Thomas A. Easton

As a collection, Decopunk is on the slim side offering 12 short stories. For me, the brevity refreshing after reading some real door stoppers like Seveneves (loved it) or longer anthologies where it can be harder to stay focused due to variations in the quality of the work. A few of Decopunk's stories are on the dark side and others silly. Most are optimistic and represent a love affair with science and progress. All were written by capable writers. There was only 1 where I got the end and thought "meh".

"The Wollart Nymphs" reminded me of a pleasant stay on the RMS Queen Mary. The story includes characters that are interesting and a clever solution to a crisis involving a ghost ship.

"Judy Garland Saves the World (And I Don't Mean Oz)" features a waitress / tour guide. Like several other stories in the collection, the main character is an ordinary American with a story both innocent and charming.

"Corn Fed Blues" is a story featuring a young woman who has a chance encounter that is both touching and one that sets her sights on learning quantum mechanics.

"Airboy and Vooda Visit the Jungles of the Moon" is a silly, over the top ode to pulp fiction. I had the sense the writer had great fun writing this story.

"Symmetry" is set in Weimar Germany and has Emmy Noether as its protagonist. It is the most serious story in the collection and the atmosphere is haunting. It was my personal favorite and I recommended it for the Hugo short list.

"And Every Pebble a Soldier" is another serious story. Short on pages but not on impact. I wish more writers understood that brevity adds more than it takes away.

These are just the highlights of a very nice collection of short stories. I would love to see more Decopunk.… (més)

This is an excellent sf mystery thriller. Easton's future is a world where genetic engineering is used for everything. Homes are made from vegetables, planes have been replaced by actual birds and cars are engineered from tortoises. Part of the enjoyment of the novel is the constant discovery of what has been mutated to do what. When the story opens, someone has begun overriding the commands that control a gengineeered 'plane' causing multiple deaths. The story follows the investigation into this sabotage. Well-written.… (més)