.mau. reviewed Vital Signals by Dan O'Hara
Review of 'Vital Signals' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The short lengtht of the stories did not help
The introduction of this book says that it «is an attempt to use scientifically-informed fiction written by a diverse spectrum of writers to explore a future that has become fragmented due to a disrupted present», and the goal is reached «[b]y combining the predictions of people who are not natural inhabitants of the world of science fiction and providing them guidance from veteran scientists or authors». I am not sure that the result is up to the expectations. One of the troubles is probably the fact that nearly all the stories are very short, and it is very difficult to write them in a good way. Indeed the longest one, Safe From Harm by Tim Maughan, is the best of the lot. Other good stories are Conjugal Frape by Jamie Watt, Biohacked & Begging by Stephen Oram, Anomaly in the Rhythm …
The short lengtht of the stories did not help
The introduction of this book says that it «is an attempt to use scientifically-informed fiction written by a diverse spectrum of writers to explore a future that has become fragmented due to a disrupted present», and the goal is reached «[b]y combining the predictions of people who are not natural inhabitants of the world of science fiction and providing them guidance from veteran scientists or authors». I am not sure that the result is up to the expectations. One of the troubles is probably the fact that nearly all the stories are very short, and it is very difficult to write them in a good way. Indeed the longest one, Safe From Harm by Tim Maughan, is the best of the lot. Other good stories are Conjugal Frape by Jamie Watt, Biohacked & Begging by Stephen Oram, Anomaly in the Rhythm by Viraj Joshi, Brain Dump by Frances Gow, Trial by Combat by John Houlihan, and EPILOGUE [citation needed] by Ken MacLeod (“Prove it” :-) ). I don't think it is strange that all of them are SF or fantasy writers: yes, it is genre fiction, but for that very reason they know how to cope with it.