Product Description
After the success of 2001:A Space Odyssey, Clarke became perhaps the best known living Sci-Fi writer in the world.Using his inherent sense of humor and personal flair for adventure, Clarke combines the worlds of science and literature.The three award-winning stories in this volume take the listener into the realms of space adventure, science fantasy, and interstellar irony.Also contains The Star and The 9 Billion Names of God. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unexpectedly Captivating
At the beginning of Green Mars, a plucky group of adventurers gathers to climb Olympus Mons, the highest mountain on Mars (indeed, the book says, in the entire solar system). Eileen Monday is the spirited and competent expedition leader, but we see most of the journey through the eyes of Roger Claybourne, who is recently retired from his post as Minister of the Interior of the government of Mars. Will it be a daring climb, full of danger and despair? You betcha.

The book is thoroughly proficient in technical detail and captivating in the story of the climb, but what really drew me in was the larger story of the human experience. In the book, humans have extended their lifetimes to hundreds of years. With this extension, however, the maximum useful limit of human memory has been surpassed. In other words, though they can live very long times, most people can only remember specific experiences for a hundred or so years. People, places, and events of experience in the more distant past are simply forgotten. The limit varies from person to person, of course, and some people are blessed-or cursed-with being able to remember longer, sometimes far longer, than others. Roger is one of those people, and because of it he spends most of the book in a quiet gloom. And that is precisely what drew me in.

Roger, we are told, spent his career as an advocate of conserving Mars, of preserving its wild state. His opponents were in favor of terraforming it to fit the use of humans, and they slowly and steadily got their way. Now, the people around him can't remember Mars the way it used to be. They don't recognize what they've lost, but even more significantly, to them, Mars has always been green. They don't remember the arguments waged to preserve or develop Mars-arguments they themselves had with Roger, who can remember it all too clearly. Now, everyone is happy to find themselves on a green planet so full of potential, and only Roger remembers the pristine beauty that was lost.

Even worse, Eileen doesn't remember that she and Roger were graduate students together, and that they were more than friends-they were lovers.

Yes, the technical details of the climb and the harrowing storms and all were exciting, but what really held my attention was Roger's struggle to find peace with himself, how his ability to remember the past made him alone in a sea of humanity.

Kim Stanley Robinson is a successful science fiction writer, and he certainly doesn't need my endorsement, but I will give it nonetheless. Green Mars is a thoroughly absorbing book, with both the technical and human details imagined and presented in beautiful prose. Now that I've discovered Green Mars, I intend to explore the rest of Mars through the works of Kim Stanley Robinson. You should join me there.
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Product Description
For the first time in one volume: the collected short fiction of the award-winning author of Red Mars.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Some really good writing -- buttressed, unfortunately, by some thoroughly mediocre stuff
Robinson is one of those authors whose novels are nearly always first-rate -- especially the award-winning "Mars" trilogy -- but whose short stories don't always repay the effort of reading them. This collection is typical in that respect. It's also not true to say he's necessarily a science fiction writer, even though that's how he, and this volume in particular, are marketed. One of the best in the lot, for instance, is the very first one: "The Part of Us that Loves," which is about daily events in the existence of the community orchestra in a small town near Chicago whose origins were evangelical and utopian. And that's it. Excellent writing and interesting characters and a nice little plot-turn -- but not an alien nor a rocket ship in the bunch. "The Translator" is more what one might expect, about a human on a distant world trying to act as go-between for two other species, and also pretty good. "Before I Wake," on the hand, goes nowhere and ends a bit strangely. The same is true of "A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations," though it has some interesting things to say about how long people have been hanging around this planet. "Vinland the Dream" (about the Vikings who never were in Newfoundland, dammit) and "Rainbow Bridge" (about the difference of the Navajos) and "Muir on Shasta" (about John Muir and a vision of the future) are all well-written stories that could have easily appeared in NEW YORKER as in ASIMOV'S. "Glacier" is pure science fiction, though, about the coming again of the ice and its effect on everyday life. Then there's "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions," an amazing and marvelous essay on the nature of historical causation and explanation that draws on Stan's famous earlier story, "The Lucky Strike"; it ought to be required reading for first-semester grad students in history programs. The remaining several stories, unfortunately, are thoroughly forgettable. When he's good, he's really good, but when he's not, . . . well, you can always hope for better the next time.

