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Rudy Rucker



"Big Jelly"
(with Bruce Sterling)
© IASFM, Nov 1994
Gnarl!, 2000
--novelette : 1995 Asimov's Reader Poll /7
--/ third place sf story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award
--/ style award


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"Chu and the Nants"
© IASFM, Jun 2006
--/ third place apocalyptic sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ idea award
--/ awesome scale

Profoundly wild story, starting in subdued "trans-real" (read Dick' paranoidal) mode, and growing into one of the most visually mind-blowing stories in years. It even includes a current political commentary (kind of a farce, taking "right-wing" stereotypes to the extreme) - the story swims in a black humour like a sugared plum in a Black Russian cocktail, very stylish and ripe with all kinds of possibilities. Take this: nanobots are disassembling Mars into super- giga- computer (while Earth's dumb government is hoping to retain control over it when it's finished and make it to broadcast giant (orbit-wide) ads across the sky, among other things.) The orbit-sized computer soon stops doing that and transforms into a higher being, hungering for more real-estate, namely Earth. Splendid nano-cataclysm ensues, with haunting images of disintegrating reality - saved by an idiot-savant and an unknown variable of a character. This story could have easily been written by Philip K. Dick himself, I enjoyed it tremendously.
review: 23-Jul-06 (read in 2006)

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"Enlightenment Rabies"
© 1977, Geneseo
also in "New Pathways # 9" 1987
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story

"Faraway Eyes"
© 1980, Analog
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story
--/ idea award

"The Fifty-Seventh Franz Kafka"
© 1982, Little
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ style award
--/ idea award


"Jumping Jack Flash"
© 1976, Geneseo
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story

"Junk DNA"
(with Bruce Sterling)
© IASFM, Jan 2003
--/ second place sf story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award
--/ humour award
--/ style award


"Monument To The Third International"
© F&SF, Oct 1984
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ idea award


"A New Golden Age"
© 1979, Alumnae
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story
--/ idea award

"Schroedinger's Cat"
© 1981, Analog
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award


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"Soft Death"
© F&SF, Sep 1986
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award


"Soft Death " postulates immortality through software engineering". It is a surprisingly Robert Sheckley-like story, giving a half-serious treatment to a single idea, and extrapolating the results on a future society. It also features a "life-box" device which records a person's lifelong sensory impressions on a chip (hardly a new concept, but we are talking 1986 here, which is the blooming of cyber-punk genre, so it feels right at home). We do not have "life-box" devices yet, but we have ... blogs instead.
review: 27-Aug-06 (read in 2004)

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"Software" (nv)
(Software Series 1)
© 1983, Ace Books
--winner : 1983 Philip K. Dick W
--/ fourth place sf novel
--/ wonder award
--/ style award
--/ shock value


"Tales of Houdini"
© 1983, "Elsewhere", Ace
The 57th Franz Kafka, 1983
Gnarl!, 2000
--/ cool sf story

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EXPLANATION OF THE RATING SYSTEM:

"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 :
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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

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funny and cool

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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.