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As often happens, different reviewers liked (or didn't like) different stories--and sometimes they agreed on the stories they liked. Not all the stories mentioned are mentioned below but here are some choice quotes:
Nick Gevers: "....Datlow's ambitious volume The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy , could easily be Scifiction resurrected in trade paperback. Much the same authors, much the same sensibility--edgy contemporary or near-future stories, full of good prose and suspense, with a touch of horror often evident. ...a feast of good short fiction...
"Prisoners of the Action" by Paul McAuley & Kim Newman, is a moderately hilarious send-up of the American military...Newman's expertise with secret history combines well with McAuley's hard-nosed wit in a caper rich with paranoia and epidemic craziness."
..."The book's best story overall is probably "Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex, a sharp and amusing novelette about vulcanologists falling victim to the fiery natural gods they worship....
"Special Economics" by Maureen F. McHugh is also quite witty... a cutting satire on the Second World's overheated economies." Margo Lanagan is in a truly savage mood in "The Goosle"..."Pat Cadigan's "Jimmy" is a highly atmospheric look at American small-town life in the early 1960s...the phenomenon of scapegoating is very effectively explored here.
"Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" by Elizabeth Bear is an intense examination of what distinguished Mohammed Ali from his competitors in boxing, and how his heroic eminence could be founded in sacrifices by others."..."Aka St. Mark's PLace" continues the '60s theme, as Richard Bowes investigates the tragic effects of harsh official treatment on a runaway teenager..."
...."A couple of brief diversions into surrealism are quite entertaining: "The Passion of Azazel" by Barry N. Malzberg, which (chiming with Cadigan's story) avenges the Biblical scapegoat on a flock of trainee rabbis, and "Daltharee" by Jeffrey Ford, a typically Fordian efflorescence of miniature domed cities. The surreal also perhaps applies in "North American Lake Monsters" by Nathan Ballingrud...
Rich Horton: "...a strong original anthology.."
"One story truly stands out: Jeffrey Ford's "Daltharee", a dizzying fantasia about a "bottled city" created by a mad scientist..."
"The other standout comes from Maureen F. McHugh: "Special Economics', about a Chinese country girl come to the big city in the near future, who ends up more or less indentured to a shady corporation, but manages to come up with a surprising out."
Other strong stories include Lavie Tidhar's "Shira,"...Margo Lanagan's "The Goosle", Laird Barron's "The Lagerstatte"...Anna Tambour's "Gladiolus Exposed", ...very entertaining. Pat Cadigan's "Jimmy"...is a moving story..."
... The anthology is bookended by two nice longer stories: Jason Stoddard's "The Elephant Ironclads", ....Paula McAuley & Kim Newman offer "Prisoners of the Action", a downright goofy story about the aftermath of an odd alien invasion...."
Nick Gevers: "....Datlow's ambitious volume The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy , could easily be Scifiction resurrected in trade paperback. Much the same authors, much the same sensibility--edgy contemporary or near-future stories, full of good prose and suspense, with a touch of horror often evident. ...a feast of good short fiction...
"Prisoners of the Action" by Paul McAuley & Kim Newman, is a moderately hilarious send-up of the American military...Newman's expertise with secret history combines well with McAuley's hard-nosed wit in a caper rich with paranoia and epidemic craziness."
..."The book's best story overall is probably "Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex, a sharp and amusing novelette about vulcanologists falling victim to the fiery natural gods they worship....
"Special Economics" by Maureen F. McHugh is also quite witty... a cutting satire on the Second World's overheated economies." Margo Lanagan is in a truly savage mood in "The Goosle"..."Pat Cadigan's "Jimmy" is a highly atmospheric look at American small-town life in the early 1960s...the phenomenon of scapegoating is very effectively explored here.
"Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" by Elizabeth Bear is an intense examination of what distinguished Mohammed Ali from his competitors in boxing, and how his heroic eminence could be founded in sacrifices by others."..."Aka St. Mark's PLace" continues the '60s theme, as Richard Bowes investigates the tragic effects of harsh official treatment on a runaway teenager..."
...."A couple of brief diversions into surrealism are quite entertaining: "The Passion of Azazel" by Barry N. Malzberg, which (chiming with Cadigan's story) avenges the Biblical scapegoat on a flock of trainee rabbis, and "Daltharee" by Jeffrey Ford, a typically Fordian efflorescence of miniature domed cities. The surreal also perhaps applies in "North American Lake Monsters" by Nathan Ballingrud...
Rich Horton: "...a strong original anthology.."
"One story truly stands out: Jeffrey Ford's "Daltharee", a dizzying fantasia about a "bottled city" created by a mad scientist..."
"The other standout comes from Maureen F. McHugh: "Special Economics', about a Chinese country girl come to the big city in the near future, who ends up more or less indentured to a shady corporation, but manages to come up with a surprising out."
Other strong stories include Lavie Tidhar's "Shira,"...Margo Lanagan's "The Goosle", Laird Barron's "The Lagerstatte"...Anna Tambour's "Gladiolus Exposed", ...very entertaining. Pat Cadigan's "Jimmy"...is a moving story..."
... The anthology is bookended by two nice longer stories: Jason Stoddard's "The Elephant Ironclads", ....Paula McAuley & Kim Newman offer "Prisoners of the Action", a downright goofy story about the aftermath of an odd alien invasion...."
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You had me at vulcanologists
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It is really nice to see so many women's names - it is something I look for when I purchase SF. I will always lean towards anthologies that have women's names... not that there aren't some excellent other writers.
Pat Cadigan! yay! As an old cyberpunk reader that name of course is a draw.
::rubs hands:: sound excellent!
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Pat's been writing darker short fiction over the years, although this one is kind of a mix of sf/f/dark fantasy--not cyber-punk :-)
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Re: You had me at vulcanologists