Some real gems here
I like Stan's writing, even when I'm totally unsure of what it is I'm reading. He's one of the few writers I don't mind re-reading; if anything, I get more of what I like in his writing during a re-reading, since I then tend to forget about trying to follow the "plot" or "meaning" of the story, and instead just watch the way the words flow. However, even given the above, I tend to like Stan best when I can enjoy the prose and the story.

In this collection, the stories I thought fulfilled both promises were:

* "The Translator"--A perfect bit about being caught in the middle of a culture clash, with only your wits to fall onto. Reminiscent of Stanley Weinbaum (in a good way).
* "Before I Wake"--A truly Dickian story about consciousness and unconsciousness, in that classic "am I or am I not," except to show that it's both.
* "Remaking History"--Actually metafiction, as it is a story about alternate histories, while being an alternate history itself. Simplistic, yet clever.
* "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions"--Not really a story, but a philosophical essay about choices as view through scientific ideas. Stan is reviewing the theme of his earlier story "Lucky Strike," with a more mature outlook on the problem. The last line, repeated through the story like a chorus, sends a chill down your spine (in a good way).

The following I enjoyed to a lesser extent:

* "The Part of Us That Loves"--Liked the modernization of the Bible, but didn't follow the overall story (or, on the other hand, didn't see that it came to a conclusion).
* "A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations"--Liked the condensation of the history, but wasn't affected personally by the character change.
* "Vinland the Dream"--Loved the construction of the story (as if it were a scientific journal article), but the story itself didn't move me.
* "Rainbow Bridge"--Or "Stan Robinson Tries His Hand at Native American Magical Realism." Some wonderful bits, but the overall story failed to reach me.
* "Muir on Shasta"--Nice description, but too short (length and plot) for a complete story.
* "Glacier"--A textbook example of Kessel's Humanist theory of SF. The character reacts to the SF concept, and "changes," yet affects the concept in no way. The old school hates this sort of stuff. I don't mind it, but here the change didn't "touch" me, so I wasn't affected by it intellectually or emotionally, and was thus disappointed.
* "Down and Out in the Year 2000"--I missed the point of this story when I originally read it in Asimov's, because at the time I was (and still am, to some extent) enamoured of cyberpunk. This story is Stan's rebuttal to Neuromancer (and its high-tech/low-life ilk), in which he says low-life can't afford high-tech, not only to be able to own it, but to have the education necessary to be able to use it, or the mind-set. Entirely valid point and interestingly accomplished in the story; however, I'm not sure that the story holds up by itself, instead requiring a knowledge of the background of its criticism for its true punch.
* "Our Town"--Too short, and felt very similar to other stories of elites (like Silverberg's "Sailing to Byzantium"). Given a longer story, with more plot/description/substance, I might have been more impressed.
* "A Transect"--Reminded me of Bishop's "Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thubana," which I feel conveys the same point, but done better.
* "The Lunatics"--Another story that I didn't quite get on the first reading. Followed it better this time, but still had a sense of uncomprehension at the ending.
* "Zurich"--Heavily autobiographical; once the story moves from the obsessive cleaning to the metaphysical "you won't be here again," it lost its appeal for me.

Groundbreaking, But...
Kim Stanley Robinson has justly been praised for the fact that his work, which ably combines science fiction and historical research, has broken new ground in fiction writing. Unfortunately, some of the stories in this collection prove that breaking new ground doesn't necessarily mean your stories are readable or believable. Robinson sometimes has trouble encouraging you to care about the point or the moral in his offbeat ideas. The worst example of this problem here is the ridiculous "Zurich" in which a man gets too much bleach on his fingers and finds that he can turn anything white - an interesting premise but Robinson's attempt to transform this into a treatise on social consciousness is a failure. Other offenders are the sappy "The Part of Us That Loves" and "Glacier" which are very awkward attempts to mix morality and speculative fiction. However, I would recommend some of these stories, like the intriguing historical fiction/sci-fi tales "Muir on Shasta" and "Vinland the Dream". And this entire book is almost saved by the terrifying and disturbing "Before I Wake", a nightmarish tale about nightmares.

