Extreme Science Fiction is a nice collection of extreme science fiction, hence the title. I love short stories and it's an unfortunate reality that authors don't make much from them. So I'm always glad for nice collections like this one. Still, it's a great way to find new authors. (Well, new to me, anyway.)

Many of the stories are great. A few are merely good. I don't think there was a truly bad one in the lot. The main weakness is in the ordering. The collection is ordered from least extreme to most extreme. But, frankly, the most extreme stories were those kind of far-future, humanity-transcending-itself blather that just don't thrill me. For that genre, these were really good. But there's a clear drop-off about halfway through where the stories start to lose their impact. Oh, gee, another story about Pan-Humanity at the end of the Universe. Still, none of them were bad. It wasn't a chore to read through them by any means.

But all is forgiven by the last story. It's a delightful little tale with a great ending. Even if the last half of the collection doesn't thrill you, it's worth it for the end.

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Contents


* Anomalies ⢠(2001) ⢠shortstory by Gregory Benford
* . . . And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon ⢠(2003) ⢠shortstory by Paul Di Filippo (aka And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon)
* Copyright and Acknowledgements ⢠(2006) ⢠essay by Mike Ashley
* Crucifixion Variations ⢠(1998) ⢠novelette by Lawrence Person
* Death in the Promised Land ⢠(1995) ⢠novelette by Pat Cadigan
* Extreme Science Fiction ⢠(2006) ⢠essay by Mike Ashley
* Extreme Science Fiction ⢠(2005) ⢠essay by Mike Ashley
* Flowers from Alice ⢠(2003) ⢠novelette by Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow
* Hoop-of-Benzene ⢠[Marrow] ⢠(2006) ⢠shortstory by Robert Reed
* Judgment Engine ⢠(1995) ⢠novelette by Greg Bear
* Merlin's Gun ⢠(2000) ⢠shortstory by Alastair Reynolds
* Stuffing ⢠(2006) ⢠shortstory by Jerry Oltion
* The Creator ⢠(1935) ⢠novelette by Clifford D. Simak
* The Days of Solomon Gursky ⢠(1998) ⢠novella by Ian McDonald
* The Girl Had Guts ⢠(1957) ⢠novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
* The Long Chase ⢠(2002) ⢠shortstory by Geoffrey A. Landis
* The New Humans ⢠(1909) ⢠shortstory by B. Vallance
* The Pacific Mystery ⢠(2006) ⢠shortstory by Stephen Baxter
* The Region Between ⢠[Afterlife of Bailey] ⢠(1970) ⢠novella by Harlan Ellison
* Undone ⢠(2001) ⢠novelette by James Patrick Kelly
* Wang's Carpets ⢠(1995) ⢠novelette by Greg Egan
* Waterworld ⢠(1994) ⢠shortstory by Stephen L. Gillett, Ph.D. and Jerry Oltion

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