Thoughtcrime Experiments

by Sumana Harihareswara (Editor), Leonard Richardson (Editor), Ken Liu

An anthology of nine outstanding science fiction and fantasy stories, published under a Creative Commons license.

Genres: Anthologies, Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2009

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The theme of this anthology is basically "stuff Sumana and Leonard like" (that's why they put it out), not so much what you'd think of as "Thoughtcrime Experiments" (for the most part). (Apparently they were surprised at how dark the slushpile was...) It's still a really nifty title, though. Turns out they like light SF/F humor, for the most part. Some of the stories didn't have anything else to recommend them than the joke(s), in my opinion, but some were more solid work, and there were a couple of more serious pieces (by Ken Liu and Carole Lanham) that were, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. Somehow the pieces I liked least wound up at the beginning of the anthology, so I was afraid it was going to turn out to be all bad, but things definitely got better over the course of the book. A fun and unusual addition is the "How to Do This and Why" essay at the back; the How I'm fairly experienced with, though the slushpile statistics were entertaining, but the Why was a good, inspiring thing to read.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a web-published, Creative Commons anthology of short sci-fi and fantasy stories. You can read it here. Mostly the stories are interesting and decently written. They are heavily laden with humanism, though. Still, I would recommend "Welcome To the Federation", "Daisy", and "Goldenseed", as good thought-provoking stories.

[Allyson Shaw]

I'm excited by this anthology which flies the DIY flag high, complete with a how-to appendix for putting out your own anthology. The writing is lighthearted and entertaining...Alex Wilson's Mrs. Claus story is the high point so far.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay!

[Ignatius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several of the stories are very good. Would have benefited from a heavier editorial hand. Great experiment, would love to see more done this way.