The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke, Arthur C. The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. 2000. Print.

First Sentences:

But what is science fiction anyway? Attempts to define it will continue as long as people write PhD theses. Meanwhile, I am content to accept Damon Knight's magisterial: "Science Fiction is what I point to and say 'That's science fiction.' "


Description:

Reading science fiction is not everyone's cup of tea. But I defy anyone reading even a single short story from Arthur C. Clarke's magnificent The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke, to be less than gobsmacked by the imagination, vision, characters, and plot lines shown through every entry by the master writer.

 

Just a few examples of what you will find in this 966-page tome. (Don't worry, you don't have to read it front to back. But I guarantee that when you are done, you will wish there were more such gripping stories to devour):

• A world ruler chooses to be placed in a suspended hibernation vault in a secret location, to be revived after 100 years when doctors feel they will have developed a cure for his heart disease. Unfortunately, over the years people have forgotten the location of the vault and even the man himself, so he sleeps for millenniums until he wakes to an entirely new world;

• Two ordinary crew members of a lowly space transport ship that has been hit by a meteor, discover their oxygen supply has been damaged and is now completely gone. Thirty days from the rendezvous point, they calculate they have only twenty days of recycled air for both of them to survive, ten days short of their destination. (One of the stories that was used in the development of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey;

• A man discovers his known world is bordered in the distance by a huge, insurmountable, indestructible wall built by who knows who, and when, and most importantly for what reason. His goal, of course, is to somehow overcome this wall and discover what, if anything, is on the other side.

• One man journeys to discover whether the rumor of a mechanically futuristic city, hidden by the Earth's governing body from the rest of the world, really exists, the reasons behind its construction and secrecy, and why no person who has sought it out has ever returned or even been heard from again. 

•  An engineer in a power plant, due to an electrical accident, has his body somehow reversed so that, while he appears as completely normal, everything he sees is now mirrored, his right-handedness is now dominant left-handed, and food that once nourished him is rejected by his inner system. Even the coins in his pocket have reversed their inscriptions.
  

• Using a new radar system, scientists discover miles below the Earth's surface what might be signs of non-natural developments. Of course, they decide to drill a deep hole to discover what, if anything, they might discover there. Naturally, there is a surprise in store for them.

Each story is completely different from any previous tale, an impossibly entertaining facet that pulls readers from one plot and character to the next. You dip into various chapters throughout the collection or read them, as I did, in the chronological order Clarke wrote them, starting with his earliest published story in 1937 through his last (in this collection) in 1999.

I was completely engrossed by every story, challenged mentally and emotionally, but emerged at the end of each plot line with a feeling of satisfaction at having been stretched to see the world and people in completely new ways. Highly recommended.

(P.S. As a bonus, I include below his shortest story, just to give you a feel for the writer and his quirky, scientific, and expanded mind. Enjoy.

 

      'siseneG'   (published in Analog, May 1985.

 

And God said: 'Lines Aleph Zero to Aleph One -- Delete.'

      And the Universe ceased to exist. 

Then She pondered for several aeons, and sighed. 

'Cancel Programme GENESIS,' She ordered. 

It never had existed.  

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

     See More Recommendations 

          (and an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles

Chronological science fiction stories about the exploration of Mars by Man, from the first ships to the final days of Earth. Fabulous. (previously reviewed here)

 

The Invincible

Lem, Stanislaw. The Invincible. London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1973. Print.

First Sentences:

The Invincible moved across the outermost quadrant of the Lyre Constellation. the heavy cruiser was propelled through space by photon drive. It was the largest ship at the disposal of the space fleet based in this section of the universe. The ship's complement numbered eighty-three men, presently asleep inside the hibernation tunnel.


Description:

When you combine science fiction with odd mystery, I find it very compelling, especially when the author is Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. And his book from almost 50 years ago, The Invincible, does not disappoint in any way.

The science fiction part? The plot introduces the mission of a huge space cruiser, "The Invincible,' dispatched to the small planet, Regis III, to investigate a mystery. The mystery? The Invincible's sister ship had landed on Regis III two years earlier, but had abruptly stopped communicating with Earth. Of course, curiosity and concern were raised, so The Invincible was sent to this barren planet to unravel the situation.

