Subject: (urth) OT, Wolfe-like stories

From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at siriusfiction.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 21:14:50 +0000

I recently read the Hartwell/Cramer anthology THE ASCENT OF WONDER: THE
EVOLUTION OF HARD SF.

It is a good antho; it is a thick antho; it has two Wolfe stories in it
("Procreation" and "All the Hues of Hell").  It has a solid approach: it is
like taking a course in Big(gest) Tent "hard sf," reading it through in
order and seeing the various threads the editors are talking about.  This
is "value added" to the simple collection--a guided tour of the
architecture and history by seasoned professionals.

There are a few stories I read for the first time in here that I thought
were great, but one in particular that I would like to recommend:
"Chromatic Aberration" by John M. Ford.

I find it Wolfe-like but in no way immitative.  I will search for more of
his work, because I am very interested based on this one story.

"Wolfe-like, how?" you might well ask.  The story is not baroque science
fantasy ala New Sun, it is more like magical realism and something else.
It also seems like a Le Guin work, if that helps capture what I'm trying to
convey without giving away too much of anything at all.

I can't help but wonder what other readers see--I'd love to compare notes
in private email.

=mantis=

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