Customer Reviews

Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge

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Fast Forward 1 once again demonstrates Lou Anders' editing prowess (his Live Without a Net and Futureshocks are also excellent). The tagline identifies the collection as "future fiction from the cutting edge," and almost every story offers up an intriguing view of the future from some of the field's best writers.

Robert Charles Wilson's "YFL 500" opens the anthology with a gripping character tale regarding intellectual property, art, and theft in a post-scarcity world. Paolo Bacigalupi's "Small Offerings" is a chilling tale of sacrifice on an ecologically damned Earth. "Plotters and Shooters," by Kage Baker, is a lighthearted "Lord of the Flies"-esque chronicle of the rise of hackers and geeks as the defenders of mankind in a new age.

Indeed, in a collection of 19 short stories and 2 poems (the latter a refreshing addition courtesy of Robyn Hitchcock), only 4 stories don't seem to belong. Elizabeth Bear's "The Something-Dreaming Game" and Louise Marley's "p dolce," while well-written, deal in concepts already well-traversed throughout the genre. Pamela Sargent's "A Smaller Government," while an entertaining satire, is more of a political fantasy than a work of science fiction. And George Zebrowski's "Settlements" is too trite and rife with tropes to be considered "cutting edge" - a story of mysterious aliens with advanced technology imposing peace on a violent, adolescent humanity.

Where the collection truly shines, though, are in the off-kilter stories. Tony Ballantyne's "Aristotle OS" is a comedic, philosophical view of the world through one of the most pervasive, defining facets of our society: the computer operating system. "Jesus Christ, Reanimator" is Ken MacLeod's rational look at the possible second coming of the Christ - charming in its grounded outlook amidst a momentous religious event. Mary A. Turzillo's "Pride" is the endearing tale of a boy and his sabretooth kitten. Finally, the perfect capstone to the anthology is Paul Di Filippo's "Wikiworld" - one of the most brilliant short stories I've read - an adventure through a foreign but realistic near-future, where political lines are drawn between usergroups and power, prestige, and popularity ebb and flow organically between the real world and the virtual.

While the writing and stories are excellent, it is the variety of worlds and tales that makes the anthology truly compelling. Having enjoyed the majority of the book, I can safely say that Fast Forward holds something for everyone. One can only hope that Fast Forward 2 is future fact.

In his introduction to what he plans as being a continual science fiction anthology containing all new stories, Lou Anders explains the premise is "making sense of a changing world" as "the implications of technology on society ... makes it (SF) the most relevant branch of literature". Bias aside, the contributions of nineteen original shorts and two poems (by Robyn Hitchcock) live up to Mr. Anders' prime objective. The tales focus on people struggling with an exponentially changing world that leaves many behind. The contributors are a who's who of Sci Fi or fantasy to include Larry Niven (with Brenda Cooper), Justina Robson, Stephen Baxter and Louise Marley. All the entries are strong with the best being those concentrating on everyday people dealing with commonplace technology like Paul Di Filippo's Wikiworld" and Justina Robson' The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One" (in Mappa Mundi world) and those bringing the past into the future such as Tony Ballantyne's "Aristotle OS and Ken McLeod's "Jesus Christ, Reanimator". This is a fun collection that forecasts where technology will take humans including those left behind struggling with yesterday's artifacts.

Harriet Klausner

I was able to read the ARC of this book prior to its release, and I was very, very pleased with the selections. I enjoyed 14/21 stories in this, with Robert Charles Wilson's, Paolo Bacigalupi's, Elizabeth Bear's, Louise Marley's, and the Mike Resnick/Nancy Kress piece being my personal faves for their "wow" factor. I recognized some of the stories in this anthology were not to my particular SF taste (and some stories I wished were written a bit differently, but that's me), but most of these pieces had good/fun premises, and it was nice to see a variety of stories in this anthology.

I'd definitely recommend this anthology to anyone reading (or writing) science fiction, and I'm not just saying that because I got the ARC: I think I'll pick up the actual copy myself, when I get the chance. Some of these stories really blew me away, and while I would've bought the anthology solely for Bacigalupi's work, I wouldn't have minded paying for the rest of it either, if that makes sense. In other words, there's something in here for everyone, and there's some really, really good stories here.

Also, an interesting stat that some people won't care about: 9/21 stories are penned by women (though two of those nine are co-written by men). The reason this stat jumps out at me is the fact that I've heard several women complain about how when you pick up an anthology of SF stories, there are few to no women featured. It's something I've noticed myself, so a big shout-out to Lou Anders for both sampling a variety of SF and not limiting anthology slots to the male population of the SF community.

Great anthology. Check it out.

I don't read a lot of anthologies. No particular reason really other than I tend to read them a story at a time in between novels. Thus they take forever for me to finish, and oftentimes I've forgotten the less memorable stories by the time I actually finish the whole collection. If I were smart, I'd do a quick paragraph on each story as I finish them. In case you're curious, I'm not and I didn't. So instead I'm going to do more of a short review about the overall tone of Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge edited by Lou Anders and give a few of my favorites.