 

The sister ship is quickly located, but all the crew are dead. Bodies are found both inside and outside the rocket. What is strange is they all seem to be without injury. In fact, they seem to have starved to death despite the ship having ample stores of food and water. The captain's log is of no help as his last message ends in gibberish scrawling.

 

One crewman, however, is found in the hibernation chamber of that doomed ship, but The Invincible's medical staff is unable to revive him. Upon further examination they discover that this crewman somehow has had all his memories erased. Odd, to say the least.

 

The Invincible leaders realize that they have the same sensors, defenses, and weapons as the sister ship, all of which seem to have proved useless against whatever killed the other crew. But answers must be found, so The Invincible's crew begins a cautious forays away from the safety of their own ship onto the planet, not knowing what awaits them.

What I love about author Lem is the intricate plotting and reasoning behind every step of the adventure. His books are never about good vs. evil, but instead offer questions about the unknown, of different life forms, strange evolutions, and encounters with worlds completely different from Earth. The outcome of these scenarios and the conclusions drawn are always logical, even if challenging, to everything we understand as reality.

Lem is a highly prolific writer of international fame.  His book, Solaris, (also made into a movie), is a masterpiece of his alternative world and lifestyle plot that is so surprising and completely unpredictable. 

If you enjoy sci-fi, I highly recommend you become familiar with Lem and his challenging worlds. A couple  of my favorites are shown below, and his complete list of writings are found here. A great way to challenge your concept of the universe, of life, and of different philosophies.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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Science Fiction from Stanislaw Lem (Special Post).   

Here are a couple of my favorite Lem collections of tongue-in-cheek tales from astronauts of the future. Ijon Tichy, the seen-it-all astronaut (think, Harrison Ford in "Star Wars") and Pirx, a fresh-out-of-cadet-school pilot, travel throughout the universe full of boundless curiosity, daring, resourcefulness, and audacity en route to the most unusual of adventures. Wonderful, challenging, mind-bending, and always ironically humorous. (previously reviewed here)

 

 

The Big Door Prize

Walsh, M.O. The Big Door Prize. New York: Putnam 2020. Print.

First Sentences:

How can you know that your whole life will change on a day the sun rises at the agreed-upon time by science or God or what-have-you and the morning birds go about their usual bouncing for worms?

How can you know?

And why would you think there's another life for you, perhaps another possibility inside of you already, when the walk that you take each dawn is so lovely and safe? When the roads are all paved and the sidewalks just swept and those who move along them, like you, seem so content to re-tread the worn path that they've made?

Why would you think it?.


Description:

These rather long first sentences present the theme of M.O. Walsh's intriguing, whimsical, romantic, and highly compelling novel, The Big Door Prize. Can you change your life, and, if given a bit of an encouraging nudge, would you ? Or would you prefer to stay the steady course of a life that you have carved out over the years, even if it does not always make you feel happy or fulfilled?

One day, in the small town of Deerfield, ("a town so simple it is named for what you might see and where you might see it"), a crude phone booth-like machine called the DNAMIX just appears mysteriously in the local grocery. The sign over the DNAMIX says the machine will tell you what your true potential is.

All you have to do it put in two dollars, insert a swab taken from your inside cheek, and a card is produced with your potential spelled out. Maybe it reads "Magician" or "Cowboy" or "Lover" or "Astronaut" or "Jazz Trombone Player" or "Chair-Saw Sculptor" or even "Royalty." 

The DNAMIX is an immediate sensation in the town. Everyone who tries it begins to completely change their personal lifestyles. New clothes are purchased that are more appropriately suited to their new calling. Jobs are quit. Previously unknown skills are practiced. And eyes are even opened to new possibilities in relationships.

But there are a few skeptics, including a school teacher whose marriage has grown stale; a teen whose wildly-popular twin brother died recently in a car accident; and another dangerous-looking girl who is seeking retribution for some unknown slight.

So what is the power behind this crude machine? Is it really accurate in its predictions? Will people become happier and more content in their new lives? Or will the skeptics somehow prove to townspeople that the machine is a fake and cannot know the future?

