SF Signal: April 2007 Archives

Monday April 30, 2007

Alastair Reynolds Compares Science Fiction and Fact

The BBC talks to Alastair Reynolds (The Prefect) about whether current technology has out-paced science fiction:

The common complaint now is that science fiction is already outmoded because we are living in a science fiction universe," says Mr Reynolds. "I've got some sympathy with that. Only the other day I was in Amsterdam airport and I noticed security guards nipping around on Segways with machine guns.

"If you had been transported from 1997 into this year, you would be incredulous and think of it as science fiction.

"But we accept it as part of the fabric of our world."

Mr Reynolds believes that the pace of change makes science fiction essential reading, now more than ever.

Gwyneth Jones says Cyberpunk Got it Right

Gwyneth Jones writes about how cyberpunk turned out to have some fairly accurate predictive powers:

In the 1980s, a new kind of science fiction emerged, like a supernova, blasting the old finned spaceships, streamlined Metropolis robots and tentacled aliens out of the sky. Called "cyberpunk", the manifesto went like this: in the foreseeable future there will be no aliens, and no trips to distant planets. Digital technology, however, will get better and better, throwing up fantastic new gadgets that will not remain in the hands of the wealthy. Every punk will have a supercomputer in his pocket (and this was before desktop PCs, mind you, when video-camera, wi-fi internet access phones weren't even a twinkle in a Finnish eye). And everything else in the world will get much, much, worse.

The science-fiction establishment hated cyberpunks. Science fiction was supposed to be about progress and how advances in technology would create a better world. But they were right, and the truth they told is highly relevant to this new century of sci-fi come true. If a child is told at the age of five that he has the cognitive scan of a delinquent, there's a very strong chance that he'll fulfil that prediction.

SF Tidbits for 4/30/07

A set of first edition books of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy sold for $2,300. Wow!

Talking Squid tells us why fanfic makes us stupid.

Check out The Villanizer, a Steampunk Guitar. [via VCTB]

Locus Online has posted the contents of the May 2007 issue of Locus magazine.

James Patrick Kelly is podcasting his novel Look Into the Sun. Here's Part 12.

File under: I Can't Believe This is the First Time I've Seen This: The Science Fiction Story of the Day website which offers free fiction online daily.

Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop podcasts Robert J. Sawyer talking about point of view in fiction.

Finally...a label to attach to the people blocking the bookstore aisles: Manga Hoboes!

Cory Doctorow reads from his forthcoming (May 2008) young adult novel, Little Brother, about San Francisco hacker kids who fight back against the Department of Homeland Security.

Slice of SciFi interviews Morena Baccarin who played Inara in Firelfy and Serenity. [via Whedonesque]

Iain Banks next Culture novel is titled Matter. [via James @ Big Dumb Object, who also has a report from Alt.Fiction 2007]

Get it before it's yanked! Funny video for Monday: An SNL skit that lacked the cajones to be called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Bone. (YouTube has already pulled this, as it were.) Speaking of The Harry Potter Outreach Program...HEL-lo!

POLL RESULTS: Summer 2007 Movies

Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.

QUESTION
Which of these 2007 summer movies are you most likely to see?

RESULTS

(139 total votes)

Comments this week:

"I'd be remiss as a Neil Gaiman fan if I didn't go see Stardust...but I can't wait for Spider-Man 3. Or Pirates 3. Or Harry Potter 5. Or...Or...Or... This list needs a "Resounding All Of The Above" choice, dag-nabbit!" - Pete Tz.

"Meh. I remain a SF snob. Nothing wrong with superhero movies, but I am unlikely to view them in the theater. (I have not seen the previous Spiderman or Fantastic Four in the theaters.) I am not a zombie/horror or fantasy fan knocking out four others on the list. I haven't heard of Stardust or the Invasion, but the titles intrigue me. I would not mind seeing about half of these in theaters, but given my sporatic theater attendance, I'm not likely to see any." - Kristen

"I hate to say it but Fido looks somewhat interesting to me. Sort of like the end of Shawn of the Dead taken to the next level plus all that Pleasantville type scenery. Just oozes shmultz.." - Tim

"I'd also vote for HP (I voted for Stardust). Shrek might be one for the family; we'll see. As for the rest? Meh." - Fred Kiesche

"I will probably see 8 out 10 of these movies.Looks to be an interesting and perhaps good summer for the movies." - Ed

Be sure to vote in this week's poll about Book Signings!

