nytxia's review against another edition
3.0
I have first heard of Writers of the Future thanks to Orson Scott Card’s amazing book ‘How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy’. In hopes of grasping what would be needed to succeed in such contest, I have, of course, bought one of the volumes. I admit I have taken quite a while to finish reading this anthology. When I was then asked by the publisher to write a review, I decided to finally finish it. So here it goes.
I won’t rate the illustrations, even though they were amazing and somehow, fit perfectly the stories. Also, I am not going to analyze each single story individually. Instead, I will be just giving my overall opinion of what I thought of the stories included in this anthology. Being this contest considered one of the most prestigious ones, of course, I had high expectations and was hoping to absorb at least some knowledge from the experience of reading the winner stories. The fact that I didn’t feel intrigued enough by the stories doesn’t mean they are bad. They are amazingly well written, and I am sure the experts know better than me. However, considering that some of the stories were more interesting than others (to me), overall the anthology simply didn’t grab enough of my attention. This is merely personal.
Themes: While there is not a common theme, I have noted that this SF anthology is mostly focused on Science fiction rather than Fantasy (at least considering my parameters). This is not necessarily bad, but it would be nice to see some balance, variety. I am unsure at this point of how unbiased I can be due to me being clearly drawn to Fantasy.
Plot: The stories all follow a structured plot but I thought many were unnecessarily long, relying on ‘conflict after conflict’ to delay the ending – if there was a clear ending, which was not always the case.
Writing: When a book doesn’t grasp my interest, I usually blame writing. Well, I don’t think this was the case. The stories were very well written, even if I wasn’t a particular fan of the fact that most of them were in the First Person (nothing against it, only would like to see a bit more of variety – again).
Overall, great selection of well-written stories, which somehow didn’t manage to grab me. I will, however, be reading more of Writers of the Future and I completely support their initiative.
I won’t rate the illustrations, even though they were amazing and somehow, fit perfectly the stories. Also, I am not going to analyze each single story individually. Instead, I will be just giving my overall opinion of what I thought of the stories included in this anthology. Being this contest considered one of the most prestigious ones, of course, I had high expectations and was hoping to absorb at least some knowledge from the experience of reading the winner stories. The fact that I didn’t feel intrigued enough by the stories doesn’t mean they are bad. They are amazingly well written, and I am sure the experts know better than me. However, considering that some of the stories were more interesting than others (to me), overall the anthology simply didn’t grab enough of my attention. This is merely personal.
Themes: While there is not a common theme, I have noted that this SF anthology is mostly focused on Science fiction rather than Fantasy (at least considering my parameters). This is not necessarily bad, but it would be nice to see some balance, variety. I am unsure at this point of how unbiased I can be due to me being clearly drawn to Fantasy.
Plot: The stories all follow a structured plot but I thought many were unnecessarily long, relying on ‘conflict after conflict’ to delay the ending – if there was a clear ending, which was not always the case.
Writing: When a book doesn’t grasp my interest, I usually blame writing. Well, I don’t think this was the case. The stories were very well written, even if I wasn’t a particular fan of the fact that most of them were in the First Person (nothing against it, only would like to see a bit more of variety – again).
Overall, great selection of well-written stories, which somehow didn’t manage to grab me. I will, however, be reading more of Writers of the Future and I completely support their initiative.
theskinofa_killer_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book was absolutely amazing! At first, I was bit sceptical of this book. I questioned the seriousness of the competition and the quality of the short stories within it. The scepticism was completely unnecessary. Every single story and illustration was absolutely fantastical! I was gasping with shock in some moments and literally laughing out loud at others. I even wanted to cry with happiness at certain moments. This book is, and will always be, worth reading. If you haven't read this, then this is a MUST read and MUST have if you're a collector (this book will most definitely enrich your collection).
08151991j's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, either though I found some of the stories a bit confusing, but sometimes I take things literally. The stories provided in this book should be taken figuratively. Three stories I enjoyed most in this anthology are: "Mara's Shadow," "Odd and Ugly," and "A Bitter Thing."
"Mara's shadow" is about the discovery of a new infectious disease with the power to kill people. Worms infest the humans and consume humans internally. This disease was first introduced in early civilization, and was considered as a curse called Mara's Shadow. This disease kills the protagonists husband, so she decides to search for a cure before the symptoms of the disease occur in her son.
