Only Disconnect, edited by Juliana Rew
Book Review by Jeremy D. Carr
Have you read this book?
How connected is too connected? That is the theme of the Summer 2015 edition of Third Flatiron Anthologies. With thirteen stories from thirteen different authors, this collection pushes the limits of how over-connected some of us become, and how hard some of us try not to. Would you want to live after death... as a computer in a box? How far would you go to fulfill your passion to succeed? What would you do if the bacteria in your body were suddenly smarter than you? What is the marketability of weaponized grizzly-human hybrids? This collection will pull you in all different directions. It will make you laugh, cry and cringe, sometimes in rapid succession.
Having reviewed a number of Third Flatiron Anthologies, it is apparent that these collections are all well developed and full of talented writing. Juliana Rew deserves much credit for her consistency in putting out a quality product for short sci-fi fans. Find one that sounds good to you and check it out, it will definitely be worth your time.
Here is a look at the stories in Only Disconnect:
"Seventh Sense" by Evan Henry -- When there is no freedom left in society even those charged with keeping it together want so badly to escape.
"Super Bugs" by Robert Lowell Russell -- After eating a mystery-meat burrito from a North Korean microwave, Dave's body decides to take matters into its own hands, with trillions of suddenly conscious microbes at the controls.
"Aqua Equal" by Jonathan Shipley -- There is nothing like a major culture shock to realign a person's perspective on their own culture. As one of the first Terran students at an alien world university, Luke learns this lesson very quickly, mostly thanks to his blunt-speaking lizard roommate.
"Carnival of Colours" by Evelyn Deshane -- You never know how the world looks through someone else's eyes, but sometimes our particular vision can show us a picture of the world that no one else can see.
"The Eyes in the Water" by Matt Weinburg -- There is a fine line between passion and obsession, and once crossed it can be deathly hard to come back.
"Life After Download" by Wendy Nikel -- Death is only hard on the living, they say. This is especially so when the living can choose to undo death.
"Just Visulate" by E.E. King -- "Individuals don't exist until they are measured, quantified and forced to choose -- constrained to become one thing or another, a partial or a wave, isolated, or soul connected across the infinite impenetrable defiant neoteric world." (excerpt)
"Email Recovered from Genetech Debris, Lieutenant Jeffrey Abramowitz Investigating" by Elliotte Rusty Harold -- It's not that human-grizzly hybrids aren't a good idea. It's just that the market may not be open to the idea at this time. Keep trying!
"Killing the Tree Spirit" by Adria Laycraft -- Sometimes we do not realize the choices we make until after we have already made them. This can be particularly life altering when those choices include ancient mythical spirits.
""A House of Mirrors (A metafictional story about getting lost in illusion)" by Stephanie Flood -- When imagination becomes reality does reality become imagination? And who ultimately decides the rules of existence?
"She Dies" by Jason Lairamore -- The virtual adventure of gaming can be exciting, but nothing compares to the real thing.
"Jacked" by Steve Coate -- When the law can charge you with the crime of having a criminal thought you never knew you had, how do you defend yourself against charges you do not understand?
"Into the Light" by Paul Barclay -- When passionate vision faces bad reviews it responds by trying even harder to have the vision realized.
Having reviewed a number of Third Flatiron Anthologies, it is apparent that these collections are all well developed and full of talented writing. Juliana Rew deserves much credit for her consistency in putting out a quality product for short sci-fi fans. Find one that sounds good to you and check it out, it will definitely be worth your time.
Here is a look at the stories in Only Disconnect:
"Seventh Sense" by Evan Henry -- When there is no freedom left in society even those charged with keeping it together want so badly to escape.
"Super Bugs" by Robert Lowell Russell -- After eating a mystery-meat burrito from a North Korean microwave, Dave's body decides to take matters into its own hands, with trillions of suddenly conscious microbes at the controls.
"Aqua Equal" by Jonathan Shipley -- There is nothing like a major culture shock to realign a person's perspective on their own culture. As one of the first Terran students at an alien world university, Luke learns this lesson very quickly, mostly thanks to his blunt-speaking lizard roommate.
"Carnival of Colours" by Evelyn Deshane -- You never know how the world looks through someone else's eyes, but sometimes our particular vision can show us a picture of the world that no one else can see.
"The Eyes in the Water" by Matt Weinburg -- There is a fine line between passion and obsession, and once crossed it can be deathly hard to come back.
"Life After Download" by Wendy Nikel -- Death is only hard on the living, they say. This is especially so when the living can choose to undo death.
"Just Visulate" by E.E. King -- "Individuals don't exist until they are measured, quantified and forced to choose -- constrained to become one thing or another, a partial or a wave, isolated, or soul connected across the infinite impenetrable defiant neoteric world." (excerpt)
"Email Recovered from Genetech Debris, Lieutenant Jeffrey Abramowitz Investigating" by Elliotte Rusty Harold -- It's not that human-grizzly hybrids aren't a good idea. It's just that the market may not be open to the idea at this time. Keep trying!
"Killing the Tree Spirit" by Adria Laycraft -- Sometimes we do not realize the choices we make until after we have already made them. This can be particularly life altering when those choices include ancient mythical spirits.
""A House of Mirrors (A metafictional story about getting lost in illusion)" by Stephanie Flood -- When imagination becomes reality does reality become imagination? And who ultimately decides the rules of existence?
"She Dies" by Jason Lairamore -- The virtual adventure of gaming can be exciting, but nothing compares to the real thing.
"Jacked" by Steve Coate -- When the law can charge you with the crime of having a criminal thought you never knew you had, how do you defend yourself against charges you do not understand?
"Into the Light" by Paul Barclay -- When passionate vision faces bad reviews it responds by trying even harder to have the vision realized.
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