This is an anthology of `hard science fiction' in the general tradition of the magazines like Astounding, If, Analog and Galaxy that I consumed avidly during my teenage years in the 1960s. As `hard' science, including physics itself, the `hardest' of them all, has become in many people's estimation increasingly mystical and impenetrable, highly experimental and `far out' formats for science fiction have been tried, with little success, and it's refreshing to find a collection in which the genre hasn't forgotten its roots. There is, however, a problem with continuing down the same path, in that it's becoming increasingly difficult to come up with new plots, or even markedly new angles on old ones, and generally speaking the plot is to the fore in the science fiction short story. There probably aren't any radically new story ideas here, that hardened sci fi fanatics won't have come across in one guise or another, but the writing is of a consistently high standard, and most of the stories are highly entertaining in one way or another. Of the forty-eight (which is an enormous story count) about ten or twelve I found very memorable and impressive for one reason or another. Others I know will select a different bunch, it depends on what you look for in a story, and that's different for different readers.
I particularly liked Catherine Edmunds' 'Goodbye Maggie', which concerns a time-hopping artist and his coquettish lover and model, who manage to variously work with, seduce and/or sit for most of the major artists represented (by an outlandish coincidence) in an exhibition in the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle in Co. Durham in 2010. It's definitely tongue-in-cheek, but enormous fun, and the characters come to life in a way that's sadly rare in this genre.
'Scream Quietly' by Sheila Crosby is another time travel story, also written by a woman, this time in the format of a series of letters from one sister to another. Fairly slow in pace, the characterizations are again strong, and a satisfying ending emerges very naturally from a well-developed plot.
Another first rank piece is 'One Long Holiday' by Ben Cheetham, which is simply an account of one couple's attempt to survive and retain their humanity in a post-global-warming devastated world, racked by wars over the planet's rapidly vanishing resources. Chillingly realistic, reminiscent of Harry Harrison's 'Make Room Make Room!' and the film 'Soylent Green' that was based on it, this one will stay with you for a long time after you close the book.
The last story in the book, 'Red Monkeys' by Rebecca Latyntseva, deals with what might or might not be a woman's descent into madness, and takes its place also among the collection's front runners.
It's tempting to go on and on talking about individual stories, but the important message is that this is a solid, well-edited and well-chosen collection, and if you're a fan of intelligent science fiction, in which the science matters, you won't want to miss it.
