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Futuredaze #1
Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction
Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction includes 33 original short stories and poems that spark the imagination, twist the heart, and make us yearn for the possibilities of a world yet to come. Futuredaze includes pieces by Jack McDevitt, Nancy Holder, Gregory Frost, Lavie Tidhar, Sandra McDonald, Brittany Warman, Stephen Covey, E. Kristin Anderson, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Jenny Blackford, and many more!
Reflecting many of the ideals first set forth by science fiction icons such as Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, and Ray Bradbury, Futuredaze challenges the imagination with young adult fiction that includes far-flung futures, dystopian alternate worlds, life among the stars, and a host of startling stories that embrace the idea of “What if?” that has driven the science fiction genre forward for more then a century. Now, it’s time to give voice to the next generation of science fiction readers and to those of us still young at heart.
Reflecting many of the ideals first set forth by science fiction icons such as Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, and Ray Bradbury, Futuredaze challenges the imagination with young adult fiction that includes far-flung futures, dystopian alternate worlds, life among the stars, and a host of startling stories that embrace the idea of “What if?” that has driven the science fiction genre forward for more then a century. Now, it’s time to give voice to the next generation of science fiction readers and to those of us still young at heart.
290 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2013
About the author
Erin Underwood
7 books36 followersErin M. Underwood, founder & publisher
Erin Underwood’s fiction, non-fiction, and interviews have appeared online and in print. She is the co-author of “The Bag of Holding,” a regular column published by the SFWA Bulletin. Erin is also the founder and editor of the popular fiction literary blog UNDERWORDS and co-edited the Pop Fic Review with Hannah Strom-Martin. She is a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program and lives in Marblehead, MA with her husband.
Erin Underwood’s fiction, non-fiction, and interviews have appeared online and in print. She is the co-author of “The Bag of Holding,” a regular column published by the SFWA Bulletin. Erin is also the founder and editor of the popular fiction literary blog UNDERWORDS and co-edited the Pop Fic Review with Hannah Strom-Martin. She is a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program and lives in Marblehead, MA with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 18, 2013
I wasn't actually sure whether I should give this book 3 or 4 stars, I rather wish I could give half stars! I did thoroughly enjoy reading this, I simply think I might be a bit too old already and the actual target group might like it even more.
Let me just start by saying that the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous, and vain as it may be, sometimes I do want to own books simply based on how pretty they are! I've also never read science fiction poetry and since this book's got quite a lot of that I'm glad of this new experience. I especially loved the poem that starts off the whole anthology, "Things to Consider When Choosing a Name for the Ship You Won in a Poker Game Last Night".
Naturally when there's over 30 different texts by different authors it's likely that one is not going to equally appreciate all of them. However, I think it's also a good thing because among so many stories there's bound to be something for everyone.
One great thing about this collection of stories was that so many of them had a female protagonist, most of them interesting and independent. Most of the stories don't actually paint a very flattering picture of the future and maybe I wished more of them had dealt with the topic of sexuality since I think that is a very current topic (though when isn't it?) and it would have been interesting to see how the writers would have envisioned things progressing in the future. I simply think it's a subject that could very easily be explored in science fiction and something I wish I had seen more of in books when I was a teenager.
Nevertheless, there were a few stories that at least touched this topic. In "Unwritten in Green" the gender of one's companion seems to be of no importance as the protagonist's sister has a wife and he himself mentions wanting to marry a woman or a man earlier on. I found this interesting and really wished the story had been longer. In addition, "Over It" mentions androgynes and transgens, which suggests that in that story at least a person's gender identity is no longer a big deal.
Some of my favourites in the book were "Not With You, But With You", which I actually found quite creepy and "Powerless", which was an interesting and beautifully written story about a boy who is allergic to electricity. I also loved "A Voice in the Night" and their "radio archeology".
Let me just start by saying that the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous, and vain as it may be, sometimes I do want to own books simply based on how pretty they are! I've also never read science fiction poetry and since this book's got quite a lot of that I'm glad of this new experience. I especially loved the poem that starts off the whole anthology, "Things to Consider When Choosing a Name for the Ship You Won in a Poker Game Last Night".
Naturally when there's over 30 different texts by different authors it's likely that one is not going to equally appreciate all of them. However, I think it's also a good thing because among so many stories there's bound to be something for everyone.
One great thing about this collection of stories was that so many of them had a female protagonist, most of them interesting and independent. Most of the stories don't actually paint a very flattering picture of the future and maybe I wished more of them had dealt with the topic of sexuality since I think that is a very current topic (though when isn't it?) and it would have been interesting to see how the writers would have envisioned things progressing in the future. I simply think it's a subject that could very easily be explored in science fiction and something I wish I had seen more of in books when I was a teenager.
Nevertheless, there were a few stories that at least touched this topic. In "Unwritten in Green" the gender of one's companion seems to be of no importance as the protagonist's sister has a wife and he himself mentions wanting to marry a woman or a man earlier on. I found this interesting and really wished the story had been longer. In addition, "Over It" mentions androgynes and transgens, which suggests that in that story at least a person's gender identity is no longer a big deal.
Some of my favourites in the book were "Not With You, But With You", which I actually found quite creepy and "Powerless", which was an interesting and beautifully written story about a boy who is allergic to electricity. I also loved "A Voice in the Night" and their "radio archeology".
Read
March 2, 2013Full disclosure; I have a story in this collection. But read it anyway. But have your security blanky nearby, because you will be scared. Prepare your eyebrows to meet the roots of your hair, because you will be amazed. Have the tissues ready, because you will cry. And laugh.