A must for historians!
This book might be subtitled "A Future History of Earth" becauseof Robinson's speculation about where our civilization is headed.Heexplores alternate histories as well as possible (and plausible) futures. My favourite story was the one where the Viking discovery of North Americawas all an elaborate 19th-century hoax! ... Read more

Product Description
Without doubt Gene O'Neill is the best kept secret in horror fiction. He conjures wonders and heartache with ease, painting pictures of the city as few of us ever get to see it. With stories that span genres and slip between the cracks of fantasy and horror sit back and enjoy the ride as Gene takes you on a very special sight-seeing tour through his city -- forget the usual tourist traps of Golden Gate, Pier 69, and Alcatraz, the streets waiting for you are paved with prostitutes, murder, and miracles... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Starts slow, ends with a flourish
Only 127 pages and 8 stories, I found O'Neill's collection to be a bit thin.Not only that, I felt the title was misleading because there were no hard sci-fi computer or world machine stories.And the book started out weakly with a couple of ok stories.But give it time, give it time.

Like swimming in shallow water at first, you will find yourself suddenly plunging into some excellent tales, starting the warm up with The Burden Of Indigo and finishing with four more excellent stories, The City Never Sleeps is a surreal story of a man's life unfolding, Undercover brings in a very specialized robot on a galactic chase for a villain, The Beautiful Stranger is a haunting tale of a husbands decline into uselessness to his family, and Shadow Of The Mountain is a beautiful and strangely dreamlike look into a young soldier's past as he lay dying.

If you are an anthology lover like I am, this is a worthwhile purchase for your collection.If you are not sure, I strongly recommend checking it out from your local library.I think you will find a pleasant surprise in this author's first collection of shorts.Perfect book for travel or beach, or to keep in your pocket to peruse when waiting on appointments.Enjoy! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Valuable insights on the power of fiction
This book has plenty to offer not just to anarchists and radical activists, but to anyone who is interested in understanding, or using fiction to explore and promote change. Killjoy, the editor, could easily have written what he thought different anarchist fiction writers were doing and what he thinks their work means, but he had the good idea to ask them. Their insights are distinctly useful to me in pondering and trying to understand the roles of art and literature in society.

And the book is also pleasing in size (sized for travellers, no doubt!) and in layout, sequence, and so on. Killjoy also appends a thorough list of past and present writers, anarchist or not, who wrote about anarchism in their fiction.

Please note that though I am related to the editor of this book, my thoughts here are as sincere and objective as I can make them.

Wow, this book is fantastic (and so much fun)!!!
In this amazing collection of conversations with anarchist fiction writers, Margaret Killjoy, founder of Steampunk Magazine, explores the intersection between anarchist politics and fiction. The writers he interviews are really diverse and represent many different genres of literature like science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, cyberpunk, and pagan literature. The viewpoints are equally diverse. On the one hand, you have an anarcho-primitivist like Derrick Jensen, while on the other, you have a computer geek like Rick Dakan. If you're like me and love the ecofeminist author Starhawk, you will not want to miss her portion of the book. The interviews with Ursula K. Le Guin, Cristy C. Road, Crimethinc., and Carissa van der Berk Clark are also really great. While most of the other authors I've never heard of before, I now look forward to checking out their work. While I mostly read a lot of theory and history books these days, I agree with the authors about the importance of using fiction to disseminate political ideas. For example, on a personal note, my life was very much changed by reading Starhawk's beautiful novel, "The Fifth Sacred Thing". Perhaps, you too have had a similar experience from such a novel. Over all, I found Margaret Killjoy's book very inspiring. While the movement no doubt needs its theorists and community organizers, this book reminds us that our storytellers (and poets, artists, dancers, musicians, etc.) are equally important. Thank you AK Press for sending me this book as part of my monthly membership to the Friends of AK Press, something readers interested in activist literature should certainly consider. Not only is it an economical way of getting the best books ever by authors like Cindy Milstein, Noam Chomsky, Ward Churchill, and Alexander Cockburn, it is also a great way to make sure that such important ideas get published and made available to the rest of the world. ... Read more

