Genometry (Ace Science Fiction) [Paperback]

Jack Dann (Editor), Gardner Dozois (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Ace Science Fiction | Publication Date: January 2, 2001

In this thought-provoking anthology, eleven cutting-edge science fiction writers explore both the promise and peril of genetic engineering.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ace (January 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044100797X
• ISBN-13: 978-0441007974
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,775,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting tales of genetic manipulation, February 14, 2002

By 

John Peter O'connor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genometry (Ace Science Fiction) (Paperback)

One of a series of themed anthologies assembled by Dann and Dozois, this collection brings together ten stories written between 1984 and 1999 plus one tale from 1961. The stories are all related to the theme of directed biological mutations and they cover a range of topics from viruses designed to introduce new genetic material into humans to complete engineered ecosystems.

Each story is introduced by the editors with a capsule biography and reading list for the story's author. Those notes are useful but if you read more than a couple of these collections you will start to see the same introductions cropping up as the editors tend to assemble about two thirds of the content from a group of a dozen or so writers.

For me, the highlight of the book was the last story, Cordwainer Smith's "A Planet Named Shayol" which had the sort of ghastly desolation in its atmosphere that I normally associate with Harlan Ellison at his best. It tells about a group of criminals sent for eternity to a punishment planet where they are used to grow spare body parts for transplant surgery.

Brian Stableford's "The Pipes of Pan" is another fine story dealing with immortality and the problem of people wanting children in a world where you cannot allow children to grow up because you would then have too many people.

With other tales from the likes of Paul J.McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Greg Egan, John Brunner and Bruce Sterling, you can expect to find a lot of good things to read. I rate this as one of the better books in the series and recommend it to any fan of SF short stories. If you enjoy this book and hard SF stories in general, try to get hold of a copy of Nanotech and after that Space Soldiers and Future War in the same series.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting diversity, June 19, 2005

By 

ostawookiee "ostawookiee" (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Genometry (Ace Science Fiction) (Paperback)

The main theme that holds the short stories in this book together is genetics. I'm familiar enough with genetics, that going into the book, I expected a certain set of probable story plots. However, I was very happy to find almost none of my preconceived set used. Each story was completely different. Some of them were surreal and some were in futuristic universes that took a good deal of imagination to put together. Genetics wasn't necessarily the focus of each story, but rather just the foundation.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This collection focuses on a myriad of possible futures, May 18, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genometry (Ace Science Fiction) (Paperback)

Breakthroughs in genetic engineering may change the hearts of minds of mankind, and this collection focuses on a myriad of possible futures. From Cordwainer Smith's haunting A Planet Named Shayol, where criminals are infused with organ-growing viruses until an abomination too horrible for even its inhuman keeper is presented to change their world, to John Brunner's Good With Rice mystery about a new plant species with a promising food future, this provides many twists and turns.