
REVIEW SUMMARY: A time-travel film that leaves the viewer asking questions.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Two engineers accidentally create a time machine in their garage. Things start out all fun and games as they use information from the future to make money in the present, but soon turn sinister.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: I absolutely loved the first four fifths of the film, especially the process of the creation of the device.
CONS: I think it's almost required to watch this movie on DVD (rather than theatre). The film never slows down and doesn't spend much time explaining things. The last 1/5 of the movie is lost on me, even after two viewings.
BOTTOM LINE: Be prepared to be befuddled. I hope someone else watches this movie so that I can talk to them about it.
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| Posted by Kevin on Saturday April 30, 2005 - 9:34 PM
| Category: Movies
| © 2005 SF Signal
On May 14th, The Discover Channel will air Alien Planet, an conceptual exploration of an alien world teeming with life. Apparently, the aliens have been designed by Wayne Barlowe, alien artist extraordinaire. Also, AP will have segments featuring the Official Theoretical Physicist of SFSignal, Michio Kaku and the Official Rapmaster of SFSignal, MC Hawking. It looks cool so fire up your Tivo(-like) devices now!
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| Posted by JP on Saturday April 30, 2005 - 8:59 PM
| Category: TV
| © 2005 SF Signal
Paula Guran has posted an interesting article regarding Print-on-Demand. The slant of the article is setting Locus Magazine straight on the POD issues talked about in a recent issue.
[Link via Locus Online]
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| Posted by John on Saturday April 30, 2005 - 8:51 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2005 SF Signal
The local Half Price Books had a copy of The The Making of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith on prominent display, obviously in an effort to cash in on the ever-increasing hype. (I suspect that the movie, in fact, could easily have been called Revenge of the Hype with no decrease in the movie's fanbase.)
Fanboy-in-denial that I am, I thumbed through the pages looking at all the juicy goodness which included shots from the movie as well as behind-the-scenes pix. I must say that they did a nice job of making Anakin look extra crispy. He reminded me of a piece of barbecue chicken. Or should I say barbecue ham? There was also an interesting picture of Amidala that was a spoiler for me. D'oh!
And no, JP, I did not get the book.
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| Posted by John on Saturday April 30, 2005 - 8:42 PM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2005 SF Signal
Here's a game that uses Google to fetch images, display them, then asks the player to guess the keyword on which they are based. A simple idea that makes for a surprisingly addictive game.
[via Cynical C]
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| Posted by John on Friday April 29, 2005 - 8:45 AM
| Category: Games
| © 2005 SF Signal
Ever watch the PBS series Computer Chronicles? It ran from 1983 - 2002. All the epsiodes are archived to meet all your nostalgic computer needs.
Here's the synopsis for the show titled "Sleeper Shareware", originally broadcast in 1991...
Most popular software titles get there as the result of an expensive sales and marketing campaign. Other programs are so popular they climb to the top of the charts just through word-of-mouth, or BBS chat. This program looks at several of these "sleeper" software programs that are worthy of note. Among the titles demonstrated are Commander Keen, PopDBF, Resident Task Manager, Prism, Pianoman, 4DOS, CommandPost, Windows Wallpaper, LCD 2.0, LJ2UP, MacBillboard, BigCheese, Ripper FKey, TappyType, Fish!, Globe, Solarian II, Melt DA, Address Book, FlashWrite, Stuffit, ToDo!, TidyItUp, DisKeeper, Red Ryder, White Knight, and Vietnam War. Guests include Jim Button, founder of the Association of Shareware Professionals.
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| Posted by John on Thursday April 28, 2005 - 3:55 PM
| Category: Computers
| © 2005 SF Signal
For all you Firefly fans who've wished you could swear in Mandarin like the crew of Serenity, well, now you can! Rachel Kronick has put together a list of Mandarin phrases (note: not the oranges) that could fit right in with the Firefly universe. She hasn't necessarily parsed the phrases from the show itself, but has used modern Mandarin to extrapolate likely phrases. Now you can cuss up a blue streak and no one will know. Well, aside from the tone of your voice that is.
There are a couple of F bombs tossed around so don't let your kids read it.
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| Posted by JP on Thursday April 28, 2005 - 9:07 AM
| Category: TV
| © 2005 SF Signal
Kevin Smith that is. He's seen Revenge of the Sith and now he's given us his review. Short take: He loved it. And he loved it as a Star Wars geek. He also goes into detail why he thinks this movie blows the first two away. There is some spoilage present, you are warned. If you don't mind that, read away. Mr. Smith is a humorous writer and this review gives me hope for this movie.