Anders, in his introduction to the anthology, reminds us that, "To a very real extent, we live today in the science fiction of the past." He's so right - just look at William Gibson's notion of cyberspace in Neuromancer (1984). Fast Forward 1 is all about looking at the implications of technology on society, but not today's technology. Anders and his all-star cast of authors are instead looking at the future of tomorrow and millenium from now to push the envelope not only about what technology we can expect to see, but how it will impact our lives. Anders goes on to say that, "it is the future of science fiction itself (and that of science fiction publishing) that some have called into question, and lately it seems as if the very idea of the future has been under threat." In his essay "The Omega Glory," Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon summarizes Anders' thoughts:

"I don't know what happened to the Future. It's as if we lost our ability, or our will, to envision anything beyond the next hundred years or so, as if we lacked the fundamental faith that there will in fact be any future at all beyond that not-too-distant date."

Interestingly, one of Anders' contributors, Paolo Bacigalupi said in an interview with Locus Magazine:

"Maybe science fiction lost its track a little bit, and got off on some lines of speculation which are pretty interesting but not necessarily connected to today's questions, as previously it had been core to our conception of ourselves and where we were headed."

I think Bacigalupi's view and Chabon's desire to continue pushing the envelop are well blended by Anders. Fast Forward 1 shows how the world will change just over the next hill in stories like Elizabeth Bear's The Something-Dreaming Game or Mary Turzillo's Pride. It looks beyond and into the distant future with stories like The Terror Bard by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper or No More Stories by Stephen Baxter.

For me the anthology works best in the stories that fell in between. Not so esoteric as to be difficult to identify with, and not so near term as to be uninspiring. These stories shined because they not only pushed the science fiction envelope, but found a way to use that technology to pull back the shades on the cultural and ethical dilemmas of today. To me, and Anders who I quote, "science fiction is a tool for making sense of a changing world. It is the genre that looks at the implications of technology on society, which in this age of exponential technological growth makes it the most relevant branch of literature going."

Haunting stories like Bacigalupi's Small Offerings and George Zebrowski's Settlements confront our ability to sustain humanity. A Smaller Government by Pamela Sargent parodies the U.S. government, while Jesus Christ, Reanimator by Ken MacLeod takes on faith. Vanity is a popular subject reflected in p dolce by Louise Marley and The Hour of the Sheep by Gene Wolfe. There are very few failures in the anthology. Some are not terribly memorable like The Girl's Hero Mirror Says He's Not the One by Jennifer Robson or Kage Baker's Plotters and Shooters, but in the moment they are compelling and well worth the read.

Perhaps the most thought provoking work in the book is Anders' introduction which I have quoted from liberally. He provides a thought provoking discussion about where the genre has been, is going, and will find itself in the years ahead. It's well worth a read all on its own and can be read on-line in its entirety (here). Anders was recently awarded a Hugo for his editing prowess and as far as I can tell from Fast Forward 1 and the dozens of other Pyr titles I've read, it is well deserved.

As I stated in the early parts of this review, I don't read many anthologies so rating this is one tough. I can say that there was no story I rolled my eyes at or felt like skipping and there are certainly several stories I would hold up against any I've read.

In the mood for a science fiction anthology? Definitely pick this one up.

This is the first volume of a projected annual series of original SF stories. It has a couple of standout stories, and is pretty good overall (though not as good as the hype).

The standout story is Ken MacLeod's amazing "Jesus Christ, Reanimator". It takes place in
present-day Israel (in part at Meggido) and opens: "The Second Coming was something of a washout, if you remember." Truly a KILLER story, MacLeod's best short to date, I'd say. Enthusiastically recommended. Look for it on the awards ballots.

My second-favorite story is Paul Di Filippo's very amusing (if slight) "Wikiworld," conveniently available online at pyrsf[dot]com . It's pretty much what you'd expect, but *very* nicely done. Recommended.

Past this we get into good, pretty-good, and "eh" stories. Here's the TOC, with comments:

