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Daydreams Undertaken by Stephen L. Antczak
01/04/2005 . Source: Laura Kayne 
pub: Marietta Publishing. 188 page enlarged paperback. Price: $14.99 (US), $19.99 (CAN). ISBN: 1-892669-25-0. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.mariettapublishing.com
Antczak begins his foreword to 'Daydreams Undertaken' with the comment that the title describes both his process of writing and the stories in this collection. This is a useful insight into the way an author approaches writing and something which is continued in the short introductions to each piece in the volume. The metaphor of daydreams or daydreaming in order to create is surely especially true in the case of Science Fiction or fantasy for both the writer and the reader. What else but daydreams and imagination can bridge the gap between the real world and possible other worlds? This leap is needed by both the creator and the reader in order to give the daydream some life. This is exactly what Antczak has done here, with a collection of fifteen short stories (four unpublished previously).
There is a varied mix in 'Daydreams Undertaken' of philosophical, questioning tales and fun, humorous stories. The humorous 'Captain Asimov' and its sequel 'Captain Asimov Saves The Day'. A robot, reading Asimov to his owners' children becomes convinced that the Three Laws of Robots are true and, also influenced by the reading of superhero comics, believes it is his duty to save humans from evil villains.
Then there's 'Reality', a thought-provoking and slightly disturbing piece which questions the relationship between reality and art and reality and belief. If people believe something will have a certain effect, is this belief enough to make it true?
In a similar way, 'The Deity Effect' questions the nature of God and whether man was made by God or God by man. As with all good Science Fiction the answer is not as simple as the reader might think and the twist is both clever and interesting.
Antczak also plays with myths and stereotypes of the Science Fiction and fantasy genres. In the same vein as 'Captain Asimov' is 'Space Aliens Ate My Head', where an ordinary person finds that being abducted is not quite as bad as one may imagine and even leads him to be not quite so ordinary any more. The clichés of alien abduction are placed in the story, very much tongue in cheek.
'The Mars Trip' is also fun and clever and a tribute to Ray Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles'. After Mars is colonised, readers of Bradbury's books rush to find out whether the picture he presented of the planet was true. They only find a cold, dry, red rock. Until one group of workers start to see things differently - with the help of some LSD.
'Virtual Day' twists the idea of vampires and sunlight when a vampire sees such a realistic virtual reality sunrise that he is destroyed. Another wonders whether such a strong belief could actually allow her to witness real sunshine.
'Last Contact', meanwhile, takes the reader past the point of first contact with aliens to what would happen if suddenly the only alien race humanity knew of were to cut off communication. Other tales cover immortality and even heroic knights in shinning armour.
The end result is an enjoyable and entertaining collection, appealing to those familiar with classic Science Fiction ideas and many to those just interested in more speculative fiction. The stories are all very readable with largely well-rounded and drawn-out characters while the twists and wry humour of his writing add some originality. The daydreams of Stephen L. Antczak are certainly worth a dip into and, as always with a short story collection, these work if you read them in order in one sitting or just pick and chose at random. The variety should cover the interests of most genre readers.
Laura Kayne
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