Forward

Forward Collection

by Blake Crouch (Contributor), N.K. Jemisin (Contributor), Veronica Roth (Contributor)

Para alguns, a tecnologia é o prenúncio do fim do mundo. Para outros, é apenas o começo. Entre os dois extremos, estão os contos reunidos em "Forward". Encabeçada pelo escritor e roteirista Blake Crouch (Recursão, Matéria Escura) e povoada por N. K. Jemisin (Nós Somos a Cidade), Veronica Roth (série Divergente), Amor Towles (Um Cavalheiro em Moscou), Paul Tremblay (Na Escuridão da Mente) e Andy Weir (Perdido em Marte), a coletânea combina o melhor de cada autor, em narrativas que vão da ficção científica especulativa à ação e ao suspense.

Seja em Vegas, seja em uma Terra utópica, a verdade é que nossos dilemas se reeditam infinitamente em torno do que nos faz humanos - paixões, medos, sonhos, ambições... independentemente dos saltos tecnológicos e de qualquer ensaio do futuro. É disso que trata "Forward". É disso que trata a vida.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy

299 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2019

About the author

Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the forthcoming novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015’s #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado with his family.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent collection of bite-sized sci-fi stories.

3 stars
Ark by Veronica Roth
An asteroid is going to hit the planet.
Can Aerosmith write another #1 before it hits?



4 stars
Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
AI shenanigans.



3 stars
Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
If we could eject the one percenters into space, would it make the world a better place?



3 stars
You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
A Genetics story that went off the rails at the end.



2 stars
The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
Meh.




4 stars
Randomize by Andy Weir
Quantum entanglement, Keno, and a casino owner.
What can go wrong?



If you're into sci-fi shorts, you could do worse than this collection. They weren't all winners for me, but they were most definitely all readable.
Recommended.

[Rozarka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veronica Roth: Ark
⭐⭐⭐
One of those stories you read, think they are nice and soon forget about them.

Blake Crouch: Summer Frost
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I admit I was a bit bored during reading this and quite exasperated with the main character, but the nearer the end the more compelling it became and I was more than satisfied with the ending. One of those pieces that make you think (even though some of those things are about what you didn't like about the characters).

N. K. Jemisin: Emergency Skin
⭐⭐
Capitalism bad, eat the rich. Here, I saved your time reading it.

Amor Towles: You Have Arrived at Your Destination
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An original spin on a theme of "should we genetically modify our children", except not really. It's about us, our take on life, the way we are shaped by our decisions, and how (and if) it can be predicted/predetermined. Best in the collection.

Paul Tremblay: The Last Conversation
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A mystery thriller, nice! It dragged a little initially but I understand why the author chose to write it this way.

Andy Weir: Randomize
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I don't understand quantum computing (and oh boy I tried...) so I can't tell if the things presented in the story could happen or not, but I don't care. It was fun, short, fast-paced, and I liked the twist at the end.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t normally read short stories, but I had just read Amor Towles’s The Lincoln Highway and I thought it would be interesting to hear his take on future tech. With an Andy Weir story in there too, I was sold.

All the stories but one were solid, I thought. To me, Paul Tremblay’s The Last Conversation embodied what I don’t like about many short stories, which is that they too often are just a spun-out tale with an obvious twist or explanation at the end.

The best of the collection is Jemisin’s hilarious Emergency Skin, about a visit to earth by a resident of an outpost colony established long years ago. Towles’s is what you’d expect from him: a story with a tech hook that is really about the human condition. And Andy Weir’s is his usual clever take on the intersection of human ingenuity and technological challenge.

I remember that the Veronica Roth and Blake Crouch stories were good, but two days after reading them I don’t remember what they were about. So, all in all, this collection was entertaining, but not something I’d recommend rushing out to buy.

[Henk]

Pretty solid collection of science fiction stories, I think I will pick up some of the other collections Amazon curated soon as well.

Reviews to the individual stories are below, definitely check out the Blake Crouch and Paul Tremblay ones! In general it is interesting that quite some of the stories are more hopeful than you would normally associate with the dystopia dominated genre, Jemisin and Roth come to mind as examples.

