[Disclaimer: I got this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program]

As you may already know, Writers of the Future is a contest in the name of Ron Hubbard for the best short stories in SF, fantasy or horror which has run for some decades. As usual, the stories are quite different in taste: here there is my (short) thoughts about them. I don't judge the illustrators (who are also winners of the contest)

◆ Kitsune, by Devon Bohm - the story seems an excuse for saying other things. Citing from the introduction, «What this story really is,” Bohm says, “is a feminist text that’s using an extended and surreal metaphor to help the reader reflect on particular experiences within the human condition.» 2/5

◆ Moonlight and Funk, by Marianne Connolly - nice and poetic story about an odd kind of love. 5/5

◆ Death and the Taxman, by David Hankins - it loses a bit of grip in the middle, maybe because the author tried too hard to be funny: but it's generally a good story. 4/5

◆ Under My Cypresses, by Jason Palmatier - I think I got the point of the story, but in my opinion it was not developed well. 3/5

◆ Circulate, by Ron Hubbard - An advice from Hubbard. Good advice, indeed. 4/5

◆ The Unwilling Hero, by Ron Hubbard - There is a point in the story which let you understand clearly what Hubbard would have become later in his life. 4/5

◆ White Elephant, by David K. Henrickson - humorous, well built, and with a nice plor twist. 5/5

◆ Piracy for Beginners, by Jennifer Johnson - nice story, in good old space opera style. 4/5

◆ Prioritize to Increase Your Writing, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - I don't understand why there are such interludes (except the ones from Hubbard, of course...) - n/a

◆ Fire in the Hole, by WordFire, Inc. - It is filled with too many clichés. 3/5

◆ A Trickle in History, by Elaine Cohen - the last Jews would not be the last ones. Nice idea and realization. 5/5

◆ The Withering Sky, by Harry Manners - good pace, but the plot just does not work. When you finish reading, you just ask yourself "why did all of this happen?" 3/5

◆ The Fall of Crodendra M, by Dustin Adams - the middle part was good, but beginning and ending are weak and they don't build up the story. Probably mixing wormholes with media live coverage was not a good idea. 3/5

◆ Constant Never, by S. M. Stirling - The eending is interesting, but the story does not say a lot to me. 2/5

◆ The Children of Desolation, by Spencer Sekulin - post apocalyptic, slow at the beginning but well built. 4/5

◆ Timelines and Bloodlines, by Laurance Davis - very nice way to deal with time travel paradoxes. 5/5

◆ The Last History, by Samuel Parr - I usually don't like fantasy, but this world is depicted very well. 4/5 ( )

The annual collection once again assembles stories from up-and-coming contest winners, stories and essays from established & respected authors, illustrations from contest winners, and (unfortunately) an essay and a story by L. Ron Hubbard. The less said about those last, the better. The rest is all quite good. A few of the illustrations disappointed by not matching my imagination, but the fact that I cared enough to be disappointed is proof enough that the collection is worth reading. ( )

This is a tremendous and varied collection of short stories. As with such collections there are aways stories that appeal to me more than others, although I am sure the list of most appealing stories will vary from one person to another. Without doubt, though, each of the tales can be appreciated for their excellent execution. These authors clearly have extraordinary imagination.

In general I prefer hard science fiction to fantasy but with this work one gets to try different genres. Much to my surprise I particularly liked "Kitsune", a fantasy about the urban foxes. l found it beautiful and compelling.

I also found "Death and the Taxman" to be very entertaining - perhaps this would be classed as a light horror story but it had a great humour running through it.

"Piracy For Beginners" is my winner in the science fiction genre - very entertaining with some good plot twists.

There was nothing in the book I did not enjoy reading, and much that I found captivating. It is a collection I can heartily recommend.
( )

From having read last year's volume, I came with very high expectations to this one, and so maybe was bound to be disappointed. Most of the stories in this anthology left me rather underwhelmed – with some exceptions.

The stories in order of appearance:

"Kitsune" by Devon Bohm: Not quite sure why this story is even in here. As per the author's introductory note, it is “a feminist text that’s using an extended and surreal metaphor to help the reader reflect on particular experiences within the human condition.” I would not have guessed, the story conveying a rather misogynistic view (women unfit to commit to a career or even change of scene, to benefit from college tuition, ending up in dead-end jobs, waiting around for Mr Right to propose and/or their elderly husbands to get fed up with them). So they go and turn into foxes. Or something. - 1 star

"Moonlight and Funk" by Marianne Xenos features a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua. I suppose I found it mildly interesting upon reading, but find I have totally forgotten the plot by now. - so, only 2 stars for this one, I'm afraid

"Death and the Taxman" by David Hankins – the Grim Reaper in various shenanigans with more than a hint of Terry Pratchett. Rather funny – 3 stars

"Under My Cypresses" by Jason Palmatier: deals with AIs and prejudices – 3 stars

"The Unwilling Hero" by L. Ron Hubbard: a space travelling story that has not aged very well
"White Elephant" by David K. Henrickson: first contact story with humanity having gone out into and colonized the solar system, but have taken today's political stances and squabbles with them. - 3 stars

"Piracy for Beginners" by J. R. Johnson: a snarky former hero demoted to playing bus driver on a moon-earth shuttle, but going full-on Mama Bear when pirates enter her vehicle and threaten her passengers. Action, suspense and fun. - 4 stars

