Rating: 
Summary: An eclectic and entertaining collection
Review: "Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction," edited by Al Sarrantonio, brings together 30 pieces of fiction of varying lengths; in his intro the editor breaks the pieces down as 22 short stories, 3 novellas, and 5 novelettes. Mainly science fiction, the collection also encompasses fantasy, horror and satire.In his intro, Sarrantonio notes that he was inspired by Harlan Ellison's important 1967 anthology "Dangerous Visions." Many of the stories in this book deal with adult themes: rape, addiction, bondage, war, etc. There is some graphic sex and violence, but I did not find these elements to be gratuitous. Some of the most memorable pieces in the collection include Laura Whitton's "Froggies," about the difficulty of interspecies communication; Harry Turtledove's "Black Tulip," a stylish tale set during the Soviet-Afghan conflict; Robert E. Vardeman's "Feedback," a stunning tale about telepaths and illicit sexuality; Rudy Rucker & John Shirley's "Pockets," a story of higher dimensions which draws on the classic "Flatland"; and Joe Haldeman's "Road Kill," about "a serial murderer with an interesting specialty." Other authors represented in the anthology include Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Joyce Carol Oates. Overall, this is a solid collection. There are some vivid characters, intriguing sci-fi concepts, and memorable scenes.
Rating: 
Summary: Hit and miss, but mostly a hit
Review: A good collection of 'speculative' fiction. Mainly sci-fi, but some just 'what if' type scenarios. The one about James Dean and Marilyn Monroe was just boring, and there was one less than a page long that seemed rather pointless. Overall though, good to try out some stories like this that you might not come across in mainstream science fiction. I definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Collection of Sci-Fi
Review: Great stuff, a little on the fantasy side at times. The title of the book "Redshift" apparently refers to the measure of planets and the solar systems moving apart from each other, and though I didn't see anything in the collection on that particular subject really, it's a great collection.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Collection of Sci-Fi
Review: Great stuff, a little on the fantasy side at times. The title of the book "Redshift" apparently refers to the measure of planets and the solar systems moving apart from each other, and though I didn't see anything in the collection on that particular subject really, it's a great collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Cutting Edge Is Not Always So Cutting
Review: Here's a collection that is a little too big for its own good. Of course the focus is on "extreme visions of speculative fiction," but what exactly is extreme is a matter of opinion. Just because something is different doesn't necessarily make it good or readable. This book does contain some very intriguing and enjoyable stories that are great in their uniqueness. Favorites include the submissions from Dan Simmons, Stephen Baxter, Robert E. Vardemann, Catherine Wells, and the newcomer Laura Whitton. Probably two-thirds of the stories here are successful for the reader looking for strange new horizons. However, there is a lack of editorial focus that leads to the inclusion of just too many sub-par stories, like the inane and pointless offering from Joyce Carol Oates (whose strengths clearly do NOT include speculation, as shown embarrassingly here), the self-indulgent story from Thomas M. Disch, the sappy and syrupy submission from David Morrell, or the completely unreadable closer by Neal Barrett Jr. Another mistake is most of the story introductions from Sarrantonio, who is a pretty good writer himself but is low in the sense of humor department. This collection could have been much leaner and meaner, and often proves that "cutting edge" isn't always cutting.
Rating: 
Summary: Style over (verly little) Substance
Review: I haven't finished the book yet. In what I've read I've seemed to see more gimmicry than ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Few Diamonds, Mostly Coal
Review: I was quite disappointed with this anthology. The stories written by acknowledged "masters" of the genre such as Le Guin, Disch, Kelly and Niven read like the kind of material these talented authors would never dream of submitting. Joyce Carol Oates "Commencement," her first sci-fi story, is extremely well-written but pointless. If I were the editor of this collection, I would have sent the majority of stories back to the authors for rewrites. There are a few gems, however. New writer Laura Whitton's vibrant and challenging "Froggies" shows us what might happen if we come to care for another alien species a little too much, and Rucker and Shirley's "Pockets" is both mind-bending and terrifying. I just wish Mr. Sarrantonio would have been a bit more discriminating in accepting stories for this collection. Gardner Dozois' yearly collection is the one to read; even on off years, his choices are better than these.