"YFL-500", Robert Charles Wilson. Eh. Can't remember a thing, two weeks later.
"The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One", Justina Robson. Pretty good, if very slight.
"Small Offerings", Paolo Bacigalupi. Unpleasantly gory, but a decent story.
"They Came From the Future", Robyn Hitchcock. Poem, sorta kinda. Eh.
"Plotters and Shooters", Kage Baker. Gamers in Spaaaace! Pretty good, really, if slight.
"Aristotle OS," Tony Ballantyne. OK but very slight.
"The Something-Dreaming Game", Elizabeth Bear. Pediatric autoerotic asphyxiation. Well-written but icky.
"No More Stories," Stephen Baxter. Forgotten already.
"Time of the Snake", A.M. Dellamonica. Violent, nihilistic and slight.
"The Terror Bard", Larry Niven & Brenda Cooper. Sequel to "Kath & Quicksilver"; pretty good.
"p dolce", Louise Marley. Channeling into Brahms; good.
"Jesus Christ, Reanimator," Ken MacLeod. KILLER story, best by far.
"Solomon's Choice", Mike Resnick & Nancy Kress. Weird aliens, except they're not. Good.
"Sanjeev and Robotwallah", Ian McDonald. Exotic violence & fashion in a future India. Good.
"A Smaller Government," Pamela Sargent. Literally so, and very amusing
"Pride", Mary A. Turzillo. Bringing up a sabertooth kitten. Very good.
"I Caught Intelligence", Robyn Hitchcock. Poem. Eh.
"Settlements", George Zebrowski. "Helpful" aliens; a downer (what a surprise!). Eh.
"The Hour of the Sheep", Gene Wolfe. I just don't get Wolfe.
"Sideways from Now", John Meaney. Interesting novella from the Nulapeiron guy.
"Wikiworld, Paul Di Filippo". Second-best, and available online, too.

Bottom line: worth checking out for the standouts, but not really worth your $15, in my opinion. Too many "read once & forget" stories. YMMV.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

It is pretty cool to new a good old fashioned )in series terms at least, not in contest) sf anthology series.

The book starts well with a good introduction by Anders as to why he wants to do it, and some of his inspirations, including a quote from Pohl.

There are also a couple of poems included for those that like them.

The stories are good, the average rating being 3.53, which is a bit over what you hope for from a book, and is rather well done in a new original project as opposed to some sort of reprint.

The standout is Di Filippo's Wikiworld, but Pride and Kage Baker's Plotters and Shooters were also excellent.

In fact, only called three of these '3' or average, so it is a book that is well worth looking at.

The one quibble I would have is the format, being the considerably more expensive trade paperback compared to the recently seen competitor the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, being the good old paperback. I wonder if this will affect the success of either.

Wouldn't mind seeing an electronic version for easier obtainability, either.

Otherwise, I definitely recommend having a look. In fact, at the moment I would suggest that anything Pyr puts out is worth a look at, presuming you like fantasy as well, of course.

A fine opening effort, I was pleasantly surprised.


Fast Forward 1 : YFL-500 - Robert Charles Wilson
Fast Forward 1 : The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One - Justina Robson
Fast Forward 1 : Small Offerings - Paolo Bacigalupi
Fast Forward 1 : They Came From the Future - Robyn Hitchcock
Fast Forward 1 : Plotters and Shooters - Kage Baker
Fast Forward 1 : Aristotle OS - Tony Ballantyne
Fast Forward 1 : The Something-Dreaming Game [SS] - Elizabeth Bear
Fast Forward 1 : No More Stories - Stephen Baxter
Fast Forward 1 : Time of the Snake - A.M. Dellamonica
Fast Forward 1 : The Terror Bard - Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper
Fast Forward 1 : p dolce - Louise Marley
Fast Forward 1 : Jesus Christ Reanimator - Ken MacLeod
Fast Forward 1 : Solomon's Choice - Mike Resnick and Nancy Kress
Fast Forward 1 : Sanjeev and Robotwallah - Ian McDonald
Fast Forward 1 : A Smaller Government - Pamela Sargent
Fast Forward 1 : Pride - Mary A. Turzillo
Fast Forward 1 : I Caught Intelligence - Robyn Hitchcock
Fast Forward 1 : Settlements - George Zebrowski
Fast Forward 1 : The Hour of the Sheep - Gene Wolfe
Fast Forward 1 : Sideways from Now - John Meaney
Fast Forward 1 : Wikiworld - Paul Di Filippo



Dream deal.

3.5 out of 5


Wild for not to hold.

3.5 out of 5


Prenatal drug dose.

4 out of 5


Deathlok defense defeat predicted, Avenger!

4.5 out of 5


Philosophy of upgrades is of arguable effectiveness.

3 out of 5


Autoasphyxiation communicates alien information preservation.

4 out of 5


Interbreeding expansion remnant conversation.

3.5 out of 5


Tinker, tailor, soldier, squid.

4 out of 5


Planet pool is tough on the artificial eight ball.

3 out of 5


Past master possession discovery preemption.

3.5 out of 5


Second coming, blogging, shooting.

3 out of 5


Matriarchal memory madness or many mutant men? Stealing space shuttle solution at least requires no sea severing.

3.5 out of 5


Battletech comes and goes, but pizza always popular.

4 out of 5


Peewee politics could be smooshed.

3.5 out of 5


Sabretoothed green-eyed monster.

4.5 out of 5


Future or past, advice not taken well by greedy power mongers.

3.5 out of 5


Trust the lightsabre Luke, not the woman.

3.5 out of 5


A quantum of solace.

3.5 out of 5


Dickieworld, with groups the Coodabeens could definitely love. Trade cybernetwarstylin'.

4.5 out of 5