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Immortal: Short novels of the transhuman future
Contents:
Introduction: The Transhuman Condition / R.C.W. Ettinger --
Chanson Perpétuelle / Thomas M. Disch --
The Doctor of Death Island / Gene Wolfe --
The Renewal / Pamela Sargent --
Transfigured Night / George Zebrowski.
Introduction: The Transhuman Condition / R.C.W. Ettinger --
Chanson Perpétuelle / Thomas M. Disch --
The Doctor of Death Island / Gene Wolfe --
The Renewal / Pamela Sargent --
Transfigured Night / George Zebrowski.
- GenresScience Fiction
225 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1978
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2023
Nominated for the Locus 1979 "Best Anthology" award (along with 16 others), this collection of four stories mostly fit the subtitle - short novels of the transhuman future. Jack Dann went on to edit dozens of story collections and anthologies.
R.C.W. Ettinger contributes an introduction comparing immortality and transhumanity. I found this relevant to not just these stories but also in comparison to A.I. in both fact and fiction.
"Chanson Perpétuelle" by Thomas M. Disch is an excerpt from a planned novel "The Pressure of Time" which was not released. Other excerpts appeared in the collections Again, Dangerous Visions and Anticipations. Some folks have become immortal after a plague, and mortals resent them. This story focuses on one of the few remaining mortals.
"The Doctor of Death Island" by Gene Wolfe is a nebula award winner. Tells the story of a murder who is frozen, cured and revived as an effective immortal, and yet still a prisoner. The premise is much discussed, but the most interesting part of the story is the last few pages. This story was later published in Wolfe's collection The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, along with "The Death of Dr. Island" and the title story, inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau. This story was probably the best of the four in this anthology.
"The Renewal" by Pamela Sargent has the main character Josepha participating in an experiment to raise one of a group of "perfect" children. These kids naturally rub normal folks the wrong way. This story is part of Sargent's later novel The Golden Space.
The fourth and final story "Transfigured Night" by George Zebrowski is a post-human story, though confusing. Are these lives for the main character, or only a game? Post humanity is a wordy place, and not well described.
R.C.W. Ettinger contributes an introduction comparing immortality and transhumanity. I found this relevant to not just these stories but also in comparison to A.I. in both fact and fiction.
"Chanson Perpétuelle" by Thomas M. Disch is an excerpt from a planned novel "The Pressure of Time" which was not released. Other excerpts appeared in the collections Again, Dangerous Visions and Anticipations. Some folks have become immortal after a plague, and mortals resent them. This story focuses on one of the few remaining mortals.
"The Doctor of Death Island" by Gene Wolfe is a nebula award winner. Tells the story of a murder who is frozen, cured and revived as an effective immortal, and yet still a prisoner. The premise is much discussed, but the most interesting part of the story is the last few pages. This story was later published in Wolfe's collection The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, along with "The Death of Dr. Island" and the title story, inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau. This story was probably the best of the four in this anthology.
"The Renewal" by Pamela Sargent has the main character Josepha participating in an experiment to raise one of a group of "perfect" children. These kids naturally rub normal folks the wrong way. This story is part of Sargent's later novel The Golden Space.
The fourth and final story "Transfigured Night" by George Zebrowski is a post-human story, though confusing. Are these lives for the main character, or only a game? Post humanity is a wordy place, and not well described.
maybe-read-sometime
March 13, 2012Skimmed through this while looking for the crazy time travel story. None of the stories in here are zany enough; they were all on the serious/downer/dystopic side.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews