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Humanity 2.0
Humanity 2.0 is an anthology of science fiction stories that examine how interstellar travel might change us as a species. Will we choose to upload our minds into a singularity? Enhance ourselves with alien DNA? Will our bodies remain the same, but our culture and societal norms change considerably to accommodate for effects of time dilation, or become subsumed by advanced alien species? What will it mean to be human in such a future?
Unknown Binding
First published October 10, 2016
39 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Alex Shvartsman
158 books145 followersAlex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Kakistocracy, a sequel to The Middling Affliction, is forthcoming in 2023.
Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.
His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.
Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.
Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.
His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.
Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 3, 2019
A good collection, even if it took me a LONG time to finish it. Highlights were the the Ken Liu, the Zinos-Amaro, and the Varley, an old favorite. Uncommented stories remain unread (for now).
• The Waves (2012), novelette by Ken Liu. Another far-future SF story and meditation on possible futures for humanity, related to his very fine "Seven Birthdays", https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In this story, the first generation ship from earth is enroute, when the crew is offered the gift of immortality. Liu explores their possibilities through storytelling. I think I'll stop there, and just urge you to read it, especially if you liked "Seven Birthdays". 4.5 stars
• Justice and Shadow • short story by Angus McIntyre. A confusing story of an old interstellar sailship. Reads like an excerpt of a larger work. Intriguing. 3 stars
• Nexus • short story by Nancy Fulda. A little girl and her alien pet sneak away from foster care, Jump through the Portal, and start a new life. Cinematic and cute. 2.5 stars.
• Green Girl Blues • short story by Martin L. Shoemaker. Light, fast action-adventure on a new colony world. A pretty girl needs to escape her gangster family. A fun, quick read, 3.7 stars.
• Mindjack • novelette by Jody Lynn Nye. The first interstellar colonization fleet has some unexpected mental-health issues during hibernation deepsleep. Clever story, if too pat. 3 stars.
• Picnic on Nearside • [Eight Worlds] • (1974) • novelette by John Varley. An old favorite, not reread. 4+ stars, by memory.
• An Endless Series of Doors • short-short by David Walton. Portal story, cute but insubstantial. 2.5 stars.
• Angry Rose's Lament • (2008) • short story by Cat Rambo. An ex-addict tries to make a new life on a distant planet, and receives an unexpected offer. Well-written but bleak. 3 stars.
• The Right Place to Start a Family • short story by Caroline M. Yoachim. A woman leaves on a slow starship for a new world. Gliese 667Cc doesn't work out, but another does. Eh, 2 stars.
• The Iron Star • (1987) • novelette by Robert Silverberg. An expedition from Earth encounters aliens around a neutron star. The story is dated, and the climax didn't make sense. 2.5 stars.
• eʰ • novelette by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro. This novelette is an updating of some classic SF tropes, and very nicely done. A fleet of starships is bound for exoplanet Gliese 832 c, which is deemed habitable. Along the way, they make a very unexpected discovery.... If you like classic science-fiction stories of interstellar exploration, this one's for you. 4.5 stars.
• The Hand on the Cradle • short story by Brenda Cooper. Confusing story about uploaded posthumans in robot bodies. Didn't work for me, 2 stars.
• Star Light, Star Bright • (2000) • short story by Robert J. Sawyer. Humanity lives inside a great Dyson sphere, and civilization is recovering after a war. Bland, forgettable story. An odd choice for the wrapup position. 2 stars.
• The Waves (2012), novelette by Ken Liu. Another far-future SF story and meditation on possible futures for humanity, related to his very fine "Seven Birthdays", https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In this story, the first generation ship from earth is enroute, when the crew is offered the gift of immortality. Liu explores their possibilities through storytelling. I think I'll stop there, and just urge you to read it, especially if you liked "Seven Birthdays". 4.5 stars
• Justice and Shadow • short story by Angus McIntyre. A confusing story of an old interstellar sailship. Reads like an excerpt of a larger work. Intriguing. 3 stars
• Nexus • short story by Nancy Fulda. A little girl and her alien pet sneak away from foster care, Jump through the Portal, and start a new life. Cinematic and cute. 2.5 stars.
• Green Girl Blues • short story by Martin L. Shoemaker. Light, fast action-adventure on a new colony world. A pretty girl needs to escape her gangster family. A fun, quick read, 3.7 stars.