For the answers, you will have to read right up to the very last pages. I hope you do as it is a weirdly compelling story with ordinary characters who face the opportunity of completely embracing a renewed love of life for themselves and those around them.

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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Benjamin, Chloe. The Immortalists.   

If you could know the exact date of your death, would you want to find out? Five children wanted to know this information and whet to a back alley seer to find out. The novel follows each one in their lives as they move closer to their predicted last days. Excellent in every way. (previously reviewed here)

 

Golden State

Winters, Ben H. Golden State. New York: Little, Brown 2019. Print.

First Sentences:

Somebody's telling lies in here, and it's making it hard to eat. In a perfect world, a man should be able to sit down at a favorite spot and eat his breakfast without the weight of professional obligation coming down on him, ruining his morning, pulling him right into the thick of it before  he can so much as get a good hot sip of coffee.

Description:

 

People in the city of Golden State in the near future believe that it was the lies told by government and other powerful figures that led to the devastating "Calamity" that destroyed much of their world. 

Therefore, in this new city erected from the embers of the old world, they have designated lying as the highest of crimes. The punishment for someone uttering a falsehood? Imprisonment for years or even banishment to the Outside, an unknown territory beyond the city limits from where there is no return. 

 

Laszlo Ratesic is a highly-regarded veteran of the Speculative Service in Golden State. His talent? He has a special sense that alerts him to when people around him are telling lies. Laszio's skill lead's naturally to an job with the Speculative Service whose legal purpose is to root out anyone voicing statements against the "Objectively So." In other words, they identify and arrest anyone caught lying, then determine whether they should be removed from the new society of Golden State.

And that is just the beginning of Ben H. Winters' brilliant, challenging novel, Golden State.

Just to be safe from accidently telling a falsehood, people greet each other with agreed-upon truths like "It's nine o'clock now" or "Twenty is twice ten." And each person records all daily activities in a personal diary which is deposited each evening into the city's permanent Record for preservation and future reference for what actually happened in any historical instance.

Imagine if each person was allowed the luxury of claiming their own truth, building a reality of their own in which they can live. Imagine the danger that would pose, how quickly those lies would metastasize, and the extraordinary threat that would pose to the world.

But when a death occurs to an ordinary roofer who fell from a housetop, there are some unanswered questions, possibly lies, which the thousands of surveillance cameras may not have captured. Enter Ratesic and his tag-along rookie partner, Aysa Paige. In their routine investigation, they notice some small incongruities and "dissonance" that hint at a conspiracy which might entirely change the world of Golden State. 

And then, Ratesic discovers an actual book, a physical copy of a fictional work that is by definition ("fictional" = "not true" = "lie"), an item outlawed by the government. He decides to hide it ... and read it.

Ratesic has his own demons as well, from a marital separation to conflicts with the local police who resent the power of the Speculative Service. Ms. Paige also has mysteries, particularly her unmatched ability to sense lies and suggest solutions to confusing situations. 

But, of course, their investigations poke their noses into dangerous areas, attracting the attention of powerful people who would prefer the matter be settled quietly. 

It is an odd premise for a culture, but one that author Winters describes logically and thoroughly in Golden State. We readers are yanked into this protected world to follow the thoughts and actions of one of its staunchest supporters in Laszlo Ratesic as he purses a case that threatens his life and his world. Surprises abound right to the very end. 

Completely unpredictable, exciting, and challenging in its premise and setting.

But the world has never been accused of being perfect, has it, and so here we are and here is what actually happens -- here is reality.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Mullen, Thomas. The Last Town on Earth.   

During World War I and the 1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak, historically several towns tried to isolate themselves from outside infection. This is the fictionalized story of one such town and the choices of individuals when they face strangers who show up seeking refuge. Highly recommended. (previously reviewed here)

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.   

In the near future, books are banned to such an extent that there is a fire department with men charged to burn any books found. One fireman, Guy Montag, begins to doubt this practice and discovers a secret world of book lovers trying to desperately preserve the contents of the world's literature. Highly recommended. 

Cold People

Smith, Tom Rob. Cold People. New York: Scribner 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Looking up at the night sky Ui saw only unfamiliar stars. 

