Fast Forward BookLetters Review Gets My Goat

I just learned about a service BookPage provides called BookLetters, which syndicates online reviews for local libraries websites. BookLetters has given a stunning endorsement to Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge, listing it as a “notable” book, in a great review by Paul “Goat” Allen. Paul says:

“The 21 stories included in Fast Forward 1 are truly visionary science fiction, harkening back to the days of Asimov, Clarke and Heinlein.…Of the 21 ‘future fiction’ stories featured — which also include works from Stephen Baxter, Ken MacLeod, George Zebrowski, Gene Wolfe and John Meaney — all are noteworthy in their own right, a rare feat for any anthology. Diverse, entertaining and thought-provoking, this collection offers a wildly imaginative view of what the future might hold. Editor Anders has it right when he writes in his introduction: ‘Who knew enlightenment could be so much fun?'”

You can see the review “in action” here at the New York Public Library, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District website, and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library system.

Meanwhile, after the bad pun in the title of this blog, I hope I can be forgiven for the immodesty in quoting this bit:

“In the last decade or so, many of the leading publishers of science fiction and fantasy have taken a decidedly safe philosophy regarding new releases. The popularity of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake vampire saga, for example, has spawned dozens if not hundreds of derivative and uninspired series. Unrestrained creativity and visionary speculation, it seems, isn’t as integral to science fiction and fantasy as mainstream marketability. Wrong. One person who has almost single-handedly reignited and redirected the course of the genre is Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders.”

Which is immensely gratifying to hear, whether or not it’s true.