A review by cathepsut
The Future Is Nigh: A treasury of short fiction by Writers of the Future winning authors. by C. Stuart Hardwick
4.0
A collection of previously published short stories of winners of the Writers of the Future Contest. Length varies from 6 to 32 pages.
Pretty decent collection. Three really excellent stories, one that didn‘t really do it for me and the rest was ok to fairly good. 4 stars overall.
My favourites:
Martin L. Shoemaker, Today I Am Paul: My emotional winner. I want to hug this android so hard.
Marina J. Lostetter, Rats will Run: Great world building, imaginative flora and fauna.
William Ledbetter, Last House, Lost House: Great post-apocalyptic story with a nice twist.
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Order of appearance:
Brian Trent, Sparg, 4*
Very short, cute and sad story about a litte pet, that is trying to understand its owners. I want a Sparg of my own!
C. Stuart Hardwick, Dreams of the Rocket Man, 4.5*
Outstanding story of one man‘s space race. Some of the rocket propulsion babble went over my head. Made me very emotional at the end. I will definitely check out this author.
For a free e-sampler: www.cStuartHardwick.com
J.W. Alden, Möbius, 3.25*
Interesting. Difficult to summarize. „I‘ve watched you die a thousand times.“ Think Groundhog Day.
www.authoralden.com
Marina J. Lostetter, Rats will Run, 5*
Rats, moving foliage and panspermia. Loved the setting. Could be a fun novel. She wrote Noumenon and after reading this excellent short story about discoveries on a new planet, I will seriously consider reading that one.
Matthew S. Rotundo, Fuel, 3*
It was ok. A future where athletic prowess is more important than academics.
C. L. Holland, Miss Davenport's Ugly Cat, 3.5*
Another cute story with a pet. This time we are dealing with a rodent infestation on an interstellar cruise ship. Fun. Simon Pegg in the lead role.
William Ledbetter, Last House, Lost House, 5*
I really liked this post-apocalyptic story. It‘s not spelled out, but I think we are looking at the world after a meteor impact. Our hero is not in good shape and all alone, but then she comes across this last house...
L. D. Colter, Softly Into the Morning, 2.75*
A ghost story in space. While the idea was not bad, I just did not like the writing as such. Not sure what it was exactly, but something bugged me.
Matt Dovey, Squalor and Dympathy, 3*
Victorian England, the age of Industrialisation. Machine do not run on steam, but on magic. More precisely on the desperation of the poor. Alternate history, more fantasy than SF. Interesting concept, but I did not really warm up to the characters.
Martin L. Shoemaker, Today I Am Paul, 5*
Wow, this one made me cry in the end. First I was a little lukewarm. Another AI story, nicely done. Then the story snuck up on me. I almost sobbed when I read the last sentence. This is the emotional winner of the book. Wow.
Nominated for a Nebula Award. More at shoemaker.space. I will definitely check him out. A novella is mentioned, „Murder on the Aldrin Express.“
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I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Pretty decent collection. Three really excellent stories, one that didn‘t really do it for me and the rest was ok to fairly good. 4 stars overall.
My favourites:
Martin L. Shoemaker, Today I Am Paul: My emotional winner. I want to hug this android so hard.
Marina J. Lostetter, Rats will Run: Great world building, imaginative flora and fauna.
William Ledbetter, Last House, Lost House: Great post-apocalyptic story with a nice twist.
************
Order of appearance:
Brian Trent, Sparg, 4*
Very short, cute and sad story about a litte pet, that is trying to understand its owners. I want a Sparg of my own!
C. Stuart Hardwick, Dreams of the Rocket Man, 4.5*
Outstanding story of one man‘s space race. Some of the rocket propulsion babble went over my head. Made me very emotional at the end. I will definitely check out this author.
For a free e-sampler: www.cStuartHardwick.com
J.W. Alden, Möbius, 3.25*
Interesting. Difficult to summarize. „I‘ve watched you die a thousand times.“ Think Groundhog Day.
www.authoralden.com
Marina J. Lostetter, Rats will Run, 5*
Rats, moving foliage and panspermia. Loved the setting. Could be a fun novel. She wrote Noumenon and after reading this excellent short story about discoveries on a new planet, I will seriously consider reading that one.
Matthew S. Rotundo, Fuel, 3*
It was ok. A future where athletic prowess is more important than academics.
C. L. Holland, Miss Davenport's Ugly Cat, 3.5*
Another cute story with a pet. This time we are dealing with a rodent infestation on an interstellar cruise ship. Fun. Simon Pegg in the lead role.
William Ledbetter, Last House, Lost House, 5*
I really liked this post-apocalyptic story. It‘s not spelled out, but I think we are looking at the world after a meteor impact. Our hero is not in good shape and all alone, but then she comes across this last house...
L. D. Colter, Softly Into the Morning, 2.75*
A ghost story in space. While the idea was not bad, I just did not like the writing as such. Not sure what it was exactly, but something bugged me.
Matt Dovey, Squalor and Dympathy, 3*
Victorian England, the age of Industrialisation. Machine do not run on steam, but on magic. More precisely on the desperation of the poor. Alternate history, more fantasy than SF. Interesting concept, but I did not really warm up to the characters.
Martin L. Shoemaker, Today I Am Paul, 5*
Wow, this one made me cry in the end. First I was a little lukewarm. Another AI story, nicely done. Then the story snuck up on me. I almost sobbed when I read the last sentence. This is the emotional winner of the book. Wow.
Nominated for a Nebula Award. More at shoemaker.space. I will definitely check him out. A novella is mentioned, „Murder on the Aldrin Express.“
************
I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!