These weren't the constellations that guided him between the Polynesian islands of his homeland, these were stars from the sky's outer edge, the stars his people had never bothered to name since they were no use to navigate by, dismissed at the "petuu vare" - foolish stars.

Description:

When a huge number of alien spaceships suddenly appear in the morning sky, a strange message plays on every electronic device in the world, plugged in or not: "People have thirty days to reach the continent of Antarctica." Nothing else. No reason why. No consequences revealed. Just that simple ominous message.

So starts the brilliant, challenging Cold People by Tom Rob Smith. The first contact with another species leads to a hurried mass migration of the world's people to the frozen south. Military boats, planes, oil tankers, and anything else that flies or floats is re-outfitted to carry as many passengers as possible, but of course they are insufficient in capacity to transport every person on Earth.

Those who somehow do reach Antarctica must create a completely new world when their old one is destroyed. No nations, no electronics, no internet, no money, everyone equal. These early challenges are only briefly addressed as author Smith quickly takes the story twenty years into the future after the aliens' arrival. And by then things have definitely changed for the people still alive in Antarctica.

By the end of the first year, it was apparent that humankind wouldn't survive unless it unified. Old notions of sovereignty were a luxury it could no longer afford. 

Realizing that humans are frail and completely unsuited to continuing in this bitter cold environment, much less expanding their population, the scientists among them create the "Cold People" project. They begin altering genetic material to produce "ice-adapted" humans who will be able to tolerate and thrive under icy conditions far beyond what current people could ever hope to achieve.

But there are questionable outcomes to this genetic experimentation, both ethical and dangerous, and the fate of the Antarctic  communities and mankind in general rest in the mysterious creations produced in the experimental labs.

This is a story of survival to be sure. But it is also presents thoughtful scenario where families, love, relationships, and ethics all must be reexamined to face and hopefully succeed in a challenging present and highly-uncertain future. I feel the unexpected directions taken by highly unusual characters in unique situations make this a strong narrative that will capture the attention and encourage philosophical and ethical questions in the minds of most readers.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Stephenson, Neil. Seveneves.   

When the moon explodes on the very first page of this novel, humankind must work together to construct a method to somehow preserve mankind and the knowledge of the ages before Earth eventually is destroyed. Riveting.  (previously reviewed here)

Special Post - Two Eternal Life books

North, Claire. The First 15 Lives of Harry August. New York: Knopf 2021. Print.

First Sentences:

The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, when she interrupted my like an ice cube down my spine. She was seven. I was seventy-eight.

_______________

Barry, Max. The 22 Murders of Madison May. New York: Putnam 2021. Print.

First Sentences:

She pulled to the curb and peered through her car window at the house she had to sell.The mailbox was lying across the lawn in pieces, as if someone had taken a baseball bat to it....The house was a dump. The mailbox had been one of the best things about it. 

Descriptions:

These two books of realistic Science Fiction/Fantasy, are dizzingly challenging due to their similar, unusual premise: "What if you could live forever, but there were certain catches?" To be sure, these turn out to be awkward catches, both mental and physical, that might hinder what could be anticipated by many people to be a dream existence.

In Claire North's The First 15 Lives of Harry August, the protagonist, Harry August, can live a normal life of being born, going to school, suffering illnesses, experiencing adulthood, and even dying of natural or unnatural causes. The catch? After dying, he is immediately reborn to the exact same life as he just lived: on the same exact date, under the same circumstances, to the same parents in the same location. He then has to live the same life (which he can modify by making different decisions), through old age or die earlier by other means.

Then he will start his life all over again...and again... and again.

The double catch for August is that he retains every memory from all his previous lives, all intelligence, skills, and knowledge. Football score memories and carefully-placed horse-racing bets help finance his lives. 

He has to knowingly live each life through toddlerhood, elementary schooling, and the other dubious events of childhood over and over. But by age six, he usually understands his fate and attempts to re-shape his newest life, pursuing different professions and education, obtaining different friends, and making better -- or at least different -- choices.

