Review: A fitting tribute to Science-Fiction as it should be
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2013
Mike Cooley's short story collection succeeds in paying homage to the masters and mistresses of Science-Fiction without aping them. The key to his success is that he understands what writers such as Ellison, Asimov and Bradbury were doing in their work. Namely that the robots, aliens, dream-states, parallel dimensions and so on were a means of exploring the human condition and everything that informs it. Here are stories that explore ethical dilemmas such as coping with the death of loved ones (Trasmute & Connections) and considering the impact of a single death on a wider scale (Blood and Wire). Here are stories about reality and how we can both shape it (Activation) and be, in turn, shaped by it if we give up our control in exchange for a passive existence (Evanesce). There are also vignette-length pieces (Angela & The Unblinking Eye) that create variety with stories that last for, and effectively capture, a moment. There are also stories like Desert Voices and The Flies Know that excel in their plain and simple weirdness. Lastly, there is the title story, my favourite in the collection, which explicitly salutes the great and the good of the Science-Fiction genre. It also acts as a paean to all speculative fiction and states beautifully why it is an important and vital part of our lives. There could have been no better way to close this powerful and concise work.