Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain (Early Classics of Science Fiction)
Helpful explanatory notes, a comprehensive bibliography and a well-organized historical introduction all add value to this intriguing anthology, which contains 27 Spanish and Latin American SF stories, most of them brief, dating from 1862 to 2001. As the editors point out, Latino and Mediterranean countries are often perceived as consumers, if not victims, of the technology developed and sold by their northern neighbors. Hence, Latino writers tend to work with "soft" SF themes and a social science emphasis while incorporating Christian symbols and motifs, as in the powerful Cuban story "The Annunciation" (1983), or denouncing brutal totalitarian regimes, as in the shattering Brazilian "The Crystal Goblet" (1964). From Argentina, "Acronia" (1962), a frightening foreshadowing of an Orwellian online workplace, highlights the dangers of mechanization, while "The First Time" (1994), from Spain, postulates mental and moral decay as the end result of mindless consumerism. Flashes of wit and a gentler spirit (especially in the few stories by women) occasionally brighten this darkling plain of violence, perversions and utter hopelessness, but overall the political, social and economic turmoil that rocked Latin America in the 1970s and '80s seems still to pervade its science fiction, making for a gloomy, though instructive, reading experience.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.