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| Posted by JP on Thursday April 28, 2005 - 8:53 AM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2005 SF Signal
Author Chris Moriarty has an interesting article about hard science fiction.
...hard SF is still going strong, fueled by writers and readers who thrill to that special hard SF combination of visionary speculation backed up by nuts and bolts 'here's how we get there from here' science writing. It's still about the science, and it always will be. But it's also about people and politics and everything else in the known and unknown universe. It's all up for grabs. Just like it always has been. . . .Of related interest, I Googled around and found an Intro to Hard SF for the non-SF Reader, Hard vs. Soft SF as well as Grading SF for Realism. We've also discussed it here at SF Signal.
[Moriarty link via Nightshade Forum via Mumpsimus]
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| Posted by John on Thursday April 28, 2005 - 8:38 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2005 SF Signal
Since everyone and their mother has a blog, it was only a matter of time before fictional characters started having them, too. And who better to have a blog than Darth Vader? [Link via CNET]
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 3:50 PM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2005 SF Signal

It's nice when someone notices a bad idea and does something about it. In this case, it took the efforts of a 12-year old to tone down the menacing look of the upcoming Loonatics, the futuristic "reimagining" of Bugs Bunny and friends.
..."early drawings" have been revised into characters that are softer and less menacing...I'm still not sure what was wrong with the old look.
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 3:46 PM
| Category: TV
| © 2005 SF Signal
Here's how I rated the award nominees for 1975:
The Mote in God's Eye - 4.5
The Inverted World - 4
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - 3.5
The Godwhale -2.5
The Dispossed - 2
Fire Time - 2
334 - 1
So, if I had a vote for the Hugo and Nebula, my winners would be The Mote in God's Eye (Hugo) and Flow My Tears (Nebula). I'm also struck by the, in my opinion, lack of good stories up for the awards. Was there no other good SF in 1975? I'm also amazed to see how well Mote stands up thirty years later. It feels like it could have been written today, although Niven and Pournelle would have had to pad it out to meet today's exacting space opera/hard SF standards. I'm also glad I had a chance to read The Inverted World. If not for this project, I would never had read it. Of course, I would never have read 334 either.
I know John didn't break his down by award, so I'll take them in the order he listed, and say that, for him, Flow My Tears would have won both awards. So, unofficially, taking both our ratings into consideration, Flow My Tears is the clear Nebula winner, with a three way tie for Hugo among Flow My Tears, Mote, and The Inverted World. We need some other reviewer, aside from Pete Klausner, to cast their votes and break that tie!
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| Posted by JP on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 1:42 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: (Leveraged completely from John's review) A brilliant physicist named Shevek tries to reunite the anarchist world of Anarres with its sister planet Urras.
PROS: Somewhat interesting exploration of the differences between two politco-social ideologies, the universe the story is set in sounds interesting although we don't get to see it.
CONS: Slow moving, little action, dry writing, unmemorable characters (except Shevek), reads like a political textbook wrapped in a SF covering.
BOTTOM LINE: Much as I felt the first time I read it, I found The Dispossed to be a slow, dreary read, potentially interesting to people who are more interested in society and politics than in SF.
MY REVIEW:
I'll let John's review do all the heavy lifting regard the plot of the book, I'll focus solely on my reading experience. Which can be summed up in one word: dull. Not quite as dry or slow as Fire Time, but pretty darn close. I kept thinking to myself, "This won the Nebula and Hugo?". Unlike John, I don't mind politics in my SF, see Dune, but it's got to be interesting. This book seemed to be a lot of talk, talk, talk about the different societies, but nothing gets resolved and nothing much happens. I also felt that LeGuin was using the book to proselytize at us. Maybe not, but it was certainly a preachy book. The SF elements are there just to setup the discussions about the societies or as McGuffins (Shevek's Theory of Simultaneity). The story itself did absolutely nothing for me. I'm glad I didn't read it at night, as I usually do, as I'd probably fall asleep quickly and still be reading it. As it was, I had to force myslef to keep going.
It's not all bad. Shevek is a fairly sympathetic character. In some way, he's ruled by events and manipulated by those around him. He finally takes charge of his life near the end and becomes a stronger person for it. Also, the universe itself that LeGuin has created outside Annares and Urras sounds interesting. Too bad we only get hints about it and instead get heaping doses of political discourse thrown at us.
Unless you are into philosphical ruminations about politics, give this 'award winner' a pass.
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| Posted by JP on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 1:13 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2005 SF Signal

The Simpsons will be airing their 350th epsiode this Sunday. Only 3 series have had more episodes: Dallas (357 episodes - which will be surpassed by The Simpsons this year), My Three Sons (380 episodes) and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (435 epsiodes).