• Mindjack • novelette by Jody Lynn Nye. The first interstellar colonization fleet has some unexpected mental-health issues during hibernation deepsleep. Clever story, if too pat. 3 stars.
• Picnic on Nearside • [Eight Worlds] • (1974) • novelette by John Varley. An old favorite, not reread. 4+ stars, by memory.
• An Endless Series of Doors • short-short by David Walton. Portal story, cute but insubstantial. 2.5 stars.
• Angry Rose's Lament • (2008) • short story by Cat Rambo. An ex-addict tries to make a new life on a distant planet, and receives an unexpected offer. Well-written but bleak. 3 stars.
• The Right Place to Start a Family • short story by Caroline M. Yoachim. A woman leaves on a slow starship for a new world. Gliese 667Cc doesn't work out, but another does. Eh, 2 stars.
• The Iron Star • (1987) • novelette by Robert Silverberg. An expedition from Earth encounters aliens around a neutron star. The story is dated, and the climax didn't make sense. 2.5 stars.
• eʰ • novelette by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro. This novelette is an updating of some classic SF tropes, and very nicely done. A fleet of starships is bound for exoplanet Gliese 832 c, which is deemed habitable. Along the way, they make a very unexpected discovery.... If you like classic science-fiction stories of interstellar exploration, this one's for you. 4.5 stars.
• The Hand on the Cradle • short story by Brenda Cooper. Confusing story about uploaded posthumans in robot bodies. Didn't work for me, 2 stars.
• Star Light, Star Bright • (2000) • short story by Robert J. Sawyer. Humanity lives inside a great Dyson sphere, and civilization is recovering after a war. Bland, forgettable story. An odd choice for the wrapup position. 2 stars.
September 19, 2016
Alex Shvartsman brings us another excellent anthology with Humanity 2.0, a collection of stories that explore how interstellar flight might alter the path of humanity. Fifteen diverse stories show what it means to be human in the future — often the far future, and sometimes with genetic code that no longer reads as homo sapiens.
With Humanity 2.0, Alex Shvartsman once again shows that he knows how to pick ‘em and how to arrange them, so that each story compliments the preceding and the following in an even mix of reprints and new fiction.
Humanity 2.0 opens with excellent mixed narrative“The Waves” by Ken Liu, whichs asks readers to compare ancient origin myths with the high-tech life of the far-flung future. The theme of the issue begs an examination of topics such as multi-generational colonization and each author brings their own perspective and flare to Humanity 2.0. In "The Right Place to Start a Family" by Caroline M. Yoachim, Yuna ditches crowded Earth to colonize a distant planet and soon discovers that her expectations are rigid and unrealistic.
Shvartsman’s anthology is a great mix of positive SF and those of a heavy-hearted nature;
"A Lack of Congenial Solutions" by Kenneth Schneyer presents a philosophical bent that takes a darker turn when enslaved races overthrow humanity. And if you like your fiction even darker, Cat Rambo has you covered in “Angry Rose’s Lament,”a piece where a recovering addict feels he must pull off his negotiation with the wasp-like Solin aliens, or else he and his colleagues will fall back into temptation. "The Hand on the Cradle" by Brenda Cooper deals with themes of abuse and discrimination when cyborg Colorima is tortured for her supposed knowledge of her colleague’s radical resistance movement. "EH" by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro takes creepy to a whole new level when humans jump at the chance to become enhanced and then discount the side-affects of their genetic alterations.
In the middle of the anthology, “An Endless Series of Doors” by David Walton shows the pros and cons of portal travel and of the human condition by telling an adventure from the perspective of a hopelessly selfish, ultra-rich party-goer.
Towards the end, Mike Resnick brings us a powerful, multifaceted story with "The Homecoming," in which Jordan resents his son Phillip for taking on the form of an alien and leaving Earth. When Phillip returns home for a visit, he discovers his mother in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's.
For more stories on the lighter side, body modder Niko takes readers on an adventure on the lam in "Green Girl Blues" by Martin L. Shoemaker. "Star Light, Star Bright" by Robert J. Sawyer ends the anthology with a sweet exploration story full of hope.
With Humanity 2.0, Alex Shvartsman once again shows that he knows how to pick ‘em and how to arrange them, so that each story compliments the preceding and the following in an even mix of reprints and new fiction.