Unfortunately, he also has come to realize there are several other people like him with this "gift." These people use their unique lives to try to create a better world ... or to rule it. As August comes in contact with these people, for better or worse, his many lives take on challenging, often life-threatening directions. 

It's a fascinating concept: eternal life with catches and evil attached. But author North weaves a believable, fantastic, unpredictable tale of addressing the question of what to do if you knew you would continually be reborn and face the same people, events, and environment over and over. 

On the other hand, one of my favorite authors, Max Barry (Machine Man) has created a similarly-theme novel of extendable life in his The 22 Murders of Madison May. In the opening scene, a real estate agent named Madison May is murdered by a potential buyer of a run-down house she is trying to sell. A reporter, Felicity Staple, covering the crime, is accidently pulled by an unfamiliar person into a parallel world that seemingly mirrors the same environment as she currently lives in...but is slightly altered. For example, while she remains the same person, her apartment is now redecorated and occupied by a different male (boyfriend? husband?. Of course, she has to react to this new situation and adapt to this almost familiar world and its people.

 

Then she discovers another murder of a woman named Madison May. Felicity now understands that not only can she can jump into parallel worlds, but in each one there are seemingly random killings of women of a certain name occur. She resolves to find and then pursue the murderer to whichever world he jumps to and hopefully stop his killings.

But she must jump to another world at exactly the right time. If she misses the small timeframe to move to another world, Felicity risks being trapped forever in a life different from her original one. 

 

Confused yet? Wouldn't blame you if you were. But my descriptions do neither book real justice. Your immersion into the actual writing, characters, and plot of these books will reward you with a unique experience, guaranteed. You can't go wrong with either if you want challenging concepts, unusual situations, and unpredictable action.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Berry, Max. Machine Man.   

An engineer in the near future has his leg crushed in an industrial accident, so  designs a prosthetic leg for himself that is far superior to his original one of flesh. Of course, he soon decides to destroy and replace his other "inefficient" leg (as well as eventually other body parts) to gradually build himself into a superior man/machine. But what are the consequences for himself and his world?  (previously reviewed here)

Project Hail Mary

Weir, Andy. Project Hail Mary. New York: Ballantine 2021. Print

First Sentences:

"What's twp plus two?

Something about the question irritates me. I'm tired. I drift back to sleep.

A few minutes pass, then I hear it again.

"What's two plus two?

The soft, feminine voice lacks emotion and the pronunciation is identical to the previous time she said it. It's a computer. A computer is hassling me. I'm even more irritated now.

Description:

When I heard last year that Andy Weir, author of The Martian, had finished another science fiction novel (emphasis on the "science"), I marked my calendar for its publication date. Haven't ever done that before. So when Project Hail Mary finally came out, I was already on my library's "reserve" list and one of the first readers of that book in our area.

What a writer Andy Weir is: imaginative, scietific, ingenious, snarky, and best of all, a page-turning story-teller. And Project Hail Mary is a lulu of a tale.

Ryland Grace wakes to find himself in a strangely sterile room, unable to move his limbs, listening to a computer voice. Where is he? Gradually, his memory and body begin to return and he realizes he is the sole survivor on a space ship heading to a distant star. And not to just any star, but one that holds a secret that might mean the survival of a doomed Earth.

Alternating chapters between Grace's backstory and his current deep space mission, Weir unravels the current situation. An unknown microbe is slowly sapping the energy from the Sun, and at such an alarming rate that within a few decades the heat and light the Earth require will be extinguished. Astronomers have also discovered other stars in the galaxy which are experiencing similar energy loss -- all but one, that is, and this is the star Ryland Grace is heading toward.

But as these pieces slowly unfold in his memory and he arrives at this unique destination, he notices something strange. There's another space ship in the same area. Friend or foe? Similar purpose or unknown intentions? Grace knows he will have to meet this other ship and crew, and then deal with ensuing consequences. 

He also realizes his mission is designed to be only one-way. He is to find out why this star is not losing its energy, send his conclusions back to Earth via robot pods, and then live out his days in space since there was no room on his ship to carry food for the 18-year return trip.

