Customer Reviews

Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain (Early Classics of Science Fiction)

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"Cosmos Latinos" is a long overdue, excellent survey of the history of science fiction writing in Spain and Latin America, including Brazil. The authors have done an admirable job compiling a chronological history by selecting some of the most important stories written during the period from 1862 to 2001. This is an invaluable look at science fiction as seen through the eyes of a culture other than English, infusing much recent Latin American history into the futuristic tales told by the writers represented here. There is a broad array of themes covered in this anthology, ranging from religion to mankind's use of technology, as seen through traditional technologically-oriented science fiction that is akin to the best work from the likes of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, to more recent explorations in psychology and sociology (e. g. the North American "New Wave" movement of the 1960's and 1970's as exemplified by the works of writers as diverse as Samuel Delany, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin and Joanna Russ) and of course, most recently, the cyperpunk movement led by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, among others. There are also echoes of work by the likes of Stanislaw Lem and J. G. Ballard represented in this anthology. I look forward to reading a subsequent volume edited by both authors.

"Cosmos Latinos" edited by Andrea L. Bell and Yolanda Molina Gavilán is an unusual entry in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series. Instead of focusing on early stories, this anthology looks at science fiction from Latin America and Spain. There are a couple of short stories from the 1800s, and a few from 1952 and earlier, but 22 of the stories are from 1964 and later and 8 are from 1989 and later. While this series might not be the most appropriate place for this collection, it is a very interesting collection, and the author histories do offer some insight not only into the authors themselves, but the evolution of science fiction in Latin America and Spain.

There are 27 stories in all, and if you are anything like me, you probably are not familiar with any of these author's translated works. No authors are duplicated here, so you will be introduced to 27 authors. They come from a wide variety of countries including Mexico, Spain, Chile, Cuba, Brazil, El Salvador, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru. You will also get a good variety of science fiction stories, including such themes as future societies, space travel, time travel, alien visitation, and cyberpunk.

The editors provide a nice introduction to Latin American science fiction, along with some good introductions to the authors. They also provide a large number of the translations for the stories included in this anthology. While this book might not fit the descriptive name of the series, there is little doubt that the content is well designed for the serious study of speculative fiction, so in that way this is certainly a worthy addition to the series.

Just finished this fantastic book, and I mostly wondered why there has been so little work done in making such material available. This book really left me wanting more. These Latin American and Spanish writers of SF are able to treat many of the traditional SF themes in very original ways, without being derivative of American/European SF styles. The stories have a wonderful, unique flavor. I hope the authors continue to make such stories available in English, especially the more recent stuff. "Stuntmind" was one of my favorites.

Just finished this fantastic book, and I mostly wondered why there has been so little work done in making such material available. This book really left me wanting more. These Latin American and Spanish writers of SF are able to treat many of the traditional SF themes in very original ways, without being derivative of American/European SF styles. The stories have a wonderful, unique flavor. I hope the authors continue to make such stories available in English, especially the more recent stuff. "Stuntmind" was one of my favorites.

In 2009 I wrote a two-part review on my blog about Cosmos Latinos, and it might help you decide whether or not to buy this book. There isn't a lot of Latin American science fiction translated to English out there, so this book is much appreciated as a initial look into the genre. Besides the short stories, it covers the history of science fiction in Latin America, a tale that is by no means complete! Here's a sampling of the stories (from the blog at [...]):

*The Annunciation by Daína Chaviano (Cuba, 1983). Founder of Cuba's first sci-fi writers' workshop and host of genre-related television and radio programs before emigrating to the U.S., Chaviano presents an alternate and humorous view of the immaculate conception.

*Stuntmind by Braulio Tavares (Brazil, 1989). Roger Van Dali is chosen to be the first of several human contacts for a race of alien visitors, changing his life from simple bookkeeper to fabulously rich, but with severe physical and mental consequences. The contacts, called Stuntminds, provide a wealth of alien knowledge to the world.

*Reaching the Shore by Guillermo Lavín (Mexico, 1994). On Christmas Eve, a little boy dreaming of a new bicycle runs to greet his father at the end of his factory shift but his dad, a pleasure microchip addict, just wants his next fix.

*Gray Noise by Pepe Rojo (Mexico, 1996). A reporter with a camera in his eye, embedded audio links and a direct line to the news center, roams the city in search of the best news. The more his items are viewed the better he gets paid, and violence always gets the most attention. Meanwhile anti-media extremists use the panic caused by a new illness called Constant Electrical Exposure Syndrome to advocate a radical change in society.

*The Day We Went through the Transition by Ricard de la Casa and Pedro Jorge Romero (Spain, 1998). The GEI Temporal Intervention Corps protects the pre-2012 historical timeline from those who would benefit from illegal time travel in Spain. In this particular story, the Corps intervenes in the post-Franco transition to democracy (1975-1981).

*Like the Roses Had to Die by Michel Encinosa (Cuba, 2001). Encinosa tells the story of a world with millions of exotics- humans with extreme animal, vegetable, or synthetic implants. The Walled Zone inside an unfinished Olympic stadium is a market and center of a city filled with violence perpetuated by power struggles, virus-laden Skaters and the police. Here the Wolf, a former space fighter pilot, awaits her friend the Wizard, a techno-alchemist. She recruits the Wizard to help free her husband Mastín from a group of mercenaries. The Wolf stumbles upon a war against exotics led by fanatical pure humans.