Humanity 2.0 opens with excellent mixed narrative“The Waves” by Ken Liu, whichs asks readers to compare ancient origin myths with the high-tech life of the far-flung future. The theme of the issue begs an examination of topics such as multi-generational colonization and each author brings their own perspective and flare to Humanity 2.0. In "The Right Place to Start a Family" by Caroline M. Yoachim, Yuna ditches crowded Earth to colonize a distant planet and soon discovers that her expectations are rigid and unrealistic.
Shvartsman’s anthology is a great mix of positive SF and those of a heavy-hearted nature;
"A Lack of Congenial Solutions" by Kenneth Schneyer presents a philosophical bent that takes a darker turn when enslaved races overthrow humanity. And if you like your fiction even darker, Cat Rambo has you covered in “Angry Rose’s Lament,”a piece where a recovering addict feels he must pull off his negotiation with the wasp-like Solin aliens, or else he and his colleagues will fall back into temptation. "The Hand on the Cradle" by Brenda Cooper deals with themes of abuse and discrimination when cyborg Colorima is tortured for her supposed knowledge of her colleague’s radical resistance movement. "EH" by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro takes creepy to a whole new level when humans jump at the chance to become enhanced and then discount the side-affects of their genetic alterations.
In the middle of the anthology, “An Endless Series of Doors” by David Walton shows the pros and cons of portal travel and of the human condition by telling an adventure from the perspective of a hopelessly selfish, ultra-rich party-goer.
Towards the end, Mike Resnick brings us a powerful, multifaceted story with "The Homecoming," in which Jordan resents his son Phillip for taking on the form of an alien and leaving Earth. When Phillip returns home for a visit, he discovers his mother in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's.
For more stories on the lighter side, body modder Niko takes readers on an adventure on the lam in "Green Girl Blues" by Martin L. Shoemaker. "Star Light, Star Bright" by Robert J. Sawyer ends the anthology with a sweet exploration story full of hope.
August 28, 2017
"We have met the alien and he is us."
This variation on Pogo's intentional misquote, with diverse possible readings, may be my best way to briefly summarize the scope and great diversity of this remarkable anthology.
As suggested by its title, it is about the future evolution of humanity, a future in which it should still be, somehow, humanity. It is not so much transhumanism, often thought of as meaning transformed or "improved" humans, but rather traditional humanism, more in a cultural sense, in the context of a changing humanity, changing socially, physically, or intellectually (so transhumanism is there too). Indeed most of the stories raise a wide variety of questions about ethics, or what makes us human, or the acceptability of change and how to organize our lives in a changing context.
The editor, Alex Shvartsman, did a great job of selecting stories, often from top authors (just count the awards they collected together), covering in surprising ways a vide variety of changes in humanity, induced by time, environment, or social structure, occurring naturally or being deliberately implemented, resulting from genetic changes or techonogical implants, up to completely artificial bodies, or even symbiosis with other entities (after all, some 3% of our body is already symbiotic). Despite the strangeness, and the short format, many of these story have real depth in characters and plot.
Regarding the stories, I like Liu's "The waves", for the story, the questions raised, and also for emphasizing the wave paradigm, not so often accounted for, which I have actually seen used in algorithmic design. But my preferred stories were Varley's "Picnic on Nearside", and Resnick's bittersweet "The Homecoming". I always was a fan of Varley, while this is (surprisingly) my first Resnick story (I will be reading more). But this is not to disparage the other great and varied stories found in the anthology. The most upsetting one is probably Rambo's "Angry Rose’s lament", but see for yourself.
The funniest idea is in the last story, Sawyer's "Star Light, Star Bright", though being only a minor aspect of the story (I wonder whether the author thought out some of the more mundane consequences). Silverberg's "The iron star" story is a bit surprising as it seems completely off topic. I guess the intent was to give, through actual aliens, a counter-example, an example of what would make humanity cease to be itself, beyond changes. Shoemaker's "Green girl blues" is a nice enjoyable story, but I felt that the SF aspect is mostly veneer, not so essential to the story though in keeping with the general theme. I was a bit at loss with Zinos-Amaro's "e^h" which I did not understand. I could follow the story, but did not really get what happens in the end, or why, or what had started it. It feels like a good story left unfinished.
I cannot comment them all, though many more are calling for attention with very original concepts. It is good that they are mostly on the optimistic side, despite a few exceptions, such as Schneyer's "A lack of congenial solutions".
