REVIEW | Is Anybody Out There? ed. by Nick Givers & Marty Halpern

Theme anthologies can go one of two ways. Either they work really well or they end up feeling like the writers had to stretch themselves too much to create a story that worked for the theme. Is Anybody Out There? focused on the Fermi Paradoxes is decidedly in the camp of the former with a couple virtuosos in the short game truly standing out and a few others not working for me as they seemed a bit disorienting.

Paul McAuley starts things off well with an introduction for those not in the know about the Fermi Paradox with a grand overview and a bit of history and known theories. The paradox boils down to "Where are they?" The Universe is so big and that old if there is intelligent life out there why haven't they found us or we found them yet? Quite an intriguing idea for writers to sink their teeth into. This is ground that has been trod on before, but certainly never with such a diverse covering of new, established, and often fringe theories.

Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn, “Report From the Field” A very quirky tale done in field report style from an alien determining if Earth is ready for inclusion in Galactic Community.

This story had me chortling left and right like few other writer can do and the only funny story in the bunch. In many ways humor is more difficult to relay in written form than something dramatic or action oriented. Resnick and Robyn excel at the funny asides as well as the satirical while this particular alien sees us at an skewed angle from viewing our television, movies, and documentaries trying to make sense of what they selected. There are perfect examples of humanity's absurd and violent side, which make me question our place in the cosmos and the fact that if there is life out there we'd probably just screw up first contact.

Jay Lake's “Permanent Fatal Errors” takes us on a space voyage with a crew of altered human immortals who are guinea pigs for longer interstellar missions. Only who among the crew actually wants to achieve the objectives of this mission?

Told from the point of view of the lowest member of the crew who sees himself as a baby next to the rest of the very old and intelligent crew as he tries to make his way through their murky machinations. An astrological anomaly confounds the crew and a conspiracy is afoot, but just who is doing what? Lake certainly shows his suspenseful flair as there is something out there. And it wants to be found. The story definitely felt unfinished though, but some nice turns more than kept my attention.

David Langford's “Graffiti in the Library of Babel” is a most unusual first contact story.  Someone or something has been marking up an important world database with odd notations. What do they want?

An intelligence has downloaded our history and science and are trying to communicate with us through it. This reminded me a lot of a Robert J. Sawyer story in the making with some very nice dialogue. I couldn't connect with any character though, but the situation grabbed me from the first page as the character tries to write back somehow.

In Kristine Kathryn Rusch's “The Dark Man” a shadow shaped like a man shows up every decade or so on the steps of a very old Cathedral in Italy.

Rusch's background as a mystery writer shines through this tale told in a very different tact than the rest as an investigative reporter takes on paranormal events to find out the truth behind them, but she has finally found a case she can't explain away as a hoax. Rusch takes the idea of a classic conspiracy and twists it into Sci-Fi spectacularly. This was my second favorite story of the bunch.

Pat Cadigan, “The Taste of Night” delves into the mental contact aspects of alien communication with people supposedly suffering mental illness and one of my favorite disorders synesthesia. If you don't know what synesthesia is than go read the wiki as I'd love to see more stories working it in.

Synesthesia causes the senses to get crossed and people associate colors with certain numbers, words, or even days of the week. What if people who had this ability were able to be contacted by aliens? Would we believe them or just call them mad? A really well done story all around. Wonderful psychology angle questions the sanity of people and how we could be missing something right in front of us.

Ian Watson's “A Waterfall of Lights” again takes the tact of alien contact through our minds, but gives it a good twist.

If there are aliens they could have died out millions of years ago, but what if they left a legacy behind that was still out there? What would they look like? A surprisingly good story from a writer new to me despite having been around for decades. The story is very similar to the work Robert Charles Wilson has been doing with his Spin books, which is probably why I like it so much.  The ending was left hanging quite a bit, but watch out for those eyes.

James Morrow, “The Vampires of Paradox” put us in present times with a religious order that is keeping a terrible event at bay by contemplating logic paradoxes along the lines of "if a tree falls in the woods with no one around does it make a sound?" The paradoxes mentioned are further reaching though and even more mind-bending.

No one does philosophical conundrums as well as Morrow and his stripes are still more than up to the task but ends up feeling a bit of heavy handed at times.  Still it fits the given setting and style. Morrow is still a master of short fiction and this was by far the strongest story of the lot and was rightly chosen to end the anthology. The inclusion of this story along makes the book worth picking up. This could also be seen as the best paradox lecture you've ever attended. I could definitely see it being referenced in some logic classes.

Is Anybody Out There? is great cross section of Fermi Paradox ideas packed with wonder. Wonders of science. Of confounding mysteries. Of what could be's. Of what should be that is well worth dipping into. A few stories left me indifferent or just plain lost, but the Morrow, Rusch, and Watson's stories more than make this volume worth grabbing. Visit Marty Halpern's blog More Red Ink for serializations of a few short stories from Is Anybody Out There? including Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Sheila Finch, and Jay Lake.

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Covers Unveiled for new Resnick, Akers, Barclay, & more

Pyr's Fall list has started appearing on Amazon along with a few of the covers. The first three are the Steampunk covers, which are all winners and exude the fun ascetic of the genre. The last 3 are for James Barclay's series Legends of the Raven, which sport some gorgeous and action packed art. Again these may not be the final versions and I'll add artist credits as I find them. UPDATE: Artists added via Lou Anders.

(Art by J. Seamas Gallagher. Design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht)

The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick is the start to his Weird West series. The art is very reminiscent of Dr. Grordbort. If I wasn't already interested in this it would have turned into an emphatic YES! This is guaranteed to be a wild and fun ride. December release.

