An Alternate History of the 21st Century by William Shunn

In his afterword, the author cautions against the natural human tendency to look for patterns in everything. And, indeed, anyone trying to fashion a single, coherent future history from the six stories in the book will be disappointed. Nevertheless, the tales do comprise an interesting set of snapshots of where we might be heading -- or (as Cory Doctorow's introduction reminds us) where we are now...

The full review is available on SF Site.

Further Links:
William Shunn
Spilt Milk Press

Interzone, Issue 217: August 2008

Advance publicity in several forum posts heralds issue #217 of Interzone as “not so Mundane this time,” following as it does from the Mundane SF special issue. And it’s quite right: only two of this issue’s stories are Earth-bound, and those two are outlandish enough that they’re far away from Mundane SF. Whether this contrast with issue #216 is deliberate, I don’t know; but I do know there is a lot of good stuff to be found here...

The full review is available online at The Fix.

Further links:
Interzone
Karen Fishler
M.K. Hobson
Paul McAuley
Suzanne Palmer
Jason Sanford
Paul G. Tremblay

The Fade by Chris Wooding

Orna, a member of the elite Cadre, is bonded for life to the Clan Caracassa. Orna's people, the Eskarans, are at war with the Gurta; as the novel begins, she is in battle. Tricked by the Gurta, Orna's husband is killed, and she is captured and taken to the prison-fortress Farzala. At first despairing and aloof (which gains her the nickname of "the fade," a kind of apparition), she gradually forms relationships with a small group of her fellow-prisoners and formulates a daring plan to escape...

The full review is available online at SF Site.

Chris Wooding
Gollancz