Product Description
While Kim Stanley Robinson is perhaps best known for his hard science fiction works Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, the epic trilogy exploring ecological and sociological themes involved in human settlement of the Red Planet, his contributions to utopian science fiction are diverse and numerous. Along with aspects of sociology and ecology in the Mars trilogy and other topics, these essays examine Robinson's use of alternate history and politics, both in his many novels and in his short stories. While Robinson has long been a subject of literary criticism, this collection, which includes five new essays and is drawn from writers on four continents, broadens the interpretive debate surrounding Robinson's science fiction and argues for consideration of the author as an intellectual figure of the first rank. ... Read more

Product Description
Ernest Callenbach's classic novel Ecotopia sparked a movement that is growing rapidly around the world. Ecotopians embrace high technology as a a tool for preserving and living gently within the natural environment of Planet Earth.

Kim Stanley Robinson has gathered here in this volume bright tales of Ecotopian futures, as well as a few cautionary ones. Writers and poets, from Gary Snyder to Ursula K. LeGuin to Ernest Callenbach himself have contributed their visions, along with Pat Murphy, Paul Park, R.A. Lafferty, Rachel Pollack, Garry Kilworth, Robert Silverberg, Gene Wolfe, Howard Waldrop, Carol Emshwiller, Frederick Turner, and Robinson Jeffers.
Amazon.com Review
Kim Stanley Robinson has long been known for his excellentscience fiction novels such as Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars. Here heturns his hand toward editing, with a collection of stories by writerslike Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Pat Murphy, and TerryBisson. These are stories of a future where "wet" technologyhas replaced "hard": silicon chips have given way to DNAstrands, and the industrial high tech has been subsumed byenvironmental high tech. While all of these fine stories have beenprinted elsewhere, collected together they comprise a formidable andfascinating look at a future full of ectopias. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Rich, challenging, literary anthology that demands re-reading
At first I was a bit disappointed in this collection, because the earliest stories didn't seem ecotopian, utopian, or even SF in character. After I discovered the editor's endnotes, though, the intention behind the collection and its total vision became apparent, and the inclusion of the early stories made perfect sense.

As Dr. Robinson himself notes, the stories don't tend toward standard utopian themes---namely the planned, perfect, permanent society---but they instead reflect the dirty, earthy, organic, fertile concerns of the ecotopian. The "stories reveal everywhere their writers' belief that the societies they depict are preferable to the boxed existences of modern, urban life" (p. 346) through embodied engagement with the world of physical nature and the re-infusion of meaning into everyday life. "What these stories ask us to reconsider is what is really important in life, and thus new definitions of utopia must be reconsidered as well" (ibid).
"It's not that [these stories] advocate a simple return to nature, or a rejection of technology, which given our current situation would be nothing than another kind of ecological impossibility." Instead, these stories, "reject ther inevitability of a machine future" (p. 11).

Not all of the stories are immediately accessible, and many, if not most, demand re-reading in order to get a full appreciation of both the ideas and the writing in which those ideas are expressed. Most of the stories in the anthology really impressed me, but my favorites (at least right now) would have to be "Hogfoot Right and Bird-hands," "House of Bones," "Chocco," and "Newton's Sleep," all of which explored essential themes about what it means to be human in communion with (or separation from) the world of biological nature.

All in all this is a superb science fiction anthology that belongs on the bookshelves of anyone interested in utopian and ecotopian fiction, about the current state of humanity, and about our possible futures.

sort of excellent
By the far the two best stories in this collection are Terry Bisson's "Bears Discover Fire" and Pat Murphy's powerful and eloquently written "In the Abode of Snows." After that, the other storiesdidn't seem to stir me quite as much .They were well written yes, butstill... The extensive reading list at the end of the book is especiallyhelpful to those interested in the ideas behind the variuos themes in thestory. For that and the 2 stories, i gave it the above score. ... Read more

Product Description
With the incomparable vision and breathtaking detail that brought his now-classic Mars trilogy to vivid life, bestselling author KIM STANLEY ROBINSON boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. In his grandest work yet, the acclaimed storyteller constructs a world vastly different from the one we know....