Each chapter leaves Grace in a new quandry, facing a dificult decision, wondering what decisions to make, and how to deal with an alien. All these challenges are cleverly presented via Grace's stream of consciousness and self-discussions as he works through each obstacle with scientific reasoning, logic, and common sense.

It is an incredibly readable book, chock full of reasonable-sounding science that make data and complex operations understandable to laymen like me. It's truly a gripping story that will keep you guessing as to how Grace can possible find success with yet another challenge. Right up to the last pages, it is impossible to predict what he will face next.

That's all you get. If you want more, you'll just have to sit down for a few days and immerse yourself in this future environment where one man tries to save the world. Sounds like a hackneyed topic, but in the hands of author Weir, the story is anything but formulalistic. Read it. Read it. Read it. I give Project Hail Mary my highest recommendation.  

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Weir, Andy. The Martian.   

Accidentally left alone on Mars by his fellow astronaut team, Mark Watney must learn how to make his presence known to them and Earth so a rescue mission might be created... and he has to figure out how to survive for the months before any hope of another ship could come for him.  (previously reviewed here)

Stephenson, Neil. Seveneves.   

"The Moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Has there ever been a better first sentence? The people of the world realize the end of life on Earth will be caused by fallout of pieces from moon in less than two years. Therefore, they must work together to mount a rocket with representatives from Earth to preserve the species for eons until the planet becomes inhabitable again. Incredible, scientific yet readable, and thoroughly engrossing. My highest recommendation.  (previously reviewed here)

 

Recursion

Crouch, Blake. Recursion. New York: Crown 2019. Print

First Sentences:

Barry Sutton pulls over into the fire lane at the main entrance of the Poe Building, an Art Deco tower glowing white in the illumination of its exterior sconces

Description:

An odd situation has befallen the world in Blake Crouch's novel Recursion. People are suffering from False Memory Syndrome (FMS), a condition where they suddenly remember living a completely different life right up to the present moment: new families, kids, jobs, neighborhoods, etc. These alternate history memories are seen by each person in black and white, almost like a dream, but seem unnervingly real. They still find themselves living their completely different, yet explainable life and, for some people, this dichotomy is too much and a rash of suicides occurs worldwide. 

There are so few things in our existence we can count on to give us the sense of permanence, of the ground beneath our feet. People fail us. Our bodies fail us. We fail ourselves...But what do you cling to, moment to moment, if memories can simply change. What, then, is real?

Two people are deeply involved in FMS and its causes: Barry Sutton, a New York City cop investigating the suicides, and Helena Smith, a neuroscientist working on experiments to preserve memories. She envisions creating a memory recorder so her mother and other Alzheimer's patients might someday preserve memories and then have these precious memories re-installed into their damaged brains so the the patients might experience them once again.   

But when Helena finds a deep-pocketed investor with a visionary agenda, her experiments expand vastly and lead to interesting results. Her invention can potentially alter the course of history well beyond restoring a few memories. But is the change her invention offers for the better or worse? After all, what could go wrong with re-experiencing one's own past? It is up to Helena and Barry to team up to unwind the complexity of time, memory, and human nature and restore the world to normalcy.

It is a challenging premise that memories are essential to the concept of time and reality, and that by altering an individual's memories, time and history can be completely altered. Mind-bending, I know, but oh so compelling and interesting in premise and repercussions.

That's all you get from me. The rest of the surprises you'll have to find for yourself. To give any more away would spoil the incredible directions the plot carries you. Very highly recommended.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveller's Wife.   

Newlyweds Clare and Henry struggle to preserve their love and relationship despite Henry's severe case of Chrono-Displacement Disorder which causes him to time travel at unexpected times. Beautifully written.

Bears Discover Fire

Bisson, Terry. Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories. New York: Tor 1993. Print

First Sentences:

I was driving with my brother, the preacher, and my nephew, the preacher's son, on I-65 just north of Bowling Green when we got a flat.

Description:

Imagine yourself changing a flat car tire on some lonely wooded road on a dark night. Of course, your flashlight is flickering weakly. But then suddenly you are pleased to have an abundance of light. Looking up, you see a bear, quietly holding a fiery torch over your head. All you can think is, "Looks like bears have discovered fire." And there, in the woods, you notice them sitting around a campfire, quiet and calm. What could possibly happen next?

