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Oct 07, 2008

rivka rated it:

Wonderful collection of some of the best spec-fic shorts today. I never manage to find time to read the online zine (most of my reading is done when I can't use the computer), so this volume was perfect.

I may come back to this review and go through each story. For now, I just have to say that Scott Roberts' Eviction Notice is a must read. Horrible and terrifying and wonderful. And a bunch more adjectives too. ;) And since it's one of the stories readable (in its entirety) using the G More...

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Jun 25, 2010

Lady rated it:

There really are some amazing stories inside this anthology. I've written my thoughts about each below (there's only room for a couple of lines for each).

In the Eyes of the Empress's Cat (by Bradley P. Beauliey)

Al-Ashwar is called upoon to attend to the Empress's cat Bela. Al-Ashwar discovers that there is something very wrong with the cat and to heal her it requires that everyday he return to give out a remedy. While carrying out his duties he becomes smitten with the Em More...

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Aug 31, 2011

Paul rated it:

In Card's "Intergalactic Medicine Show" we get a collection of 18 short stories taken from the magazine of the same name written from Oct. '05 to Feb. '07. Card himself is the author of 4 new tales in the Ender-verse ("Mazer in Prison", "Cheater", "Pretty Boy", & "A Young Man with Prospects") which fill in story gaps with some of the characters themselves in the popular series of books. Also "Fat Farm" by Aaron Johnston is based upon a More...

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Aug 09, 2008

Carter rated it:

Okay, so I'm only reading the Ender stories in this one. But so far the first story's incredible.

I still only read the four Ender stories, but they were all fantastic. Makes me wish for more Ender books. Please, please, please.

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Sep 18, 2009

Scott rated it:

I didn't actually read this book cover to cover, because I had already read most of the stories in the online magazine. (http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com) There were a few stories that I had to reread, though, and it was good to be reminded that Orson Scott Card's magazine tends to be better than many other magazines at providing a selection of short fiction that I really enjoy.

The bonus to reading this anthology is getting the afterward to each story, where the author explai More...

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Aug 27, 2008

Clay rated it:

Three stars as a whole, four stars to Scott M Roberts' short story 'Eviction Notice'.

Give it a read for some great short stories about everything under the sun.

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Mar 30, 2009

Ragan rated it:

This is a fun Sci-fi anthology. You will like it especially if you are a big fan of Card's Ender series since it includes 5 short stories by Card about different characters in his Ender's Universe. Some of the other stories by other authors are quite good including "Tabloid Reporter to the Stars" which I got a big kick out of. Others, I felt lukewarm about. And there is another story "Entombed" that is a bit disturbing. But the best thing about this anthology is that at t More...

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Jul 13, 2011

Jelinas rated it:

Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show is actually an online magazine for writers of science fiction and fantasy. This book is a compilation of short stories that have been published in the magazine.

Is it any good? Well... there are four stories in the book written by Card, one of which I'd already read in Ender in Exile ("A Young Man with Prospects"), one about Mazer Rackham, one about Ender's Battle School classmate Han Tzu, and one about Bonzo Madrid, a bully who p More...

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Sep 25, 2008

Wm rated it:

I read this several weeks ago but have put off writing a review because I am somewhat acquainted with three of the authors represented in the anthology and wanted to give them their due as well as highlight some of the other stories. But of course now I've had to return the book to the library and can't find a table of contents anywhere and can't remember a bunch of the stories.

But I can say this:

I enjoyed "Tabloid Reporter to the Stars" by Eric James Stone for More...

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Dec 01, 2008

Miriam rated it:

There was only one story in this collection that didn't finish, and I probably could have if I'd tried a little harder. Otherwise,it was an enjoyable collection of stories. A few stood out, but they were all worth a read. I appreciated the variety, and I like the author's comments at the end of each story. I haven't been reading the magazine online because I didn't want to deal with my PayPal account, but reading this book made me think that it might be worthwhile.

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Oct 17, 2011

Tim rated it:

3.5 stars really. Several Card stories fill in the Ender universe a bit, mostly as prequel character sketches. The rest appear to be successful workshop exercises, which is OK but some of them don't feel like the work of a fully developed writer yet. As long as you know that they are fine. The afterwords do a good job of explaining this, and often add interesting insight to where the author came from with the idea.

A worthwhile but not memorable read.

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Jun 05, 2011

Powwow rated it:

I read Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Orson Scott Card is a good bet, and this book doesn’t disappoint. I recommend this book to all who are impressed by the imagination of talented passionate authors. It is a great collection of mystical, magical stories. It leaves you thinking of possibilities beyond our natural realm of reality. And the author’s afterword following each story, adds a nice touch.

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Aug 15, 2009

Jeff rated it:

Fans of Orson Scott Card will greatly enjoy this collection of short stories, not only because the master himself has entered four shorts of his own, but he fills the anthology with authors he, himself, appreciates. Card adds a few Ender Universe stories as well, for those fans of the very popular series.

Enjoyable and thought-provoking. Check out the website at http://www.oscIGMS.com for even more.

