A Place So Foreign and Eight More

Doctorow is an original, and this compelling collection proves it. The humans of his near future concoctions are often as alien as the non-humans, and he’s got a sly wit that can be devastatingly funny. You need to read this collection if for no other reason than to meet a Superman who was raised not by Ma & Pa Kent in all-American Kansas, but by the Abramowicz’s in Toronto, Canada: Superman as the ultimate Nice Jewish Boy.

A Place So Foreign is Cory Doctorow’s first collection of short stories. The entire collection is available on his website, www.craphound.com, and Doctorow is one of the editors on BoingBoing.net. In addition to everything else he does in pursuit of fair use and intellectual property rights, Doctorow is also a pretty damn good writer.

A Place So Foreign brings together several stories in a classic-contemporary sci-fi shorts kind of collection. The stories feel utterly contemporary in their blending of tech and reality, drawing as much from fantasy and fairy tales as from Bradbury and Asimov. Doctorow’s prose is clean and clear, presenting plot-driven stories generally designed to illustrate some deeper issue of socio-techno-cultural show more importance.

Doctorow’s work is enjoyable in the same way as so many sci-fi fans once enjoyed Bradbury or Arthur C. Clarke: His stories are dire warnings wrapped in highly edible containers. Read, enjoy, be blown away. show less

I love reading Cory Doctorow. His stories are fun, and his ability to wind a solid science fiction tale is superb. There is the occasional story which does not get me excited, but the clear majority have me smiling from ear to ear. He knows just how to blend future and technology together into an absorbing alternate reality.

In my opinion, Shadow Of The Mothaship was the story that fell short in this collection, but the other eight were fantastic.

Great if you like short stories. Better if you like sci/fi.