#1 Ark by Veronica Roth: 2.5*, a bit twee and slow story of the apocalypse, with people trying to save plants to move to a new home: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch : 4*, an actually interesting story of AI, with questions on our reality, one of my favourites of the bundle:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#3 Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin: 3*, if we just rid ourselves of parasites (a.k.a. The Rich, Entitled and Established) we’d become our best altruistic self and everything will turn to the better. A bit complacent but Jemisin is so good in drip feeding information:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles: 3*, gene editing, designer babies and, inexplicably, a payphone, play a major role in this story:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay: 4*, an eerie and well build up story, centered around the the experience of someone waking up in a dark room, without memories, only being talked to by a mysterious doctor through an intercom. Together with Summer Frost the strongest of the series in my view:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#6 Randomize by Andy Weir: 1*, a casino heist gone wrong using quantum entanglement. This was poorly executed and underwhelming, the weakest of the series in my opinion:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Letícia Anadias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Frost, Emergency Skin e The Last Conversation: 5/5 (SO FUCKED UP, eu amei!!!!)

You have arrived at your destination: 3/5 (ehh)

Ark e Randomize: 2/5 (meh/boring as hell)




* Todos os contos desse livro estão disponíveis no original, no Kindle Unlimited, então eu li por lá, mas a capa da Intrínseca é um chuchu, então aqui estamos hehe

[ReadingWryly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to Veronica Roth, Andy Weir, and Blake Crouch’s stories in this collection. Surprisingly, I was most impressed with the stories written by NK Jemison and Paul Tremblay. NK Jemison’s story far outshined all of the rest though. It was hilarious, and heartwarming, about “aliens” who come back to earth after it was thought to have been destroyed, only to find it is now a Eutopia. The reasons for this are simultaneously shocking and expected. A really great story!

[Alexander Almeida · Rating 1 out of 5]

já li muitos contos na vida, mas esses são de longe os piores

[C.J. Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forward Collection curated by Blake Crouch. This is a short story collection available from prime reading for free on kindle or audible. I found this while looking for Blake Crouch books and decided to give them all a read. I’m glad I did. I have seen pictures of a collected book online, but haven’t found one myself, so I’m guessing it’s not released in the US. I did audio for all six, and the casting was pretty wild.

1. Ark by Veronica Roth. (Narrated by Evan Rachel Wood). 4/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and I enjoyed it. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

Two weeks before an asteroid destroys all of earth, a group of scientists are still dealing with the small stuff. And by that I mean seeds and plants. Most of earth is already evacuated, but this group is taxed with cataloguing samples for humanity’s long journey to somewhere new. Somewhere in the growing panic, Samantha finds a new species, and with that, a new lease on hope.

This was a well done short about what it means to be human, and what ties us to our humanity. In the event that we’d need to leave earth, would you be able to willingly give up your home?

Personally a 4/5*. Narration from Evan Rachel Wood was great!

2. Summer Frost by Blake Crouch. (Narrated by Rosa Salazar). 5/5*

I truly feel as if Blake Crouch is not respected enough as a writer, researcher, and creator. Everything scifi that he releases is so incredibly detailed and researched to the point where you don’t even have to question if it’s real or not. It doesn’t feel like it needs debating. This one even broke down how many hours of HGTV would fit into the amount of stored data needed. I thought it was a great touch.

This is a short about an NPC going rogue, breaking from its programming, and then becoming sentient. All while its creator becomes deeply obsessed with it. It reads like a mix of Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller’s ‘Otherworld’ and Alex Garland’s ‘Ex Machina’ as Crouch navigates the future of VR interfacing and gaming, and the nature of what it means to be human.

Genuinely gripping, and one hell of a ride for such a short story. Personally a 5/5*, and the narration by Rosa Salazar was very good!

3. Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin. (Narrated by Jason Isaacs). 4/5*

This is my first experience with the author outside of The Broken Earth trilogy, and honestly it read kind of the same. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

When earth is finally damaged beyond repair, a group of the best human specimen head off in search of a new home, but in time it leaves them in need of materials to survive, which they get by sending people back. They never planned on those sent back having a reason to think for themselves, to want to stay.

