Not of Woman Born

Rating:
Summary: Birth of a mind-bending anthology of sf luminaries
Review: Fasten your seatbelt for a wild ride through the ideas of some of science fiction's best selling authors--thematically published under the concept of alternative conception. Each story challenges the reader with both the suspension of belief, and the creation of new beliefs in what today may seem impossible, each bringing a different moral tone and attitude that stretches your mind, always asking "what if?...." Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: In The Future You May Send A Mothers' Day Card To Yourself
Review: If you think the abortion debate is out of control now, wait and see what reproductive shockers are on the way.

Constance Ash has assembled some of the finest minds in scifi to explore the possibilities of procreation. This collection leaves no method unexplored and no problem well enough alone.

Ash delivers a chilling tale of survival of the fittest, willing or not, in "The Leopard's Garden." Sage Walker keeps the blood cold with a tale of genetic manipulation and the cycle of life.

But, all is not grim and serious. "One Day At Central Convenience Mall" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman takes readers on a tour of the future AND provides plenty of time to shop.

The stories are too numerous and too full to cover in this space. Time for you to apply your own brain to the subject.

And, remember, it's only fiction. For now.

Rating:
Summary: Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmm
Review: Mrs. Ash has done it again with her energized portrayal of the future and this time she brought friends. In the time where talk of cloning has made people wonder what if scientists did this... Not of Woman Born has hit the target.

Rating:
Summary: Rating: overall "A" -- best original anthology I've seen thi
Review: Theme anthologies sometimes suffer from too narrow a focus and/or carbon-copy stories. Not this one -- the authors interpreted the theme loosely enough so that I didn't lose interest. Walter Jon Williams takes a killer look at cybernetic family values in "Daddy's World", and Jack McDevitt delivers the most interesting look at gengineering one's progeny since Greg Egan's wonderfully sly "Eugene," in "Dead in the Water." McDevitt's mother-to-be is particularly well-drawn. A+ stories both; look for them on the award ballots next year. "A" stories: Silverberg's 1957 "There Was an Old Woman" is an amazingly fresh look at cloned lives, even 40 years on. Nina Kiriki Hoffman takes a sharp look at future retail clerks in "One Day at Central Convenience Mall." New author Janni Simner cleverly inverts bringing up baby in "Raising Jenny", and Richard Parks takes a close look at cloning's impact on showbiz in "Doppels." Plus "A-" (= flawed but very good) stories by Sage Walker, Susan Palwick, Patricia McKillip, Wm. F Wu, Doyle & Macdonald, and Kara Dalkey. Curiously, the only weak story in the bunch is by the editor. Overall: 2 "A+", 4 "A", 6 "A-", 1 "B+", and 1 "B" story.

Rating:
Summary: Rating: overall "A" -- best original anthology I've seen thi
Review: Theme anthologies sometimes suffer from too narrow a focus and/or carbon-copy stories. Not this one -- the authors interpreted the theme loosely enough so that I didn't lose interest. Walter Jon Williams takes a killer look at cybernetic family values in "Daddy's World", and Jack McDevitt delivers the most interesting look at gengineering one's progeny since Greg Egan's wonderfully sly "Eugene," in "Dead in the Water." McDevitt's mother-to-be is particularly well-drawn. A+ stories both; look for them on the award ballots next year. "A" stories: Silverberg's 1957 "There Was an Old Woman" is an amazingly fresh look at cloned lives, even 40 years on. Nina Kiriki Hoffman takes a sharp look at future retail clerks in "One Day at Central Convenience Mall." New author Janni Simner cleverly inverts bringing up baby in "Raising Jenny", and Richard Parks takes a close look at cloning's impact on showbiz in "Doppels." Plus "A-" (= flawed but very good) stories by Sage Walker, Susan Palwick, Patricia McKillip, Wm. F Wu, Doyle & Macdonald, and Kara Dalkey. Curiously, the only weak story in the bunch is by the editor. Overall: 2 "A+", 4 "A", 6 "A-", 1 "B+", and 1 "B" story.