My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow
An audacious collection of social satire, fabulist tales, and irreverent dystopian visions about the ever-changing now and a shape-shifting near future.
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
April 27th 2010
by Douglas & McIntyre
(first published 2010)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
197)
The opening story intrigued me as I read about a child wondering why some mutations are successful while others aren’t? What parent hasn’t had to have that conversation at one point with their curious little one? For me, while the first couple of pages grabbed my attention, all the footnotes and references in the first chapter were a bit of a drag. This thankfully changed as we moved on to the next chapter which became more fluid.
This book is a great read. I did find however, that...more
This book is a great read. I did find however, that...more
view 1 comment
Some big Canadian names in this collection of short stories meant to follow the near future into the plausible, the fantastic and the entertaining.
There's a wide-ranging number of styles, lots of sardonic humour and some interesting what-ifs. Lots of absurdity. I like absurdity.
In some of the imaginings, Canada is barricaded from the US that has devolved into a dystopian nightmare, William Gibson makes an appearance, as does Douglas Coupland, which in itself, is a big deal.
...more
There's a wide-ranging number of styles, lots of sardonic humour and some interesting what-ifs. Lots of absurdity. I like absurdity.
In some of the imaginings, Canada is barricaded from the US that has devolved into a dystopian nightmare, William Gibson makes an appearance, as does Douglas Coupland, which in itself, is a big deal.
...more
Just got my hands on an advanced (review) copy! This baby is a lot of fun. Smart and funny and inventive and well-written. Excellent variety of stories, including some heavy hitters--Gibson, Martel, Coupland--but don't overlook the "lesser lights". In fact, there are some real gems from some of the newer writers. Excellent value. (Gibson fans: jacket copy says this is his first story since the late 1990s. Brand new, original, never been published. In fact, the bulk of this collect...more
There's no shortage of wit, Big Ideas and speculative, dystopic landscapes in the 23 stories compiled in Darwin's Bastards.
Each of the is stories a potential future; a road not taken, with each author spinning their own wild vision of the future, spawned from our muddled present.
It's a very hit-then-miss collection, but there's enough in here to make it worth your time.
Top 5:
-This Is Not The End My Friend by Adam Lewis Schroeder. Canada outlaws celebrity ...more
Each of the is stories a potential future; a road not taken, with each author spinning their own wild vision of the future, spawned from our muddled present.
It's a very hit-then-miss collection, but there's enough in here to make it worth your time.
Top 5:
-This Is Not The End My Friend by Adam Lewis Schroeder. Canada outlaws celebrity ...more
Sometimes it’s very difficult to judge whether a short story collection is worth the investment of your time. Usually there are a few you are not going to like. In a way, I am the ever hopeful optimist in this sense, “maybe the next one will be the gem”. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’m going to like a short story until the end. That’s when the author has the ability to pull it all together or let it unravel like so much kitten pawed yarn. I had so many other books I regarded as worthy, t...more
This one started out slow for me, the first several stories were set in very depressing futures. This changed about half way in, when puzzling out the meaning behind some of these stories became very interesting. I really loved Heather O'Neill's short story 'The Dream life of Toasters' due to its story teller style and the bright chirpy feel, even though it ultimately ends in abandonment! 'The Divinity Gene' was a really cool idea, though I'm still puzzling through the portrayed effects of cloni...more
A collection of future-looking short stories from mostly Canadian authors, featuring some big names like Douglas Coupland, Yann Martel, William Gibson and Heather O'Neill, but many more obscure too.
Like many collections, it is a bit of a mixed bag, but an enjoyable read overall.
Like many collections, it is a bit of a mixed bag, but an enjoyable read overall.
How do Canadians perceive the future looming on techno/moral horizon? Teens dissociated from their bodies....now there's a truth!
William Gibson's story is beautiful, but otherwise I found this collection disappointing.
Shawn
is currently reading it
Sweet. Reminds me of "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned", but by different authors.
Widsith
marked it as to-read
Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow by Zsuzsi Gartner (2010)
Ira
added it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
As with many collections, some of these stories are good and some are bad. A few are terrible. I wouldn't have picked this as a first choice - I find the title and cover very off-putting. However, if you are a science-fiction fan, some of the stories might be worth a read.
Tricky
marked it as to-read
Billy
marked it as to-get
Emily
marked it as to-read
Tyler Crumrine
is currently reading it
Christina
marked it as to-read
Squalish
marked it as of-interest
Em
marked it as to-read
Alicia
marked it as to-read
Dmdutcher
marked it as to-read
Steve Graham
marked it as to-read
Invadozer Saphenousnerves Circular-thallus Popewaffensquat
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