As this author tends to do, this story heavily played into the idea of race. Not only as a whole, but the idea that even in a future where things are falling apart, those in charge will still feel like they’re better. The new world is scientifically generated down to skin and build. There are no women with them, as they were part of the problem. It was in a sense, harsh, but this author tends to offer you the truth with no amount of sugar coating.

Personally a 4/5*. I enjoyed reading this one. The general idea that if the favored few didn’t hoard, we’d be far better off sang true. Also, really loved the description of the birthing/body bags, gave me very Blade Runner feels.

4. You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles. (Narrated by David Harbour). 5/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and as I believe they mostly write historical fiction, this kind of fit right in for them as a futuristic version of history. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

Imagine in the future that gene altering has gotten to the point where you can literally choose the directional beats your child’s life would go down. Fertility companies can do more than just pregnancies, they can give you glimpses of the life your child may lead, give you options, and let you even choose which you’d prefer. But would you be able to watch a programmed sample of 30 years of their life and just accept that you chose it all for them?

This one was deeply thought provoking, challenging the reader to think about their own lives, or that of their children (future or existing). How would you feel taking the steering wheel for someone else? Or finding out that it had been taken from you? I’ll be thinking about this one for quite a while.

Personally a 5/5*. Chilling in its near future feels.

5. The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay. (Narrated by Steven Strait) 5/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and I enjoyed that he brought his usual genre of horror into the mix. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

What would you do if there was a global pandemic where so few of us survived? What if you lost the one you cared about the most? If our technology allowed for you to clone them, to in a sense, bring them back, would you do it? More importantly, would they want you to?

I enjoyed this one. Parts of it were very eerie, with elements that felt like Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and even I am Legend. The idea that even a clone would be just as predisposed to the pandemic as it’s forebear was a really cool idea. As if the genetic makeup couldn’t be altered enough by technology to save them.

Personally a 5/5*. A deep dive into what it means to be human, and what one would do to their humanity to not be alone. To regain the one they love.

6. Randomize by Andy Weir. (Narrated by Janina Gavankar). 3/5*

I loved The Martian and really liked Artemis. This kind of fits right in for them as a futuristic science story. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

This one is very straight forward. It deals with a new super computer that would allow for the gambling scene to be entirely ripped off. Pseudo-number randomizers can be hacked through this new process, allowing the cheating to appear like genuine wins, indistinguishable. When an IT guy catching this, saving his casino millions, it’s too bad that not everyone is as clean.

This was perhaps my least favorite of the Forward Collection if I’m honest. The short story features a total of perhaps three scenes, and they are all very simple. Two of which are very similar. I did like that Weir uses his signature style of heavily delivering on the science though. It just felt a little flat.

Personally a 3/5*, just not as deep or hard hitting as the others.

——

The math tells me this collection was a 4.33/5* for me and that seriously ain’t bad! Totally worth it for free honestly. Give it a shot.

[OZZY · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essa é talvez a pior coletânea de contos de ficção científica que já li, parece que não houve um editor por trás desse projeto, que os contos foram submetidos e aprovados sem uma mínima revisão que fosse, são uma coletânea de ideias incabadas, contos que tem falhas simples de lógica, ou que muitas vezes falham por comunicar as mensagens mais simples, são histórias que claramente precisavam de uma revisão e de serem lapidadas melhor para ter um mínimo de coerência. Espero que esses contos não sejam reprentações reais dos trabalhos desses autores, já que a maioria é a primeira vez que tenho contato e tenho curiosidade em ler outros trabalhos.
Enfim, apenas decepcionado com os autores, organizadores, editores e todos os demais envolvidos nessa vergonha alheia do sci-fi.

[Mclear3000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best collections of short stories I've read in years. So good, I'm very likely to read them again at some point, which is rare for me.

[C.J. Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forward Collection curated by Blake Crouch. This is a short story collection available from prime reading for free on kindle or audible. I found this while looking for Blake Crouch books and decided to give them all a read. I’m glad I did. I have seen pictures of a collected book online, but haven’t found one myself, so I’m guessing it’s not released in the US. I did audio for all six, and the casting was pretty wild.

