Eclipse 2: New Science Fiction and Fantasy (2008)

Excellent. Each story contains an amazing thought experiment. ( )

Here's a very impressive 3.87. This is significantly better than the first volume, and pretty much identical in quality to Fast Forward 2, except, of course, for the cover. However, a little more variable, so less of a kick from this book. A little stronger at the top end, but weaker in the rest. The Ford story is more like a 3.25.

This time, the best is in the midddle, in Ted Chiang, but the openers are the next two best stories, other than David Moles and his Cory Doctorow by way of R. Garcia y Robertson polished posthuman adventure. People may not be familiar with the latter, but has some stories online, check them out, well worth it.

Don't really expect to see Dr Doom pastiches in books like this, but Daryl Gregory delivers one.

Terry Dowling surprisingly pops up with another Wormwood story, and no less than Gardner Dozois and Rich Horton on the Asimov's forum said they found this confusing. Probably not much of a surprise if they haven't read wormwood. You can find Nobody's Fool online though, see free sf or google. However, part of the whole point of the Wormwood set of stories is that with alien invasion and terraforming existence is hopelessly complicated and scary and weird and unfathomable for most of humanity. Some of this is supposed to come through in the very dense level of strange alien Dowling tries to impart, here. I do tend to like that sort of thing.

Alastair Reynolds, apparently, can do no wrong. Also likes golden robots quite a bit, wonder how many C-3PO and other figues he has, perhaps.

A must get book.

Please webscriptionise them, so we can carry them around, given their large and expensive nature.

Eclipse 2 : The Hero - Karl Schroeder
Eclipse 2 : Turing's Apples - Stephen Baxter
Eclipse 2 : Invisible Empire of Ascending Light - Ken Scholes
Eclipse 2 : Michael Laurits is: Drowning - Paul Cornell
Eclipse 2 : Night of the Firstlings - Margo Lanagan
Eclipse 2 : Elevator - Nancy Kress
Eclipse 2 : The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm - Daryl Gregory
Eclipse 2 : Exhalation - Ted Chiang
Eclipse 2 : Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - David Moles
Eclipse 2 : The Rabbi's Hobby - Peter S. Beagle
Eclipse 2 : The Seventh Expression of the Robot General - Jeffrey Ford
Eclipse 2 : Skin Deep - Richard Parks
Eclipse 2 : Ex Cathedra - Tony Daniel
Eclipse 2 : Truth Window: A Tale of the Bedlam Rose - Terry Dowling
Eclipse 2 : Fury - Alastair Reynolds

Jessie and the Jets big moth story, Capital performance, one night only.

4.5 out of 5

Eaglets For Andromeda beam record.

4.5 out of 5

Kill Emperor? Consider It Announced.

3 out of 5

You're a Lief Saver, mate.

4 out of 5

Hickory waveries.

3 out of 5

Confined foretelling.

3.5 out of 5

Superhero invasion damage, new Doom.

4 out of 5

Brain dissection end of universe equilibrium optimism.

5 out of 5

Posthuman griefer game pullback.

4.5 out of 5

Magazine ghost girl goodbye.

4 out of 5

Just shoot me now.

3.5 out of 5

Personality pullover pyre.

3.5 out of 5

Kill my grandfather, marry my grandmother. Now, kill her, or kill the hot future wife?

3.5 out of 5

Nobody's double view.

3.5 out of 5

Galactic Emperor two suit, secret now less fishy.

4 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/03/fury-alastair-reynolds.html ( )

The first book in this series was a revelation. It is rare to have so many top quality stories in an original anthology. This volume has several very good stories, but a few of less quality.

One of the better stories, Turing's Apples by Stephen Baxter, tells the stories of two brothers, one brilliant, but emotionally crippled and one the narrator. Again Baxter manages to bring in the contemplation of the end of the universe and contrast it to our every day concerns. Margo Lanagan has another beautifully written story, Night of the Firstlings, but I found it curiously unmemorable. Exhalation by Ted Chiang, the story of a strange civilization fighting to survive in a dying environment, will undoubtedly be found on many award ballots. So should Truth Window: A Tale of the Bedlam Rose by Terry Dowling. This tale of humanity existing on a Earth conquered by aliens plumbs the depths of resistance and faith. Peter S. Beagle has an elegantly crafted story of a woman seen only in photographs and the people who search for her. But my favorite story is Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by David Moles, a rollicking adventure of a VR kingdom invaded and the avatars within that survive.

For those who love science fiction in shorter lengths, this collection of anthologies should be high on your list of Must Reads. ( )