Michael Swanwick

The stories in this volume have picked up numerous awards and award nominations, befitting one of the best SFF writers of his generation. I had read most of them previously; on re-reading, motifs become apparent. Psychological experiments on the Moon? "Trojan Horse" and "Griffin's Egg". The ambiguous, dreadful results of optimizing human intellect? "Griffin's Egg" again, and "Wild Minds". "The Dead" and "Radiant Doors" are the most obvious examples of Swanwick's fondness for grim, meathook futures. Looking for stories about cryptic alien intelligences on moons of the outer planets, showing up during a life-threatening emergency? See "Slow Life" and "The Very Pulse of the Machine".

The stories start at quite good and get better from there. One of my favorites is "Legions in Time", involving time travel, evil supermen, and a plucky heroine. It's an homage to A. E. van Vogt and, in the grand van Vogt tradition, it's fast-moving, tremendous fun while making no sense at all.

There are fantasy stories too. In "The Changeling", an old man tells how he left his village to join the warrior elves, and what that cost him. "The Edge of the World" is located somewhere in the Middle East; one can stand at the edge and look down into endless sky. But mainly we have science fiction here.

In "Griffin's Egg", the small population of Lunar settlers watch nuclear war unfold on Earth. They will have to survive without Earthly supplies, and baseline human personalities won't be sufficient.

"The Dead" imagines that the recently dead can be revived. They are perfectly obedient servants, excellent workers, and beautiful besides. What will become of the living people they replace? Maybe Swanwick's overarching theme is survival - of the body, in emergencies, or of the spirit, in the face of the plans that the powerful have for us all, or that we have for our own upgrades.

If I have a reservation, it's that most of these stories lose some impact with a second reading. The brutal ending of "Radiant Doors" is not a surprise the second time, and provides a different experience.

One story that did hold up for me is "The Edge of the World". In the 1960s, the Twilight Emirates where the Edge lies are an American protectorate. If you're a bored teen, brought there by your US-official parents, the idea of skipping school to climb down the precarious cliff face at the Edge is irresistible. Swanwick gives us a perfect mix of teen angst and weird menace.

There's also "The Dog Said Bow-Wow", the author's most popular story, featuring two rogues, one of whom is a bio-engineered, bipedal dog, looking for the main chance in a future London. Swanwick is most inventive. If you're interested, better start now, because The Best of Michael Swanwick, Volume 2 should be published this month.… (més)