Go, go, Homer!
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 10:59 AM
| Category: TV
| © 2005 SF Signal
Including the Corn Pops from a previous merchandising link, you get them a Cingular Star Wars themed phone. Thanks go to Engadget for bringing this to my attention.
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| Posted by Tim on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 9:57 AM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2005 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: A hugely fun and entertaining read.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The episodic tales of Roxanne Bonaventure, who receives a bracelet that allows her to travel through various timelines (time travel) and worldlines (parallel universes).
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Immersive; page-turning; a quick read; skillfully written; lots of fun!
CONS: None that I could think of.
BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.
One of the things I most like about science fiction, aside from the sense of wonder, is thinking about the possibilities of the ideas presented. That's why time travel is a favorite theme of mine. The possibility of changing the past, molding it to suit your needs, for better or worse, simply fascinates me. Time travel in science fiction is frequently mishandled, though - it's often misused as a simple fish-out-of-water plot device to put some character in some future or past setting. That's too easy and too boring. Better is when the nature of the time travel itself is highlighted, either through the head-on conflict of the paradox or through bending the rules of time travel, allowing a character to use it as a tool. That's when I get to see the possibilities of what can be done and it's what attracts me to sf in the first place.
Chris Roberson's Here, There & Everywhere takes the fascination of time travel one step further by mixing it with travel between parallel worlds. The result is an entrancing, immersive and wonderful book about possibilities. Do I also need to mention it's a true page-turner?
The story concerns Roxanne Bonaventure, who receives a mysterious bracelet from a dying old woman. The device allows Roxanne to travel not only through time (as if that wouldn't be enough) but across parallel worlds as well. This makes her quite unique as she can now travel to any possible world that was or will be. But it also keeps her feeling disconnected, cut-off from the rest of humanity. Although Roxanne uses the device for personal gain at first, she eventually comes to realize that she is searching for her place across the multiverse.
If you're guessing, that the old woman who gives Roxanne the bracelet is an older version of Roxanne herself (ho-hum), you're not alone. I did too. Thankfully, instead of insulting the reader by springing this "surprise" at the end of the book, Roberson had Roxanne openly suspecting as much early in the story. Nice touch. By noting it early on, whether it's true or not is no longer an issue. That's a great way to diffuse the "I know how this is gonna end" syndrome, freeing the reader to just sit back and enjoy.
And enjoy it I did! There were so many aspects of this book that I liked, I don't even know where to begin. Hmmm…at the beginning I guess…
The book's prelude centers on a 1995 press conference with the surviving Beatles and the research of a documentary filmmaker who notices that several photographs throughout the Beatles' history contain the image of the same woman - always the same age and wearing the same clothes. Of course, knowing this is a book containing time travel, we know what's going on. What we are surprised to learn is that this is also a book about travel between world lines.
This chapter was a great hook into the story, but it is only one episode. The book, in fact, is constructed as a series of episodes in Roxanne's life and her use of the bracelet, a format that makes this a quick read. Given this episodic nature of the book's construction, it is surprisingly a very cohesive story, yet one where each chapter can stand almost independently of the others.
And what a treat each chapter is; like a self-contained adventure in some past or (possible) future era. One Sherlock Holmes-like chapter featured Roxanne as the Watson to Sandford Blank, called upon to solve the mysterious disappearance of one Simon Travaille with the main suspect being H.G. Wells himself. Another chapter involved an alternate timeline with Chrono Police. Another involved Nazis seeking to gain mystical power among Egyptian ruins. And on and on.
Comparisons made on the back of the book (to Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium and John D. MacDonald's The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything) are pretty accurate. I might add that it also reminded me at times of Replay by Kevin Grimwood, The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold and "3 RMS, Good View" by Karen Haber. Suffice it to say that if you liked any of these stories, then you'll probably like this one too. Regardless of all these reminders of other stories, Here, There & Everywhere deftly manages to stay unique, thanks to the skillful writing.
Roberson's writing style is engaging, light-hearted and fun. The book is infused with lots of pop-culture references, perhaps most notably the Beatles. (The chapters and the book itself are named after Beatles songs.) Characterizations are also well-done; Roxanne is a feisty, wisecracking, and ultimately very likable, protagonist. The writing often made me outwardly smirk and even occasionally laugh out loud. While the plot was captivating, well laid out and evenly paced, the writing made the story fun. This is a killer combination that makes for a hugely entertaining book.
