Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy [Paperback]

Steven Savile (Editor), Alethea Kontis (Editor), Arthur C. Clarke (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

In the winter of 2005, after the horrifying natural disaster of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Steve Savile and Alethea Kontis joined forces to raise money to help the distressed survivors and have created Elemental. They solicited SF and fantasy stories, all new and never published elsewhere, from many of the top writers in the genres today, and received immediate responses in the form of the excellent stories here in this book. Elemental has an introduction by Arthur C.Clarke and more than twenty stories by Brian Aldiss, David Drake, Jacqueline Carey, Martha Wells, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Eric Nylund, Sherrilyn Kenyon writing as Kinley MacGregor, and a Dune story by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and many others. They created in Elemental one of the most important genre anthologies of the year, but more than that: in giving real value for the purchase price, everyone who sells this book can be proud, and everyone who buys it will be richly rewarded for supporting the tsunami relief effort.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This SF and fantasy anthology intended to raise money for the victims of the tsunami of 2004 opens with an introduction by Arthur C. Clarke, who lives on Sri Lanka, and ends with the editors' memories of listening to the disaster unfold on the news and the Web. In between are 23 above-par stories by such prominent writers as David Gerrold ("Report from the Near Future: Crystallization"), Larry Niven ("The Solipsist at Dinner"), Brian Aldiss ("Tiger in the Night") and David Drake ("The Day of Glory"). Both Adam Roberts ("And Tomorrow and") and Esther M. Friesner ("Abductio ad Absurdum") contribute humorous stories about how unexpected events that start off alarming end up innocuous or even amusing. In fact, the dominant theme of this volume is the variety of human reactions to the universe throwing spitballs. Perhaps we could hope for an equally readable effort to raise funds for New Orleans? (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia in December 2004 generated an unprecedented variety of fund-raising campaigns, none more remarkable than this anthology of original speculative fiction solicited from a high-powered assortment of authors. Sf legend Arthur C. Clarke, who remains a citizen of tsunami-damaged Sri Lanka, contributes the introduction, and only some of the ensuing selections take the tsunami as a contemplative starting point for disaster-driven themes. Other stories are based on themes ranging from alien abduction to the legend of King Arthur. In David Gerrold's sardonic tale, L.A.'s freeway system finally becomes so congested that all traffic in the L.A. basin freezes up in a chain reaction analogous to crystallization. Meanwhile, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson offer a new tale from the Dune universe. The entire collection constitutes thought-provoking entertainment for a good cause, with all publisher and author profits earmarked for the Save the Children Tsunami Relief Fund. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765315637
• ISBN-13: 978-0765315632
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,271,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding collection of stories, August 4, 2006

By 

James Maxey "James Maxey" (Hillsborough, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

I went into this anthology with one false assumption: I thought all the stories would be disaster stories. The book opens with an unusual disaster tale, "Report from the Near Future: Crystallization" by David Gerrold. The doom he imagines--the highways in LA becoming so congested they simply crytalize into an immobile object that can never be chipped away--is imaginative, but I was a little worried I might find the book a downer if I was going to be reading a score of stories about how the world might kill me.

Fortunately, the anthology veers from this pattern with the very next story, the hillarious "And Tomorrow and" by Adam Roberts, a quite clever send-up of MacBeth. Another laugh out loud story comes later in the book, "The strange case of Jared Spoon, who went to pieces for love" by Stel Pavlou. The story of a man in love with a dangerously psychotic woman who is sending him body parts in the mail is about as perfect a comment on the human condition as any I've read.

My favorite story in the book has to be "In the Matter of Fallen Angels" by Jacqueline Carey. This tale of a small town's encounter with a divine visitor is haunting. It is funny, moving, and thought-provoking. At times, it reminds me of a Garrison Keilor Lake Woebegone tale in the affection for the quirky small town characters. But it transcends a Prairie Home Companion tale simply by dealing with such mind boggling subject matter--there is, after all, an angel trapped in the chickenwire box out back of the general store, and Carey's subtle approach to the situation made me feel a sense of wonder that only the best SF and fantasy stories can evoke.

A good cause, a good book, the best story you're likely to read all year. What are you waiting for?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent cause; excellent anthology, May 20, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

The proceeds from this anthology go to help Save the Children's Tsunami Relief Fund; so purchasing the collections is a worthy endeavor. However, if that alone cannot motivate readers, the twenty-three short stories written by some of the best of speculative fiction writers on the market today are almost all excellent with no subpart submissions. The contributors obviously motivated by the cause diligently kept the bar at the highest quality level. The tales run the gamut of fantasy and science fiction to include a dangerous trek into fairy land, a lethal march with the military in space and an even more dangerous joy ride around a future Los Angeles. Whether the stories star alien species, mythological creatures, immortals; whether they are comedic; satiric (just ask Macbeth), or seriously cautionary all are terrifically entertaining.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some gems, overall great, September 27, 2006

By 

Jason B. Sizemore "Jason Sizemore" (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Hardcover)

Several stories stood out in this charitable collection. First and foremost was David Gerrold's opening piece. In fact, I call this one a tour-de-force and hopefully it will gain some notice during award season. It's a fictional recounting of a day (in the near-future?) when the insane Los Angeles traffic becomes completely grid-locked. Gerrold does a masterful job of showing the trickle-down effects of such an occurrence, showing the potential of a full-blown disaster.

Sherrilyn Kenyon contributes a well-written piece based in her Camelot world.

Scifi master Larry Niven writes a heartwarming story about the perception of reality.

Also of note, Michael Marshall Smith and Tim Lebbon....two Brits who write two moody, intruiging pieces that would do well as Lynch movies.

Overall, a great book. Goes for a nice charity. Check it out!