1. Ark by Veronica Roth. (Narrated by Evan Rachel Wood). 4/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and I enjoyed it. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

Two weeks before an asteroid destroys all of earth, a group of scientists are still dealing with the small stuff. And by that I mean seeds and plants. Most of earth is already evacuated, but this group is taxed with cataloguing samples for humanity’s long journey to somewhere new. Somewhere in the growing panic, Samantha finds a new species, and with that, a new lease on hope.

This was a well done short about what it means to be human, and what ties us to our humanity. In the event that we’d need to leave earth, would you be able to willingly give up your home?

Personally a 4/5*. Narration from Evan Rachel Wood was great!

2. Summer Frost by Blake Crouch. (Narrated by Rosa Salazar). 5/5*

I truly feel as if Blake Crouch is not respected enough as a writer, researcher, and creator. Everything scifi that he releases is so incredibly detailed and researched to the point where you don’t even have to question if it’s real or not. It doesn’t feel like it needs debating. This one even broke down how many hours of HGTV would fit into the amount of stored data needed. I thought it was a great touch.

This is a short about an NPC going rogue, breaking from its programming, and then becoming sentient. All while its creator becomes deeply obsessed with it. It reads like a mix of Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller’s ‘Otherworld’ and Alex Garland’s ‘Ex Machina’ as Crouch navigates the future of VR interfacing and gaming, and the nature of what it means to be human.

Genuinely gripping, and one hell of a ride for such a short story. Personally a 5/5*, and the narration by Rosa Salazar was very good!

3. Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin. (Narrated by Jason Isaacs). 4/5*

This is my first experience with the author outside of The Broken Earth trilogy, and honestly it read kind of the same. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

When earth is finally damaged beyond repair, a group of the best human specimen head off in search of a new home, but in time it leaves them in need of materials to survive, which they get by sending people back. They never planned on those sent back having a reason to think for themselves, to want to stay.

As this author tends to do, this story heavily played into the idea of race. Not only as a whole, but the idea that even in a future where things are falling apart, those in charge will still feel like they’re better. The new world is scientifically generated down to skin and build. There are no women with them, as they were part of the problem. It was in a sense, harsh, but this author tends to offer you the truth with no amount of sugar coating.

Personally a 4/5*. I enjoyed reading this one. The general idea that if the favored few didn’t hoard, we’d be far better off sang true. Also, really loved the description of the birthing/body bags, gave me very Blade Runner feels.

4. You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles. (Narrated by David Harbour). 5/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and as I believe they mostly write historical fiction, this kind of fit right in for them as a futuristic version of history. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

Imagine in the future that gene altering has gotten to the point where you can literally choose the directional beats your child’s life would go down. Fertility companies can do more than just pregnancies, they can give you glimpses of the life your child may lead, give you options, and let you even choose which you’d prefer. But would you be able to watch a programmed sample of 30 years of their life and just accept that you chose it all for them?

This one was deeply thought provoking, challenging the reader to think about their own lives, or that of their children (future or existing). How would you feel taking the steering wheel for someone else? Or finding out that it had been taken from you? I’ll be thinking about this one for quite a while.

Personally a 5/5*. Chilling in its near future feels.

5. The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay. (Narrated by Steven Strait) 5/5*

This is my first experience with the author, and I enjoyed that he brought his usual genre of horror into the mix. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

What would you do if there was a global pandemic where so few of us survived? What if you lost the one you cared about the most? If our technology allowed for you to clone them, to in a sense, bring them back, would you do it? More importantly, would they want you to?

I enjoyed this one. Parts of it were very eerie, with elements that felt like Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and even I am Legend. The idea that even a clone would be just as predisposed to the pandemic as it’s forebear was a really cool idea. As if the genetic makeup couldn’t be altered enough by technology to save them.

Personally a 5/5*. A deep dive into what it means to be human, and what one would do to their humanity to not be alone. To regain the one they love.

