I Remember the Future [Paperback]

Michael A. Burstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

The award-nominated stories in this collection will bring memories of the future fl ooding back. Two new stories and all-new afterwords enliven the past with a touch of the present and that which is yet to come. You don't need a collection of antique spaceships or a carefully calibrated time machine to share the memories of the final Holocaust survivor. You don't have to jump through the gate between universes in search of a lost friend. All you have to do is open your eyes. You'll remember the future. The future remembers you.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This hard SF collection wears its heart on its sleeve, along with the various passions (the Holocaust, education, moral dilemmas) of its author. Characters must reconcile their rational objectives with their emotional judgment, intervening to save history's victims ("Time Ablaze") or pleading for humanity's ability to grow up ("Decisions"). The writing is often colorless, like the "transparent" prose of the classic SF writers Burstein idolizes, and the tone is elegiac and nostalgic, but the feelings are real if awkwardly expressed. Original material adds to one connected series and completes Burstein's homages to Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke. Burstein may be too close to his models to keep younger readers satisfied, but older fans will admire his dedication to remembering and honoring the past. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Apex Publications (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981639062
• ISBN-13: 978-0981639062
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,218,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael A. Burstein, winner of the 1997 Campbell Award for Best New Writer, has earned ten Hugo nominations and four Nebula nominations for his short fiction, collected in I Remember the Future. Burstein lives with his wife Nomi and their twin daughters in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an elected Town Meeting Member and Library Trustee. When not writing, he edits middle and high school Science textbooks. He has two degrees in Physics and attended the Clarion Workshop. More information on Burstein and his work can be found on his webpage, http://www.mabfan.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding collection of science fiction stories, November 9, 2008

By 

Leah Suslovich (Brookline, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Remember the Future (Paperback)

This collection of entertaining, thought-provoking, and accessible science fiction stories should captivate any fan of the genre. "I Remember the Future" gathers some of Michael Burstein's best stories (most of which were nominated for the Nebula and/or Hugo awards) along with a few new ones. My personal favorites are Kaddish for the Last Survivor, TeleAbsence, and Sanctuary, but I expect any one of these stories will be someone's favorite.

The complete list of stories:

* Kaddish for the Last Survivor: As the last Holocaust survivor lies dying, reporters and Holocaust deniers crowd around his home, while his granddaughter comes to visit with her non-Jewish boyfriend. This is probably Michael Burstein's most famous story, and justifiably so. In the afterword, the author includes the original ending for the story, which was fascinating to read - especially as it contained a personal result for the protagonist that, from reading the story as printed, I had assumed to be the opposite.

* TeleAbsence: A black kid from the inner city sneaks into an expensive virtual reality school.

* TelePresence: A murder mystery set in a virtual reality school, years after the events in "TeleAbsence."

* Broken Symmetry, Absent Friends, Reality Check, Empty Spaces: These four stories form the "Broken Symmetry" series, about a leak formed between two parallel universes and its repercussions for all the people involved. "Empty Spaces" is a new story in the series, written for this collection.

* Spaceships: In the far future, when humans no longer have bodies and exist as immortal presences in space, Kel has isolated himself from the rest of Humanity. He also has an odd hobby: he likes to collect spaceships....

* Decisions: An intriguing answer to the question of why, if there are aliens out there, we haven't heard from them yet.

* Time Ablaze: A heartbreaking time-travel story that focuses on the General Slocum tragedy in turn-of-the-century New York City.

* Seventy-Five Years: The only science-fiction story I've ever read that's about the US Census.

* Sanctuary: An alien fleeing religious persecution seeks sanctuary in a Catholic chapel.

* I Remember the Future: A dying science-fiction writer is in for quite a surprise.

* Cosmic Corkscrew: A time-traveler journeys to 1938 to make a copy of Isaac Asimov's first story.

* Paying it Forward: A fan writes an email to a dead writer - and receives a reply.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand, classic-style SF with big ideas and a big heart, November 6, 2008

By 

Robert J. Sawyer "Science Fiction writer" (Mississauga, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Remember the Future (Paperback)

Michael A. Burstein is an Isaac Asimov for the new millennium, producing award-nominated story after award-nominated story in the grand Asimovian tradition: straight-forward prose, clever ideas, and a shining humanity that makes one proud to be part of our species. My personal favorite is "Kaddish for the Last Survivor," but all the stories gathered here are terrific reminders of what SF is capable of in the hands of someone who genuinely loves the genre and knows its history. Bravo!

4.0 out of 5 stars can't wait to see more from this gifted, relatively young writer, February 6, 2011

By 

real-life momma "R. Klempner" (L.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Remember the Future (Paperback)

I'm an Orthodox Jew who has just recently started writing this genre. There are many tricky elements to tackle. How do you deal with alien life, the distant future, multiple-universes, etc. that if mishandled could conflict with Jewish belief? I was looking for someone who might have tackled this task ahead of me.

I'm not sure that Michael Burstein handles the above problems in the way I was looking for (I think he largely ignores the discrepencies between religious beliefs he may hold and his writing...which is okay, since he is writing fiction, after all), but I'm still very happy that I read the stories contained in _I Remember the Future_. The best, I think are the title piece, "Sanctuary", and the interrelated sequence of "Broken Symmetry," "Absent Friends", "Reality Check," and "Empty Spaces" (Which I really think ought to be expanded into a full-length novel). Those stories show not only intriguing SF premises, but the best handling of character.

Each story is followed by an author's note, and these are quite illuminating. Burstein draws his topics from many places, including his background in physics. His stories are always thought-provoking. I didn't always agree with the resolutions, but I don't have to...the point is that I thought about them, and I wouldn't have if not reading his work.

I will be recommending this book to friends and look forward to seeing more of Burstein's work in the future.