Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Empire of Dreams and Miracles: The Phobos Science Fiction Anthology by Orson Scott Card, Keith Olexa, Lawrence M. Krauss ISBN: 0-9720026-0-X Publisher: Phobos Books Pub. Date: 18 September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent stories, but I wanted more
Comment: I must say that each one of these twelve science fiction stories is truly a winner. I can hardly pick which one I liked best, which is unusual for an anthology; most of the time, for me, only one or two short stories will stand out from the rest. Here, Card and the judges who picked these have collected the best of the best. In particular, I liked "They Go Bump", a story about invisible soldiers (being invisible is not as much of an advantage as one would suppose) and "22 Buttons"--a futuristic tale about social mores and isolation. I read every one work in this book with total amazement at the writing skill. If you want to try your hand at writing science fiction, these wonderful examples can inspire (or discourage) you.
My only complaint is that the book was not what I would consider a good value, even with the excellence of each of the works in this anthology. I expected more than twelve stories--twenty would be more like it. I hope future volumes of this series will be bigger books.
Rating: 5
Summary: One good story after another
Comment: A friend of mine suggested I check out this anthology saying he'd liked almost every story in it. Now that I've read it, wow, was he right! Lots of anthologies I've read will have one or two strong stories plus a lot of filler. This one was all winners. The anthology gets off to a great start with "They Go Bump" by David Barr Kirtley. In this story a squad of soldiers are sent on a mission to test alien equipment that renders them invisible. It's a marvelous study in paranoia as one soldier grows increasingly convinced that his invisible friends are one by one being replaced by aliens. Other highlights: "Great Theme Prisons of the World," one of the freshest ideas I've seen in science fiction in years. In it, people can choose to alter their sentences by choosing their prisons. Choose to serve your time beachfront in the Bahamas and you triple your sentence. Serve your time in a dank medieval dungeun and cut your time in half. "Who Lived in a Shoe" is the funniest story in the book, a tale of a couple househunting on an alien planet. The alien real estate agent is increasingly bewildered by the human's reactions as he shows them houses made of goo, houses underwater, etc. The title story also deserves special mention. It's set in a future Atlantis where people are immortal and to pass the time they hunt each other for sport. It's the most atmospheric and sensual of the stories, but sometimes a little jokey. Many of the stories do remind me of my favorite stories from years ago, but not because they are based on the same ideas. These stories are just told well, with strong beginnings, middles, and satisfying conclusions. The craft of storytelling is alive and well in these pages.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not Bad...Not Bad At All...
Comment: Like many other people I bought this book just because of Orson Scott Card. Even though he didn't write much more than the forward and intro's to every story, I am really glad I got this. I think that anthologies exist to introduce readers to new writers, new ideas, and new ways of telling a story. I had gotten so sick of reading the same sci-fi stories over and over again that "Empire" was a welcome change. Of course I liked some stories more than others, but I thought that they were all well executed and all trying to bring out new ideas. I think that even non-sci-fi readers will like a lot of these, especially "22 Buttons" and "Great Theme Prisions".
I hope that this is just the first of many new anthologies and I look forward to hearing from many of these new authors again.
 |
Title: Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown: The Phobos Science Fiction Anthology by Orson Scott Card, Keith Olexa, Christian O'Toole ISBN: 0972002618 Publisher: Phobos Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Robota by Doug Chiang, Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0811840417 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
 |
Title: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0812550706 Publisher: Tor Science Fiction Pub. Date: 15 July, 1994 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312308604 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 23 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Nobody Gets the Girl: A Comic Book Novel by James Maxey, James C. Shooter ISBN: 0972002626 Publisher: Phobos Books Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