Such is the first story in Terry Bisson's wonderful collection of fantasy and sci-fi tales, Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories. This is the book for the lovers of the unusual, slightly off-kilter world that seems oh so real, or at least kind of close to our real life settings and the people we see every day. Close, yes, and yet odd and off-beat in unexpected ways. 

Among the stories in Bears Discover Fire are:

• "They're Made Out of Meat" - conversation between aliens observing humans;
• "George" - a boy born with tiny wings;
• "Necronauts"- three researchers who can die, resurrect, and tell what they saw;
• "The Message" - humans decode the first words from the dolphins;
• "Two Guys from the Future" - a visit from aliens who collect art;

And those are just a random sample of Bissen's imagination. He drops you into the middle of some far-fetched scenario, such as when the entire island of England slowly breaks away and starts to chug across the ocean, then somehow makes the situation seem entirely plausible without explaining the background leading up to the event and any conclusion (or none) that is reached.

Each story is fun as well as serious, fantastic as well as very human. It was a pleasure for me to read every tale, letting them lull you into a quirky world, then leaving you to think about the implications waiting for each character and even all of humanity when the story concludes.

I loved all of them and highly recommend them to everyone. Enjoy!

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man.   

A series of fantasy and sci-fi stories depicted by the tattoos covering a man's body and brought to life as he sleeps, to the wonderment of his traveling companion. Each one a classic.

Chiang, Ted. Exhalation: Stories.   

Excellent, thought-provoking fantasy and sci-fi stories involving time-travel mishaps, a robot nanny, a story narrated by a highly evolved parrot, and many more exciting, fascinating stories. (previously reviewed here).

Exhalation: Stories

Chiang, Ted. Exhalation: Stories. New York: Knopf 2019. Print

First Sentences:

The story I have to tell is truly a strange one, and were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one's eye, the marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted, for it is a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn.

Description:

I'll say right off the bat that I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy short story writer Ted Chiang and his mind-bending, exhilarating, and thought-provoking tales. His latest collection, Exhalation: Stories, continues his explorations into the world of the past, present and future in completely unexpected ways ranging from time travel to philosophy to alchemy to who knows what. Just plunge in to each story and hang on.

In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," an alchemist invents a time portal that, when one steps through it, travels exactly twenty years into the future. A common story, perhaps, but in Chiang's capable hands, the story keeps growing, re-shaping itself, bringing characters into completely different roles whether in the past, present, or future where they could possibly (or actually) influence the course of history. What would you do with such an invention? Sit back and find out, but it won't be what you expected.

"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" describes the first automated child-raising robot, an experiment to provide all necessities to a baby to ensure the perfect upbringing. Of course, there are problems. But it is the calm, intellectual reasoning behind this story that separates if from a run-of-the-mill robot gone wrong tale.

Then there is a story, "The Great Silence" narrated by a parrot who wonders why mankind seeks intelligent life in the galaxy when he and his fellow sentient parrots are sitting right next to them, about to be made extinct before given the opportunity to talk with humans. Next, in the story "Omphalos," an anthropologist finds fossils (and a mummified man with no belly button) that prove Earth and all its inhabitants were created fully formed on a specific date, not evolved as is widely believed. How does mankind handle this sort of information? 

There's a description of a hand-held device that proves all actions in the world are already fated, not the result of free will. In one brilliant story, a man examines his own robotic brain to realize the human mind is gradually slowing down and their seemingly eternal life is very slowly dying.

Each story really makes readers concentrate, ask themselves questions, and try to understand implications of plots and actions that change the thinking of human since the world begin. Fantastic.

So buckle up and open you mind in every story to new directions and challenges to preconceived notions. Like his first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others (which contains "Story of Your Life" about extraterrestrial contact used as the basis for the Amy Adams film, Arrival). Highly recommended for all readers.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Chiang, Ted. Stories of Your Life and Others.   

Excellent, thought-provoking Sci-Fi stories involving alien landing on Earth, the construction of the tallest building in history that hits a previously-unknown solid ceiling enclosing the world, and many more exciting, fascinating stories.