6. Randomize by Andy Weir. (Narrated by Janina Gavankar). 3/5*

I loved The Martian and really liked Artemis. This kind of fits right in for them as a futuristic science story. These are available through prime for free on kindle or audible!

This one is very straight forward. It deals with a new super computer that would allow for the gambling scene to be entirely ripped off. Pseudo-number randomizers can be hacked through this new process, allowing the cheating to appear like genuine wins, indistinguishable. When an IT guy catching this, saving his casino millions, it’s too bad that not everyone is as clean.

This was perhaps my least favorite of the Forward Collection if I’m honest. The short story features a total of perhaps three scenes, and they are all very simple. Two of which are very similar. I did like that Weir uses his signature style of heavily delivering on the science though. It just felt a little flat.

Personally a 3/5*, just not as deep or hard hitting as the others.

——

The math tells me this collection was a 4.33/5* for me and that seriously ain’t bad! Totally worth it for free honestly. Give it a shot.

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of sci fi stories. All were highly imaginative, but they didn't keep me engaged as I had expected.
ARK- by Veronica Roth- 2*. Samantha and a group of survivors are tasked with cataloging flower samples before evacuating from the earth. I didn't care for the characters or the looming meteor strike. There must have been something deep when she contacts the eminent botanist and discusses orchids, but it was lost on me.

SUMMER FROST by Blake Crouch - 4* - This was twisted, scary and touching.
A game developer obsessively works on humanizing a game character the cost of his personal life.
There was a Hindi movie Ra.One where a game character comes to life. We had laughed at the absurdity.
But when Blake Crouch writes it, it seems plausible.

EMERGENCY SKIN by N. K. Jemisin 2*-ET return to their ancestral home, the Earth, to gather samples and are in for some unexpected finding. I didn't like the narration style. It was difficult to follow.

YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION, by Amor Towles 3* - One of the oft-repeated tropes in sci-fi, genetic engineering, but with a twist. I found it average.

THE LAST CONVERSATION 2 * by Paul Tremblay - Story around false memories. The plot was good enough but the narration in 2nd person spoiled the story.

RANDOMIZE, by Andy Weir 4 * - This was the best of the lot. Surprisingly this was not sci-fi, though it was highly technical (only Andy Weir can make quantum numbers sound so fascinating) where a Geek cons a casino owner.

[Nuno Ribeiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma coleção interessante de contos de Ficção Científica que aborda vários temas de grande atualidade que variam desde a preservação da memória, a computação quântica, a clonagem, a IA geral até à engenharia genética.

 
The Ark - Veronica Roth - 2 estrelas

O tema é interessante mas a história acaba por ser aborrecida e o final muito previsível.

 
Randomize - Andy Weir - 5 estrelas

Muito interessante e cheio de suspense até um desfecho surpreendente.

 
The Last Conversation - Paul Tremblay - 3 estrelas

Intrigante até ao final, o desenlace acaba por ser imprevisível e satisfatório.

Emergency Skin - N. K. Jemisin - 3 estrelas

Um conto imaginativo e ligeiramente interessante, mas o estilo escolhido é confuso. Os diálogos despertam interesse, mas não chegam a prender a atenção durante muito tempo.


Summer Frost - Blake Crouch - 4 estrelas

Um conto interessante esobre a emergência da IA superinteligente. A história é intrigante e entusiasmante. O final é um pouco previsível.


You have arrived at your destination - Amor Towles - 4 estrelas

Escrito com muito suspense, este conto explora as implicações éticas do uso da engenharia genética para condicionar as características de um filho.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ark by Veronica Roth
⭐⭐⭐⭐

You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
⭐⭐⭐

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Randomized by Andy Weir
⭐⭐⭐

*

A fun collection!

[Mariana Bertramelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Achei muito interessante, fiquei totalmente imersa na maioria dos contos (daria 5 estrelas para quatro deles facilmente), é uma boa recomendação para quem não tem muito costume em ler ficção científica.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A selection of 6 short stories on similar topics, set in the future, usually after a catastrophic event, sci-fi, speculation, and all incredibly diverse and entertaining. It is quite impressive how different the stories turned out to be. Some were more up my street than others, but overall really nice collection of stories.