Rating:
Summary: Middle-of-the-road SF collection with some good stuff
Review: Ignore the hype -- this isn't a taboo-busting anthology, nor is it the best SF anthology of the past 25 years. But it is solid collection of stories. It's pretty thick, and their are several stinkers and some mediocre stuff, but there are several excellent stories, as well, including all the longer stories. Let's highlight the excellent stories here. The three longest stories include two novellas and a long novelette. The weakest novella, surprisingly enough, is Gene Wolfe's "Viewpoint," which is a gripping enough story, about a man given $100,000 -- if he can keep it while the government and ordinary people track him with the help of the media. It's a thrilling read, but it fails due to overly strident politics and a certain lack of plausibility. The other novella is Elizabeth Hand's "Cleopatra Brimstone." This is beautifully written, line by line, but it is way too long (as Sarrantonio all but admits in his introduction). Still, it's a very pleasing read, about a woman, studying insects in college, who goes to London to recuperate from a rape, and finds that she has developed a curious sort of alter ego with a strange power. The story is absorbing throughout, but the thematic payout and the telegraphed twist ending don't really reward 20,000-plus words. Dan Simmons' long opening novelette, "On K2 With Kanakaredes," is a satisfying story of mountain climbing with an inscrutable alien guest. Simmons both tells a gripping mountain adventure, and tells an interesting SF story about contact with aliens. Perhaps the strangest story in the book is the closing story, Neal Barrett, Jr.'s "Rhido Wars." It's difficult to precisely describe -- I'm not sure I understand it anyway. It seems to be the story of a group of humans under the control of some baboons, and a war between the main character's "tribe" and another "tribe," featuring "rhidos." The main focus is on the main character, a young man in charge of his four younger siblings. His love for his brothers and especially his sister, and his fatalistic acceptance of their position, are very well portrayed, in a bleak and moving tale. I was also taken with a couple of more satirical pieces. James Patrick Kelly's brief "Unique Visitors" takes a look at a person awakened sometime in the future, and his slow realization of his condition. Paul Di Filippo is at his most all out viciously satirical in "Weeping Walls," about a near future businesswoman who markets the title products to help people deal with their grief fashionably. Also fine are "The Building," another of Ursula K. Le Guin's excellent essays in "anthropological" SF, with a subtle moral point; and Thomas M. Disch's "In Xanadu," an extended riff on death and cyberspace, built on references to Coleridge's poem. Another interesting take on death and the afterlife is P.D. Cacek's "Belief," which familiarly enough shows a soldier sent to the after-life to continue fighting -- but who he is fighting is a well-sprung surprise. And, finally, Stephen Baxter's "In the Un-Black" is a nearly incomprehensible but still evocative tale of the changes humans have inflected on themselves to fight their extended war with the Xeelee. So, even if Redshift doesn't live up to the editor's hype, and even if it features quite a few stories that aren't really up to snuff, it is a long book, and the best stories in it are certainly worth the price of the book, and worth your reading attention.
Rating:
Summary: Middle-of-the-road SF collection with some good stuff
Review: Ignore the hype -- this isn't a taboo-busting anthology, nor is it the best SF anthology of the past 25 years. But it is solid collection of stories. It's pretty thick, and their are several stinkers and some mediocre stuff, but there are several excellent stories, as well, including all the longer stories. Let's highlight the excellent stories here. The three longest stories include two novellas and a long novelette. The weakest novella, surprisingly enough, is Gene Wolfe's "Viewpoint," which is a gripping enough story, about a man given $100,000 -- if he can keep it while the government and ordinary people track him with the help of the media. It's a thrilling read, but it fails due to overly strident politics and a certain lack of plausibility. The other novella is Elizabeth Hand's "Cleopatra Brimstone." This is beautifully written, line by line, but it is way too long (as Sarrantonio all but admits in his introduction). Still, it's a very pleasing read, about a woman, studying insects in college, who goes to London to recuperate from a rape, and finds that she has developed a curious sort of alter ego with a strange power. The story is absorbing throughout, but the thematic payout and the telegraphed twist ending don't really reward 20,000-plus words. Dan Simmons' long opening novelette, "On K2 With Kanakaredes," is a satisfying story of mountain climbing with an inscrutable alien guest. Simmons both tells a gripping mountain adventure, and tells an interesting SF story about contact with aliens. Perhaps the strangest story in the book is the closing story, Neal Barrett, Jr.'s "Rhido Wars." It's difficult to precisely describe -- I'm not sure I understand it anyway. It seems to be the story of a group of humans under the control of some baboons, and a war between the main character's "tribe" and another "tribe," featuring "rhidos." The main focus is on the main character, a young man in charge of his four younger siblings. His love for his brothers and especially his sister, and his fatalistic acceptance of their position, are very well portrayed, in a bleak and moving tale. I was also taken with a couple of more satirical pieces. James Patrick Kelly's brief "Unique Visitors" takes a look at a person awakened sometime in the future, and his slow realization of his condition. Paul Di Filippo is at his most all out viciously satirical in "Weeping Walls," about a near future businesswoman who markets the title products to help people deal with their grief fashionably. Also fine are "The Building," another of Ursula K. Le Guin's excellent essays in "anthropological" SF, with a subtle moral point; and Thomas M. Disch's "In Xanadu," an extended riff on death and cyberspace, built on references to Coleridge's poem. Another interesting take on death and the afterlife is P.D. Cacek's "Belief," which familiarly enough shows a soldier sent to the after-life to continue fighting -- but who he is fighting is a well-sprung surprise. And, finally, Stephen Baxter's "In the Un-Black" is a nearly incomprehensible but still evocative tale of the changes humans have inflected on themselves to fight their extended war with the Xeelee. So, even if Redshift doesn't live up to the editor's hype, and even if it features quite a few stories that aren't really up to snuff, it is a long book, and the best stories in it are certainly worth the price of the book, and worth your reading attention.
Rating:
Summary: All new stories of speculative fiction
Review: Redshift isn't just another gathering of much-printed favorites, but presents all new stories of speculative fiction by such notables as LeGuin, Niven, Turtledove, Baxter and more. The all-star line-up of fantasy and science fiction writers paired with all-new stories assures that any fan of the genre will have fine reading here.
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