Empire Of Dreams And Miracles edited by Orson Scott Card and Keith Olexa

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Empire Of Dreams And Miracles edited by Orson Scott Card and Keith Olexa
pub: Phobos Books. 262 page enlarged paperback. Price: $14.95 (US). ISBN: 0-9720026-0-X

check out website: www.phobosweb.com

This is an anthology of 12 short stories out of 200 that were entered in 1st Annual Phobos Fiction Contest.

I suspect the number of short stories this year will go up geometrically. Saying that, all writers taking an interest in this competition ought really to buy this book as based on what I’ve read here, the standard is expected to be high and you’ll need to know what’s expected.

The problem with all anthologies is you can’t expect to please all readers with all the stories. A lot of the time that can be regarded as intentional to allow for a diversify of tastes so everyone is catered for.

I’m going to make the exception to the rule here. Either all the judges for this competition have similar taste to my own or I’ve probably been living in a parallel universe while reading this book.

Chief judge, Orson Scott Card, indicates they like good new storytellers. As do we all so maybe I’m not living in a parallel world. This doesn’t mean to say these stories are full of new ideas but it’s difficult to fault their presentation.

OK. It’s very hard to pick out real favourites when the standard is so high. Of particular interest is ‘They Go Bump’ by David Barr Kirtley where a military invisibility device isn’t as covert as they might think. Although there are similarities to Philip Dick’s short story ‘Second Variety’, it’s covered from a different angle.

‘Twenty-Two Buttons’ by Rebecca Carmi has a reality where you get ostracised for extra-martial relationships, even when they are conducted over the computer network. A neat twist at the end for you people who don’t want sticky keyboards.

‘Carthaginian Rose’ by Ken Liu is a very touching story of a character seeking a new frontier from her sister’s perspective. Despite the consequences, I liked the way the characters came to life on the page.

‘Great Theme Prisons Of The World’ by Carl Frederick was a neat end to the book. In this future, you can pick where you are incarcerated for your crimes.

Depending on how light you choose your punishment controls how long you’re locked up. The errant son in this case ends up going to the prison his father chose for him.

Something for everyone here and worth having a read.

GF Willmetts

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