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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag, 5 Jan 2004
The following is aimed at fellow Dan Simmons enthusiasts.I'm guessing that, like me, you started reading Simmons with Hyperion and the rest of the Cantos. If so, you may have noticed variable quality in his output since then, and this collection of short stories typifies this. The good news for Hyperion fans is that Simmons revisits that Universe in Orphans of the Helix, with even a brief guest appearance from a many-bladed old friend. Those of us still digesting the rich content of Ilium will also welcome The Ninth of Av, in which the period around the Final Fax, the history of the mysterious Savi and the origins of the enigmatic Voynix are fleshed out. As for the rest, as mixed as Simmons' novel-sized output, but all of them worth the time and attention.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One World Is Not Enough For This Imagination, 22 Aug 2003
Those even marginally familiar with Simmons work should know that he can write in many different genres quite well, but that his first pieces that really attracted attention were science fiction, and for my money, this is still the genre where Simmons is at his best. This is a collection of some of his shorter science fiction works, of a length that often gets relegated to the 'magazine publishable only' pile; too short for a stand alone book, too long to be included in most short story collections. So this collection is a nice treat, allowing you to see multiple samples of his writing at a length that gives enough room for full development of his ideas without having to slog through several thousand pages of an equivalent number of novels. "Looking for Kelly Dahl" is probably the best piece here, a strongly imagined tale of an alcoholic suicidal teacher who has a very odd meeting of the minds with one of his former students. The story highlights Simmons’ skills at characterization while maintaining a very literary air, a deeply psychological story that emphasizes just how great the rift is between two people really trying to know each other. "On K2 with Kanakaredes" is another excellent piece, taking a standard mountain climbing story and elevating it to a story of earned respect for all intelligences. Some very strong characterization for both the narrator and the alien, and Simmons’ own respect for the great mountains of this world comes through very clearly. "The Ninth Av" is a rather chilling story, as the remaining 'humans', all of Jewish descent, wait for the 'final fax'. Interspersed with a re-telling of the final days of Scott polar expedition, the net result is very depressing, a tale that mines the dark places of the human spirit. "Orphans of the Helix" and "The End of Gravity" I found to be rather minor pieces, not on the same level as the other three stories, though still enjoyable reads. Simmons' style in all of these stories is probably quite a bit more literate than is common in science fiction, with layered themes and a mosaic feel of more being present than meets the obvious eye. This is strongly reinforced by Simmons' introduction to each of these stories, which often give some of the genesis and his thoughts on what he was trying to achieve in these works. But in this case, I think the introductions are somewhat superfluous, and in some cases actively detract from the ability to read these stories and see just what images and thoughts the stories evoke, unsullied by prior conceptions. I'd definitely recommend reading the stories first, and only reading the introductions afterwards if you feel the need. A strong collection, with three of the stories belonging in 'excellent' class, and a fine showcase for the diversity of ideas that Simmons brings to the field. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Short and sweet, 29 May 2009
I, like many people interested in this book, got into Dan Simmons' work through one of his longer stories, in my case the Hyperion / Endymion novels. I was aware that he'd written a short story sequel, and on finding that it was published in this collection I eventually caved-in and bought it. I felt like I'd been suckered in by the lure of knowing more about a universe I regard as the best sci-fi creation in print, particularly as my reaction to some of his other works (I'm thinking particularly of the Ilium / Olympos books, which I found a bit on the tedious side) has been less enthusiastic.
However, I've never been so glad to be proven wrong. The book consists of "five tales of speculative fiction" (Simmons' words, not mine), which you can take to mean that these stories aren't all the pure sci-fi of the Hyperion universe. Each story is prefaced by the author, often in a fairly rambling way, but entertainingly enough for all that, and he gives an outline of how the story came about. I'm not a fan of everything in the book (in particular where Simmons makes a shockingly fatuous comment in one of the prefaces that the one human constant between now and the future is that someone will always be trying to kill off the Jews), but I've had enough experience of Simmons being prone to shooting off his mouth when not in authorial mode to know to ignore some things and to concentrate on the fiction. And the fiction is good. Very good.
The five stories are:
"Looking For Kelly Dahl", which is a slightly supernatural contemporary work, and one which tugs at the heartstrings beautifully.
"Orphans of the Helix", the short fiction sequel to the Hyperion / Endymion books, and the reason I purchased this collection. It's good, but too little to be satisfying - without giving anything away about what happens in it, Simmons deliberately didn't want to return to the storyline of the previous books, and wrote this as more of an addendum than a sequel.
"The Ninth of Av", the aforementioned work dealing with anti-semitism in a sci-fi setting, which was also the seed for parts of Ilium.
"On K2 With Kanakaredes", a tale based seemingly purely on Simmons' love of mountains, mixed with inscrutable alien visitors to Earth.
"The End of Gravity", a film treatment rather than a short story per se, and the least sci-fi of all the stories, but possibly the nicest paced for all that.
This is a collection for Simmons fans, and not necessarily that useful for newcomers to his work, or those who haven't been that impressed so far. His voice intrudes greatly in the lengthy introductions to the stories, which truth be told would best be read after the story they relate to, otherwise they tend to give away too many spoilers.
That said, for fans it's a vital addition to the body of his work they will undoubtedly already have, and enjoyable despite the impression this review may have given.
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