Charles Stross' "Wireless"

With a string of recent Hugo novel nominations:

Saturn's Children (2009)

Halting State (2008)

Glasshouse (2007)  

And, novella wins 2005 for "The Concrete Jungle" and 2010 for "Palimpsest"

British born sci-fi author Charles Stross would seem to be on a roll.  

Therefore, it was with great anticipation that I picked up a copy of

his latest, "Wireless."  Wireless is a collection of short stories, including

two novellas:  Missle Gap and Palimpsest.  In his introduction Stross

says that he prefers short stories because, "I get to play with new ideas

in a way I can't imagine at novel length."    

"Ideas" is the key word here.  Stross does not let us down because

"Wireless" is full of ideas, like: 

What if the Internet didn't develop as a free resource?  ("Unwirer")

Wouldn't the human race be better off if we were part of ensemble intelligences.  ("Missle Gap".)

What if, as a result of global warming, the West Antarctic ice shelf collapsed

plunging the British Isles into a sub-artic deep freeze and the only way

to save England was to make a deal with the Devil?  ("Snowball's Chance")     

My personal favorite of the selection is "Missle Gap."  The way Stross crosses

plot paths back and forth between two sets of humans, and some non-human beings,

kept me entertained from beginning to end.  Enjoy.

FYI>  Not all of the stories in "Wireless" are sci-fi.   For example, "Down on the Farm"

         is a spy story.  But, who cares?  It's entertaining and provides Stross

         with another idea vehicle.

Tom Smith, MLS

Sci Fi Collections and Reference Librarian

New Haven Free Public Library     

Also check out Tom's interpretation of the classic film 'Solaris' 

Comments and feedback are encouraged!!