"Fire in the Hole" by Kevin J. Anderson: my first Dan Shamble story. A bit over the top with the mix of ghoulies and beasties, but OK. - 3 stars

"A Trickle in History" by Elaine Midcoh: the first time-travel story in this volume. The technical aspects set aside, the idea behind the “going back in time, take out this one person and gazillions of bad things won't happen, ever” seems over-simplistic to me, but whatever. - 3 stars

"The Withering Sky" by Arthur H. Manner: that one I had to read twice and will surely come back to from time to time. Space / cosmic horror, very weird, very frightening and very confusing, featuring what may well be an unreliable narrator. - 5 stars

"The Fall of Crodendra M." by T. J. Knight: slightly preachy take on media consumerism, with a piece of action thrown in that, with the utmost amount of effort, accomplishes exactly nothing (just giving my opinion here) – 3 stars

"Constant Never" by S. M. Stirling: Your generic knight errant going dragon-slayer, with a plot twist I did not see coming – 4 stars

"The Children of Desolation" by Spencer Sekulin: the last surviving humans battling mutants in a post-apocalyptic setting. Again, this one is about prejudice and moral decisions. - 4 stars

"Timelines and Bloodlines" by L. H. Davis the second time-travel story coming with the same set of problems as above. Plus, “Angela (female lead) took the reins on this one. The closer I got to the end, the harder she pulled the story her way.” How is that a good thing? Should not a writer have a firm grip on their concept and not let go until the story is told through? - 3 stars

"The Last History" by Samuel Parr: “could you take the brutally long Civil Service Exams of Imperial China and make them a magic battle royale?” You can, if your name is Samuel Parr. Excellent world-building, a cool concept, adressing the pertinent question of what is more important, the histories of our distant ancestors learnt by heart, or the now and here? “And, somehow, can this story have a talking toad?” Yes, please! - 5 stars ( )

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by publishers, Galaxy Press, via Library Thing.

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Fans of the science fiction / fantasy genre might as well go ahead and budget every year to purchase the current entry in this compendium, now on the cusp of its fourth decade of presenting the work of talented newcomers in the field. This review will not go into the selection process. Those who are interested will find ample information in the book itself, as its producers and presenters are definitely not shy when it comes to self-promotion. But why should they be? They consistently present outstanding work in these collections, and Volume 39 is no exception.

As usual, there are a dozen original works by new and emerging writers and illustrators of science fiction and fantasy, along with a few technical essays and an almost-obligatory reprint of one of Hubbard’s pulp-era tales. The raving completist will devour every word from cover to cover; the more casual reader will skim the garnish and dive right into the 12-course feast.

The winning stories run the gamut from hard-core science fiction to fantasy of all flavors, and include two time-travel tales, a bit of humor, a couple of dystopian stories, and some first-contact accounts.

The illustrators get a chance to shine here, too. The image for each story is presented in full color, and introductory material provides links to the artists’ other works. Science fiction and fantasy, probably more than any other genre, can really get a boost from skillfully-presented artwork. Readers can pretty easily conjure up mental images of a roadside diner or a kindergarten classroom or a Christmas tree, but they may need some help visualizing a shape-shifting carnivore, the living room of a sentient squid, or a ritual cloak from a vanished civilization on Alpha Centauri. The essay on art direction is one of the more interesting nonfiction entries in the volume.

The stories, however, continue to be the centerpiece for most readers, and there is plenty to think about here.

Arthur H. Manners’ “The Withering Sky” gets this reviewer’s vote for the most compelling and most original of the bunch. A truly weird and gripping tale of the exploration of an alien artifact, it grows more frightening and malevolent by the moment.

Samuel Parr gets bonus points for setting “The Last History”, his complex and thoughtful fantasy, in an almost-Imperial-China rather than in an almost-Medieval-Europe. His main character has embarked on a deadly competition for a coveted position in the Imperial government, but she is also playing a dangerous multi-level game in a competition of a very different kind. This is imbued with an other-ness that in no way keeps it from being a beautifully realized tale.

J.R. Johnson’s “Piracy for Beginners” gets Reviewer’s Choice. It’s straight-up space opera with a sense of humor and a kickass heroine. What’s not to like?

The least satisfying of the selections, at least for this reviewer, was Spencer Sekulin’s “The Children of Desperation”. There is a novel’s worth of ideas in this tale of a man compelled to take a morally reprehensible action in order to save someone he loves, but the restrictions inherent in the short story form mean many of them remain undeveloped, and some of the actions leave the reader wondering if a few pages of the manuscript have fallen by the wayside. The Big Reveal near the end has no emotional punch because the very thing it reveals has not been foreshadowed, referred to, or even acknowledged as existing until the moment it happens. It’s as if the writer, two pages before the climax, jumps in and says “Oh, wait! I forgot to tell you! The hero has an invisibility cloak, a twin brother, and a raging allergy to shellfish – all of which are going to be really important in the next page and a half, okay?” Sekulin is probably going to be around for a while, and one hopes he will get the opportunity to give full rein to his complex background next time.

Vampires, dragons, a soul-sucking tax collector, high-tech AIs, a spacefaring civilization looking for a new home, and assorted time-travelers round out the collection, which is well worth the investment of time it takes to absorb and think about the stories. ( )