Metatropolis
Starred Review. Editor Scalzi (Zoe's Tale) and four well-known writers thoughtfully postulate the evolution of cities, transcending postapocalyptic clichés to envision genuinely new communities and relationships. Self-sustaining walled cities struggle with their responsibilities to dying suburbs in Scalzi's Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis; goods are exchanged through multiple microtransactions in Tobias S. Buckell's Stochasti-City and a reputation economy in Elizabeth Bear's The Red in the Sky Is Our Blood. A lone man attempts to overthrow an early enclave in Jay Lake's In the Forests of the Night, while Karl Schroeder's To Hie from Far Celenia brilliantly combines steampunk, urban sociology and network theory as entire subcultures go off the grid. Each story shines on its own; as a group they reinforce one another, building a multifaceted view of a realistic and hopeful urban future.(Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.