It was a great reading, and it made me think of authors who could have been included. Tanith Lee's "Don't bite the sun" comes to mind, though I do not know of a short story in that universe. But mostly I am thinking of Cordwainer Smith who was so concerned with humanism beyond humanity.
This variation on Pogo's intentional misquote, with diverse possible readings, may be my best way to briefly summarize the scope and great diversity of this remarkable anthology.
As suggested by its title, it is about the future evolution of humanity, a future in which it should still be, somehow, humanity. It is not so much transhumanism, often thought of as meaning transformed or "improved" humans, but rather traditional humanism, more in a cultural sense, in the context of a changing humanity, changing socially, physically, or intellectually (so transhumanism is there too). Indeed most of the stories raise a wide variety of questions about ethics, or what makes us human, or the acceptability of change and how to organize our lives in a changing context.
The editor, Alex Shvartsman, did a great job of selecting stories, often from top authors (just count the awards they collected together), covering in surprising ways a vide variety of changes in humanity, induced by time, environment, or social structure, occurring naturally or being deliberately implemented, resulting from genetic changes or techonogical implants, up to completely artificial bodies, or even symbiosis with other entities (after all, some 3% of our body is already symbiotic). Despite the strangeness, and the short format, many of these story have real depth in characters and plot.
Regarding the stories, I like Liu's "The waves", for the story, the questions raised, and also for emphasizing the wave paradigm, not so often accounted for, which I have actually seen used in algorithmic design. But my preferred stories were Varley's "Picnic on Nearside", and Resnick's bittersweet "The Homecoming". I always was a fan of Varley, while this is (surprisingly) my first Resnick story (I will be reading more). But this is not to disparage the other great and varied stories found in the anthology. The most upsetting one is probably Rambo's "Angry Rose’s lament", but see for yourself.
The funniest idea is in the last story, Sawyer's "Star Light, Star Bright", though being only a minor aspect of the story (I wonder whether the author thought out some of the more mundane consequences). Silverberg's "The iron star" story is a bit surprising as it seems completely off topic. I guess the intent was to give, through actual aliens, a counter-example, an example of what would make humanity cease to be itself, beyond changes. Shoemaker's "Green girl blues" is a nice enjoyable story, but I felt that the SF aspect is mostly veneer, not so essential to the story though in keeping with the general theme. I was a bit at loss with Zinos-Amaro's "e^h" which I did not understand. I could follow the story, but did not really get what happens in the end, or why, or what had started it. It feels like a good story left unfinished.
I cannot comment them all, though many more are calling for attention with very original concepts. It is good that they are mostly on the optimistic side, despite a few exceptions, such as Schneyer's "A lack of congenial solutions".
It was a great reading, and it made me think of authors who could have been included. Tanith Lee's "Don't bite the sun" comes to mind, though I do not know of a short story in that universe. But mostly I am thinking of Cordwainer Smith who was so concerned with humanism beyond humanity.
May 18, 2017
Great science fiction anthology every single story was vibrant and no matter how short the story the characters actually felt like people rather than talking points . Personal favorite was The "Wave” by Ken Liu.
July 22, 2024
A few good stories that stick to the collection’s theme and aren’t undermined by hamfisted writing.
February 18, 2017
Vibrant stories with excellent authors.
January 13, 2017
The price was right...I enjoyed most of stories in this anthology
Even the ones that were not great share the kind of futuristic possibilities and cultural ideas that always tickle my brain .
Neuroplasticity, AI, Singularity, nanotechnology, genetic alteration, gender fluidity, environmental adaptation and humorous prophets...
and so on.. Congratulations to the editor of this 4 Star collection. Nicely done.
Even the ones that were not great share the kind of futuristic possibilities and cultural ideas that always tickle my brain .
Neuroplasticity, AI, Singularity, nanotechnology, genetic alteration, gender fluidity, environmental adaptation and humorous prophets...
and so on.. Congratulations to the editor of this 4 Star collection. Nicely done.
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December 1, 2016An excellent collection of stories, some new and others reprints, on the future of humanity.
December 11, 2016
I liked the reprints more than the originals in this theme anthology. See my review at http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.p...
January 28, 2017
good sci fi anthology
sony-or-android
January 26, 2019Not Found
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews