is a very short collection of stories set in the author's 'Quiet War' universe, with the action in all of the stories actually occurring AFTER the said war and the first novel.
By the time I managed to go through all the stories in here, I managed to finish the novel itself, and was not impressed by it.
These shorter works actually work a lot better, not leaving enough room to the author to dabble on in infodumps or characters uselessly plotting and scheming against one another.
Story breakdown:
Making History novella:
Journalist is sent to colony on asteroid in the outer reaches of the solar system to document the legend of the leader of the resistance against Earth.
The setting is stunning the colony has been devastated and its remaining settlers are rebuilding, The execution is not so fantastic, though,
Incomers novelette:
A bunch of kids believe new immigrant to be a former war criminal and set out to spy on him.
Hey, this 'young adult'themed story is easily the best here,
Second Skin short story:
Assassin is sent to remote colony to dispatch a rebel, only to discover that he himself is actually a.
. . This appears to have been the very first story in the Quiet War universe, and, although far from the author's first published story, was unbelievably clunky and hard to follow.
Reef novelette:
Heavy on biological terms as is 'The Quiet War' novel itself, this actually works better than the novel, as it manages to stay away from the useless plot machinations.
I only wish I could understand all the 'isms',
Karyl's War novella:
After going through about a third of this story, and determining it is not a real standout, I decided to part ways with this universe.
It could've been simply good, but my patience is exhausted, Well paced short stories, with a certain
poignancy, If you like mainstream SF then well worth the effort, I read this collection after the wonderful In the Mouth of the Whale as I did not want to leave the superb universe of the author for some of the stories here, it was theth time i read them, some third, some second time and only Karyl's War which is newly published hint contains an Arab Spring reference was for the first time notable Quiet war stories missing are Dead men walking and The Gardens of Saturn which are also awesome and there areorothers excellent ones missing The Passenger, Assassination of Faustino Malarte.
. .
But still for a very low price, thesestories give a very good reading experience and I highly recommend them
Making History is the first QW story i read in the awesome PS anthology ofand the one that hooked me on the milieu this was theth orth read and the first narration of an aging history professor that is commisioned by the winning powers to write a biography of the most hated or most heroic leader of the Outers, the immediate post war desolation where the winners make the rules and the vanquished endure and a beautiful girl and a love stricken police commander and chief torturer were as fresh as on the first read
Incomers is a more recent story and is set after the war in a habitat less touched by it, though its reverberations and suspicions still go on good stuff too but less memorable than most of the rest
Second Skin one of several stories about the spies and saboteurs, the earth Poers sent in the first wave of the war before the conquest and while Dead Men walking is the best such, this one is excellent too
Reef Outers science and tech on display and sense of wonder and speculations about the future this story fits best with In the Mouth of the Whale and is another excellent one
Karyl's War the odyssey of an Outer outsider who wants only to be left in peace to live his nomadic life, but as those memorable words say: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you"
More great world building and action as well as a good cautionary tale for all seasons so to speak
Overall if you have not read the author's wonderful series so far that starts with The Quiet War, try these stories and see if they hook you as Making History didor so years ago for me.
. . Short stories flourish in SF, probably because the genre is at its most potent and concentrated in the short form.
Also, a lot of SF novels, particularly multivolume series, invariably began with the seeds or shoots of short stories.
One example is the Quiet War sequence by Paul McAuley, which began, quietly enough, as a short story called Second Skin, written in.
The fourth fulllength novel in the sequence, Evenings Empires, has just been released,
In this Kindleonly collection, McAuley provides an illuminating account of the genesis of the Quiet War sequence, as well as his longabiding fascination with the moons of the outer planets, and such seemingly desolate areas as the Kuiper Belt a realm as exotic as the furthest reaches of space, except it is right in our own backyard.
A purveyor of what he himself terms radical hard SF, McAuleys stories are a joy to read if you like your science with all the nuts and bolts in place.
Yet he is also a profound thinker and humanist, with the entire Quiet War sequence likely to emerge as a classic space opera.
The war is triggered when vested interests on Earth, in the wake of environmental collapse and dwindling resources, decide to seize control of the outer system colonies, which are perceived as a threat to human progress and evolution.
It is a simple framework that allows McAuley to deal provocatively and compassionately with immensely complex and emotive issues like colonialism and expansionism, history and progress, and the very nature of what it means to be human.
All the stories in this collection focus on ordinary individuals caught up in the flux of the Quiet War, which swirls around their little lives with increasing turmoil.
The stories here represent everything I love about SF, and McAuley in particular: the science is rigorous, and the sense of wonder is palpable, all set against an exotic backdrop, but grounded in very topical and recognizable themes.
This is a superb introduction to McAuley if you have never read him before, and a treasure trove for fans.
More Quiet War stories, Four good ones, plus a pointless reworking of an earlier story first version was better, IMO, TOC: sitelink isfdb. org/cgibin/pl. cgi
.Kindle, so another good chance to catch up, if you are new to the series,.stars, rounded down for the clunky rework of one story,
The real review here to read is William's, sitelink goodreads. com/review/show A great collection of stories that add depth and detail to the worlds and events chronicled in McAuley's The Quiet War and Gardens of the Sun.
A definite must if you're a fan of those novels, Read for LIT. GENRE III Fantasy amp SciFi, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories set in McAuley's Quiet War future history, during and just after an asymmetrically bloody conflict in which the powers of Earth crush and occupy colonies around Jupiter, Saturn, and the other outer planets.
The world building is terrific the author makes the solar system feel really large, and yet the stories all fit within a coherent future.
The main characters are mostly appealing as well,
Aspects of the stories reminded me of Arthur C, Clark, especially the hard science and the aesthetic choice to have main characters caught up in larger historical events that they experience rather than shape.
A recurring theme is the stories is the nature of oppression, especially colonial power how it diminishes the humanity of those who govern, and how those who are oppressed respond, with violence, nonviolent resistance, or by following some other personal ethic.
There's plenty of brutality in these stories, not for its own sake, but as a critique of power, One could, in fact, read the stories as an exploration of the United States' own projection of military power in other nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan, although the author offers no such comparison.
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Paul McAuley