It was interesting to me how Roxanne, a lonely character in the myriad of possibilities, used the bracelet. At first, she used it for personal gain, naturally. Over time, as she matured, her motives were more altruistic. Instead of using the bracelet as a simple doorway, it became a tool that she used to help others and, eventually, explore her own life. This is where the possibilities came to the fore. Need sleep? Just hop downstream a million years to enjoy a secluded rest on an unpopulated Earth then pop back home just seconds after you left! Want to hook up with that special someone? Just hop into a possible future, see what he likes, then hop back home and make a connection. I loved more and more the way Roxanne used the bracelet as the book progressed.
Speaking of which, the ending was also very well-done. It answered all the questions that came up throughout the story in a neat and logical bundle. And it left me smiling.
Here, There & Everywhere is a fun book that I highly recommend.
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 27, 2005 - 12:47 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2005 SF Signal
As Tim mentioned earlier, the new Serenity trailer is now online at Apple's site. Prepare to be breathless in anticipation until Sept. 30th, when you get to see River kick some major @$$.
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| Posted by JP on Tuesday April 26, 2005 - 3:19 PM
| Category: Movies
| © 2005 SF Signal

Pete will be leaving our hallowed halls soon and what better way to send him off than with a page devoted to the Ladies of Star Trek?
Now if only there were some way I could convince him to turn this galaxy of galactic girlie goodness into a beautiful bag of buttery bagels... ![]()
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| Posted by John on Tuesday April 26, 2005 - 10:08 AM
| Category: TV
| © 2005 SF Signal
Slate has an interesting article giving an overview of How To Finance a Hollywood Blockbuster. It seems that, due to tax regulations in other countries, movie studios can use feats of financial legerdemain to almost entirely offset the costs of big budget movies, which, with similar feats of financial legerdemain, almost always 'lose' money for the studio. After reading this article, you'll know why we always get crappy summer blockbusters, SF or otherwise, and why its more difficult to get a modest budget movie made. So the answer is:
Film Consider Phlebas! That would rule. And it's budget would have to be huge.
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| Posted by JP on Tuesday April 26, 2005 - 9:28 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2005 SF Signal
Suffereing an identity crisis? A butt-load of science fiction quizzes are avilable at Quiz Farm that will tell you who you are:
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| Posted by John on Monday April 25, 2005 - 8:39 PM
| Category: Web Sites
| © 2005 SF Signal
You too can carry the Encyclopedia of All Things on your PDA. Here are some step-by-step instructions for copying Wikipedia to your handheld device. It uses the TomeRaider, a cross-platform reference and e-book reader. Currectly, image support in TomeRaider is spotty, but this is a great start!
[From MobileRead]
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| Posted by John on Monday April 25, 2005 - 8:23 PM
| Category: Computers
| © 2005 SF Signal
Dark Horizons has the scoop on the upcoming plans to put Star Wars on TV. Currently, two, yes two, shows are in the works; a CGI, half-hour series and a live-action, presumably hour-long series. Too bad. What we really need now is a computer animated Bea Arthur.
Another juicy tidbit in this post related to the long rumored, next Indiana Jones film. It seems Spielberg wants to make it his next movie, after the one he's currently doing. Possible 2007 release date, and starring a retirement-age Harrison Ford as the aging, but still irreverent Indy...
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| Posted by JP on Monday April 25, 2005 - 3:32 PM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2005 SF Signal
| (53 total votes) |
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| Posted by John on Monday April 25, 2005 - 12:00 AM
| Category: Polls
| © 2005 SF Signal
As per Joss Whedon and one that I leeched from /. It is going to be available from Apple's movie trailers site and then in theaters the following week.
I just finished watching the 4 DVDs for the series and it was quite good. Far above Fox's level and I understand why they couldn't handle it. I just wish a channel dedicated to Sci Fi might have picked it up - oh wait they don't have one of those...
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| Posted by Tim on Sunday April 24, 2005 - 10:07 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2005 SF Signal
It's no surprise to regular readers that I like used bookstores. They're a great way to find out-of-print books, they are fun places to Gather and they are the perfect outlet for my own biblioholism. I have the most luck with the local set of Half Price Books stores - each of the 8 stores offer a great selection (did I mention I'm a Biblioholic?) including tons of science fiction. I also find lots of neat stuff on clearance. I'm not necessarily a bookstore chain lover, mind you. I still hold Mom & Pop used bookstores close to my biblioholic heart. You know, to help the Little Guy.