Sunday April 29, 2007

REVIEW: Lurulu by Jack Vance

REVIEW SUMMARY: Finishes off the story begun with Ports of Call with the perfect ending.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Myron continues his trek about the galaxy meeting interesting people and having sometimes not so exciting adventures along the way.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Vance continues to be unafraid to write however he feels like and I believe the reader is rewarded for the non-traditional approach.
CONS: The back half of a book-split that shouldn't have been done - the collection of this and the earlier book work best if read together.
BOTTOM LINE: Same as the previous novel: fun set of stories that chronicle the travels of a young man adrift in the big universe.

Lurulu is described by the denizens of Vance's universe as a state of mind you will achieve when you obtain what it is you are looking for in life. Of course, this can be hard to figure out for most people, and it isn't a surprise that the book continues to chronicle the crew of the Glicca and their travels in a way that demonstrates how each is making their way towards their own personal lurulu.

I don't have a whole lot to add to this review that I didn't state in the writing I did for the prequel. The book continues on exactly as that book started. The only major difference is that the ending to this book is the perfect ending that the previous one didn't have. All told, you could do a lot worse that pickup the combined volume sometime this summer and spend a day or two reading it.

Interzone Celebrates The Mundane

Andy Cox, editor and publisher of Interzone, has announced that the May-June issue next year will be a special issue devoted to Mundane SF, guest-edited by Geoff Ryman.

As per Ryman, the rules of Mundane SF are:

no FTL travel or communications
no aliens
no time travel
no parallel universes
no immortality or telepathy

[via John Joseph Adams]

SciFi Channel Announces Summer Series Start Dates

For those who are interested in the SCiFi Channel's non-wrestling programming, they have announced the U.S. start dates for series starting or retuning this summer.

Flash Gordon premieres Aug. 10. It puts a 21st-century spin on the SF classic. SCI FI's contemporized version stars Eric Johnson.

Destination Truth debuts June 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The one-hour weekly series invites viewers along on one man's search for the truth while investigating stories of the unexplained across the globe. Josh Gates stars.

The as-yet-untitled Derren Brown Project premieres July 25 at 10 p.m. The series stars British mentalist Derren Brown.

Among returning series, Ghost Hunters comes back June 6 at 9 p.m., Doctor Who July 6 at 9 p.m., Eureka on July 10 and Who Wants to Be a Superhero? July 25 at 9 p.m.

Saturday April 28, 2007

Authors@Google Presents: John Scalzi

YouTube teams with Google to offer Google Author Talks. Here's one from John Scalzi:

"Author John Scalzi discusses "The Last Colony" as part of the Authors@Google series. This event took place on April 27, 2007 at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Bacon Cat also explained."

What, no tiara?

See also: videos with Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Lethem, Kelly Link and Karen Joy Fowler.

The Cold Equations Movie

Cogmios points out that America Free TV has a science fiction channel. This is the same stream we pointed out before (with a larger display), but seeing it again prompted me to check it out once more.

There was no indication as to what video was being streamed, but it looked intriguing enough. There was a trial scene done with flashbacks in which a pilot was delivering medical supplies. The importance of keeping the total cargo weight low was emphasized, since there is a direct correlation to the consumption of precious fuel. Hmmm...that sounded familiar. Then the pilot discovers a stowaway.

Ding!

I was watching an adaptation of Tom Godwin's superb short story, "The Cold Equations". It looked like it might have been a Outer Limits episode. That was news to me. A Google later, I discovered that I was watching a 1996 made-for-TV movie version of the story. Cool! The acting was uneven and It ran a little long for the story, but damn, the central point of the story still rocks.

But here's the kicker -- it was filmed for the SciFi Channel. Funny, I don't remember any wrestlers in the story...

I never even knew there was an adaptation. Actually, it turns out there were two others! One for the 1962 British anthology series Out of This World and one for the 1985-1989 revival of The Twilight Zone.

I wonder what other sf treasures are waiting out there?

SF Tidbits for 4/28/07

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist interviews Richard K. Morgan, author of Thirteen (known as Black Man in the UK).

Over at SFBC Blog, Editor Andrew Wheeler weighs in on Rick Kleffel's book cover rant.

Gwyneth Jones on A Door into Ocean and feminist sf. [via Feminist SF] Oh, and Gwyneth Jones has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.

