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Always hard to rate an anthology. There were some excellent stories, some good, and a few that were so jumbled or boring or poorly conceived that I DNF. Favorites: The Lady Astronaut of Mars and Begone (though the cleverness of this one probably depends greatly on your age and knowing the property it’s playing off of).
Such a great way to check out some contemporary sci-fi authors! Listened to this one on Audible, so also a great way to sample a bunch of different readers as well.
A collection of stories inspired by first lines, and I will do it as alwys do. Talk a bit about every story.Fireborn (Rootabaga stories) by Robert Charles WilsonSet in the future where a war tore mankind apart, I guess. It was interesting and good, and I'd read more from this author. Though I have no idea where that first line is from.The evening line (Pride and Prejudice) by Mike ResnickThe story is from Resnick's world, and frankly the whole story was meh.No decent patrimony (Edward II) by Eli...
I was disappointed with this set of stories, mostly because it was done by sci-fi and there is little sci-fi to be found. That said, the stories were mostly clever and entertaining.The stories:1) Love story, I liked it. It was more Fantasy than Sci-Fi.2) I didn't care much for this one. Not a bad story, just not for me. Also Fantasy.3) Slip into your bubble bath liberals, this one's for you! There's gender choice rights, global warming, evil rich (oooo!), population control, and dwindling resour...
My first science fiction book (of short stories) ever. I liked a few, I disliked a few, but I just couldn't get into the atmosphere.It did make me want to read more of "The lady astronaut"'s stories.
Fireborn by Robert Charles WilsonVery cool intro story for setting the mood of the series. Little more exposition on the world-setting would've been appreciated but it wasn't necessary.The evening line by Mike ResnickResnick is hit or miss with me and this was a miss. wild scenarios that all seemed born from the writer's block breaker of "throw your characters into a weird situation and see how to get them out" but every paragraph was like that so you were constantly adjusting until you were exh...
Any short stories not having their own entries will be reviewed in the overall anthology.Begone - Daryl GregoryI was informed by images of many a psycho killer across the genre, but while I was kinda meh through most of the story, the ending made up for it. If I must put a reaction to it, I have to say it puts a new spin on the whole women's lib movement. I want to say we've got a self-hating man, too, and well beyond the point of emasculation. The concept is interesting on the surface, but deep...
This anthology is a bit different from those I usually read, since usually there's some sort of tie of subject matter, or it's a collection of stories by one author. There is technically a theme here, but it feels rather loose. Each of the authors here has taken their favorite line from (public domain) literature and written a sci-fi or fantasy story building off of it. I was expecting to recognize all of these first lines, and it was interesting to be thwarted by the very first story, which dra...
Fun anthology, neat idea. Mixed reviews for each story:- "Fireborn" by Robert Charles Wilson:Meh.. Simple, neat, cute.- "The Evening Line" by Mike Resnick:I found this one pretty disgusting... kind of like I find the first line of pride and prejudice. Just not my thing.- "No Decent Patrimony" by Elizabeth Bear:A bit tedious, felt like it shouldn't have been a short story.- "The Big Whale" by Allen M. Steele:This is what Moby Dick should have been. Short, with only a few sentences about the lunai...
This is a collection of short stories written by members of the Science Fiction Writers of America and inspired by the first line of a classic book. It’s a great idea, but in practice didn’t work that well for me. I should start by pointing out that I am a big fan of the short story format and often read collections. It’s rare that every story in a volume will appeal to me but usually I encounter that gem or two that makes the collection worthwhile and then another handful that were fun as far a...
8 of the 14 stories earned 4-5 stars each (Bear, Tidhar, Scalzi, Kress, Campbell, Kowal, Williams, Kelly) and the rest...didn't, thus the 3 Stars overall. Bear, Scalzi, Kowal, and Williams are all astounding, you should read those if nothing else.
This was originally Rip-Off!, an Audible audiobook only. I wanted it very much but couldn't rationalize the price unless I could donate the CDs to the library, which they wouldn't accept, they sell all donations. I'm really glad it's finally out in print, and at the library. So, concept: each author took the first sentence of a favorite classic—fiction or non-fiction—and used it as inspiration for a new short story. The story could relate to the source or have nothing at all to do with it, whate...
This is a solid little collection of short stories based on the first lines of famous novels and plays (and also the Bible and the Declaration), but nothing really wowed me.The stand outs for me were:The Evening Line - This was like reading a cartoon about gangsters from the 20s (50s?) who also employ wizards and zombies and live in the modern day. It was a lot of fun and I especially loved that every character had a nickname, like, Loose Lips Louis, Almost Blonde Annie, and Snake-Hips Levine. I...
This was a collection of short stories. The idea was for each writer to rip-off the first line of a classic piece of literature and then build a story on it. Many were solid pieces, some were just okay, one I skipped because it simply wasn't my cuppa, and a few were downright excellent. "Muse of Fire" by John Scalzi was one of those I especially liked. Usually Scalzi uses a bit of humor in his writing, but this was unrelenting drama and a very interesting idea. I'd read "The Lady Astronaut of Ma...
As with any anthology, the quality of stories here is mixed, but there are enough good ones to make it worthwhile. There are several that I wished were full novels, including "Fireborn," "The Lady Astronaut," and "Declaration."
Belying its name, this collection of short stories is an incredibly valuable find for any scifi fan. I listened to this as an audiobook, apparently the only way it was published. What an inspired decision! Each story is introduced by the author, in his/her own voice, and each is read by a different performer. With a stellar lineup of both authors and performers, this was a treat from start to finish. The unifying concept is that the authors were asked to use the first line of a famous book as th...
There's enough good stuff here to make this worth purchasing. (Note: for some reason the ebook version is called Mash Up, rather than Rip-Off; not really sure why). In some stories, the borrowed first line played a major role. In others, it was just an opener. Highlights for me were Elizabeth Bear's "No Decent Patrimony", John Scalzi's "Muse of Fire", and Jack Campbell's "Highland Reel", with honorable mentions for "The Big Whale" and "Begone". There was one story I gave up on entirely, as not a...
This audio book is a collection of short stories based on famous first lines and introduced by the author. Read by a variety of readers.The best two stories were fantasy ("Highland Reel" by Jack Campbell) and science fiction ("The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal), but the collection in general was not highly sci-fi. Will probably seek out Mary Robinette Kowal to read more of, but unfortunately this collection rates only an "okay".
The premise of this book is that authors choose the first line of any literary work, and build a new story around it. There are 13 stories.Fireborn by Robert Charles Wilson - air dancers, dance competitions, teen-age jealousy and angst. Not my thing.The Evening Line by Mike Resnick - I didn't quite follow this one. It took place in a bar with lots of interesting characters, but it just wasn't interesting to me.No Decent Patrimony by Elizabeth Bear - this one was slightly interesting. In a futuri...