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Avatars Inc
Avatars Inc, the world’s leading producer of robotic avatar systems, launched a campaign to physically retrieve, preserve and archive the memory cards from their most valuable units. They searched the world, and deep into the solar system, to acquire the chips that contain avatar memories spanning the 21st century. These are those memories.
291 pages, ebook
First published March 13, 2020
2 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
About the author
Ann VanderMeer
66 books261 followersAnn VanderMeer is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine Weird Tales. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 24, 2020
Note: This Review contains NO spoilers
Avatars Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology is a collection of stories and chapters that span through the twenty-first century. On the surface, this book seems like another simple avatar read, machines in lieu of the human body. There are no wars, no underlying mysteries, or some greater threat to humanity that brings all the chapters together. In Avatar Inc, there is no greater purpose for these avatars besides the betterment of human existence and exploration. Each person piloting an avatar is simply doing their job, getting a set of new legs, but what makes this anthology so meaningful are the experiences each author offers the reader.
Each chapter offers a new experience, a different life, and each narrator a different message. The very first chapter alone starts out strong. This chapter begins with opening a box, like a metaphor for the start of this book. It thrusts the reader into the perspective of a young man in California who wants to take care of his elderly grandmother across the ocean, on another continent, through an avatar. The narrator wants to be a good grandson, but in the end, it changes into so much more; protests, freedom, and the safety of his loved one turn into a message, “Free Hong Kong.” Despite the machinery seeming cold, the stories in Avatar Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology are very humane.
Some chapters are a hit or miss in terms of keeping my attention. My favorites included, yes, the first chapter, but also many of the later chapters that describe a dystopian Earth and humanity looking to save it from pollution. One chapter describes a symphony of colors and the gift of sharing experiences, another narrator describes the avatar bodies as wholly theirs by rejecting their human body, and another has an AI avatar with moral values. Whichever chapters I am referring to, I would like others to see for themselves as Avatars Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology is a pleasant read.
Reviewer: Mariah
Disclaimer: We received a free copy for an honest review. All is my own opinion
Avatars Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology is a collection of stories and chapters that span through the twenty-first century. On the surface, this book seems like another simple avatar read, machines in lieu of the human body. There are no wars, no underlying mysteries, or some greater threat to humanity that brings all the chapters together. In Avatar Inc, there is no greater purpose for these avatars besides the betterment of human existence and exploration. Each person piloting an avatar is simply doing their job, getting a set of new legs, but what makes this anthology so meaningful are the experiences each author offers the reader.
Each chapter offers a new experience, a different life, and each narrator a different message. The very first chapter alone starts out strong. This chapter begins with opening a box, like a metaphor for the start of this book. It thrusts the reader into the perspective of a young man in California who wants to take care of his elderly grandmother across the ocean, on another continent, through an avatar. The narrator wants to be a good grandson, but in the end, it changes into so much more; protests, freedom, and the safety of his loved one turn into a message, “Free Hong Kong.” Despite the machinery seeming cold, the stories in Avatar Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology are very humane.
Some chapters are a hit or miss in terms of keeping my attention. My favorites included, yes, the first chapter, but also many of the later chapters that describe a dystopian Earth and humanity looking to save it from pollution. One chapter describes a symphony of colors and the gift of sharing experiences, another narrator describes the avatar bodies as wholly theirs by rejecting their human body, and another has an AI avatar with moral values. Whichever chapters I am referring to, I would like others to see for themselves as Avatars Inc.: A Sci-Fi Anthology is a pleasant read.
Reviewer: Mariah
Disclaimer: We received a free copy for an honest review. All is my own opinion
February 6, 2021
I love Ann Vandermeer's Current Futures: A Sci-Fi Ocean Anthology stories, so this collection is a must read.
Rating only (so far) for Tade Thompson's Thirty-Three. A sarcastic voice that reminded me of Rosewater's main lead, which is the strongest part of the story - not really the remote robot tech itself. It is entertaining. Can be read here: http://www.avatars.inc/future_ideas/2059
Looking forward to read the rest.
Rating only (so far) for Tade Thompson's Thirty-Three. A sarcastic voice that reminded me of Rosewater's main lead, which is the strongest part of the story - not really the remote robot tech itself. It is entertaining. Can be read here: http://www.avatars.inc/future_ideas/2059
Looking forward to read the rest.
April 20, 2020
A very interesting collection, good set of stories and authors. A lot of them make you think about what that would be like. There seemed to be a lot of small formatting errors on the web-version that made it a little jarring to read at times. A number of the stories feel like introductions to slightly larger stories...and some of the stories were overcomplex which distracted from the focus of the impact of the avatar.
November 12, 2023
I am commenting on Avatars Inc for Pat Cadigan's short story "The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie." which I read via the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. This was the first piece that I have read by Pat Cadigan. I enjoyed this story even though the subject matter dealt with some heavy dark and frankly depressing themes. The writing style, tone and language choices in the short story "The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie were all tastefully and skillfully done and appropriate for the heavy healthcare topics of enabling patients to die humanely and with dignity in a hospice/palliative care setting. This is a topic, that I know a fair amount about due to taking several courses in college that discussed the uses, benefits and philosophies behind palliative hospice care in the American healthcare system. I enjoyed reading about the intriguing and creative/novel ideas that Cadigan proposed as to how A.I. may possibly be used in palliative and hospice healthcare settings in the future to better the quality of care and life quality of patients diagnosed with terminal health conditions and the ethical dilemmas that advances in and deployment of A.I. in healthcare settings may pose to physicians, nurses other healthcare workers and the family members of patients in this story. I plan on looking for additional pieces by Pat Cadigan to read in the future.
May 22, 2020
This was a great collection of stories. These stories were very complex and full and I think that they could be turned into full fledged stories as well. I enjoyed them so much. Each one stood on their own two feet even though this book is under 300 pages!! The fact that you can even read these online for free is also awesome!!
March 30, 2020
the avatar concept is not new
overall not to bad...
i mean, story wise, a few hits and few misses.. a few mediocre one in between
i did like "A Mountain to Climb" by Julie Nováková
overall not to bad...
i mean, story wise, a few hits and few misses.. a few mediocre one in between
i did like "A Mountain to Climb" by Julie Nováková
June 7, 2020
A few of the stories were pretty good, most of them were mediocre, and the rest were just awful. Save your time and read something better
January 25, 2022
review is for The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie by Pat Cadigan
February 7, 2020
Can't wait for this!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews