Rating: 
Summary: Simmons does it again!
Review: There isn't a single thing Simmons isn't capable of writing. His novels have touched nearly every single genre - horror, dark humour, sci-fi, fantasy, action, hard-boiled crime... Simmons is able to dip his pen in every type of story that fancies him, and always excels at it. His new collection, Worlds Enough and Time, contains five science-fiction stories. But Simmons isn't able to simply write the typical sci-fi yarn. What he does is go deeper than most authors do to get a meaningful, powerful and always affecting final product.The collection's best story is also its opener. Looking For Kelly Dahl is a ghost story in which a man is confronted by one of his old students. After a suicide attempt, the narrator awakens in an empty world where the only two inhabitants are himself and Kelly Dahl, a disturbed young woman who wants something out of him. What that is, however, isn't clear until the last pages of the story. Affecting, touching and often terrifying, Looking For Kelly Dahl is an amazing story that fully displays Simmons at his very best. I also really enjoyed the stories The Ninth Av and On K2 with Kanakaredes. In the first story, history repeats itslef with the earth's distant Jewish descendents are faced with yet a new period of assimilation and darkness. In the second story, three men who are set on climbing to the top of K2 are forced by the government to bring an alien ambassador along for the ride. Both stories are widly original and thought-provoking. Fans of Simmon's amazingly popular Hyperion series will be happy with the story Orphans of the Helix, which takes place in the Hyperion universe. Although a little slow moving, the story pushes just the right buttons. And the final climax is just perfect. The only story that truly disappointed me is the closing piece, called The End Of Gravity. Well, it's not really a story, but really a film scriptment. And that's exactly how it reads: like an outline. I'm not a big fan of present-tense narratives, like this story makes the use of. And I can't say that the story itself provoked the same feelings the other four stories in this collections unearthed in me. All in all, Worlds Enough and Time displays Dan Simmons at his very best. These stories, although all falling in the sci-fi genre, should please fans of the genre but also the people who do not particularly like science fiction. Because these stories are very litteray. If you read between the lines, you'll always find more than is displayed on the page. And that is what makes an author stand above all others.
Rating:
Summary: One World Is Not Enough For This Imagination
Review: Those even marginally familiar with Simmons work should know that he can write in many different genres quite well, but that his first pieces that really attracted attention were science fiction, and for my money, this is still the genre where Simmons is at his best. This is a collection of some of his shorter science fiction works, of a length that often gets relegated to the 'magazine publishable only' pile; too short for a stand alone book, too long to be included in most short story collections. So this collection is a nice treat, allowing you to see multiple samples of his writing at a length that gives enough room for full development of his ideas without having to slog through several thousand pages of an equivalent number of novels. "Looking for Kelly Dahl" is probably the best piece here, a strongly imagined tale of an alcoholic suicidal teacher who has a very odd meeting of the minds with one of his former students. The story highlights Simmons' skills at characterization while maintaining a very literary air, a deeply psychological story that emphasizes just how great the rift is between two people really trying to know each other. "On K2 with Kanakaredes" is another excellent piece, taking a standard mountain climbing story and elevating it to a story of earned respect for all intelligences. Some very strong characterization for both the narrator and the alien, and Simmons' own respect for the great mountains of this world comes through very clearly. "The Ninth Av" is a rather chilling story, as the remaining 'humans', all of Jewish descent, wait for the 'final fax'. Interspersed with a re-telling of the final days of Scott polar expedition, the net result is very depressing, a tale that mines the dark places of the human spirit. "Orphans of the Helix" and "The End of Gravity" I found to be rather minor pieces, not on the same level as the other three stories, though still enjoyable reads. Simmons' style in all of these stories is probably quite a bit more literate than is common in science fiction, with layered themes and a mosaic feel of more being present than meets the obvious eye. This is strongly reinforced by Simmons' introduction to each of these stories, which often give some of their genesis and his thoughts on what he was trying to achieve in these works. But in this case, I think the introductions are somewhat superfluous, and in some cases actively detract from the ability to read these stories and see just what images and thoughts the stories evoke, unsullied by prior conceptions. I'd definitely recommend reading the stories first, and only reading the introductions afterwards if you feel the need. A strong collection, with three of the stories belonging in 'excellent' class, and a fine showcase for the diversity of ideas that Simmons brings to the field. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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