Anthologies and a Book Review

If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been reading a lot of anthologies lately. They are perfect for reading in between editing. I know me; if I get started on a novel I won’t put it down. But I enjoy anthologies for their own sake. Many people don’t, and I understand; sometimes you just get going and oops…there it is. The end. But I like short stories, especially when they are collected around a theme. It allows me to see the same subject examined by different authors. It’s fascinating to read so many interpretations of something as mundane as water, fairs, or a moment in time.

Forbidden Planets edited by Marvin Kaye, is a collection that is decidedly not mundane. The title conjures up strange and deadly destinations, planets where humans go at their own risk. And the stories do deliver that alien and scary feeling, especially the first one, Mid-Death by A.D. Foster. Whew. A planet that will kill you…sooner or later. I also enjoyed a story set on the world of Coyote by Allen Steele, but I have to say I like his longer works better. He’s a master of world building, and I don’t think the short venue does that justice.

The stories are all Sci-Fi, and are supposed to be “hard” Sci-Fi, although a couple of them lean more towards fantasy. Hard science fiction is…hard. It’s difficult to include the human side when you’re writing this kind of Sci-Fi; science must be science, or at least, aim for that. I missed seeing the human element here, except in the Coyote story. I know it’s difficult. But the master of this genre, Arthur C. Clarke, seemingly does it effortlessly.

My dad intruded me to Clarke; he loves “real” Sci-Fi, and this was something we shared. And still do. Dad admires Clarke because he is an expert story teller and a scientist. I loved Clarke for that too, but more because he made me care deeply about his characters. I can still remember the last shivery lines from a few of his stories (may not be exact): “the ancient struggle between man and insect had finally been won, and man was not the victor”, “was it a trick of fate that the clicking claws were in front of him,” brrrrrrrrrr.

The reason they were so scary is because of the astonishing craft of the author. The reason they stayed with me is because by the end of his stories I cared what happened to the protagonist; an equal and separate skill. In the Forbidden Planets collection I didn’t so much care what happened to the people. The stories were all well written and I enjoyed them. But afterwards I found myself wanting to re-read my collections of Clarke’s.

Rats. I just checked…my dad has them.