Here's a collection of links about Eric Flint's take on on DRM and Copyright.

$100 will buy you a replica of the Time Bandits map. [via Michael May]

Humor: The Top 10 Things Overheard at the Science Fiction Retirement Village.

Friday April 27, 2007

What's Up With: Book Signing Tours

On our way down the elevator after work today, Tim voiced a question that has been bugging me for a while now:

Why aren't there more big time author book signings in Houston?

After all, Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S. We have a very diverse population that includes many SF and F fans, so why don't we see more signings? For instance, SF Signal favorite John Scalzi is currently on a book tour. Just look at some of the cities on tour: Half Moon Bay, Novi, Kokom. I mean, what the heck? I'm sure they are nice places, but I'm guessing the population of just our area of Houston has as many, if not more, people. So what is that determines a site for the tour? I know Austin, with the popular Bookpeople store, is a good place for a signing, and its only a couple of hours from Houston. So, if I were to have gone to Austin to see Neal Stephenson (which I did), its most likely I would go to see Scalzi (which I would), even if we're talking a whole day trip.

So why not come to Houston? There are many areas that could easily host a signing, like The Woodlands or The Galleria just to name a few. All are much closer to us here at the big SFS, and we'd definitely go see our favorite authors (Tobias Buckell, Chris Roberson, Scalzi just to name a few). If anyone can shed some light on the apparently esoteric art of book signing tours, we would love to here from you!

Friday YouTube: Failed Auditions from 300

[via Pistol Wimp]

SFBC Author Notes

Over at the Science Fiction Book Club Blog, Andrew Wheeler is posting a bunch of "Author Notes" where writers talk about their books.

Check out:

Robert J. Sawyer on Rollback
Allen Steele on Spindrift
Joel Shepherd on Breakaway
Kelley Armstrong on No Humans Involved
Carrie Vaughn on Long-Time Listener, First-Time Werewolf

Summer 2007 Concatenation Posted

The Summer 2007 issue of Concatenation is posted. In addition to numerous reviews, here's what's included:

Newscast for the Spring 2007 - covering SF books, films and TV an more
The Science in Science Fiction by Ian Hocking
Redemption - UK convention reviewed
SF Film Top Ten Chart and Other Worthies
Annual whimsical SF and/or science snippets and exotica

Also: A memeber of the Concatenation team is going to Swim the English Channel for charity!

SF Tidbits for 4/27/07

Gail Martin (The Summoner) asks: Are SF/F Subversive to the Status Quo? "So in that venerable sense, I think Science Fiction and Fantasy are ideologically subversive--and that's a good thing. SF/F has always questioned the status quo, imagined alternatives, and looked at assumptions and prejudices in otherworld settings that let us see the absurdities."

UK SF Book News looks at The Darkening Garden: A Short Lexicon of Horror by John Clute.

Lynn Abbey and Jennifer Pelland have been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.

Worried about alien invasion? Perhaps you should read An Introduction to Planetary Defense. [via Gravity Lens]

Humor: Chris Roberson points us to a Cat and Girl web comic that explains the point of reading fiction.

Thursday April 26, 2007

REVIEW:The Last Hero by Terry Pratchet

MY RATING:

(For more Discworld reviews, see The Great Pratchett Review Table)

Thanks to our own lovely and talented Tim, I was able to get my hands on the coffee-table sized version of The Last Hero, the one with Cohen in all his geriatric glory on the cover. What a treat this book is. The Last Hero is the story of a group of unlikely heroes who attempt to stop an old threat, namely the Silver Horde, from destroying Discworld. It seems that Cohen and his gang want to give the gods what for, which, unfortunately, will also result in bad things for the rest of the Disc.

The Last Hero, clocking in at around 40,000 words, is very short book, more of a novella really. The story itself is rather fun, if short, being a conglomeration of parodies: the moon landing, fantasy evil overlords, and the lone hero against impossible odds are just a few of them. However, The Last Hero really requires some knowledge of the previous Discworld novels, as Pratchett doesn't wast time with character introductions or backstory re-hashes. Everything is in service to the plot, and the action move along at a brisk and humorous pace. We meet old friends such as Rincewind, Lord Vetinari, Cohen and Corporal Carrot. Of course there is the usual Pratchett word play, which reminds my of Jimmy from Airplane!, frequent use of footnotes, normal seeming situations that rapidly become comically unusual and, of course, Death.

