Tim Pratt recently won the 2007 Hugo Award for best short story with Impossible Dreams. The story’s main character, Pete, is a huge movie buff that stumbles across a new video store in his neighborhood. He doesn’t seem to understand how he missed the store before, but ventures in and finds an odd selection of movies which he though had been canceled, or made by different directors with different actors. What follows is an interesting commentary on movies which either were never made, were lost, or simply done differently. This is a truly awesome story with an excellently planned ending. It was a pleasure to read from start to finish. From the writing it either the author is a huge movie buff or his writing is so good that you’d never even suggest he wasn’t passionate about movies. Visit the link above and read the full story at Asimov’s Science Fiction.
Impossible Dreams by Tim Pratt
Related Post
Neuromancer by William GibsonNeuromancer by William Gibson
William Gibson is credited with starting the cyberpunk genre when he wrote Neuromancer. I’ve had this book on my mental list of books to read for many years now, but hadn’t managed to squeeze it into my reading schedule until now. I’m a bit disappointed that it took me so long to get to, because it was a very enjoyable read.
The setting of Neuromancer is kind of a dirty futuristic world where the line between man and machine has been blurred. Almost everyone has some type of enhancement ranging from boosted reflexes to special chips that let another person experience all of someone else’s senses. Hackers are referred to as “Cowboys,” who jack into the matrix which is a graphical representation of the electronic world. This matrix is much different than that of the 1999 movie The Matrix in that it is not a copy of the real world. I can best describe as a hallucination that represents the underlying systems that are all connected together. Many of the information systems are protected by AI of varying degrees of complexity. (more…)
Starship Troopers by Robert A. HeinleinStarship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
The 1959 novel Starship Troopers is a military-based science fiction novel which won the Hugo Award for best novel in 1960. Robert A. Heinlein clearly draws from his previous military experience to describe the career of Juan “Johnny” Rico as he works his way up from a fresh recruit to 2nd Lieutenant in the Terran Federation military during the “Bug War”.
The story is told through a series of flashbacks narrated by Rico, intertwined between these are obvious commentaries on discipline, politics, and human behavior. Heinlein’s concepts, specifically mechanical armor, influenced science fiction in various realms ranging from other novels to games, and even spawned a Hollywood motion picture. I’ve seen the movie Starship Troopers (1997) before, and will watch it again soon, so keep an eye out for that review. (more…)
Foundation’s Fear by Gregory BenfordFoundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford
The Second Foundation Trilogy is a venture initiated by Asimov’s Estate. Gregory Benford was approached to work on the project, and eventually Greg Bear and David Brin finished the series. I remember from my previous experience with Foundation’s Fear back in 2000 or so that I didn’t like it. I made a point of keeping track of details that bugged me throughout the novel so that I could provide some constructive criticism. I tried to do my best to keep an open mind, but it wasn’t long before I remembered why I didn’t like this novel. There will be minor spoilers, but hopefully they will help you save some time reading this 597 page (paperback) monster. (more…)