I had another questionable experience at a bookstore today. We were downtown, coming back from a trip to the Zoo and I passed a bookstore called 1/4 Price Books which was touting their "Best Houston Bookstore" claim in the window. Yeah, whatever. I had been to this store years and years ago and wasn't very impressed at the time. Their prices were great and true to their name but their science fiction selection sucked. Fast forward to today and my accidental drive-by was met with hope that their prices were still as-advertised but their selection would be much improved.
Well, I was right about the selection. They had an impressive array of the old Ace Doubles among other treasures. Not a huge selection, but way better than last time. Curiously, much of the stuff was either price-tagged way above the cover price (forget about one-fourth the cover price) or wrapped in plastic without any price whatsoever. I learned that the unmarked stuff was just newly shelved, so, OK.
Three items of interest were a set of unpriced, mass market paperback copies of David G. Hartwell's Foundations of Fear horror anthology (all three volumes with a cover price of $6 each). This interested me for a few reasons:
Since the books were unpriced, it required a "lookup". Thanks to a beneficially placed portable computer, I was able to see that the "lookup" was nothing more than an Abe Books search. Hmmm...OK. I was then told that these mass market paperbacks were "first editions" and that they were selling for up to $29 each. However, the guy was going to graciously part with them all for the low, low price of $20. I said no, naturally, especially since I just picked up one of them 2 days ago for $3. Then I left the store. (OK, not empty handed. I bought a kid's book for my kid and an old copy of Asimov's Science Fiction for 75 cents. I might not have mentioned this before, but I'm somewhat of a biblioholic.)
Knowing something was fishy with this first-edition/$29 nonsense, I couldn't help but do my own Abe Books web search when I got home. The books are beign sold anywhere from $1 to $6. (That's a concise, but inaccurate, statement. Volume 1 only had a single seller pricing the book for $25!!! The next highest price was $7. The other two volumes are between $1 and $6. There. That's more accurate.) What burned my ass was that I could easily get all three books for three bucks (plus shipping) and he knew that and had the cajones to offer me the low, low price of $20. Grrrr! I understand the concept of profit and I'm all for helping the Little Guy, but come on!
I got the last laugh though. When I got home, I realized that I already had the hardback version of Foundations of Fear already sitting on my bookshelf.
Oh, did I mention I have this biblioholism thing?
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| Posted by John on Saturday April 23, 2005 - 11:32 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2005 SF Signal
Will Ferrell is attached to star in the upcoming movie adaptation of Sid and Marty Kroft's Land of the Lost, which will be re-made as an intentional comedy. No word on who will play the Sleestacks.
What's next? George Michael in H.R. Puffenstuff?
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| Posted by JP on Saturday April 23, 2005 - 9:50 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2005 SF Signal
See them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women. All this and more in the upcoming Conan the Barbarian MMORPG. They claim it will be a single-player game with a 'brutal' MMORPG endgame.
First, Conan? Is the Conan universe that popular to create Yet Another Fantasy Themed MMORPG (TM)?
Second, who's going to pay a monthly fee to play an online RPG with the hopes of one day joing the MMO part? Seems unlikely to me.
And with no mention of big buttery slabs of Ahhhnold, I don't see this as being even remotely interesting.
Or successful.
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| Posted by JP on Friday April 22, 2005 - 2:52 PM
| Category: Games
| © 2005 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: 7 standouts + 14 good stories - 5 losers = one very good collection.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Anthology of 26 sf stories from the year 2001.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: 21 stories good or better, 7 of them near-perfect.
CONS: 5 stories mediocre or worse.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good collection of stories. A worthy addition to a fine series.
This is the nineteenth annual edition of editor Gardner Dozois' picks for the best sf of the year, the year in question being 2001. The 780-page collection contains twenty six short stories, novelettes and novellas from that year. As is customary with the series, Dozois also provides a comprehensive summation and a list of honorable mentions.
Overall, this anthology (as the others I've read) is a great showcase of talented authors and good-to-great stories. For me, five of the 26 stories were mediocre or worse. But hey, that's not a bad ratio. Three of the stories contained in the volume I've read elsewhere, as noted below.
Standout stories for me were "More Adventures on Other Planets" by Michael Cassutt, "When This World Is All on Fire" by William Sanders, "Computer Virus" by Nancy Kress, "The Chief Designer" by Andy Duncan, "The Days Between [Coyote]" by Allen M. Steele, "Undone" by James Patrick Kelly, and "Into Greenwood" by Jim Grimsley.
As usual, the Summation of the 2001 Science Fiction year by editor Gardner Dozois was nothing less than amazing. These summations really add a great value to the series. I am anxious to read the earlier anthologies for the walk down memory lane.
Reviewlettes of the stories follow.
STORIES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY: