Customer Reviews

Futures from Nature

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

 

 

The 100 "speculative fictions", each 950 words or less, come from the back page of "Nature". As a general reader with an interest but no expertize in science, I've often puzzled over why such light weight fare would be included with the heavy science that populates the journal's pages.

Seeing them collected in one place, though, answered a number of my questions. For one thing, the stories were written by a wide variety of authors: SF pros, working scientists, science writers, even a 12 year old daughter of a scientist. Many of the authors are famous -- I've read more serious tomes and articles written by many of them. All of them represent an attempt to predict the future in one way or another.

The quality is variable -- some are absolute gems, some are just the germs of what might be really good stories in a more practiced hand. There are positives: all hold at least some interest; all of them are so short that you won't waste more than a couple of minutes; many provide insight into the imagination of working scientists,and all provide models of how to write good (and not so good) Amazon Reviews.

Henry Gee the editor explains what you can expect: "We have proper stories as well as spoof newspaper reports, correspondence and book reviews. The style varies from space opera to cyberpunk. Quite a lot of the pieces are humorous: a Futures piece, at between 850 and 950 words, is the right length for a good joke. ... It gives those who have not been following the column a chance to catch up. Regular readers ... can enjoy a little nostalgia. To the first group we say, live long and prosper. To the rest of you, it is klaatu barada nikto."

The collection is great fun on the lighter side of science.

Robert C. Ross 2008

Having read these quite short (a page or two) stories when they came out in Nature, I can say you will enjoy them. I don't recall any that struck me with a deep fascination, but on the other end very few ended up in my mind's recycling bin. The novelty is in having so many "short short" stories compiled, allowing you to read something even with very little time on your hands, and in the nature of their authors, who weren't all science-fiction writers.

My 14 year old son really liked this book. Small enough bites that you can digest at one sitting, but challenging as well.

These are mostly 1-2 page stories, quick reads, but thought-provoking, and it introduces (me to) a lot of authors.

This is a great book to dip into for a few minutes at a time. The pieces are short enough to finish in a few minutes each and they (mostly) provide decent enough food for thought. It's perfect for those times when you just need to stay somewhat engaged with your surroundings (waiting around for something to happen) but risk dying of boredom or frustration if you don't do something.

Don't think I could face reading the whole thing in one shot though....

Very interesting for those who like science fiction. The very short format causes most of the futures to be vignettes.