Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks, by Michael Resnick
Reviewed by Paul Weiss

Publisher:Golden Gryphon Press
Year Published: 2009

I've always admired the cleverness and the creative ability of authors of all stripes. But, as a long time fan of sci-fi, one of the more esoteric and most ignored genres in the universe of literature, I've always had the personal conceit that sci-fi authors had to be blessed with an extra dose of imagination, prescience, daring and, dare I say it, an exceptionally large storehouse of hardcore physical knowledge of the world around us. In a universe of brilliant authors that include such classic standouts as Isaac Asimov, Clifford D Simak and HG Wells, or more modern wordsmiths - Ben Bova, Robert Sawyer and Jack McDevitt, to name only a few - Michael Resnick is rapidly establishing a reputation as a standout in the field. ...

Getting to Know You: Stories by David Marusek
Reviewed by James Michael White

Publisher: Del Rey
Year Published: 2008
ISBN: 978-0345504289

If technologically advanced futures rendered completely sterile and impersonal by wünder-gadgets (mostly really smart take-with-you-everywhere computers) is your cup of soybimi tea, you'll just dig the dickens out of David Marusek's eleven tales of future wangst in Getting to Know You. A common theme running through many of the stories is one of increasing depersonalization, in which the future of mankind is increasingly less about mankind and more about the drive to technological efficiency that renders them obsolete. ...