Out of a field of diamonds, in no particular order,my favourites were- 1)Leah Thomas's touching and beautiful 'Powerless'. I had dates this traumatic in my younger days, but none with such a wonderful ending. 2)Lavie Tidhar's hilarious & wistful 'The Myriad Dangers'. It contains my favourite line in the whole book. I won't say what it is, but it involves a Rosh Hashanah dinner & an alien invasion. 3)For sheer astounding invention & downright eeriness, Gregory Frost's 'Larvae'. I exclaimed, in quick succession, "Ewww!" and "Oooo!"
Find it. Buy it. Read it. You won't regret it.
Out of a field of diamonds, in no particular order,my favourites were- 1)Leah Thomas's touching and beautiful 'Powerless'. I had dates this traumatic in my younger days, but none with such a wonderful ending. 2)Lavie Tidhar's hilarious & wistful 'The Myriad Dangers'. It contains my favourite line in the whole book. I won't say what it is, but it involves a Rosh Hashanah dinner & an alien invasion. 3)For sheer astounding invention & downright eeriness, Gregory Frost's 'Larvae'. I exclaimed, in quick succession, "Ewww!" and "Oooo!"
Find it. Buy it. Read it. You won't regret it.
July 29, 2016
In their introduction to Futurdaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction, editors Hannah Strom-Martin and Erin Underwood offer up their motivation for the collection:
We hope to inject the short-fiction market . . . with an extra serving of undisguised wonder at the possibilities the future may hold [and] give the next generation of speculative readers and writers a taste . . . of the infinite possibilities inherent in both the science fiction genre and the short story form [and to] represent a wider range of viewpoints than is typically seen in American popular culture.
That’s a lot to aim at and more power to them for putting this collection of twenty-one stories and a dozen poems together with that goal in mind. I’d like to say they fully succeed, but as with most anthologies (... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
We hope to inject the short-fiction market . . . with an extra serving of undisguised wonder at the possibilities the future may hold [and] give the next generation of speculative readers and writers a taste . . . of the infinite possibilities inherent in both the science fiction genre and the short story form [and to] represent a wider range of viewpoints than is typically seen in American popular culture.
That’s a lot to aim at and more power to them for putting this collection of twenty-one stories and a dozen poems together with that goal in mind. I’d like to say they fully succeed, but as with most anthologies (... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
February 26, 2013
I truly enjoyed this collection of stories in a host of sub-genres: military tech, space opera, alien invasions and encounters, colonization, etc. And the stories are TRULY short - none longer than 10 pages making this a real delight to read. The poetry didn't do much for me and some stories better than others but all enjoyable. Wonderful for giving teens a taste of SF other than dystopian!
August 13, 2016
In their introduction to Futurdaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction, editors Hannah Strom-Martin and Erin Underwood offer up their motivation for the collection:
We hope to inject the short-fiction market . . . with an extra serving of undisguised wonder at the possibilities the future may hold [and] give the next generation of speculative readers and writers a taste . . . of the infinite possibilities inherent in both the science fiction genre and the short story form [and to] represent a wider range of viewpoints than is typically seen in American popular culture.
That’s a lot to aim at and more power to them for putting this collection of twenty-one stories and a dozen poems together with that goal in mind. I’d like to say they fully succeed, but as with most anthologies (... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
We hope to inject the short-fiction market . . . with an extra serving of undisguised wonder at the possibilities the future may hold [and] give the next generation of speculative readers and writers a taste . . . of the infinite possibilities inherent in both the science fiction genre and the short story form [and to] represent a wider range of viewpoints than is typically seen in American popular culture.
That’s a lot to aim at and more power to them for putting this collection of twenty-one stories and a dozen poems together with that goal in mind. I’d like to say they fully succeed, but as with most anthologies (... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
May 7, 2013
Interesting collection of short SF fiction for young adult readers. Or for those of us readers who feel like they're too young to be considered old. Or something like that.
Some nice stories, but nothing seriously groundbreaking. For me, that is. For the younger readers who are only now being introduced to SF that's actually good as opposed to most of the ghosty vampire baloney sandwich that's out now. . . Totally different story. I think they're going to like this one.
Some nice stories, but nothing seriously groundbreaking. For me, that is. For the younger readers who are only now being introduced to SF that's actually good as opposed to most of the ghosty vampire baloney sandwich that's out now. . . Totally different story. I think they're going to like this one.
October 7, 2015
Mostly a pretty good anthology. There's some solid worldbuilding in here, which is usually one of the things I find is lacking in YA. In the introduction, they talked about trying deliberately to pick diverse authors and stories with diverse main characters. In some spots, it felt like they were trying too hard.
November 5, 2013
Futuredaze is a compelling snapshot of some wonderfully talented authors and their fantastical, but believable worlds. I loved the distinct voices in each story, and was left wanting more of each world, which makes the short stories, in my book, successful. Read it!
April 15, 2013
Overall a good anthology. I definitely liked some stories better than others, but I think most readers will find something to enjoy in here.
April 25, 2017
I do not accept this explanation: "When developing Futuredaze, we too wished to represent a wider range of viewpoints than is typically seen in American popular culture, and to attract culturally diverse stories that reflect an equally diverse readership. This was, in all honestly, easier said than done as the majority of submissions we received did not venture beyond a white/Western perspective." DO BETTER
I mostly skimmed through this collection. I read the following stories all the way through:
Favorites:
Another Prison by Rahul Kanakia
Powerless by Leah Thomas
OK:
Over It by Camille Alexa
A Voice in the Night by Jack McDevitt
Your Own Way Back by Rich Larson
I mostly skimmed through this collection. I read the following stories all the way through:
Favorites:
Another Prison by Rahul Kanakia
Powerless by Leah Thomas
OK:
Over It by Camille Alexa
A Voice in the Night by Jack McDevitt
Your Own Way Back by Rich Larson
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews