Paul J. McAuley
One of the prominent British hard science fiction writers, breathing new life into space fiction, "new space opera", competent and often quite entertaining fiction; more info. ---------------------------------------------- "The Airs Of Earth" © Amazing, Jan 1986 The King of the Hill, 1991 --/ cool sf story "Bone Orchards" (Mr. Carlyle) © The Time-Out Book of London Stories, ed. N. Royle, 2000 "Karl And The Ogre" © Interzone, Spr 1988 also in - Dragon, Jul 1988 The King of the Hill, 1991 "The Passenger" © IASFM, Mar 2002 --novelette : 2003 Locus /25 --/ cool space sf story --/ wonder award --/ adventure award ---------------------------------------------- "Rats of the System" © Constellations, ed. by Peter Crowther, 2005 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award "A two person ship - manned by its captain and a scientist - try to escape an alien ship of the Transcendent. Very good mini-space-opera with lots of action, narrow-escapes and grand ideas. The alien backdrop concerns the Transcendent (AIs that have achieved a higher state of being) and their plan to maneuver stars for some grander (yet unrevealed) scheme as well as the Fanatics who worship them. As per a mid-story analogy, the "rats" of the title are the humans who, like the rodents, have the propensity to survive." via All that is good and well, but two years after reading this story I've totally forgotten what's it about, of even if I enjoyed it or not. That tells you something about this particular adventure's originality and depth. It is certainly a competent piece of work, though. review: 22-Feb-09 (read in 2005) ---------------------------------------------- "Reef" © SkyLife, ed. G. Benford, 2000 --shortlist : 2001 Sturgeon --novelette : 2001 Locus /27 --/ fourth place space sf novella --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale "Sea Change, With Monsters" © IASFM, Sep 1998 --novella : 1999 Locus /15 --novella : 1999 Asimov's Reader Poll /3 --/ cool sf novella "Second Skin" © IASFM, Apr 1997 --novelette : 1998 Locus /14 --/ cool sf story "The Two Dicks" © F&SF, Aug 2001 --novelette : 2002 Locus /24 "Under Mars" © Mars Probes, ed. P. Crowther, 2002 --/ cool sf story ---------------------------------------------- |
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"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews! Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here. All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE ("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only) Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE: --/ first place : --/ second place : --/ third place : --/ fourth place : --/ cool : (equal to fifth place) ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE These awards are given in the following categories: - novel : - series : - novella : - story : - collection : Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader: --/ wonder award sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness --/ idea award originality of idea / concept --/ adventure award exhilarating plot, excitement / action --/ style award outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style --/ romance award intense and beautiful love / relationships --/ humour award funny and cool --/ emotion award touching, lasting impression, sensitivity --/ shock value altogether wild --/ awesome scale mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder --/ rare find very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc. Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked. |
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