"Odd and Ugly" is about girl who falls in love with a Kapra tree, but the tree does not feel like he is attractive enough. Eventually the girl finds out, and she dates another guy. The new guy in the girl's life becomes hostile and demanding. Once the tree giant learns that the girl is about to marry him, he objects to their marriage and proposes to marry her himself.
"A bitter Thing" is about a girl named Ami who meets a lost (Hexie) Alien from another planet. She feels obligated to let the (Hexie) live with her and she falls in love with him. Hexie's plan isn't about staying with Ami forever. The Hexie creates a computer program that has the ability to hypnotize other Aliens. Hexie's captain eventually finds out about this, and tells Hexie to report to him immediately. Ami wants to go with Hexie, but Hexie warned Ami that the captain would not let her live.
"Mara's shadow" is about the discovery of a new infectious disease with the power to kill people. Worms infest the humans and consume humans internally. This disease was first introduced in early civilization, and was considered as a curse called Mara's Shadow. This disease kills the protagonists husband, so she decides to search for a cure before the symptoms of the disease occur in her son.
"Odd and Ugly" is about girl who falls in love with a Kapra tree, but the tree does not feel like he is attractive enough. Eventually the girl finds out, and she dates another guy. The new guy in the girl's life becomes hostile and demanding. Once the tree giant learns that the girl is about to marry him, he objects to their marriage and proposes to marry her himself.
"A bitter Thing" is about a girl named Ami who meets a lost (Hexie) Alien from another planet. She feels obligated to let the (Hexie) live with her and she falls in love with him. Hexie's plan isn't about staying with Ami forever. The Hexie creates a computer program that has the ability to hypnotize other Aliens. Hexie's captain eventually finds out about this, and tells Hexie to report to him immediately. Ami wants to go with Hexie, but Hexie warned Ami that the captain would not let her live.
scottcmikula's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not usually a big short story reader, but I wanted to see what sorts of things are getting people published today. There are a few nice pieces in this book (I especially liked "Epiphany" and "Simulacrum's Children"), but mostly I was underwhelmed. It seems like the Writers of the Future judges are looking more for something edgy and unique than they are simply a good sci-fi or fantasy story.
scamp1234's review against another edition
4.0
My favorites in this volume have to be War Hero, Twelve Seconds, Cop for a Day, Gonna reach out and grab ya, and Dreameaters ( my favorite of all of them ).
abetterjulie's review against another edition
3.0
This was mixed for me. I entirely skipped one story because I disliked it so much, but there were at least two that I thought were excellent. It felt like it averaged out to "like" rather than "okay". I enjoyed the way the illustrations were like a little surprise in each story. I love the cover art.
jandrews560's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't really like many of he stories...as far as fantasy and science fiction goes, I could see so many better choices than these...just my opinion but, I had to force myself to finish most of them.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/951916.html[return][return]I bought this way back when Jay Lake's story "Into the Gardens of Sweet Night" got its well-deserved Hugo nomination a couple of years ago, but have only now got around to reading the rest of the fourteen pieces of short fiction in the book, all of which are given a single illustration by an up-and-coming artist. Lake's is the jewel of the collection, and several others show promise though there was none that quite grabbed me in the same way. There is a rather odd inclusion of a short piece on writing by Hubbard himself, and an even shorter piece on illustrating sf by Will Eisner, as well as a retrospective by Sean Williams on what it meant to be included in an earlier volume.
thulsey's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
hissingpotatoes's review against another edition
4.0
I was lucky enough to win this book through Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you!
It's very difficult to find quality anthologies, and Writers of the Future Volume 30 is definitely one of the few best I've ever read. The creativity of the authors and their ability to stretch the limits of the imagination intrigued me with every story. The authors combined science fiction and fantasy elements within familiar societies, elevating the stories to thought-provoking entertainment. I will definitely be checking out many of the authors to see what other stories and novels they have created. If speculative fiction intrigues you in the least, I recommend checking out this anthology, because it'll provide a little bit of every angle of the genre.
It's very difficult to find quality anthologies, and Writers of the Future Volume 30 is definitely one of the few best I've ever read. The creativity of the authors and their ability to stretch the limits of the imagination intrigued me with every story. The authors combined science fiction and fantasy elements within familiar societies, elevating the stories to thought-provoking entertainment. I will definitely be checking out many of the authors to see what other stories and novels they have created. If speculative fiction intrigues you in the least, I recommend checking out this anthology, because it'll provide a little bit of every angle of the genre.