What Does That Even Mean?

Hannu Rajaniemi “Collected Fiction” (Tachyon, 2015)

I have to admit that I don’t really follow the short story market.  I’ll read things here & there, but it’s primarily stories tied into worlds that I follow in novel format.  So I’ve never read any of Rajaniemi’s short fiction before.

This collection shows that his short work isn’t substantially different than his longer fiction.  It’s challenging, it’s original, and it’s under appreciated.  Each story comes from a different place, and with each story we must work to find out the rules and meanings of that world.  It doesn’t make for an easy read, but it is rewarding.  There are so many ideas and so much originality.  

If SF is really about pushing the boundaries of what is possible and getting us to think of things differently, then surely Rajaniemi’s stories work better than most writers in the field today.

We are all of us only human

Ann Leckie “Ancillary Sword” (Orbit, 2014)

For this second book in the series, Leckie sets aside many of the toys that she used in the first volume.  Alien maguffins, distributed consciousness, etc take a back seat to a much smaller and quieter story.

Perhaps surprisingly, this is even better than the first book.  

I was surprised at how emotional and empathetic a story starring a zombie controlled by an AI could be.  At its core this is a soft and gentle story about how we treat others.

And as an ironic aside, for all the heat that Ancillary Justice has received this year, Ancillary Sword doubles down on the social justice issues.  Colonialism and exploitation are at the core of the narrative.  

What a wonderful book!  I can’t wait until the next volume!

Unfortunately not that kind of pirate

James L Cambias “Corsair” (Tor, 2015)

It turns out that this is just an excerpt.  I’m really not sure how to deal with that.  What I’ve read is the first several chapters, so it’s really impossible to comment on any overall themes or plotting.  I suppose that ultimately it’s about do I want to read more of the book.

Corsair isn’t about actual pirates on ships in space.  It’s more of a techno thriller, with pirates operating drone like ships that steal payloads coming from the moon.

In the first few chapters, we meet 3 characters.  David is a pirate, thief, & all round jerk.  Elizabeth is in the Air Force trying to protect the Helium 3 shipments.  Her character is less developed than David’s.  She comes off as a rather cardboard generic military character.  Yawn.  Finally we meet Anne.  Anne is... well, I don’t know.  Her character is so poorly developed that I didn’t remember her name at all,& had to look it up.

So do I want to read more?  I don’t think so.