‘Pockets’ by Rudy Rucker and John Shirley
As I’ve worked my way through Redshift I’ve come to the conclusion that what this collection is crying out for is a story by Bruce Sterling. Rucker is probably the next best thing but it’s still not the same. He brings the gnarl but it could definitely be gnarlier. Pocket universes are cool but a little familar and execution is nothing special. Indeed I suspect I have scored it relatively highly because Rucker and Shirley’s story stands out in a sea of dross.
Quality: ***
Shiftiness: ****
I also feel I should draw attention to the opening of Sarrantonio’s introduction which is just appallingly sloppy:
Rudy Rucker and John Shirley are powerful enough as seperate entities – what would happen if you put the two of them together? A frightening thought – and that’s what happened.
Written by Martin
26 May 2009 at 10:32
Posted in sf, short stories
Tagged with john shirley, redshift, rudy rucker
2 Responses
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I like Sarrantonio’s taste in stories better than you – I think the Simmons, Koja/Malzberg, and Hand are really very good, along with a couple of others you haven’t got to yet. But I realised I had a problem with Sarrantonio’s editorial voice (which is the same in his other anthologies) once I realised I was thinking of the person writing the story notes as Alan Partridge.
Graham Sleight
28 May 2009 at 19:05
I did like the Simmons and the Koja/Malzberg and if they had come later in the anthology I might well have marked them higher out of relief. I don’t think either are great though. There is a good story inside the Hand but it trapped under too many niggling problems.
There are only three I haven’t got to yet! I suspect I will like the Wolfe less than you but I have high hopes for ‘Rhido Wars’.
As for Sarrantonio as Partridge: thanks for that, now I will read the intros in that voice as well.
Martin
28 May 2009 at 22:45