The Good New Stuff : Adventure in SF in the Grand Tradition

Rating:
Summary: About as good as the run-of-the-mill old stuff
Review: ... fun escapist reading for a lazy Sunday. The collection is dominated by feel-good stories whose ideas and plot twists are familiar, often predictable.

Buoyed by a few charismatic selections (like Janet Kagan's "The Return of the Kangaroo Rex") which make up for their shortcomings by going at a good healthy clip and keeping the laughs coming in. William Jon Williams' "Prayers on the Wind" and George Turner's "Flowering Mandrake" offer moderately interesting twists on the tradition of the theocratic and the First Contact story respectively. I had been particularly interested in reading Vernor Vinge's novella "The Blabber," but it goes like the literary equivalent of a clip show: if you've already read "A Fire Upon the Deep" it's all too obvious, and if you haven't the story will probably seem pointless.)

For more consistently innovative picks but a bit more of a tendency toward name-brand authors, check out James Gunn's "Road to SF" series.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: I started this book convinced that I don't really care for the adventure story/space opera genre of science fiction. Now, I strongly believe that ANYBODY interested in science fiction should read this book. Almost everyone of these stories pulled me into a world of wonder, adventure, and suspense. I had a great time.

Gardner Dozois's short essays for each story, with a short biography and book/story list for each author, are not to be missed, either. Now, I have a great listing of books that I can't wait to explore, to Amazon's benefit and the further depletion of my wallet.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: I started this book convinced that I don't really care for the adventure story/space opera genre of science fiction. Now, I strongly believe that ANYBODY interested in science fiction should read this book. Almost everyone of these stories pulled me into a world of wonder, adventure, and suspense. I had a great time.

Gardner Dozois's short essays for each story, with a short biography and book/story list for each author, are not to be missed, either. Now, I have a great listing of books that I can't wait to explore, to Amazon's benefit and the further depletion of my wallet.