David G. Hartwell (1941–2016)

• James Patrick Kelly: "Think Like a Dinosaur" (Originally in Asimov's, 1995) A clever and chilling story that plays with the concept of self. Must remember to explore more of his works if possible.
• Patricia A. McKillip: "Wonders of the Invisible World" (Originally in Full Spectrum 5, 1995) The Woman who brought us Riddlemaster of Hed brings us this postmodern religious tale. I am not sure what happens in this story that name checks Cotton Mather and references brain scans and not sure I care to find out with a reread.
• Robert Silverberg: "Hot Times in Magma City" (Originally in Omni Online, 1995) Hartwell in his intro writes :” one which represents Silverberg at the height of his talent: this is essentially a compressed novel, conforming to the limitations of classical drama. Additionally, there is the air of classic Theodore Sturgeon about this story in the choice and treatment of the central character. In a year of impressive novellas from major talents in the SF field, few are as impressive as this piece first presented by Omni Online.” And it’s a tight little tale that is saying something deeper than the surface premise of this day in the life of a first responder.
• Stephen Baxter: "Gossamer" (Originally in Science Fiction Age, 1995) Hartwell takes care to point out this as representative “Hard SF” that relies on an adherence to the minutiae of what’s scientifically possible and expanding it forward into speculation. Personally, I find the boundary between hard and soft to simply be: is ther ‘an’ explanation and some internal truths in the story universe. Star Trek has an internal logic that is by our standards impossible, the Expanse is merely highly unlikely. Trek explains away inertia and the speed of light barrier, the Expanse uses detailed calculations to truthfully describe in system travel but then has a Deus Ex Machina moments of ‘magical’ travel. Are they both soft? Both hard? It’s like obscenity, you know it when you see it? Because I can say for sure that much of Zelazny’s (for instance) works are definitely ‘soft’ in that his science is primarily psychology. Anyway, this piece is an entertaining ‘explorers in trouble’ story that is quite satisfying.
• Gregory Benford: "A Worm in the Well" (Originally in Analog, 1995) I liked this short piece about a scavenger ship pilot taking a dangerous but lucrative job. Great AI interaction makes this especially timely as I write this years later in 2023.
• William Browning Spencer: "Downloading Midnight" (Originally in Tomorrow, 1995) a relatively obscure writer working out of his normal metier gives a complex view into a future of entertainment that bears close scrutiny. Like the previous entry, may be asking questions more relevant now than when written.
• Joe Haldeman: "For White Hill" (Originally in Far Futures, 1995) As the title says, a far future best described as post-apocalyptic, post exodus. It deals in art on a very large scale. Art that mourns and remembers a time before. I love the idea of this and imagine I’ll come back to it again.
• William Barton: "In Saturn Time" (Originally in Amazing Stories: The Anthology, 1995) Hartwell calls this an alternate history story that uses time and premise similarly to Bellay’s “Looking Backward” which as a side note, is totally worth your time if you’ve never read it.
• Ursula K. Le Guin: "Coming of Age in Karhide" (Originally in New Legends, 1995) What do I need to say about Ursula? Nothing. You either know and love her or you have her on your TBR. Maybe the selling point of this story is it revisits Winter, the setting of “Left Hand of Darkness”.
• Roger Zelazny: "The Three Descents of Jeremy Baker" (Originally in F&SF, 1995) Zelazny said in his notes for this story that it is an attempt to combine 3 interesting hard SF ideas into one piece. It has the typical breezy dialogue in the face of deadly peril that marks much of Roger’s work and is a definite must read in my book.
• Nancy Kress: "Evolution" (Originally in Asimov's, 1995) A sort of medical drama that also feels very current in it’s examination of mass hysteria in an endemic atmosphere.
• Robert Sheckley: "The Day the Aliens Came" (Originally in New Legends, 1995) Sheckley was well into the latter part of his career at this point and so the slightly cynical writer self insert plays well and authentically as anything can in this bizarre short story.
• Joan Slonczewski: "Microbe" (Originally in Analog, 1995) A story of exploration and seeking of strange life forms.
• Gene Wolfe: "The Ziggurat" (Originally in Full Spectrum 5, 1995) I’ve read this story several times over the years. A simple story that takes place in a remote mountain cabin. It has a sadness that wasn’t apparent to me the first read.
… (more)