Customer Reviews

Cosmic Cocktails

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Cosmic Cocktails is an anthology of 15 tales collected by Denise Little. As usual the stories range in sophistication and quality from the sublime to the bland. All the stories involve a bar somewhere in space, though as usual, these establishments simply provide the backdrop for some interesting character exploration.

The fifteen stories are
** Drink, Drank, Drunk by Loren L. Coleman
** With Unconfined Wings by Sarah A. Hoyt
** Rachel by Steven Mohan, Jr.
** Crossing the road by Phaedra M. Weldon
** I'm Not Ashamed by Greg Beatty
** Favio deMarco by Michael Hiebert
** A Union Against All Odds by David DeLee
** Fortin's Revenge by Lousia M. Swann
** Hanged Man by Leslie Claire Walker
** 2 Drops of Heaven by Dan C. Duval
** Everyone Stops at Boston's by Allan Rousselle
** Spot-Man's Chest by Daniel M. Hoyt
** God Uses a Dishrag by Peter Orullian
** The Hyperbole Engine by Michael Hiebert
** The Galaxy's Most Wanted by Annie Reed

The three stories that stand out the most to me are Drink, Drank, Drunk which is one of the most innovative stories in the volume, a fasinating tale of codependence and alcholicsm. I'm Not Ashamed is Spartacus with a new flare, mixed heavily with Indepence Day. Lastly, Everyone Stops in Boston is a formula story, but formula stories exist because they work. The ending of this was sublime enough to make me smile.

The rest of the stories aren't bad at all. I normally do not go out of my way to read Science Fiction, but I enjoyed this, so you can enjoy it without being a sci-fi fan. On the other hand, nothing in here is "Hard" Sci-fi, so if that's your interest, you might be disappointed.

Over all this is a great offering from DAW and a solid addition to your anthology library.

I generally like space opera (e.g., Reynolds), but on planes and poolside, it's nice to have short, easy to read science fiction to pass the time. Some of the stories were innovative, especially the first one: "Drink, Drank, Drunk." However, none of the remaining 14 short pieces are nearly as innovative and challenging. My other favorite was "2 Drops of Heaven" which was rather unique in my opinion. Some of the other pieces were formulaic but entertaining. Some seemed utterly banal, like they were first drafts of underdeveloped ideas. It all depends on what you're looking for. The book is enjoyable in the right contexts.

The premise of this anthology is the neighborhood bar as a center of social activity; except instead of the streets of Green Bay, the fifteen tales take place in various cosmic locations. The tales range from drinks on planets in other galaxies rivaling the Star Wars' cantina scene to space stations of the future to saloons where time runs differently for travelers, aliens and human, dropping in for a drink or two during happy hour. The contributions are fun as the bartenders at times seem more way out then the customers. Readers will toast this out of this world collection. Though Spike Jones and the City Slickers have not shown up, the zany and the weird have for "In some secluded rendezvous that overlooks the avenue with someone sharing a delightful chat of this and that and cocktails for two" (Words & Music by Arthur Johnston & Sam Coslow).

Harriet Klausner

I like pub stories, from Callahan's to Rick's in Casablanca. Some of the best stories happen or are told in pubs. So I wanted to like this science fiction anthology of stories set in pubs across time and space more than I did.

There are a couple stories I liked without reservation, and most of the others had fun, even thought-provoking ideas that needed sharpening and polishing.

Several had the kind of mistakes that ought to be caught by a writer's group. Particularly glaring were the two stories that had awkward point-of-view shifts. One story was written entirely in first-person - except for a single paragraph in the middle that suddenly shifts to third-person for no reason.

Despite coming out from a major publisher, the book felt like it had never been looked at by an editor, copy-editor or proofreader.

There's a long history in science fiction of good bar stories (Arthur C. Clarke's Tales from the White Hart, Larry Niven's Draco's Tavern to name just two) so when I saw this I snapped it up. Never have I read a book in which so many stories stuck in my mind for all the wrong reasons. One or two stories (okay, one) might be worth reading but the rest left me wondering if the editor had been spending too long in the bar herself. Most were apparently written by people who don't write - and apparently don't read - much science fiction. And it shows. I've already wasted more time on this review than the book is worth, but I wanted to discourage anybody from wasting their money like I did.