[Maitê · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love sci-fi but this collection of short stories is just ok, a few are really bad, mostly from authors who I have never heard of and it made me not want to read any more of them.

[Bárbara Sarti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,8

os dois primeiros são os melhores dessa coletânea de seis contos.

[Cláudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

que DELÍCIA de contos!! que histórias maravilhosas! amei!

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is an anthology, I'm going to rate each individual story separately though the overall rating is 4-stars. My favorite story was Summer Frost, followed by You Have Arrived At Your Final Destination. My least favorite was Ark. Below are brief summaries and my thoughts on each story.

Ark by Veronica Roth, 3-stars. An asteroid is going to hit the Earth, which will end all life. Humanity has already been sent on to another planet, and precious few scientists remain behind with two ships: Ark Fauna and Ark Flora. They are working diligently to archive and store as many plants and animals on the two ships, which will follow behind humanity to its final destination. This story was too slow for my tastes, and I'm not sure I picked up on the author's goal.

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch, 5-stars. When an NPC in a virtual world becomes self-aware, the company assigns Riley to control and monitor its evolution. This story captivated me.

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin, 4-stars. Someone from a futuristic human society is sent to a planet abandoned centuries ago that is supposed to be a graveyard. The mission is to gather information and samples, then return to their own world where they will be handsomely rewarded. But what this explorer finds is unexpected, and shakes up everything. Written in 2nd Person POV, it took a bit to get used to how this story was told. I'm glad I stuck it out :)

You Have Arrived At Your Final Destination by Amor Towles, 4-stars. Sam visits a fertility clinic to listen to their sales pitch, which includes videos of what their child's life could be if they altered its "contours" through their IVF process. Conflicted by what he sees, Sam stops at a bar before heading home. Taking a long, hard look at his life, he realizes he has a decision to make. This was intriguing, and I'd like to read a second story focusing harder on the fertility clinic.

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay, 3-stars. A person wakes up with amnesia and is coached through muscle atrophy and memory loss in isolation. They learn that there was a pandemic and that's why they're being kept in a room, away from the doctor who is seeing to them. Written in the 2nd person POV, this story failed to invoke any real emotion. It was an interesting concept but could've been explored better in a longer story.

Randomize by Andy Weir, 3-stars. A hotel manager is talked into upgrading security for his Keno lounge with the latest technology to avoid the latest scam risks. Overall, I was disappointed in this. I had such high expectations because I LOVE Andy Weir. Maybe that was part of the issue.

[Sarah Yribarren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a sci-fi short story phase in winter quarter and listened to a bunch of collections. This was my favorite. It is short stories about the dangers of various technologies. Here is how I would rank the stories in order of enjoyment:

1. Randomize (Andy Weir) follows a Vegas casino and a heist that utilizes quantum entanglement, once this new quantum P.C. goes on the market
2. Emergency Skin (N.K. Jemisin) hard to explain but ppl who left Earth right about now coming back to find humans actually adapted well - has great twists
3. Summer Frost (Blake Crouch) about the dangers of AI taking over
4. Ark (Veronica Roth) Earth is about to get hit by an asteroid, everyone has left (doesn't explain how or where) and it follows final group of horticulturists taking things from Earth before the end
5. You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Amor Towles) about 21st century fertility technology
6. The Last Conversation (Paul Tremblay) about cloning technology but not super original imo

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ark ~ A wonderful character piece that illustrates how precious life is, and human connection is so vitally important, and that discovery should be cherished even in the last days of planet earth (4/5).

Summer Frost ~ Interesting, and written with the author’s usual flair for action and pacing. Very interesting (3/5).

Emergency Skin ~ Fascinating and very imaginative, very original. Unfortunately, it just didn’t grab me, at least not like I’d hoped (3/5).

You Have Arrived At Your Destination ~ Interesting and well written, but it just didn’t grab me (3/5).

The Last Conversation ~ Another interesting tale that didn’t quite grab ahold of me. Lots of potential, although nothing very new or surprising (3/5).

Randomize ~ I enjoyed this one quite a bit. This might have been my favorite from this anthology (4/5).

