A review by geve_
The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard by J.G. Ballard
4.0
3.5 rounded up.
These feel very much like stories out of the time they were written in both a good and bad way. There were a couple of great stories (4-5 stars), but most were just fine (2-3 stars). There were some repeated themes as well, that made these feel like practice stories for later and possibly better works. In particular there were several stories about running out of living space/resources and cramped mega-cities as well as stories about the whole "playing god" improvement of humanity to our detriment.
I will say I was struck by the very dystopian nature of the stories which is part of why they feel a bit dated, while also being a little nostalgic for a time I never experienced, but have certainly read a lot about.
All in all, this was a mostly good read. I will probably pick up another book by this author.
These feel very much like stories out of the time they were written in both a good and bad way. There were a couple of great stories (4-5 stars), but most were just fine (2-3 stars). There were some repeated themes as well, that made these feel like practice stories for later and possibly better works. In particular there were several stories about running out of living space/resources and cramped mega-cities as well as stories about the whole "playing god" improvement of humanity to our detriment.
I will say I was struck by the very dystopian nature of the stories which is part of why they feel a bit dated, while also being a little nostalgic for a time I never experienced, but have certainly read a lot about.
All in all, this was a mostly good read. I will probably pick up another book by this author.