The Years of Rice and Salt

It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur–the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe’s population was destroyed. But what if? What if the plague killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been–a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. These are the years of rice and salt.

This is a universe where the first ship to reach the New World travels across the Pacific Ocean from China and colonization spreads from west to east. This is a universe where the Industrial Revolution is triggered by the world’s greatest scientific minds–in India. This is a universe where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions and Christianity is merely a historical footnote.

Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson renders an immensely rich tapestry. Rewriting history and probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power, and even love on such an Earth. From the steppes of Asia to the shores of the Western Hemisphere, from the age of Akbar to the present and beyond, here is the stunning story of the creation of a new world.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson delivers a thoughtful and powerful examination of cultures and the people who shape them. How might human history be different if 14th-century Europe was utterly wiped out by plague, and Islamic and Buddhist societies emerged as the world's dominant religious and political forces? The Years of Rice and Salt considers this question through the stories of individuals who experience and influence various crucial periods in the seven centuries that follow. The credible alternate history that Robinson constructs becomes the framework for a tapestry of ideas about philosophy, science, theology, and politics.

At the heart of the story are fundamental questions: what is the purpose of life and death? Are we eternal? Do our choices matter? The particular achievement of this book is that it weaves these threads into a story that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging. This is a highly recommended, challenging, and ambitious work. --Roz Genessee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (168)

Over my head
I didn't get the point of this book by 150 pages, so I gave up.Some may say that's too soon, but if it's not compelling by then, what's the point?Some friends of mine say they enjoyed it.It led to discussions on whether the author was trying to say various things about society.I don't think the author was trying to say any of those things, but if it's a good starting point for conversation, that's a plus, at least.

Very thought provoking...
Overall, I give it two big thumbs up, or two snaps in a circle, which is probably more appropriate given the theme. This epic novel explore two major themes. First, it's a alternate history of civilization where all of Europe was wiped out during the plagues. A world without white people! Intermingled with this is a story of reincarnation, as the same "souls" revisit the earth over and over again and live out their lives within this fictionalized history. It's a monumental epic accomplishment that makes one truly contemplate the nature of existence and reality. My only tiny criticism is that there are some sections of "history" that get a bit tedious and wordy. But overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever contemplated what happens after we die, or just how the world history might have played out without whitey.

Somebody kill me please!
I am two thirds of the way through my first endeavor into Mr. Stanley's writing and I honestly don't know if I will finish. I was very excited about the concept for this alternative history, but the approach taken here is painful and flaky. Bits of "poetry" that leave a great deal to be desired pop up throughout the book. The first few chapters end with the narrator suddenly becoming cognizant of his audience and telling us "we will see what happens in the next chapter", like a Pee Wee Herman story time. I may eventually trudge through this monolith until its end, but I don't see myself reading any more KSR. The pace is laborious, and the wordy descriptions of totally unnecessary fluff really kill the already fragile storyline.

What a shame. Waste of a great concept
The first 1/2 of this book was pretty darn good. I really liked the stories that revolved around the discovery of physics, the new world, etc. Unfortunately these were far too short, and as the book dragged on, the chapters seemed to get longer, the discourses on politics and religion got more prevalent, the characters got more one-dimensional.

Frankly, this book comes grinding to and stuttering halt. Such a shame too, great premise and good start. Avoid it.

Strongly Recommended for Lost fans
I'm not going to write a long review, since there are already many excellent ones posted.But since many people have strong feelings, pro and con, about the finale of the TV series Lost, I did want to say that this is a really interesting and entertaining novel based on the concept of groups of souls traveling together through time.

It probably won't change your opinion about how they resolved the "sideways world," but you'll probably enjoy this novel in its own right. ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 5665. ... Read more