Greg Bear
"Skin in the Game" - Elizabeth Bear
"Machine Learning" - Nancy Kress
"Riding With the Duke" - Jack McDevitt
"A Cop's Eye" - Blue Delliquanti & Michele Rosenthal
"Looking for Gordo" - Robert J. Sawyer
"The Tell" - David Brin
"Another Word for World" - Ann Leckie
Looking for a good book? Future Visions is an anthology of sci-fi based on some the sci-fi-like technology currently (at the time of the writing of the stories) being developed and features some high-profile authors telling some good stories.
April 24, 2018
This is an incredible anthology.
I think most of the time I'm wary of anthologies - I don't like the idea of reading a book from cover to cover but being jolted from one character to another, one world to another. I've always liked longer narratives and sagas, TV shows to movies.
However the threads in this Microsoft-inspired science fiction are really excellent and twine together magnificently. Like all anthologies, there are some stories I like more than others - my fantasy loving sensibilities made the last story, Another Word for World, a particular favorite, with it's developed science fiction planets and worlds, mysterious boggy swamps, and architecture made of manufactured or "fabricated" recycled plastic.
Other standouts included Hello, Hello, Skin in the Game, Riding with Duke and A Cop's Eye - the later being notable as the only comic within the prose selection.
The only thing preventing the full five stars are the stories Machine Learning and The Tell, which both featured heavily on the science aspects of the story and inevitably made my eyes glaze over. To me, the most interesting aspect of science fiction is not the technologies themselves but how humans use them to communicate, grieve, learn, and interact.
I think most of the time I'm wary of anthologies - I don't like the idea of reading a book from cover to cover but being jolted from one character to another, one world to another. I've always liked longer narratives and sagas, TV shows to movies.
However the threads in this Microsoft-inspired science fiction are really excellent and twine together magnificently. Like all anthologies, there are some stories I like more than others - my fantasy loving sensibilities made the last story, Another Word for World, a particular favorite, with it's developed science fiction planets and worlds, mysterious boggy swamps, and architecture made of manufactured or "fabricated" recycled plastic.
Other standouts included Hello, Hello, Skin in the Game, Riding with Duke and A Cop's Eye - the later being notable as the only comic within the prose selection.
The only thing preventing the full five stars are the stories Machine Learning and The Tell, which both featured heavily on the science aspects of the story and inevitably made my eyes glaze over. To me, the most interesting aspect of science fiction is not the technologies themselves but how humans use them to communicate, grieve, learn, and interact.
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