L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 19

by L. Ron Hubbard (Editor / Contributor), Ken Liu (Contributor), Algis Budrys (Editor)

A crisp clean softcover, no markings The 19th installment in Hubbard's annual contest series contains more top-notch stories than last year's volume and is likely to satisfy science fiction and fantasy aficionados looking for fresh ideas and new twists on old conventions. Luc Reid's marvelous "A Ship That Bends" imagines a world that is literally flat, where seafarers try to maneuver around the edge and onto the other side. Joel Best's "Numbers," in which the essence of life can be boiled down to a single equation, has the detached, bleak feel of a Kubrick nightmare as well as the magnetism of one. Ken Liu's "Gossamer," an elegant twist on the first contact story, what if we finally meet another life form, but have no idea how to communicate with them? The clear winner, however, is Jay Lake's "Into the Gardens of Sweet Night," a quirky meditation on personal freedom and responsibility that follows a cosmos-trotting pug named Wiggles as it leads a young boy on a surreal journey to the supposedly mythical Garden of the title; think William Burroughs meets Men in Black.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy

548 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

L. Ron Hubbard is universally acclaimed as the single most influential author and humanitarian of this modern age. His definitive works on the mind and spirit—comprising over 350 million copies in circulation and more than 40 international bestsellers—have resulted in a legacy benefiting millions and a movement spanning all cultures.

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/951916.html[return][return]I bought this way back when Jay Lake's story "Into the Gardens of Sweet Night" got its well-deserved Hugo nomination a couple of years ago, but have only now got around to reading the rest of the fourteen pieces of short fiction in the book, all of which are given a single illustration by an up-and-coming artist. Lake's is the jewel of the collection, and several others show promise though there was none that quite grabbed me in the same way. There is a rather odd inclusion of a short piece on writing by Hubbard himself, and an even shorter piece on illustrating sf by Will Eisner, as well as a retrospective by Sean Williams on what it meant to be included in an earlier volume.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly meh stories, but there were some good ones. From favorite to least favorite: A Silky Touch to No Man, Dark Harvest, From All the Work Which He Had Made, and Walking Rain.

[Catherine Fitzsimmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this past compilation of winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest for unpublished authors at a used book sale a few months ago, since I was just sending in an entry for that contest myself and it was on my mind. It is a collection of longer scifi/fantasy short stories – the shortest I figure is a little under 4,000 words, the rest are around 20 pages or more.

It’s a difficult book to review quickly, in that regard, but certainly I can say that I enjoyed this. I have always been a fan of amateur fiction and few of these stories disappoint. There’s very little swords-and-sorcery fantasy, most of the stories leaning towards a modern fantasy or scifi bent, but they were all compelling and unique and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Chris Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ian Keane's "Walking Rain" was good.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. There were some decent stories here, but more misses than hits. I guess I've been spoiled by collections of classic stories.