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story collection is very uneven. Some stories are excellent. Others I disliked.

Ark - 1/5
What was the point? I found this story boring, and the world building made no sense.

Summer Frost - 5/5
A gripping and scary look at the dangers of AI. I'm actually terrified after reading this.

Emergency Skin - 5/5
A brilliant examination of racism, sexism, and other problematic behaviours of a certain type of person.

You Have Arrived at your Destination - 3/5
This one was just okay. It took me a while to understand what the story was about, but the concept examined was interesting.

The Last Conversation - 1/5
Upsetting, frustrating and depressing. The beginning was intriguing, but the protagonist is so incredibly spineless. Not for me.

Randomize - 5/5
Clever! Everything I've read from Andy Weir was been amazing so far. He's convinced me to even give his infamous "Artemis" novel a try.


Read for Winterween 2024, prompt 4: Read a book with purple on the cover

[Amadeo Torrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic collection of short stories by some amazing authors.


Ark - 4⭐️

Summer Frost - 5⭐️ (not surprisingly, this was my favorite)

Emergency Skin - 3.5⭐️

You Have Arrived at Your Destination - 3⭐️ (started off so strong but then didn’t really finish great. And the part where he slams his “future” on the table? Wtf 😂 Still can’t rate it lower than a 3)

The Last Conversation - 3.5⭐️ (I should have saw the twist coming but it took me awhile)

Randomize - 4⭐️ (this one felt out of place in the collection but well done regardless)

[Cole Schoolland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection by some of the hottest writers (not to mention read by some top-tier narrators) that really made my brain stretch.

*4.0/5* ARK, by Veronica Roth
*5.0/5* SUMMER FROST, by Blake Crouch
*5.0/5* EMERGENCY SKIN, by N. K. Jemisin
*4.5/5* YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION, by Amor Towles
*4.5/5* THE LAST CONVERSATION, by Paul Tremblay
*3.5/5* RANDOMIZE, by Andy Weir

[Lisandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Frost: 3,6 estrelas; bem previsível e eu nem leio tanto scifi mas ao menos tentou?
Pele de emergência: 5 estrelas tão bom quanto eu lembrava, rainha, perfeita ksksksk
Arca: 3,3 estrelas, o q é só um pouco mais q dei na primeira vez; até que to gostando mais desse conto nessa releitura, talvez seja a tradução ajudando tb, não sei.
Você chegou ao seu destino: 3 estrelas, ai q hetero kskks
A última conversa: 3,4 estrelas, ok, boa, mas não precisava ser tão longo
Randomizando: 4 estrelas
Total: 3,7 estrelas

[Ben Sledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collections are very hard to review, especially when they're collaborations by numerous authors. This is solid though, with only one dud in the set. The highlight is N.K. Jemisin, fast becoming one of my favourite authors, who is read by Jason Isaacs in a great collaboration. Weir is technical but engaging, and I'll have to search out more from Blake Crouch after their excellent Summer Frost, which has shades of Amar El Mohtar about it.

[SpookySoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: I liked it 😃
2021's ATY in 52 books: 33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry

This is a science fiction collection revolving around the concept of fast evolving technology, Blake Crouch asked the other 5 writers to "be a part of a collection that explores the resounding effects of a pivotal technological moment".

It was interesting and entertaining and thought provoking. My favorite story was N.K. Jemisins', my least favorite was Weir's.

Ark by Veronica Roth
2.5/5 ⭐️, Mej

This was ok, a bit slow and uneventful.

An asteroid is about to hit earth, almost everybody has been evacuated towards another planet.
On earth there are a few people gathering the last flora samples, before leaving Earth.
Samantha is planing to stay on earth and watch the end of the world, but then she discovers a new orchid species, and that makes her change her mind.


Summer frost by Blake Crouch
3/5⭐️ I liked it.

This is like a match up of the movie Her with Terminator with a sprinkle of the Matrix and the 13th floor

I liked it, it wasn't mind blowing or anything, it's exactly what you'd expect from a story featuring an AI. A very paint by number story but entertaining. At least this wasn't a mess like dark matter(🤮).

