leodhasach's review against another edition
5.0
Usually I don't take to short story anthologies, I'm not a huge fan of shorter fiction because I feel like they either finish at the point where I'm beginning to really enjoy the story, or they end abruptly leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions as to what happens at the end. I'm lazy, I like to be spoon-fed by the author and I like neat endings tied up in pretty little bow!
However this defied my expectations. And to be fair and open I should say that I know A.S Sinclair's work as Alex Roddie and his mountain fiction works so I knew this would be of a high standard if he was involved. (Cheque to the usual address please Mr Roddie!)
Based on the premise that you're stranded with no way to get home this was never going to be a light read, and the stories are for the most part quite intense and yes, a bit gloomy too.
Lucas Bale's opener,'To Sing of Chaos and Eternal Night', about a nameless soldier stuck in a never ending loop of battles, is written superbly. He's hinted a larger novel to flesh out the story which I would be keen to see the light of day.
Revolver by Michael Patrick Harris in particular stands out as being ever so slightly unsettling, it's unashamedly unsubtle which he freely admits to in the blurb at the end. Taking social media to a dystopian extreme he manages to convey the feeling of utter desperation by the main protagonist whilst giving a distinct feeling that we're not really all that far away from the scenario depicted in the story.
Fortunately this standard continues throughout and it's easy to forget that none of these authors (and I mean this with the greatest respect) are big name sci-fi writers. But the quality easily matches anything I've read that's touted by the big publishing houses.
However this defied my expectations. And to be fair and open I should say that I know A.S Sinclair's work as Alex Roddie and his mountain fiction works so I knew this would be of a high standard if he was involved. (Cheque to the usual address please Mr Roddie!)
Based on the premise that you're stranded with no way to get home this was never going to be a light read, and the stories are for the most part quite intense and yes, a bit gloomy too.
Lucas Bale's opener,'To Sing of Chaos and Eternal Night', about a nameless soldier stuck in a never ending loop of battles, is written superbly. He's hinted a larger novel to flesh out the story which I would be keen to see the light of day.
Revolver by Michael Patrick Harris in particular stands out as being ever so slightly unsettling, it's unashamedly unsubtle which he freely admits to in the blurb at the end. Taking social media to a dystopian extreme he manages to convey the feeling of utter desperation by the main protagonist whilst giving a distinct feeling that we're not really all that far away from the scenario depicted in the story.
Fortunately this standard continues throughout and it's easy to forget that none of these authors (and I mean this with the greatest respect) are big name sci-fi writers. But the quality easily matches anything I've read that's touted by the big publishing houses.
serena_dawn's review
4.0
Received Free ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) for Read-for-Review : Goodreads Group : Pro-Active Destruction: Harry Manners
To Sing of Chaos and Eternal Night (Lucas Bale): with the Widows, a soldier can fight forever, dying on the battlefield only live again to fight another day. In such a war the only very real question becomes, what are you fighting for? And what would you do if you knew the truth...
XE, or People Are Crazy (S. Elliot Brandis): sometimes it doesn't matter how far you get from people, they always seem to find you, and there is always something now very sane about the way they behave. Sometimes the sane and safe thing to be is paranoid.
Grist (J. S. Collyer): history is full of darkness, but when your a miner that dreams of the sky and the mines use something called bloodgrease, the only way out might lead to death.
Merely A Madness (S. W. Fairbrother): rebels come in all shapes and sizes, on a Earth abused for its resources, people on Earth are born now with missing limbs -or too many parts- are thought of no better than beasts or animals, until they rise up from the mud, because with love comes hope - but hope isn't always on your heart's side.
Revolver (Michael Patrick Hicks): what if you were so poor people paid you a starting bid of $5,000 to end your life on live TV? Is that a world still worth something? Still worth living in or fighting for? The thing about revolutions is it's not surprising how many begin with a Revolver.
The Happy Place (Harry Manners): I am sure you've heard the phrase "go to your happy place", but what if you can't? What if you're on the Moon and remembering a lover lost, with a dead end handyman/sanitation job, children you can never take home to Earth with you, and standing between you and your happy place is all that ...and there is no escape. You can only hope it's enough.
Renata (Nadine Matheson): visions, assassins, professors and ambassadors, and a family that ties together all three -and more- with such a family's blood flowing through you, a time machine may mean very little, or be key to rebirth and growth.
Cold Witness (A. S. Sinclair): a theme that ran through my mind reading this can be reminded with "Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Being a Butterfly", who you really has in the end less to do with name and realities "facts", but perhaps lays with what you do and don't fear...and why.
I quite liked them all, strange and unique, and stranded, one way or another, far from home.
To Sing of Chaos and Eternal Night (Lucas Bale): with the Widows, a soldier can fight forever, dying on the battlefield only live again to fight another day. In such a war the only very real question becomes, what are you fighting for? And what would you do if you knew the truth...
XE, or People Are Crazy (S. Elliot Brandis): sometimes it doesn't matter how far you get from people, they always seem to find you, and there is always something now very sane about the way they behave. Sometimes the sane and safe thing to be is paranoid.
Grist (J. S. Collyer): history is full of darkness, but when your a miner that dreams of the sky and the mines use something called bloodgrease, the only way out might lead to death.
Merely A Madness (S. W. Fairbrother): rebels come in all shapes and sizes, on a Earth abused for its resources, people on Earth are born now with missing limbs -or too many parts- are thought of no better than beasts or animals, until they rise up from the mud, because with love comes hope - but hope isn't always on your heart's side.
Revolver (Michael Patrick Hicks): what if you were so poor people paid you a starting bid of $5,000 to end your life on live TV? Is that a world still worth something? Still worth living in or fighting for? The thing about revolutions is it's not surprising how many begin with a Revolver.
The Happy Place (Harry Manners): I am sure you've heard the phrase "go to your happy place", but what if you can't? What if you're on the Moon and remembering a lover lost, with a dead end handyman/sanitation job, children you can never take home to Earth with you, and standing between you and your happy place is all that ...and there is no escape. You can only hope it's enough.
Renata (Nadine Matheson): visions, assassins, professors and ambassadors, and a family that ties together all three -and more- with such a family's blood flowing through you, a time machine may mean very little, or be key to rebirth and growth.
Cold Witness (A. S. Sinclair): a theme that ran through my mind reading this can be reminded with "Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Being a Butterfly", who you really has in the end less to do with name and realities "facts", but perhaps lays with what you do and don't fear...and why.
I quite liked them all, strange and unique, and stranded, one way or another, far from home.
tiredtank's review
5.0
It's a rare thing to enjoy every short story in a collection, but somehow No Way Home managed just that. Of course there were some that I enjoyed more than others, but not a one had me thinking, "Ugh, screw it. I'm going to skim." They all had something to offer, and each had a different perspective on the main theme of the collection.
And speaking of the theme--what a great choice. There is such a chilling melancholy in the thought, 'I can't go home', and it really resonated with me.
I'll definitely be checking out the other collection from this group!
And speaking of the theme--what a great choice. There is such a chilling melancholy in the thought, 'I can't go home', and it really resonated with me.
I'll definitely be checking out the other collection from this group!
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