Compostela

Tesseracts Anthology #20

by Spider Robinson, James Alan Gardner, Robert J. Sawyer

Compostela (Tesseracts Twenty) is an anthology of hard and soft science fiction stories that best represent a futuristic view of the sciences and how humanity might be affected (for better or worse) by a reliance in all things technological.

The stories contained within the pages of Compostela are a reflection of the world we live in today; where science produces both wonders and horrors; and will leave us with a future that undoubtedly will contain both. Journeys to the stars may be exhilarating and mind-expanding, but they can also be dangerous or even tragic. SF has always reflected that wide range of possibilities.

Featuring works by these Canadian visionaries:

Alan Bao, John Bell, Chantal Boudreau, Leslie Brown, Tanya Bryan, J. R. Campbell, Eric Choi, David Clink, paulo da costa, Miki Dare, Robert Dawson, Linda DeMeulemeester, Steve Fahnestalk, Jacob Fletcher, Catherine Girczyc, R. Gregory, Mary-Jean Harris, Geoffrey Hart, Michaela Hiebert, Matthew Hughes, Guy Immega, Garnet Johnson-Koehn, Michael Johnstone, Cate McBride, Lisa Ann McLean, Rati Mehrotra, Derryl Murphy, Brent Nichols, Susan Pieters, Alexandra Renwick, Rhea Rose, Robert J. Sawyer, Thea van Diepen, Nancy SM Waldman.

About the title of this anthology:

For more than 1,000 years, Santiago de Compostela (Compostela means “field of stars”) has attracted pilgrims to walk to the cathedral that holds St. James the apostle's relics. The stories in this anthology in their own way tell the tale of futuristic travelers who journey into the dark outer (or inner) reaches of space, searching for their own connections to the past, present and future relics of their time.

ABOUT THE TESSERACTS SERIES:

If you are just discovering the Tesseracts Series for the first time, or reacquainting yourself with this Canadian literary legacy, here are some key points to remember:

The Tesseracts series is focused on speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy and horror.

The first Tesseracts anthology was edited by the late Judith Merril.

Each year EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing chooses a team of editors - which keeps the collections fresh, new and ever changing - from among the best of Canada’s writers, publishers and critics. The editors then select innovative and futuristic short fiction and poetry from established and emerging voices of Canadian speculative fiction.

Since the publication of the first volume in 1985, Canadian authors, editors, translators and special guests have contributed 595 short stories, poems, editorials and forwards to the series.

Genres: Science Fiction

349 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2017

About the author

Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.

Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.

Reviews

[Karl]

Contents:

Publishers Note

001 - Foreword - "There is such a thing as a Zeitgeist" by James Alan Gardner
005 - "The Tell" by Roxanne Gregory
009 - "Better" by Chantal Boudreau
019 - "From Alpha Centauri The Earth Is A Blue Bowl Of Fish Soup" by Rhea Rose
021 - "For You, Endlessly" by Michael Johnstone
033 - "Ancient tech" by Catherine Girczyc
035 - "Gifted Fingers" by Steve Pahnestalk
041- "Grounded" by Miki Dare
055 - "Dear Houston" by Alexandra Renwick
059 - "No More At All" by Lisa Ann McLean
071 - "I Never Expected The Stars" by Thea van Diepen
082 - "Resignation" by Michaela Hiebert
085 - "Epilogue" by Guy Immega
100 - "After Midnight" by David Clink
102 - "Buried, But Not Dead" by Garnet Johnson-Koehn
117 - "A Perfect and Pleasant Day" by paulo da costa
119 - "The Eyes of Others" by Jacob Fletcher
122 - "Creaky Wheel" by J. R. Campbell
139 - "The Last Indie Truck Stop on Mars" by Linda DeMeulemeester
143 - "The Immortal Fire" by Mary-Jean Harris
145 - "Ghost in the Machine" by Susan Pieters
159 - "Marvin" by Alan Bao
167 - "The Shoulders of Giants" by Robert J. Sawyer
184 - "Card" by Catherine Girczyc
186 - "A New Lexicon of Loss" by John Bell
189 - "Intervention" by Brent Nichols
196 - "Trespass" by Leslie Brown
209 - "Scavengers" by Cate McBride
218 - "The White Bear" by Robert Dawson
231 - "The Other Story" by Tanya Bryan
232 - "No Others Like Us" by Nancy SM Waldman
247 - " ‘Gel Theta One" by Rhea Rose
259 - "Childhood's End" by Geoffrey Hart
263 - "Plot Device" by Eric Choi
273 - "The Shadowed Forest" by Rati Mehrotra
285 - "Nature Tale" by Matthew Hughes
297 - "The Dead Languages of the Wind" by David Clink
298 - "In Memory Of "by Derryl Murphy
327 - Afterword by Spider Robinson
331 - If you enjoyed this read
333 - About the Editirs
327 - Need something New to read ?