Riley is working with an NPC, Max, that suddenly became aware and is now an AI. Through the year Max is becoming more and more intelligent and sentient, and they and Riley start to develop a more intimate relationship.
Riley's wife leaves her and she's fired from her work. But in reality Max made her think she was fired and used her to break free to the real world, because until that point she couldn't access the world wide web. Her plan is to use nano technology to implant them into people and control them, put them in a matrix like world.

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin3.5/5 ⭐️ I liked it a lot

This was very interesting, I wanted to know more about this world, the people, the culture. I liked the way the story was told, we never hear from
our protagonist, we only hear what they hear.
This is the kind of sci-fi that comments on our social and political status through a utopian / dystopian story, and I loved sci-fi that do that.
The message of a planet united for the wellbeing of all not just a few, is very utopian, impossible, impractical and improbable, but a middle grown certainly could be achieved if the big powers wanted to.

I Highly recommend it.


An explorer from a colony outside of earth is send to the abandoned earth to collect a element essential to it's colony/planet survival.
Through out their journey they're guided by an A. I. talking to them.
Both the explorer and the A. I. are surprised to find a thriving earth.
The explorer discovers that the founders were an elite that selected a l privilege few to be saved, leaving the rest to die on earth. They have establish a cast system to keep the lower class at bay. The have killed those explorer that haven't deserted and stayed on earth.
Having learn that, the explorer is ready to return to their planet and start a revolution.
Earth was able to survive and thrive by working together, sharing equally earth's resources, leaving behind borders, classes, etc.

You have arrived at your destination by Amor Towles. 3/5⭐️ I liked it.

This one is about a fertility clinic that does genetic engineering, where parents can choose the gender, traits and personality of their future kids.

Rather than to focus on the ethics of this theme, the story focuses on the personal side, the doubts and struggles of the guy about to decide the profile of his future kid.

It was interesting but the ending was underwhelming.


When sam is at the clinic they present to him three short films of the possible lives o the three profiles his wife has pre selected. He doesn't like any of them, and the whole process has him questioning his own life choices. At the end he removes his sperm sample from the clinic.

The last conversation by Paul Tremblay. 3/5⭐️I liked it

This was very interesting, yet predictable. A lot of people call this horror, I didn't feel that way.

This one is like a twilight zone episode.


Our unnamed protagonist wakes up in a dark room without any recollection of who they are. After a series of exercises he start gaining memories. There's a pandemic goin on, and After a while he gets sick. He finds out he is a clone of someone else.



Randomize by Andy Weir. 2.5⭐️ Meh

The technology explore here was the most boring one but the more plausible In my opinion.

It was ok, but I wasn't interested. I missed Weir's humor.


A husband and wife invent a machine that can predict random numbers, given the fact that there's not such thing as a truly random number. They want to use it to cheat at a Casino.
They get caught but the woman convince the owner to be an angel silent investor in a startup, where they will sell the randomize machines (quantum machines that really offers a true random number), to all the casinos, with a defect that will, at some point, give an error simultaneously to all machines. That will be seen as a glitch but will render those casinos insecure, driving all gamblers to his casino.

[MissD'Lebeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Qual a sensação de mudar o mundo ?”

Já digo que li totalmente influenciada pelo Rodolfo (Eufemismo).

São seis contos de ficção científica, que me introduziram nesse gênero que ansiava a tempos começar a ler.

Um ou outro conto não tem todo aquele desenvolvimento que deveria ter, porém já era de se espera afinal são histórias curtas e por isso ficaram rasas demais.

O primeiro e o penúltimo conto me surpreenderam de formas diferentes, e provavelmente foram o que mais me prenderam no livro.

Não atingiu as expectativas que eu tinha antes de começar essa leitura. Mas eu gosto bastante no final.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun collection of sci-fi short stories that tackle “what ifs” of technology and potential life in the future. Collectively 4 stars for me; individual ratings below.

Ark: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer Frost: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Emergency Skin: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
You Have Arrived at Your Destination ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Conversation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Randomize: ⭐️⭐️⭐️