Thursday, December 1, 2022

Twelve Tomorrows ★★★★★


Fields of Gold by Liu Cixin ★★★★★★
"Are the stars very far?"
"They’re getting closer." 
Six stars.  Jaw droppingly good.  I gasped!  

Byzantine Empathy by Ken Liu ★★★★★ 

That was absolutely fascinating.  The blockchain charity seems a good idea but I prefer GiveDirectly.  Listening to Jianwen and Sophia argue is like listening to college me vs. the-world-complicated adult me.  


Escape From Caring Seasons by Sarah Pinsker ★★★★½ 

Scary stuff!  A.I. and corporate greed takeover a retirement community.  Who listens to old people when computers and doctors are keeping them confined for their own good?


The Woman Who Destroyed Us by SL Huang ★★★★☆ 

As Deep Brain Stimulation and implants become normalized some fight back against its troubling elective uses.  The story follows one would-be terrorist who could not reconnect with her formerly disabled son.


Chine Life by Paul McAuley ★★★★☆ 

I love any story that reminds me of Who Do You Love? by Kathleen Ann Goonan and Walkaway by Cory Doctorow.  The reef is a hive mind and may, or may not, be humanity’s last chance.  


Resolution by Clifford V. Johnson ★★★★☆ 

I disagree entirely with the main characters unilateral declaration of war.  It was so Angry American - freedom regardless of absolutely everything (no voting needed - just rash action).  Still, a neat little comic strip.


The Heart of the Matter by Nnedi Okorafor ★★★★☆ 

"Backward thinking will lead us all forward."  

-Corrupt Nigerian General


This was a look at a better future for Nigeria - yet always one greedy coup away from a leap backward.


Different Seas by Alastair Reynolds ★★★½☆ 

Telepresence allows us to work from home, or farther, and aid each other over great distances.


Disasters Tourism by Malka Older ★★★☆☆ 

Between drones and the internet areas isolated by natural, or biologically engineered, disasters can be accessed like a video game.


Okay, Glory by Elizabeth Bear ★★★☆☆ 

Ok story about a tech billionaire who gets trapped in his own fortress of solitude.


Vespers by J.M. Ledgard ★★☆☆☆ 

A lot of effort went into this, so hat doff’d, but I did not enjoy it.  This story was the ramblings of V’GER from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 


I read all the stories for an average of 3.9 stars happily rounded all the way up to five.  The best collection I have read in years and I will remember Fields of Gold as the best story of my year.


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