I love a good short story, and I must say, this is the best anthology I have ever read. Interesting and engagingly written all through, there was maybe 1 or 2 stories out of 13 I thought weren't quite up to par. Usually an anthology fluctuates alot more than that for me, let me tell you.

I found this more enjoyable than any anthology I've read with contributions from established authors. I'm going to start hunting the other editions of this down. ( )

This review originally appeared in The Fix: Short Fiction Review, Dec. 2007

Audible.com is not new to publishing audio short fiction. In 2003, they published audio “Best of 2002″ collections from Asimov’s, Analog, and Fantasy & Science Fiction magazines. They followed that up with a whole year of Fantasy & Science Fiction audio goodness. Here in 2007, Audible offers another innovative audio collection: L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future, Volume XXIII, completely unabridged.

There are 13 stories here by new writers, professionally presented by several excellent narrators, including Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki, who are both Audie Award winners. This is the first volume of Writers of the Future that I’ve read (heard) cover-to-cover, and there wasn’t a weak story in the lot. The stories are mostly science fiction, with a few fantasies thrown in. Two stories really stood out to me.

In “The Stone Cipher” by Tony Pi (read by Stefan Rudnicki), every stone statue in the word starts to speak, in unison, silently and very slowly. Once this is noticed, cameras are brought in so that the speech can be played at normal speed. Lipreaders translate, and … it’s a countdown. The story perhaps is a little highhanded in message, but the payoff is well worth the time. Rudnicki gives the story just the right ominous tone.

Myron Willis reads “Our Last Words” by Damon Kaswell, an awe-inspiring tale about a man who is sent into the future by the military to report on the results of certain things. What he finds out leaves him quite alone, so he continues to move into the future in bigger and bigger chunks of time, resulting in things that Stephen Baxter would have proud to have written. Willis’s emotional performance gives the story even more power.

Also included are three short, nonfiction pieces intended for people interested in writing or illustrating: “Art and Communication” by L. Ron Hubbard (read by Scott Brick), “If I Only Had the Time” by Kevin J. Anderson (read by the author), and “Here’s the Thing” by Judith Miller (read by the author). In each, the author shares some of his or her experience with the hope of benefiting other writers.

The Writers of the Future contest has a sister contest, “Illustrators of the Future.” I applaud Audible for having the foresight to include a PDF file containing the illustrations for each of the stories which were created by the winners of the Illustrators competition. My only quibble is that it would have been helpful to have had the table of contents displayed somewhere in the description of the book on Audible’s site. Regardless, the quality of the stories and the quality of the narration has me hoping that there will be more of this kind of thing in the future from Audible. ( )

Disclaimer: I received this book, gratis, in the hopes that I would review it.

L.Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future is a series of year anthologies showcasing new writers. This year's edition was edited by Algis Budrys.

As I have said many times before, anthologies are tricky things and even the best of anthologies by the best of writers can have hit or miss stories. Individual tastes can vary, and sometimes a writer can have a bad day.

So I will focus on the stories I liked out of the volume.

I particularly enjoyed the first story, Primetime, a view to using time travel as a device for mass entertainment. I felt the ending was a bit weak and didn't seem to follow the rest of the story, but I enjoyed it overall to mention. The Frozen Sky, a survival story on Callisto (a popular choice these days in fiction and non fiction alike) was another good read. Tony Pi's the Stone Cipher, although well written, felt a little lacking to me. The Gas Drinkers, a story within a story, felt like a modern Moon update of the classic motif where a group of strangers explain how they got to that location.

The stories in volume 23:

PrimeTime, by Douglas Texter

Mass entertainment of the future is filming battles and other notable historical events. Trouble arises when an ambitious filmer is asked to go back to Hiroshima, and the atomic blast.

The Sun God at Dawn, Rising from a Lotus Blossom, by Andrea Kail

Historical characters from the past are brought to life in an epistolary tale told by King Tutankhamen.
The Frozen Sky, by Jeff Carlson

Survival and danger as explorers search for signs of life in the ice of Callisto.

The Stone Cipher, by Tony Pi

When the statues around the world start to speak...slowly, its a race to determine what precisely they are saying, and why.

Obsidian Shards, by Aliette de Bodard

A story invovling Aztec gods and dark magic set in an indeterminate Aztec-like time and place.

Ripping Carovella, by Kim Zimring

Ripping out skills and transplanting them into others from the talented is high art--but it carries a price for all concerned.

Our Last Words, by Damon Kaswell

Another time tale, reminding me of "Flight into Forever" as a man is put into a field that allows time inside to pass much more slowly than the outside world, creating a one way time machine.

Saturn in G Minor by Steve Kotowych

A future musician's most ambitious piece yet brings visitors to his lonely abode.

By the Waters of the Ganga by Steven Gaskell

An alien spends a life reincarnated or re-embodied as a Hindu in 19th century India.

Pilgrimage by Karl Bunker

A ritual on an alien planet recalls an old story of survival by post-humans.

The Gas Drinkers, by Edward Sevcik

A group of people meet in a place of refuge on the moon, as one of them tells the long story of how he came to the remote location.

The Phlogiston Age by Corey Brown

A steampunk like world, where a phlogiston powered spaceship maiden launch is the scene and setting for intrigue.

Mask Glass Magic by John Burridge

A fantasy story, where a glass blower discovers a new employer, and a very unusual manner of magic behind him. ( )