The year is 1881. The United States of America ends at the Mississippi River. Beyond lies the Indian nations, where the magic of powerful Medicine Men have halted the advance of the Americans east of the river.

An American government desperate to expand its territory sends Thomas Alva Edison out West to the town of Tombstone, Arizona on a mission to discover a scientific means of counteracting magic. Hired to protect this great genius, Wyatt Earp and his brothers.

But there are plenty who would like to see the Earps and Edison dead. Riding to their aid--old friends Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson. Against them stand the Apache wizard Geronimo and the Clanton gang. Battle lines are drawn, and the Clanton gang, which has their own reasons for wanting Edison dead, sends for Johnny Ringo, the one man who might be Doc Holliday's equal in a gunfight. But what shows up instead is The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo, returned from the dead and come to Tombstone looking for a fight.

Welcome to a West like you’ve never seen before, where “Bat Masterson” hails from the ranks of the undead, where electric lights shine down on the streets of Tombstone, while horseless stagecoaches carry passengers to and fro, and where death is no obstacle to The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo. Think you know the story of the O.K. Corral? Think again, as five time Hugo winner Mike Resnick takes on his first steampunk western tale, and the West will never be the same.

(Art and type by Benjamin Carre.)

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers is the start to a new world for Akers after his Heart of Veridon, which started him on the Noird path. Ohh, rocket packs! I love the detailing on the lettering. November release.

Eva Forge is the last paladin of a dead God. Morgan, God of battle and champion of the Fraterdom, was assassinated by his jealous brother, Amon. Over time, the Cult of Morgan has been surpassed by other gods, his blessings ignored in favor of brighter technologies and more mechanical miracles. Eva was the last child dedicated to the Cult of Morgan, forsaken by her parents and forgotten by her family. Now she watches as her new family, her Cult, crumbles all around her.

When a series of kidnappings and murders makes it clear that someone is trying to hasten the death of the Cult of Morgan, Eva must seek out unexpected allies and unwelcome answers in the city of Ash. But will she be able to save the city from a growing conspiracy, one that reaches back to her childhood, even back to the murder of her god?

 

(Art by Jon Sullivan, design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht)

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder is the first in the Burton and Swinburne series and also his debut novel. Wow. This cover is electric.  It is almost a little too busy what with the long title and series name, but it  works miraculously well with the art. September release.

When one man changes history, history changes everyone!

London, 1861.

Sir Richard Francis Burton--Explorer, linguist, scholar and swordsman; his reputation tarnished; his career in tatters; his former partner missing and probably dead.

Algernon Charles Swinburne--Unsuccessful poet and follower of de Sade; for whom pain is pleasure, and brandy is ruin!

They stand at a crossroads in their lives; and are caught in the epicentre of an empire torn by conflicting forces: Engineers transform the landscape with bigger, faster, noisier and dirtier technological wonders; Eugenicists develop specialist animals to provide unpaid labour; Libertines oppose repressive laws and demand a society based on beauty and creativity; while the Rakes push the boundaries of human behaviour to the limits with magic, drugs and anarchy.

The two men are sucked into the perilous depths of this moral and ethical vacuum when Lord Palmerston commissions Burton to investigate assaults on young women committed by a weird apparition known as Spring Heeled Jack, and to find out why werewolves are terrorising London's East End.

Their investigations lead them to one of the defining events of the age; and the terrifying possibility that the world they inhabit shouldn't exist at all!

(Click to embiggen, artist has been confirmed to be Raymond Swanland)

Elfsorrow, Shadowheart, and Demonstorm by James Barclay are the first three books in the Legends of the Raven series, which Pyr is bring over to the US for the first time in an accelerated published schedule with one a month starting in November. Another jaw dropper set of covers and they are much better than their UK counterparts as the designs are very much in the vein of Forgotten Realms. I have a feeling the artist is Raymond Swanland as it has the feel and color palette of his work on Glen Cooks's Black Company omnibuses.

Look for my interview with Lou Anders, the Editorial Director of Pyr, who discusses quite a few of these books.


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Table of Contents for Is There Anybody Out There? Edited by Givers & Halpern

One of my reading goals of 2010 is to get to more short fiction.  Part of that will surely be accomplished with Is There Anybody Out There?, which I mentioned in my 2010 anthology round-up.  I was tipped off to the TOC release from the always helpful Marty Halpern.  As soon as I saw the list I was shocked by the inclusion of James Morrow. That was all I needed to make sure to pick-up a copy. As if I needed another reason.  It is quite a line-up of wonderful short story writers such as Jay Lake, Paul Di Filippo, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch all checking in on the idea of why if there are aliens haven't we heard from them already?

Paul McAuley, “Introduction: Here Comes Everyone”
Michael Arsenault, “Residue”
Pat Cadigan, “The Taste of Night”
Paul Di Filippo, “Galaxy of Mirrors”
Sheila Finch, “Where Two or Three”
Matthew Hughes, “Timmy, Come Home”
Alex Irvine, “The Word He Was Looking for Was Hello”
Jay Lake, “Permanent Fatal Errors”
David Langford, “Graffiti in the Library of Babel”
Yves Meynard, “Good News from Antares”
James Morrow, “The Vampires of Paradox”
Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn, “Report From the Field”
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, “The Dark Man”
Felicity Shoulders & Leslie What, “Rare Earth”
Ray Vukcevich, “One Big Monkey”
Ian Watson, “A Waterfall of Lights”

Halpern has done a long post about the anthology including descriptions of each story that is worth checking out.


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