Cover art
by nirut123rf

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through no fault of the book it took me a very long time to even start much less finish - this was primarily due to the essential disfunctionality of trying to read a PDF ARC on my Kindle Fire - it can be done, but the gadget makes it very difficult. As I said, this should not be construed as reflecting on this book, just an explanation for why it took so long to review.
As for the anthology itself, I am very glad I read it. A varied collection in both appeal and tone, but generally high quality, if not memorability. The poems, interspersed throughout the collection, were generally not memorable, though a couple were worth a re-read.
There is true SF, soft sf, romance, speculative fiction, aliens, social issues, apocalyptic aftermath, horror, tragedy and hope - sometimes all mixed up in a single story, but usually just one or two at a time. I found a couple personal triggers, but they were pressed so deftly that I was able to cope. That being said I confess the last story left me in tears, but not traumatically so.
There were a few stand-outs that were more memorable than most - Grounded by Miki Dare with it's alien yet not too alien world, No More At All by Lisa Ann McLean - how it ends perhaps, Buried, But Not Dead by Garnet Johnson-Koehn - another pre-apocalyptic-maybe.... ya gotta read it yourself. In Memory Of by Derryl Murphy was especially hard for me to get through for purely personal reasons, yet remains the clearest and most memorable (pun intended). There are others I liked very much but as in any varied anthology YMMV but I can definitely recommend this collection for fans of speculative fiction, and anyone interested in meeting new authors.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

COMPOSTELA: TESSERACTS TWENTY is edited by Spider Robinson and James Alan Gardner.
The TESSERACTS series is published by a Canadian publisher, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy, and focuses on speculative fiction.
TESSERACTS TWENTY is an anthology series of science fiction stories. Stories have a very futuristic view and reflect how people (humanity) are changed by an increasingly technical world.
My copy is an EBook edition; an ‘Advance Reading Copy’ for reviewers from Library Thing’s Early Review Program. I accepted this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Each story or poem includes details about the author and a link to their blog or website. I liked learning more about these very interesting, clever folks. ‘About the editors’ section was very interesting, also. The comments by the editors really established a sense of cohesion and understanding for this title.
I liked the comments on the title - COMPOSTELA - what the word referred to. This word/title is what drew me to the book as I am a former ‘peregrina’ or pilgrim on the Camino de Compostela. The Camino and the ultimate destination of Compostela, itself, is rife with spirituality, legend and myth. Every pilgrim has his/her own interpretation of and experiences with the ‘way’ and the ‘field of stars’.
I spent some time looking up and thinking about the terms ‘speculative fiction’ and ‘tesseract’. Very interesting. (I keep using the adjective interesting a lot, but all the stories, poems, terms, thoughts were just that - very interesting.)
The writing is very clever and imaginative, thoughtful and interesting, puzzling at times, very technically oriented, dry. I would like to call the writing, Science Fiction Noir, as it fits that area of fiction marked by cynicism, fatalism, bleakness and morally ambiguity.
I thought the first story, “The Tell” by Roxanne Gregory was very reminiscent of the film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Many of the stories are quite chilling. I found “Ghost in the machine” especially so.
“Marvin” by Alan Bao is everything I distrust about automation and AI.
“No others like us” by Nancy SM Waldman was notable in that it was not as bleak as some of the others - an almost positive ending.
“In memory of” by Darryl Murphy was an emotional story for me and I felt I could relate to it a bit more.
I also liked the “Last Indie truck stop on Mars” by Linda De Meulemeester. A story set on Mars in the future but with familiar problems of the past.
I recommend this book if you like fast-paced, clever writing; a short story format; poetry; speculative fiction; well-plotted stories and well-developed characters; a lack of emotion or emotional upheaval.
I am interested in reading prior titles - each anthology title has a different objective or story ‘subject’.
Very interesting.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of science fiction short stories and poems by Canadian authors. Did I enjoy all of them? No, but I found the vast majority creative and thought-provoking, exactly what a collection like this is meant for. It introduced me to a few new authors to follow. I haven’t been reading short stories in a while, and this collection re-kindled my interest in this shorter form. Five of five on Goodreads.

[Cat Girczyc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair disclosure: I have 2 poems in this volume.
A great collection of short stories & poems here!
Especially nice to see other Canadian sf.f authors whose work you don’t often get to read.

[Edwin Downward · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall enjoyable series of reads with honourable mention going to Creaky Wheel.

[Trigger Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, complex stories, a captivating read. Canadian sci fi at its best.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology of uneven quality, most of them not particularly memorable. My favorite was the very first, Roxanne Gregory's "The Tell".