But where this book really shines is in the artwork. Paul Kidby replaces the usual artist, Josh Kirby, and he brings a more 'realistic' style to the Discworld. His takes on the appearance of all the characters are refreshingly different yet still manage to capture the feel of each character. That being said, I think the best artwork in the book are the drawings of Leonard of Quirm, the Disc's version of Leonardo da Vinci. Kidby does an incredible job of mimicing da Vinci's artwork style while infusing it with typical Discworld insanity. My favorites would be the drawing on the Common Swamp Dragon, the painting of the Rimfall, and the sketches of the space ship, The Great Bird. In fact, The Last Hero is just chock full of great eye candy and I spent as much time just looking at the art as I did in reading the book.

While not the longest story in the Discworld canon, I have to say that the artwork alone in The Last Hero elevates this book near the top of the best Discworld novels. If you're a Discworld fan and you haven't read this book, do yourself a favor and get it. You won't be disappointed. I may have to 'lose' this book and, thus, not be able to return it to Tim...

What's the Matter, Colonel Sanders? Chicken?

Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators of Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken, will develop Robot Chicken: Star Wars, a 30-minute stop-motion animation for the network's Adult Swim programming block.

Here's the kicker: Not only does Mark Hamill as the voice of Luke Skywalker in one sketch, but also George Lucas, who will voice the animated version of himself!

Has the world gone mad? First he helps out Fanboys...now this? If only he could go back in time and eradicate all traces of Jar Jar, he'd be golden.

Other voices in Robot Chicken: Star Wars include in Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Robert Smigel, Malcolm McDowell, Hulk Hogan, James Van Der Beek, Donald Faison, Abraham Benrubi, Breckin Meyer and Joey Fatone. The special will premiere at 10 p.m. June 17 on Adult Swim.

Call For Action! Help Us Spead the Word About Science Fiction and Fantasy!

Just a reminder that we are still taking suggestions for Reader Challenge #6 - The Harry Potter Outreach Program!

This is a chance to sprad the word about all that is good and holy about the genres we love to the unwashed masses who flock to mainstream genre books like Harry Potter and The Road. Since Harry Potter in particular appeals to readers of all ages, we ask for suggestions for different age groups.

Head on over to the Reader Challenge post and give us your picks!

Top 10 Science Fiction Movies with the Highest Body Count

Equilibrium (2002) - 236
Dune (1984) - 186
Akira (1988) - 119
Bridge of Dragons (1999) - 109
Starship Troopers (1997) - 95
Ritana (2002) - 91
Fifth Element (1997) - 80
Children of Men (2007) - 77
Total Recall (1990) - 77
Serenity (2005) - 74

[via Website at the End of the Universe]

SF Tidbits for 4/26/07

SneakPeek has a picture of Iron Man in his iron suit.

ChapterFeeds has samples Psion by Joan D. Vinge.

Fantasy Book Critic interviews the Dabel Brothers, who adapted George R.R. Martin's "The Hedge Knight". [via SFBC Blog]

Minister Faust (The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor) interviews Robert J. Sawyer (Rollback).

Guardian: Gwyneth Jones on how SF is becoming fact. [via Locus Online]

The official site for The Golden Compass allows users to create their own daemon. [via Geeks of Doom]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says Shrek is too fat to promote good health.

MeeVee has some more Heroes trivia.

Thursday YouTube: Blondie goes Giger. [via Table of Malcontents]

Now posted: Calls for Cthulhu, Episode 5

Coolest video of the week: C.O.D.E. Guardian, a WWII animation with a Robot Nazi. The only way this would be cooler is of he were a time-travelling undead robot Nazi...[via Cogmios]

Wednesday April 25, 2007

Flurb #3 Now Available

Rudy Ruker has posted the 3rd issue of his webzine, Flurb. Here's what's in it:

"Postsingular Outtakes" by Rudy Rucker
"Special Guest Stars" by Kris Saknussemm
"That Certain Day With Magdalen" by John Shirley
"The Last Young Person Alive Writes a Memoir" by Charlie Anders
"No Place to Raise Kids" by Eileen Gunn
"Up Around the Bend" by Paul Di Filippo
"Four Milestones of Quantum Tantra" by Nick Herbert
"One Hundred Years" by Mac Tonnies
"Beloved Vampires of the Blood Comet" by Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia
"Seized by Meat" by Th. Metzger
"An Evening's Honest Peril" by Marc Laidlaw
"How RU Sirius Slipped Into Another Dimension" - an interview by Frank Shook

A New Habitable Planet?

