13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read - a strong collection of stories by new writers, October 7, 2004
This review is from: L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. 20 (Paperback)
Enjoyed all of the stories in this collection - there were no duds. Most were engrossing, well written, and had novel ideas as any good sci-fi story should. Primarily, they were good reads. My disclaimer, I am married to one of the writers (the last story), so I may be somewhat biased in my judgment
Monkey See, Monkey Deduce - Starts with a bang and is a great first story in the series. Fun, charming, and packed with action (like E.T.). Presents the world through the eyes of a young, male, monkey very well. I especially liked the passage where a woman scientist introduces herself. "His noses sniffed... His Alpha nose picked up the sure sign of estrus. He puffed out his chests to impress her... 'Hi, Caps.' She bared her teeth, but he did not feel threatened."
Bottomless - An engrossing story about a simple goat herding boy who happens to live in a world that appears to be a bottomless pit. The boy is in for multiples shocks of a lifetime when he falls... A very well told yarn with strong character development and smooth transitions.
Flotsam - An extremely well told story about an alien race that resembles an amphibian. Their leader is enslaved to humans out of his feelings of moral obligation. This is a very sensuous story. I can feel his keen longing for the water under my fingernails as he sits marooned on a human ship resenting his bondage.
Kinship - Although well written, was not one of my favorites. Extended scenes where Alexander is jacked into the net and approaches a bright light source (as in Nuromancer, Snow Crash) seems to have been overdone. Also did not agree with the seeming moral of the story, that physical existence was more important than cerebral existence.
In Memory - Presents an interesting world where a person can scan-in his entire brain along with his personality and memory into a computer. A geek who has uploaded himself is presented with an interesting problem when he discovers his memory bank is faulty... but then the story seems to end abruptly just as it was getting good. Please, I am waiting for a little bit more!
The Key - still reading this one. Reminds me of Talisman.
Cancilleri's Law - about a young man entranced by a woman frozen in time. This also seemed too short. The story behind the woman that will explain her reaction and her fate when she is brought into the future may need more development.
Sleep Sweetly, Junie Carter - a feminine story about the wife of an officer, who suffers through long waits (or sleeps) during her husband's trips. There are catty scenes and fashion screams. But my favorite part was Junie's junkie like addiction to the sleep chamber. I almost think that the exquisitely physical longing described might be modeled after the writer's real-life experience with a drug stronger than pot -- but I think it's just being a good writer.
Conversation with a Mechanical Horse - really enjoyed this story. Reminds me of Princess Bride.
The Weapons of the Lord Are Not Carnal - I am still puzzling over the moral of this story. Is the monk's soul really dammed or does he just think he is dammed. (He may not be dammed because he has become the "incorruptible seed" that will spread God's good works.) It's humorous that the monk suspects his soul may be dammed when he stops feeling emotional torment. FYI, the writer plays in a heavy-metal band.
Sunrunners - a good, clean, fun in the tradition of Asimov's short stories. There are pockets of rich minerals to mine, moon rovers to romp around in, and a beautiful girl to win. No complicated emotions, and not too much danger.
Shipwoman - one of my favorite stories. It is really sad the author did not live to see her story published. It conveyed the world-view according to humans who have evolved on an oceanic world very well. I liked the people's names. At first I thought they all had odd names, and then realized why. The final scene, where the newly adapted shipwoman desperately tries to escape the huge air bubble descending ominously upon her, is very moving.
Last Days of the Mahdi - a spy thriller set on the throes of a religious war. The descriptions in this story are just beautiful. The spy who uses myriad of disguises, his subconscious religious responses caused by his training (and part of his disguise), the sites and sounds, are wonderfully done. In the end, I felt as if I can see with my own eyes the sunrise in the holy city that could be the fulfillment of the Prophecy.
Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats - clearly more of a fantasy than science fiction. It has a lot of dream sequences that later blend in with reality. The descriptions are pleasing, languid, and sensuous as well as modestly erotic.
The Plastic Soul of a Note - a strong story with a poignant ending and therefore a good last story in the series. At its best when describing how the pianist experiences his music. His description of idée fix as like an elusive lover that goes away but keeps on returning, each time a little transformed; his visceral reaction to the beauty of a Bosendorfer; his agonizing doubts about whether his music can still soar; and his final performance of Chopin Preludes where he describes his hand movements and the different mood and phrasing of the pieces -- were beautiful. Having played both piano and violin during my college days, I could readily feel what the pianist was feeling and feel my fingers move involuntarily during parts of the story.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visions of wonder, danger, and adventure, August 2, 2005
This review is from: L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. 20 (Paperback)
"L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XX," edited by Algis Budrys, collects 15 tales from the Writers of the Future contest for 2003. The collection is illustrated by winners of the Illustrators of the Future International Illustration Program. Interspersed among the stories are essays on writing, art, and science fiction by L. Ron Hubbard, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Silverberg, Vincent di Fate, and Kevin J. Anderson. The stories fall into the genres of science fiction and fantasy. The selections that impressed me the most are as follows.
"Monkey See, Monkey Deduce," by Jonathan Laden: a powerful story about an experiment in scientifically enhanced intelligence. This story gripped me from its great opening line: "He screamed from all his mouths, then covered all his ears." "Bottomless," by Luc Reid: follows a hero in his travels through a world that exists along the edges of a seemingly bottomless pit, lit by a "Sun Thread" suspended in the center of the pit and running its length. It's a richly imagined world, with compellingly rendered geography and culture. "In Memory," by Eric James Stone: about a brilliant mathematician whose consciousness is duplicated and projected into a supercomputer. This is a powerful, disturbing story that deals with memory, time, and family ties.
Other standouts: "The Weapons of the Lord Are Not Carnal," by Andrew Tisbert: follows a cyborg whose spiritual quest takes him to a friary on Mars. "SunRunners," by Matthew Champine: an exciting adventure that imagines Earth's moon as a sort of wild west frontier. "Last Days of the Mahdi," by Tom Pendergrass: Set in Egypt, this suspense tale involves genetically engineered spies. It's a vividly written story that draws on Islamic culture and prophecy. Among the essays, I particularly enjoyed Kevin J. Anderson's "False Summits," which uses mountain climbing as a metaphor for a writing career. Overall, I found this to be a fine anthology. The collection as a whole features truly compelling themes and characters and takes the reader to some truly fantastic places. I especially recommend this collection to those who love science fiction.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Featuring 15 amazing, original stories, November 13, 2004
This review is from: L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. 20 (Paperback)
Writers Of The Future: Volume XX is the 20th anniversary edition of the L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future anthology. Featuring 15 amazing, original stories showcasing rising creative talent in speculative fiction, all winners of the Writers of the Future contest, Writers Of The Future: Volume XX is an anthology that transcends imagination and transports the reader into the most mind-blowing and exciting new worlds. All the pieces within have never before been published, and the professional judges who screen the submissions include such well-known story weavers as Orson Scott Card, Larry Niven, Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, Frederik Phol, and much more. Award-winning black-and-white illustrations, also judged for their expertise, enhance the mass-market edition of this world-spanning and immensely entertaining collection.
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