Jonathan Strahan (ed.) “Drowned Worlds” (Solaris, 2016)
Climate change is the major issue of our time. Here in the US, we are still mostly in
denial, with a large portion of the population simply denying the scientific
truth of the matter.
One of the arguments for science fiction is that it allows
us to envision potential futures, both good and bad. We need to work our imaginations so that we
are ready for change.
With that in mind, it’s somewhat surprising that climate
change is not a more common theme in contemporary SFF. Drowned
Worlds steps into this gap & provides a selection of stories from some
of the best writers working today. Kim
Stanley Robinson, Ken Liu, Paul McAuley, Charlie Jane Anders, Lavie Tidhar—from
the established to the young upstarts, Strahan has done a great job of
selecting talent.
As you would expect from such a star studded assortment of
writers, the work is top shelf. Skill,
craftsmanship, vision – it’s all on display.
My only complaint would be that at times it was just too
damned depressing. And I know, that’s as
much a problem with me as with the text.
But that sense of sadness is real.
This isn’t going to be the most upbeat anthology of the
year. But the subject matter is
important. And the writing really can’t
be beat. So go on & read it already!
No comments:
Post a Comment