NASA brings news of an amazing new discovery: a new extrasolar planet that could possibly harbor water and life:

An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.

Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. The newfound planet is located at the "Goldilocks" distance—not too close and not too far from its star to keep water on its surface from freezing or vaporizing away.

And while astronomers are not yet able to look for signs of biology on the planet, the discovery is a milestone in planet detection and the search for extraterrestrial life, one with the potential to profoundly change our outlook on the universe.

Gliese 581 C is the smallest extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," discovered to date. It is located about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun; one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days. Because red dwarfs, also known as M dwarfs, are about 50 times dimmer than the Sun and much cooler, their planets can orbit much closer to them while still remaining within their habitable zones, the spherical region around a star within which a planet's temperature can sustain liquid water on its surface.

This almost makes up for that whole Pluto thing...

Cover Pr0n

Irene Gallo gets way cooler email than I do.

While I'm wading through emails about huge investment opportunities and "\/|/|GR/\", Irene, an Art Director for Tor publishing, received the cover graphics for three upcoming novels from artist Stephan Martiniere. Take a look at these beauties.

The lucky books to receive these are Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick, An Autumn War, the next volume in Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet and Elom by William H. Drinkard.

Summer School for Up-and-Coming Teenage Writers/Artists

Wofford College is holding a summer education program geared towards teenagers who are interested in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres.

The Shared Worlds program is a "residential camp designed around a 'shared world' theme" where groups of students will learn and apply the skills of writing, illustration and game design, mentored by professionals. The curriculum includes classes in space travel and alien biology.

The list of visiting speakers includes Troy Denning, Jim C. Hines, Greg Keyes, Stephen Leigh, Jack McDevitt, Scott Nicholson, Laura Resnick and more. Faculty includes Jeff VanderMeer, Stephen Leigh, and Christie Golden.

SF Tidbits for 4/25/07

Tobias Buckell has posted Chapter 1 of his upcoming novel Ragamuffin, set in the same world as Crystal Rain.

Guardian chats with China Miéville, author of the young adult novel Un Lun Dun, about children's books. [via Locus Online and Solaris Blog]

Aurealis Interviews Alastair Reynolds, author of Pushing Ice and The Prefect.

At SciFi Wire, John Joseph Adams profiles Hugo-finalists Michael Flynn (Eifelheim) and Vernor Vinge (Rainbows End).

Lyda Morehouse has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.

Tuesday April 24, 2007

REVIEW: 2007 Hugo Award Short Fiction Nominees

Like last year, I undertook a project to read the short fiction nominees for this year's Hugo Award. (I undertook a similar Nebula short fiction reading project this year, too.) All the Hugo nominees were available online for free reading. Hooray for the Internets!

Overall, this was a fun project. However, I am still coming to terms with the fact that my tastes do not always mesh with those of the award-nominating populace. I guess I still have the misconception that award-nominated fiction represents the best of the best. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I expect all the stories to be 5-star knockouts. This just isn't the case.

That said, all but one of the stories were good or better. I was somewhat disappointed by the McDonald story, especially in light of how much I enjoyed River of Gods, but otherwise this is a strong batch of stories; stronger, I believe, than this year's Nebula nominees. Coincidentally, two of the Hugo-nominated novellas (by Melko and Shunn) are also 2006 Nebula nominees.

While I'm comparing, the 2007 Hugo nominees contain a much larger percentage of science fiction stories than the Nebula nominees, which is fantasy-heavy. Oddly, my usual indifference towards fantasy seems to have been overruled in the Hugo nominees. The few that are here made quite good impressions. The Nebula ballot had some stories that left something to be desired.

In a nutshell, then, here are my impressions of the stories in each category, sorted from most to least enjoyable, except where ties are indicated by rating. Linked story titles point to the online versions. My winning picks are the tops ones listed in each category.

NOVELLAS
"Lord Weary's Empire" by Michael Swanwick
"The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko
"Inclination" by William Shunn
"Julian" by Robert Charles Wilson
"A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed

NOVELLETTES
"All the Things You Are" by Mike Resnick
"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter" by Geoff Ryman
"Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth" by Michael F. Flynn
"Yellow Card Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi
"The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald

SHORT STORIES
"Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
"The House Beyond the Sky" by Benjamin Rosenbaum
"Kin" by Bruce McAllister
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman
"Eight Episodes" by Robert Reed

Reviewlettes of the stories follow....

