Seeds of Change - Hardcover

Tobias S. Buckell; Ken MacLeod; Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu; K. D. Wentworth; Jeremiah Tolbert; Jay Lake; Ted Kosmatka; Blake Charlton; Mark Budz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809573105 ISBN 13: 9780809573103

Publisher: Prime Books, 2008

Synopsis

• Imagine the moment when the present ends, and the future begins ― when the world we knew is no more and a brave new world is thrust upon us. Gathering stories by nine of today's most incisive minds, Seeds of Change confronts the pivotal issues facing our society today: racism, global warming, peak oil, technological advancement, and political revolution. Many serve as a call to action. How will you change with the future?
• These nine stories sow seeds of change across familiar and foreign territory, from our own backyards to the Niger Delta to worlds not yet discovered. Pepper, the mysterious mercenary from Tobias S. Buckell's Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, works as an agent for change ― if the price is right ― in "Resistance." Ken MacLeod envisions the end-game in the Middle East in "A Dance Called Armageddon." New writer Blake Charlton imagines a revolutionary advance in cancer research in "Endosymbiont." Award-winning author Jay Lake tackles technological change and the forces that will stop at nothing to prevent it in "The Future by Degrees." Other stories by K.D. Wentworth, Jeremiah Tolbert, Mark Budz, Ted Kosmatka, and Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu range from the darkly satirical to the exotic. All explore the notion that change will come.

About this title

About the Author

John Joseph Adams, called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble, is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as EPIC, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, ARMORED, UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS: NEW ADVENTURES ON BARSOOM, LIGHTSPEED: YEAR ONE, BRAVE NEW WORLDS, WASTELANDS, THE LIVING DEAD, THE LIVING DEAD 2, BY BLOOD WE LIVE, FEDERATIONS, THE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, and THE WAY OF THE WIZARD. He is a four-time finalist for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is the co-host of Wired.com's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. Forthcoming anthologies include THE MAD SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION (Tor Books, 2013), WASTELANDS 2 (Night Shade Books, 2013), and ROBOT UPRISINGS (Doubleday, 2014). Find him online at johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.

Reviews

Grade 11 Up—For this collection, each author was asked to write a story about a paradigm shift, a turning point when the world changes. It is an intriguing concept, and issues such as global warming, recycling, technological advancement, and political revolution are given interesting treatments. Ted Kosmatka's "N-Words" tackles cloning, racism, and evolution. Blake Charlton's "Endosymbiont" will be enjoyed by fans of Mary Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Holt, 2008). Tobias S. Buckell's "Resistance" is an eerie take on voter apathy, while K. D. Wentworth's "Drinking Problem" is a hilarious look at recycling taken a step too far. All of the stories were written specifically for this book, and the selections give a good sampling of a wide range of science fiction voices. It also aptly illustrates the fact that this genre, while set in the future, can often be inspired by issues we face today. Each story is preceded by a biographical sketch of its author. An introduction by the editor unifies the concept of the anthology. While short-story collections can be hard sells, larger libraries with avid science fiction readers will want this title.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This thought-provoking anthology of nine original stories posits near-future paradigm shifts in everything from race relations (in Ted Kosmatka's vivid and moving N-Words, where cloned Neanderthals encounter violent hatred from Homo sapiens) to the morality of uploaded consciousness (in Blake Charlton's clumsy but charming Endosymbiont), with varying success. The hero of Jay Lake's The Future by Degrees invents an energy-saving thermal superconductor only to be pursued by corporations protecting their business, with predictable results. Pepper, the mercenary hero of Tobias S. Buckell's Crystal Rain, refuses to assassinate a dictator in the morally contrived Resistance. Considerably more powerful is Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's Spider the Artist, which combines African folk tales and advanced robotics in a chilling story about a rising social conscience in the Nigerian oil fields. Despite weak spots, this anthology accurately reflects many of today's most pressing political and social issues, and will give readers plenty to think about and argue over. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bear returns to the team of the wampyr Sebastian and Abigail Irene Garrett, decades after the stories of New Amsterdam (2007). Abigail Irene is now in her eighties, not particularly mellowed with age. Sebastian, remembering his history in London, is protecting young lovers from the Schupo (i.e., police; England has been under the not-very-popular iron fist of the Prussians for some time), in the process finding a mystery begging solution. The smell of wolf—of two girls, yes, but also a wolf—and magic somehow relating to sevens sets Sebastian and Abigail Irene to finding out what terrible thaumaturgical experiments the Prussians are into now. Seven echoes, quite often, the events in Paris (i.e., in New Amsterdam), and Sebastian is prone to fits of soul-searching. He has a very small court and is old enough to have a lot of memories to work with. Bear again handles the combination of PI caper and vampire yarn with her usual unconventionality. Sebastian is a fascinating character, and the mysteries he becomes embroiled in are magnificent examples of alternate history. --Regina Schroeder

Edition details

• Publisher: Prime Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809573105
• ISBN 13: 9780809573103
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: John Joseph Adams