“Search Engine”, by Mary Rosenblum

Another story that mixes sci-fi and noir; in the near future, Aman is an accomplished profiler, someone who tracks people by building profiles according to the trail they unwittingly leave (through purchases, or by exchanging services) online. When a new case gets into his conscience, he deviates from his usual cold demeanor, triggering a series …

“The Calorie Man”, by Paolo Bacigalupi

This is the second story by Bacigalupi I have read; the first was "The People of Sand and Slag", and together they make abundantly clear that this author is very proficient at painting dystopic futures, specifically those in which humanity has to make great sacrifices in order to cope with catastrophic changes in the environment, …

“Riding the White Bull”, by Kaitlín R. Kiernan.

Now this is a short story that grabs the reader by the throat and never lets them go. The plot keeps its cards very close to its chest, delightfully unraveling in bits and starts, jumping back and forth across its own timeline, and in and out of dreams and reality without warning or continuity, thusly …

“Beyond the Aquila Rift”, by Alastair Reynolds encases why I find his writing brilliance so frustrating

The story follows Thom, captain of a starship in a universe where humanity uses interstellar gates left over by an ancient and unknown civilization to traverse the space between the stars (and that's as far as the parallel with Mass Effect goes). The use of this technology is handy, but not without danger: beside human …

“Slow Life”, by Michael Swanwick and the need to re-use plot points.

The first point I want to make is that I very much enjoyed reading "Slow Life", the 2002 short story by Michael Swanwick. His prose is on point as always, his science remains balanced on that edge between too much and not enough jargon, where it scaffolds the story's suspension of belief without intruding into …

An Evening’s Honest Peril, by Marc Laidlaw: a fun romp with a warning

As an avid gamer, one thing that I particularly enjoy in this short story is Laidlaw's narration, which only half-heartedly attempts to disguise the truth behind the setting, ie. that this is a videogame; half-heartedly, but deliberately. A big part of the appeal rests in how poorly your typical multiplayer hack-and-slash game translates across mediums; …

Mars Is No Place for Children, by Mary Turzillo is a bit disappointing.

I have recently read "Mars Is No Place for Children", and I found it slightly disappointing. I can see what Mary Turzillo was going for: the abnegation and fighting spirit necessary to survive this new and harsher frontier (and the protagonist and her family, while being South Africans, definitely draw their inspiration from the literary …

The Very Pulse of the Machine, by Michael Swanwick

Back from a lengthy holiday break with some insights on the fascinating "The Very Pulse of the Machine". The Jupiter moon of Io has long fascinated science fiction, and in this short story a first landing gone wrong offers a look at how its surface might look like. Or does it? As the pages unfold, …

And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side, by James Tiptree, Jr.

I have put up my review of this fantastic story by James Tiptree, Jr. - I am aware this is a very peculiar pen name, see the link to wikipedia for more information! For how fundamentally flawed the basic premise of this story is, I have the highest regard for it. It exploits the medium …

Swarm by Bruce Sterling

I have written down some thoughts on the very interesting "Swarm", by Bruce Sterling. Captain-Doctor Afriel travels to a different star to attempt to study and exploit the only mindless space-faring race known to humans. But as he will discover, the Swarm is not as defenseless to intelligence as he might have thought... A tight-paced …