Invisible Country (Hardcover)

First up the title story is a rather hard-boiled tale of a loyalty virus that’s been smuggled out of the labs of a large corporation. A typically dystopian near future gives way to a surprisingly optimistic ending.

‘Gene Wars’ is a short series of snapshots painting a frightening picture of where biotechnology could lead us. Until the story gets into far future body modification this is all too believable stuff.

‘Prison Dreams’ is the first in a series of short stories that complement the novel Fairyland. This tale of a sympathetic humans freeing of a slave combat doll tells you all you need to know however, and is completely self-contained.

‘Recording Angel’ is another short story that would form the basis for longer works – this time the Confluence trilogy. As I haven’t yet read them I cannot say how this story sits with the Confluence material, but on its own this is an intriguing look at returning colonists finding their human descendents changed almost beyond recognition.

‘Dr Luther’s Assistant’ is another in the Fairyland cycle, this time highlighting the use of dolls in the sex industry. Filled with bizarre and beautiful images, this is possibly the best of all the Fairyland stories.

‘The Temptation of Dr. Stein’ is another close relative of one of McAuley’s novels, this time relocating the tale of Frankenstein to the alternate 15th century of Pasquale’s Angel. Despite the familiarity of its source this is a very effective story.

‘Children of the Revolution’ makes good points of the results of doll liberation, but is probably my least favourite of the stories here, as I have no interest in the rave culture on which it is based.

‘The True History of Doctor Pretorius’ picks up on the tale of this character from two stories ago, this time in a contemporary setting. Again, it’s an effective if predicable horror story.

Finally the longest piece in the collection, ‘Slaves’ is yet another (final?) doll story, an excellent drama that highlights the humans slavery of the dolls against a do-gooder all-woman cult who do the same thing to men.

All in all this is a very strong collection, with not a single poor story to be found. With it’s numerous references to other work The Invisible Country acts as a glue to several of McAuley's novels, showing the common thread in seemingly disparate work. And for those who haven’t read McAuley yet this also acts as an effective sampler, so either way is to be recommended.

First up the title story is a rather hard-boiled tale of a loyalty virus that's been smuggled out of the labs of a large corporation. A typically dystopian near future gives way to a surprisingly optimistic ending.

'Gene Wars' is a short series of snapshots painting a frightening picture of where biotechnology could lead us. Until the story gets into far future body modification this is all too believable stuff.

'Prison Dreams' is the first in a series of short stories that complement the novel Fairyland. This tale of a sympathetic humans freeing of a slave combat doll tells you all you need to know however, and is completely self-contained.

'Recording Angel' is another short story that would form the basis for longer works - this time the Confluence trilogy. As I haven't yet read them I cannot say how this story sits with the Confluence material, but on its own this is an intriguing look at returning colonists finding their human descendents changed almost beyond recognition.

'Dr Luther's Assistant' is another in the Fairyland cycle, this time highlighting the use of dolls in the sex industry. Filled with bizarre and beautiful images, this is possibly the best of all the Fairyland stories.

'The Temptation of Dr. Stein' is another close relative of one of McAuley's novels, this time relocating the tale of Frankenstein to the alternate 15th century of Pasquale's Angel. Despite the familiarity of its source this is a very effective story.

'Children of the Revolution' makes good points of the results of doll liberation, but is probably my least favourite of the stories here, as I have no interest in the rave culture on which it is based.

'The True History of Doctor Pretorius' picks up on the tale of this character from two stories ago, this time in a contemporary setting. Again, it's an effective if predicable horror story.

Finally the longest piece in the collection, 'Slaves' is yet another (final?) doll story, an excellent drama that highlights the humans slavery of the dolls against a do-gooder all-woman cult who do the same thing to men.

All in all this is a very strong collection, with not a single poor story to be found. With it's numerous references to other work The Invisible Country acts as a glue to several of his novels, showing the common thread in seemingly disparate work. And for those who haven't read McAuley yet this also acts as an effective sampler, so either way is to be recommended.