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The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories
A collection of 15 tales by international indie authors, featuring: Space exploration, alien invasion, heroism, new beginnings, unusual occurrences, crime and punishment, tragedy and more.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 6, 2017
I absolutely enjoyed this book against all odds. First I struggle with short stories as they often leave me feeling unsatisfied and second, while I read all genres Sci-fi is somewhere near the bottom of my favourites list. To overcome both of my concerns, here is an eclectic mix of stories from Tom Benson Paul Ruddock, Val Tobin , Pam Kesterson and others and perhaps it is the variety of voices that made this work for me. This is an introduction to quality Indie authors that you should read, it will open the door to your next best book I suspect.
December 25, 2017
Whilst I can’t say I enjoyed every story in this anthology I thoroughly enjoyed most of them. Every story was of a high standard in terms of content and quality, and several were absolute gems. Particular favourites were guest author’s W.K Tucker’s ‘You are what you read,’ a simple but clever little tale of one woman’s escape from the reality of her less than satisfying life. A special mention too of C.L. Lopez’s ‘A Burning World’ about one young girl’s refusal to accept he fate in a future Dystopian world. Other favourites were the author’s own space opera drama type stories such as ‘Space Debris,’ a great little story of heroism. I also particularly enjoyed re-reading the three bonus stories that had previously appeared elsewhere, especially the irony and karma of ‘Down to Earth’ from the author’s ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ anthology.
One of the things I liked about this anthology was its sheer variety of themes and scenarios, from space opera drama tales to far off Dystopian worlds along with self-sacrifice, alien invasion, and even a bit of Sci-fi erotica. The inclusion of the guest author’s stories helped give the collection a real momentum, almost as if with each new story you were at the start of a whole new book and not just another story. The downside to this of course as with almost any short story collection is that there are likely to be some stories that simply won't appeal to individual tastes. A couple of the stories were just a little too vague and open-ended in their conclusions for me whilst one or two simply strayed a little too far from my more traditional Sci-fi preferences. Overall though, another great short story collection from Tom Benson, and an introduction to several other great writers too… A good solid 4-star rating I would say.
One of the things I liked about this anthology was its sheer variety of themes and scenarios, from space opera drama tales to far off Dystopian worlds along with self-sacrifice, alien invasion, and even a bit of Sci-fi erotica. The inclusion of the guest author’s stories helped give the collection a real momentum, almost as if with each new story you were at the start of a whole new book and not just another story. The downside to this of course as with almost any short story collection is that there are likely to be some stories that simply won't appeal to individual tastes. A couple of the stories were just a little too vague and open-ended in their conclusions for me whilst one or two simply strayed a little too far from my more traditional Sci-fi preferences. Overall though, another great short story collection from Tom Benson, and an introduction to several other great writers too… A good solid 4-star rating I would say.
January 25, 2016
In case you hadn't guess, this is a collection of science fiction stories that run the gamut from horror to hope to self-sacrifice and everything in between. It's what I like to refer to as a smorgasbord of awesome. Tom even added a few bonus stories from his other collections including a bit of sci-fi erotica.
Like all good science fiction, the stories focus on the human elements of the narrative and use the sci-fi elements as backdrop. This kind of sci-fi gives writers whole new worlds to populate and cuts the restraining orders of reality to ribbons. Always, though, the stories come back to the people that populate those worlds and how they react to the adversity of being stuck on strange planets, eaten by blobs, put in a position where they have to sacrifice themselves to save others, or the woman who comes across a very special man.
Sometimes operatic, sometimes intimate, sometimes intimate in that way, The Welcome and Other Sci-Fi Stories provides a tasty treat of delightful morsels of science fiction.
Like all good science fiction, the stories focus on the human elements of the narrative and use the sci-fi elements as backdrop. This kind of sci-fi gives writers whole new worlds to populate and cuts the restraining orders of reality to ribbons. Always, though, the stories come back to the people that populate those worlds and how they react to the adversity of being stuck on strange planets, eaten by blobs, put in a position where they have to sacrifice themselves to save others, or the woman who comes across a very special man.
Sometimes operatic, sometimes intimate, sometimes intimate in that way, The Welcome and Other Sci-Fi Stories provides a tasty treat of delightful morsels of science fiction.
January 28, 2016
I love short stories, and am a long-time fan of science fiction so having read previous books by a number of the guest authors who contributed to this excellent collection I knew I couldn’t go wrong. Tom Benson’s short stories are always a treat, and I thoroughly recommend his previous books if you haven’t discovered them yet. This collection, which includes stories by other accomplished writers such as AA Jankewicz, Pam Kesterson, Paul Ruddock and Val Tobin, is a spell-binding delight from start to finish. Some made me smile, some alarmed me, some made me think: “Well, it could happen...” but what they all have in common is an insight into human beings and our strange behaviour – whatever century we happen to show up in and whatever alternative reality the author might invite us to enter. For me the combination of the inquiring curiosity of scientific imaginings plus the psychological exploration of human nature faced with a variety of dilemmas makes for science fiction at its very best. This book kept me intrigued and I raced through it all too fast. More please!
January 14, 2016
love and hate Sci-fi almost in equal measures. I don’t understand tech- babble at the best of times, add to this warp-speed, phasors and other futuristic tech-speak and I’m completely lost. What I do love is where the writer’s imagination can take you. Sci-fi is a wonderful blank canvas to paint your own colourful picture. In The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories, Tom Benson and his six guest authors have used their canvas well. If Techno-babble is used it is to quickly outline a futuristic world and to set the scene. I loved that each of the guest authors had chosen a completely different theme and style; which makes this book a great show case for Sci-Fi writing. This is selection of short stories that is easy to read, with something for everyone. (Even for fans of erotica!)
March 7, 2016
I enjoy reading the sci-fi genre when it is written well enough not to confuse me with all its futuristic babble :) This was one of those books.
These individual short stories were well written and easy to follow. While they are all sci-fi based, each differs in the overall feel, so you don't get fed up with reading the same themes.
A book like this is an excellent way to get to know the names and styles of individual authors, and there were a couple that I will make an effort to search for their other books.
I would recommend reading this book, especially if you are a fan of sci-fi.
These individual short stories were well written and easy to follow. While they are all sci-fi based, each differs in the overall feel, so you don't get fed up with reading the same themes.
A book like this is an excellent way to get to know the names and styles of individual authors, and there were a couple that I will make an effort to search for their other books.
I would recommend reading this book, especially if you are a fan of sci-fi.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews