Cities by by Paul Di Filippo, China Mieville, Michael Moorcock, Geoff Ryman, Peter Crowther (Editor)

July 13th, 2006 · No Comments

This was super expensive when it was released, for what it was that is, it’s just four short stories long. Lots of white space on the pages and a large font cannot disguise a short book. So I never got it, assuming that one day I’d pick it up cheap. Nice foresight by me as I got this for a bargain three pounds at Borders, down from the usual thirteen.

If you can pick this up cheaply then it’s worth it as two of the stories are excellent, one is OK but one I didn’t like at all.

China MiÃ©ville, Michael Moorcock, Paul Di Filippo, and Geoff Ryman: These award winners are on any list of the most inventive, popular, and critically acclaimed talents writing in the realms of fantasy and science fiction today. Their four original creations for this collection range from surreal visions of the infinite to high-tech nightmare; from apocalyptic ruins stalked by heroes and vampires to a near future where the aged terrorize the young.

Paul Di Filippo’s ‘A Year In The Linear City’; the city is hundreds of thousands of blocks long, but bordered on one side by a river and on the other side by railroad tracks. Beyond these boundaries exist The Wrong Side Of The Tracks and The Other Shore, places of myth and superstition. The world is cleansed of their dead by the Fisherwives and the Yardbulls, celestial beings who come for the spirits of the dead. This is a great story, the strongest of the four, worth buying for this alone.

China Mieville’s ‘The Tain’; what lays in wait behind your mirror? A tale of aliens, vampires and spirits. It’s strong but not quite up to Mieville standard, the ending is somewhat weak.

Michel Moorcock’s ‘Firing The Cathedral’; disjointed, meandering and ultimately pointless. Which is a shame.

Geoff Ryman’s ‘V.A.O.’; a tale of elderly inhabitants of a nursing home, ex-computer security and ex-hackers couped up a skimming the system. V.A.O. stands for Victim Activated Ordinance, a security system put into place to protect the wealthy elders from the violence. One that needs breaking as an elderly gang run amok across the country. This is the second strongest story of the four, it certainly has the highest emotional impact.

Cities