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Jan 05, 2009

Marty rated it:

A steller collection of science fiction. I would recommend this to all SF fans. There are some background stories for Orson Card Card's Ender universe. True short stories of a few thousand words and novellas. All are intense and well written.
All stories come with a little epilog written by the author, giving some wonderful insight into their thinking process. Many of the authors are early in their careers and I am looking forward to new works by them.
Started reading in N More...

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Oct 18, 2008

Patrick rated it:

Good, but not great. I liked, but didn't love the Ender world stories. I bought the book for those stories and was mildly disappointed. They're OK, but all a little preachy at the same time. Of the other stories--most sci-fi, a couple fantasy--, there are some really good ones, and a lot of OK ones. I just wasn't feeling the "deepness" they were going for.

Some other reviewers have recommended "Eviction Notice," but it was the hardest for me to get through b More...

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Jul 18, 2009

Ryan rated it:

Short stories work really well for a compulsive reader (myself) who doesn't have long stretches of time to read (also myself). Usually, when I get into a story, I ignore all other responsibilities, including bedtime, to find out what happens next. With short stories, I found this compulsion was naturally mitigated cuz each chapter had a full resolution.

Plus each story had sci-fi/fantasy's signature steep learning curve which makes reading so engaging to me. I also really liked readi More...

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Oct 05, 2010

Cupcakencorset rated it:

This collection of short fiction is pulled from the magazine by the same title, published as a stand-alone book to try to draw in readers for the ‘zine. And it works. I really liked this collection, especially the new stuff by OSC, of course.

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May 16, 2011

Dan rated it:

Didn't read all of the short stories, only read:

Mazer in Prison -- Orson Scott Card
Audience -- Ty Franck
Cheater -- Orson Scott Card
Pretty Boy -- Orson Scott Card
Fat Farm -- Aaron Johnston, based on the story by Orson Scott Card
The Box of Beautiful Things -- Brian Dolton
Taint of Treason -- Eric James Stone
A Young Man with Prospects -- Orson Scott Card

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Oct 09, 2008

Zach rated it:

This collection of short stories offers a wide range of 'sci-fi' with a high concentration of good quality stories. There were only a few I didn't care for, but others might like them.

My favorite was probably 'Tabloid Reporter to the Stars' and 'The Mooncalfe' and 'Call me Mr. Positive' follow with a tie for second place. Originally I bought the book so I could read the Ender short stories, but I ended up with so much more than I had anticipated. Anyone who hasn't read much from the More...

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Dec 03, 2009

Donald rated it:

This book reads exactly like what it is; a collection of short stories written largely by amateur authors as writing exercises or assignments. Everyone has heard if you like sausage don't watch it being made. That certainly applies here. I'm sure that these stories have great appeal to aspiring sci-fi authors, but to me they felt a bit, well, raw. Admittedly, I'm not a real sci-fi fan but more of an Orson Scott Card fan (and a fair-weather one at that). Card's stories were far and away the More...

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Nov 29, 2008

Libbie rated it:

Decent short spec. A couple of the stories were rather weak, I felt, but others made up for their shortcomings. Not the most wallop-full collection of shorts, but a good start for the first IGMS anthology.

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Sep 25, 2011

Stasha rated it:

Loved the story of Ender's parents - I often wondered where they were as the kids were growing up - how did they not recognize Peter's cruelty or how hurt Valentine was without Ender. It was good to see their side of the story if only a glimpse.

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Jul 27, 2011

Nicholas rated it:

Enjoyable collection of short stories. The 4 by Card are all set in the Ender-verse and are worth reading if you are a fan.

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Aug 21, 2010

Betsy rated it:

Lots of awesome short stories. Not only can Orson Scott Card write, but he is also good at selecting stories that other people have written. I had a very high "Like" percentage with this anthology.

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Mar 02, 2011

Donna rated it:

Excellent collection of Science Fiction stories. Particularly enjoyed the Scott Card stories which explained the background to characters/incidents in Ender's game.

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Oct 23, 2009

Lafe rated it:

I only read the parts opertaining to the Enderverse.

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Aug 05, 2011

Nicole added it

A wonderful collection of stories! I'll be on the lookout for other IGMS story collections.

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Dec 18, 2010

Eremite rated it:

I trust Orson Scott Card to introduce me to good authors and stories. And each story comes with an afterword by the author which gives the book a feel of hanging out with friends having fun and learning new things.

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Nov 01, 2008

Joseph rated it:

A collection of short stories, mostly from young, new authors, but also a couple from Card set in the Ender's Game world. I was impressed by these stories. I wasn't too surprised that I liked them, though. Card is one of my favorite authors, so if he likes the stories enough to purchase them for his online magazine, that is a pretty sure bet I will like them too.

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Oct 14, 2008

Anne rated it:

Most of the stories in this collection were 5 stars. A few were 4. One, I could not drag myself through, though I tried 3 times. One or two were borderline-mediocre.

On the whole, an excellent investment because I know I'll be re-reading most of these stories for years to come, and mostly a great read, entertaining and thought-provoking.

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