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A review by laura_de_leon
Rip-Off! by Gardner Dozois
3.0
3.5 stars.
Any collection of short stories is likely to be uneven, and this is no exception.
Most of the stories were interesting enough-- They didn't make a huge impression, but I enjoyed listened through. There was one that really wasn't my cup of tea, and I ended up skipping half of it.
And then there were two, both near the end, that I really liked.
One was the very last story, "Declaration" by James Patrick Kelly.
I enjoyed this look at a time in the future where we really can live our lives completely on-line, but where that isn't yet entirely acceptable. The story focuses on a set of older teen twins, one of which was in an accident and really can live a much richer life away from his physical body. I appreciated the amount of worldbuilding that happened in this short story, and I like the look into the views of different people in that world, as well as ways the characters were trying to influence the direction that world would change.
For me, the best story was "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal. It comes from an alternate timeline, one where an asteroid obliterated Washington DC, and the entire world worked together to make space travel happen. The story takes place on a settlement on Mars, where the original Lady Astronaut is in her sixties, and has to decide between one last trip into space or spending the time with her dying husband. This story succeeds both in building an interesting view of a society different but yet the same as ours, and as an examination of the issues we face as we age.
Merged review:
3.5 stars.
Any collection of short stories is likely to be uneven, and this is no exception.
Most of the stories were interesting enough-- They didn't make a huge impression, but I enjoyed listened through. There was one that really wasn't my cup of tea, and I ended up skipping half of it.
And then there were two, both near the end, that I really liked.
One was the very last story, "Declaration" by James Patrick Kelly.
I enjoyed this look at a time in the future where we really can live our lives completely on-line, but where that isn't yet entirely acceptable. The story focuses on a set of older teen twins, one of which was in an accident and really can live a much richer life away from his physical body. I appreciated the amount of worldbuilding that happened in this short story, and I like the look into the views of different people in that world, as well as ways the characters were trying to influence the direction that world would change.
For me, the best story was "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal. It comes from an alternate timeline, one where an asteroid obliterated Washington DC, and the entire world worked together to make space travel happen. The story takes place on a settlement on Mars, where the original Lady Astronaut is in her sixties, and has to decide between one last trip into space or spending the time with her dying husband. This story succeeds both in building an interesting view of a society different but yet the same as ours, and as an examination of the issues we face as we age.
Any collection of short stories is likely to be uneven, and this is no exception.
Most of the stories were interesting enough-- They didn't make a huge impression, but I enjoyed listened through. There was one that really wasn't my cup of tea, and I ended up skipping half of it.
And then there were two, both near the end, that I really liked.
One was the very last story, "Declaration" by James Patrick Kelly.
I enjoyed this look at a time in the future where we really can live our lives completely on-line, but where that isn't yet entirely acceptable. The story focuses on a set of older teen twins, one of which was in an accident and really can live a much richer life away from his physical body. I appreciated the amount of worldbuilding that happened in this short story, and I like the look into the views of different people in that world, as well as ways the characters were trying to influence the direction that world would change.
For me, the best story was "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal. It comes from an alternate timeline, one where an asteroid obliterated Washington DC, and the entire world worked together to make space travel happen. The story takes place on a settlement on Mars, where the original Lady Astronaut is in her sixties, and has to decide between one last trip into space or spending the time with her dying husband. This story succeeds both in building an interesting view of a society different but yet the same as ours, and as an examination of the issues we face as we age.
Merged review:
3.5 stars.
Any collection of short stories is likely to be uneven, and this is no exception.
Most of the stories were interesting enough-- They didn't make a huge impression, but I enjoyed listened through. There was one that really wasn't my cup of tea, and I ended up skipping half of it.
And then there were two, both near the end, that I really liked.
One was the very last story, "Declaration" by James Patrick Kelly.
I enjoyed this look at a time in the future where we really can live our lives completely on-line, but where that isn't yet entirely acceptable. The story focuses on a set of older teen twins, one of which was in an accident and really can live a much richer life away from his physical body. I appreciated the amount of worldbuilding that happened in this short story, and I like the look into the views of different people in that world, as well as ways the characters were trying to influence the direction that world would change.
For me, the best story was "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal. It comes from an alternate timeline, one where an asteroid obliterated Washington DC, and the entire world worked together to make space travel happen. The story takes place on a settlement on Mars, where the original Lady Astronaut is in her sixties, and has to decide between one last trip into space or spending the time with her dying husband. This story succeeds both in building an interesting view of a society different but yet the same as ours, and as an examination of the issues we face as we age.