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rebeccacider's review against another edition
3.0
Short story collection. When Connie Willis does contemporary satire, it doesn't do much for me, but there is some excellent plotting in here—even the very silly "Spice Pogrom" had a satisfying ending.
My favorite stories were nevertheless those with historical settings. "Winter's Tale" is incredibly clever, and "Jack," an atmospheric story of the Blitz, is one of the best things Connie Willis has ever written.
My favorite stories were nevertheless those with historical settings. "Winter's Tale" is incredibly clever, and "Jack," an atmospheric story of the Blitz, is one of the best things Connie Willis has ever written.
caedocyon's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of the stories are apocalypse-themed, which is normally a big turn-off for me, but there was some very good work in here anyway.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
Delighted to catch up with a few stories that were not included in the other collection. Love that cheesy cover!
reasie's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes of enjoying this since I simply adored "To Say Nothing of the Dog" and "Doomsday Book" but I guess Connie Willis' short fiction isn't as appealing to me. The first story "The Last Winnebago" was dated in amusing ways - you know how it is. We can foresee all these future tech advances - her characters have ring tones that identify callers, but their phones are tied to their homes and cars, not carried around. The main character is photographer and has FILM. Actual film. Wow. I forgot that used to be a thing.
BUT... of course it's easy to snicker at failures of prognostication in science fiction. The story has a very tight plot, complex and neatly tied up at the end, which I think is Willis' strong suit.
My favorite story was the second-to-last one, "Jack", a tale of London during the blitz that doesn't pull any punches - also considered a Willis strong point.
BUT... of course it's easy to snicker at failures of prognostication in science fiction. The story has a very tight plot, complex and neatly tied up at the end, which I think is Willis' strong suit.
My favorite story was the second-to-last one, "Jack", a tale of London during the blitz that doesn't pull any punches - also considered a Willis strong point.
libkatem's review against another edition
5.0
As it's a book of short stories, I will address them all separately.
"The Last of the Winnebagos" A terribly depressing story about human nature, the evils of society (in this case, the definite article) and the loss of man's best friend.
"Even the Queen" A hilarious story about philosophy and women: basically, is getting rid of our periods progress, or fitting with the goals of the patriarchy (and frankly penis envy)?
"Schwarzschild Radius" And interesting comparison of war and black holes. Unexpected, and sad.
"Ado" I laughed the whole way through. It's case in point why people should not be banning books on the basis of being "politically correct." Because these kids aren't learning anything!!!
"The Last of the Winnebagos" A terribly depressing story about human nature, the evils of society (in this case, the definite article) and the loss of man's best friend.
"Even the Queen" A hilarious story about philosophy and women: basically, is getting rid of our periods progress, or fitting with the goals of the patriarchy (and frankly penis envy)?
"Schwarzschild Radius" And interesting comparison of war and black holes. Unexpected, and sad.
"Ado" I laughed the whole way through. It's case in point why people should not be banning books on the basis of being "politically correct." Because these kids aren't learning anything!!!
alice2000's review against another edition
5.0
Really good set of short stories. Especially loved the short, but worthy Ado.
slimikin's review against another edition
5.0
Witty and wise, poignant and playful, this collection of Connie Willis' short stories blends a bit of science fiction, a pinch of speculative history, and a dash of satire and screwball comedy. All of the stories are beautifully written, and each is prefaced by a brief explanation of its history or origin---how Willis came up with the idea or what she hoped to achieve in the writing of it. Some of the stories made me laugh, a handful made me cry, and a couple of them made me wish I'd thought to pick up a degree in physics while I was busily chipping away at my BA. If you're looking for a superbly written short story or just some very smart science fiction, give Impossible Things a read.
nwhyte's review against another edition
2.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1424811.html
Connie Willis has won more Hugo awards for fiction than any other writer (and more Nebulas than anyone except Ursula Le Guin), and I'm not entirely sure why. Her best stories have a decent combination of humour and nostalgic mourning; her worst are sentimental glurge. This particular collection includes two of her four joint Hugo/Nebula winning stories - 'The Last of the Winnebagos' and 'Even The Queen', both of which are decent enough; I found some of the others pretty incomprehensible (especially the last in the collection, 'At The Rialto') or shallow. Some of them are OK (best being 'Jack', a story of a vampire during the Blitz), and the collection probably represents Willis at the peak of her powers - for good or ill.
Connie Willis has won more Hugo awards for fiction than any other writer (and more Nebulas than anyone except Ursula Le Guin), and I'm not entirely sure why. Her best stories have a decent combination of humour and nostalgic mourning; her worst are sentimental glurge. This particular collection includes two of her four joint Hugo/Nebula winning stories - 'The Last of the Winnebagos' and 'Even The Queen', both of which are decent enough; I found some of the others pretty incomprehensible (especially the last in the collection, 'At The Rialto') or shallow. Some of them are OK (best being 'Jack', a story of a vampire during the Blitz), and the collection probably represents Willis at the peak of her powers - for good or ill.
lxndrw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
These stories haven't dated a bit. Wit like this is rare in any genre.