NOVELLAS

"Lord Weary's Empire" by Michael Swanwick

Synopsis: A classic-fantasy/urban-fantasy hybrid in which Captain Jack (really the character of Will from previous Swanwick stories) joins the underground misfit gang of The Army of Night, led by the charismatic Lord Weary.

Review: I was already loving this fast-paced-from-the-get-go adventure when I realized - as Will relayed some of his background to a suspicious Lord Weary - that this story took place in the same world as Swanwick's superb story, "King Dragon". As before, the blend of modern day references/technology and fantasy was intriguing. Where else can you find things technological and fantastical - like Elven-kings, Pepsi bottles, magic spells, Zippo lighters, the ghost-like haints, motorcycles, furry Wodehouse creatures and subway trains - sharing the same pages? Very cool indeed. The blend made "Fantasy with Elves" tolerable, although to be fair to that label, this was not a quest story. Instead, it was a trial by fire for Will as he tries to find his place in the world. The comfort provided by Lord Weary's Army of Night suits Will's skills and he quickly advances through the ranks by outsmarting the surface dwellers that descend down to the depths of the johatsu ("nameless wanderers" who live underground). The final confrontation - part of a war planned by Lord Weary that is either mad or pure genius - was unexpected and made the story a more personal one for Will. A great read all around.

Note: Set in the same universe as Swanwick's The Iron Dragon and "King Dragon".

"The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko [I read this in March 2007. What follows is what I said then.]

Synopsis: Farmboy Johnny Rayburn meets an alternate, parallel-world version of himself who has plans to become rich by borrowing ideas from previously visited universes.

Review: This was a fun story. Naturally, farmboy John doesn't believe "John Prime" is from another universe, but John Prime knows too many intimate details about farmboy John's life - even though the worlds differ slightly in politics and minor events. John Prime schemes to make lots of money with pop inventions (like the Rubik's Cube) that don't exist in farmboy John's world. Eventually, the lure of an alternate - and hopefully better - life lures farmboy John since, like many kids, his lack of perspective makes it hard to see how well off they are. John Prime lets him try the world-hopping device. a flat disk affixed to harness worn under his short - vaguely explained away as alien technology. But ulterior motives are at work. Here, the story diverges as both Johns independently try to make better lives for themselves. The lesson learned is that what comes around goes around, though not in the way you might think. Watching the turn of events reminded me in some ways of Ken Grimwood's Replay since in both stories the protagonist strived to live a better life. Like that novel, Melko's story takes what could have been a worn out sf trope and turned it into something engaging and fun. Well done.

Note: Also nominated for the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novella.

"Inclination" by William Shunn [I read this in March 2007. What follows is what I said then.]

Synopsis: On a space station there are two clashing social classes. Jude, a young member of the underprivileged Machinists, gets a job with the Sculpted and comes to learn the way of the world.

Review: There are some really interesting world building aspects here. The Machinsists have a religion and culture based on mechanics. For example, when something is wrong it is "out of true". In the Machinists part of the station there are six wards, each representing the six fundamental machines set forth by The Builder, their god. Jude is from the "inclined plane" ward and, when money gets tight, his father, Thomas, gets him a job working as a stevedore with the "heathen" Sculpted. Surely this will be a test of his faith as he will be tempted by the unholy ways of the "Wrecker". Unlike the Machinists, the Sculpted have embraced technology and their society has evolved in ways we would expect, at least in science fiction. The differences that evolved between the two cultures are almost unbelievable considering they all live in the same space station, but the contrast is effectively dramatic nonetheless. Religion was their dividing wedge - the wedge being another of the six fundamental machines (the others are wheel, lever, pulley and screw). Some additional dramatic elements - like Jude's strict father, his dead mother and his confused feelings for another boy - round out a fine story. Shunn's prose shows noteworthy skill and embodies the sense of wonder and extrapolation that make science fiction appealing.

Note: Also nominated for the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novella.

"Julian: A Christmas Story" by Robert Charles Wilson

Synopsis: Long after war and starvation have thrown society back into feudalism, a noble-born named Julian befriends a lower class stable-hand named Adam during a winter that sees their homeland on the brink of war.

Review: Wilson has created an interesting story that reads like a hybrid between post-apocalyptic sf and historical fiction. Th