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
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
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
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
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.
juliemawesome's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories by Connie Willis. I thought I'd read more of her short stories than I had, but there was only one story in here that I'd already read. "Even the Queen", which I like. I'm envious of the characters in it.
The stories have themes you'll be familiar with if you've read other things by Connie Willis. Time travel, the Blitz, Christianity, hectic goings-on, Hollywood.
One type of story she writes that I find uncomfortable is ones in which characters can never seem to sit down and talk to each other. The main character can't achieve the simplest of goals because she's too busy being interrupted by other people and circumstances. It creates a tension in me that I don't like. I'm not reading on to find out what happens next; I'm reading on so the out-of-control situation will finally END. It's rather like being overwhelmed by too much, prolonged, multitasking. In the stories, it makes for comedy, but I can't fully appreciate the humor, because I'm too irritated.
Absolutely none of the stories bored me, though. And I couldn't even point at flaws in them. Which is why she's a master.
The stories have themes you'll be familiar with if you've read other things by Connie Willis. Time travel, the Blitz, Christianity, hectic goings-on, Hollywood.
One type of story she writes that I find uncomfortable is ones in which characters can never seem to sit down and talk to each other. The main character can't achieve the simplest of goals because she's too busy being interrupted by other people and circumstances. It creates a tension in me that I don't like. I'm not reading on to find out what happens next; I'm reading on so the out-of-control situation will finally END. It's rather like being overwhelmed by too much, prolonged, multitasking. In the stories, it makes for comedy, but I can't fully appreciate the humor, because I'm too irritated.
Absolutely none of the stories bored me, though. And I couldn't even point at flaws in them. Which is why she's a master.