"Dad, the kids spoke to you. Twice."
"So this creates an obligation for me to answer?"

from Fountain of Age ( )

was a really good set of short stories. some a little on the sad side, but well varied and with great characters ( )

A strong collection of mostly SF stories by Kress. A fairly common background is an Earth in decay. This is especially true in Laws of Survival, that has a lot in common with her novel Nothing Human, where things are so bad, aliens step in to protect a few bits, and in By Fools Like Me (as in Kilmer's poem Trees) where everything has seriously gone to hell in a handbasket. Another favorite theme of hers that appears multiple times is the accelerated evolution of humanity, usually artificially, though not in every case. The endpieces are The Erdmann Nexus, that won a Hugo, and Fountain of Age, that won a Nebula. Both are excellent, but I prefer the latter, because Kress stretches her narrative voice to channel Heinlein (or Scalzi, for you youngsters) in a modern version of Heinlein's "man who learned better" template.

Highly recommended. ( )

A collection of sf stories by Nancy Kress. Usually collections are an uneven mix, but these stories not only flow together well, but each and every story is excellent. Many of the stories are about individual humans' reactions to technological leaps or apocalyptic events. Aliens appear in a few. And yet they are all believable, like what might actually, truly happen if these events come to pass. Kress has a solid scientific understanding and avid curiosity and imagination about future breakthroughs, and it makes her tales all the better. ( )

...Nine stories with ageing, genetic manipulation and alien mystery as recurring themes. Perhaps you can say that Kress does not really surprise with these stories. Thematically they share a lot with most of Kress' oeuvre. What the collection does deliver, is nine expertly crafted stories however. Each and everyone is clearly written by someone who masters the short form completely. In these stories Kress combines very human emotions with extraordinary situations and technical advances that have a huge impact on society. They are thought-provoking and often heartbreaking pieces. In fact, this collection might not be a bad place to start if you want to sample some of her short fiction. For me, this collection was definitely one of the better reads of the year.

Full Random Comments review ( )