BRIGHT FUTURE: An Anthology of Diverse and Inclusive Science Fiction

BRIGHT FUTURE: An Anthology of Diverse and Inclusive Science Fiction
Various Authors
Story Origin
Price unknown to me

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Spaceships, space stations, and distant planets. Stampeding elephants, a talking dog, and a hungover captain without a ship. An ensign far from home, a stowaway, and a pair of runaways. This anthology features stories of a diverse and inclusive future by six up-and-coming indie authors.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM STORY ORIGIN. THANK YOU.

My Review: Teaser-taster collections are very risky reads for me. I am frequently left irked by them, especially when they have excerpts from longer works. A bullet dodged here, then, since these are all tales from established storyverses the authors are working within, with one exception; with another exception, they're the inciting incidents in the series. I'm entirely on board with most of the stories because the authors have high-quality craft chops.

I herewith employ the time-honored tradition of this blog, the Bryce Method, of offering a story-by-story opinion of each piece.

Case File #7: The One with All the Elephants by Jeannette Bedard strikes a delightful, amusing tone as it merges the SF and Fantasy strands of SFF in one quite engaging story. I was hugely amused, to the point of laughing out loud, when I read "She pulled out an old tablet—the kind once used in the elementary classrooms of my grandparents or maybe their grandparents." Exactly as I'd feel if someone pulled out a slate! But I think Detective Flo's partner, Ned, who eats spicy cricket tacos, made the whole story of mini-elephants on a space station come alive for me. If this is in a series, can't find it; if it isn't, please make it one. 4 stars

Jurassic Dark by SI CLARKE brings characters from monadnock-of-indie-SF Si Clarke's Starship Teapot series in a suspenseful, eerie tale in homage to Arthur C, Clarke's iconic, A Walk in the Dark, charmingly dramatized by The Black Dog Chronicles here. It really, truly is a delightful homage, too. Spock is a hilarious character, beak and all. Shake it, Spock! 4 stars

The Blood of the Forgotten by Dani Hoots is a novella set in a world I don't have any experience with, so I spent the whole read wondering what the heck led these two children...sixteen and eighteen, more or less...to be where they were, to what they decided to do, to the final decision in the story that, frankly, squicked me out. The Kausians, which our sister-and-brother narrators happen to be, were very interesting; because I haven't read the series, I had to be okay with gleanings of their essence. It was, sadly, a read I found unsatisfying. 3 stars all for potentials unrealized.

The Arno Manoeuvre by D.M. Pruden will, I'd bet, spawn follow-on tales...it feels like there's more than enough room for more stories in this setting, part of the author's Shattered Empire series. A main character in the series, Captain Pavlovich, is a mere Ensign on his first assignment in this novella. It takes place in a dark, dreadful time in the storyverse's history, and uses the always effective narrative technique of first-person cinematic viewpoint to follow Ens. Pavlovich as he comes by his ability to command and to control...himself, and his own narrative. Battle scenes aren't for everyone; be aware that they are detailed and contain triggering events for those with PTSD. 5 stars

Endigo: Trystero Origins by Dave Walsh is the set-up novella for his series, Trystero. The way the Trystero gets its name, and its captain, in the series to come is a terrific take on the old plot of the passing of the torch. It's a good tale, well told, and has all the action you'd want to see. 4.5 stars

Impounded by John Wilker, first story in that author's Space Rogues series. It felt like the almost-R-rated version of Star Trek: The Original Series, and I don't mean that in a good way. I disliked Wil Calder, the series' main character, almost as much as I disliked Kirk. Not to my taste; possibly to yours. 3 stars