METAtropolis: Cascadia

METAtropolis #2

by Jay Lake (Contributor, Narrator), Mary Robinette Kowal (Contributor), Elizabeth Bear (Contributor)

It's the 2070s. The United States is no longer united, and the breakaway territory of Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest has created its own myths and realities. In this sequel to the first METAtropolis anthology (2008), six award-winning science-fiction writers share a brash, finely detailed world in which economic collapse, genetic experimentation, and battles over the environment loom large. Each narrator is a recognizable Star Trek series alumnus.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Dystopia, Science Fiction Fantasy

13 pages, Audiobook

First published November 16, 2010

About the author

Jay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Reviews

[Susi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my very first audiobook review so please bear with me. I asked some other reviewers for advice and tried my best. When I got the chance to review Metatropolis: Cascadia I just couldn't say no. Science Fiction narrated by Star Trek cast? Do I have to say more? This audiobook is an anthology written by different modern science fiction authors BUT all the stories are set in the same world. They are connected by more than one character but all the stories can be listened to independently.

1. The Bull Dancers by Jay Lake, read by Rene Auberjonois - 4 bookies

Cascadiopolis, a green encampment, was destroyed 40 years ago. The world is a mess, to say it blandly. We go on a journey on the tracks of Tygre Tygre and his death, meet the mysteious terrorist Bashar and watch the last days in the life of the free market capitalist William Silas Crown who tries to leave his mark on the world in his last few hours. 

The Bull Dancers has it all- a great plot, a intriguing characters and the perfect pace. I was drawn in from the first word and was glued to my headphones. In the middle the story confused me a bit but Odo's...ahem..Mr. Aubergjonois' voice kept me listening- his narration was great. The way he interpreted the different characters gave this story a special touch.

2. Water to Wine by Mary Robinette Kowal, read by Kate Mulgrew - 5 bookies

Emma and her father are wine makers- not only as a profession, they live it with all their heart and soul. They believe in the traditional way of  doing it and no matter how more convenient the new methods are. When faced with potential buyer who won't take no for an answer they have to stick together to find a way out.

This was probably my favorite story of this anthology. The story was intriguing, down to earth and it just clicked with me. The characters were vibrant and even more so because of the outstanding narration. I adore Kate Mulgrew and her voice is made for this.  The way she brought this story to life was brilliant. Emma's character just fits her perfectly. This is an absolute re-listen story (okay so re-read sounds better *wink*).

3. Byways by Tobias S. Buckell, read by Wil Wheaton - 4 bookies

Reg, short for Reginald *rolls eyes*, seems to be a demolion-crew worker. Their job is to go from abandoned city to the next to break down what's left behind when the civilisation left. He's actually on a mission for the mysterious Mock Turtle to prevent some evil plan to destroy a nuclear facility. This is a real conspiracy story full of twists and turns and more than one surprise. The characterisation in this story was fascinating- everything was a bit rough and this made the whole setting more real. The conversations didn't seem staged and they just flowed right.

Perhaps I should mention that I always had a little girl cruch on Wil and I adore his voice. He caught the mood on the spot. He made Reg real, a guy I could actually picture from the start. This was actually the sexiest story just because of his voice. Eargasm! *fangirl rant over*

4. Confessor by Elizabeth Bear, read by Gate McFadden - 2 bookies

A cop for hire is on a mission tied to a weird murder case. In her investigation she discovers the worst kind of genetic manipulation and extremely rare species that make your heart stop. Through the story our heroines remembers a past mission which went horribly wrong and ruined her marriage.
This story unfortunately failed to grab me. This really surprised me because the setting seemed to be the most "romancy". But it had too much drama for me, or better said a too much detached drama. I couldn't relate to the heroine- all her problems centered about regretting the past. Her inner struggle wasn't fleshed-out enough and the overall plot wasn't engaging enough to make up for it.
Perhaps I also didn't like this story as much as the others because of the rather clinical and detached way Ms McFadden read it. Her voice seemed too cold to transport enough emotion.

5. Deodand by Karl Schroeder, read by Jonathan Frakes - 4 bookies

This story was so much fun to listen too. We meet the interpol investigator Gennady Malianov who's currently having an immigration problem. He doesn't have a valid pass or visa and his only oppurtunity to get one makes him face some rather complicated moral problems which are a result of the ever increasing technological advancement.
The charm of this story is mostly created by Mr Frakes. I loved how he imitated the Russian accent of Gennady- this put a smile a my face through the whole book. He really put much work into differentiation of the characters. The story itself was really thought provoking and reminded me of Asimov.

6. A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves by Ken Scholes, read by LeVar Burton - 3 bookies

I have to say Religion is not one of my favorite topics so this story hard a rocky start with me. We are thrown into a complot of different Religious faiths, murder and a vanished son of a senator. We meet many different characters and also get a glimpse at their believes or non-believes. The story itself was okay- the story starts rather slow but it got more and more interesting at the end. Mr Burton has a way with the spoken word. He gave each and every character a special touch. A job well done.

All in all this was a great fangirl adventure for me. I loved to dive into science fiction again and what better way to do so with your favorite Star Trek characters as narrators. The overall plot of Metatropolis: Cascadia wrapped up through all the stories and I will make sure to get the first book who started creating this world.

I give Metatropolis: Cascadia 4 out of 5 bookies.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. The first story, the longest, which was meant to set the scene, was really boring. It had some good characters but all the political machinations and whatnot were dry. I felt like I needed a reference book.

The other stories were hit-or-miss. Overall it seems to be an interesting world with a lot of unremarkable people in it.

Probably the main pull was the narrators: all Next Generation-era Star Trek actors. That was fun. Unfortunately they aren't necessarily very skilled at narrating audio books. Hearing Levar Burton was a treat through. He has a great voice and can handle slipping between characters. His story was probably the best in the anthology too.

[Leilani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audio short story collection lingered on my Ipod for months. The first and last stories were great, but in-between were a couple of mildly disappointing stories and two I only made it through with much gritting-of-teeth and frequent switches to listen to podcasts instead.

Haven't read stories by Jay Lake or Ken Scholes before, but I did enjoy their offerings here, improved by fantastic narration by Rene Auberjonois and Levar Burton. I did not care at all about the wine farming in Mary Robinette Kowal's story and found Kate Mulgrew's narration vaguely off-putting; Wil Wheaton is always fun to listen to, but the Tobias Buckell story was boring. The Elizabeth Bear story read by Gates McFadden was competent but not deeply involving. And I can't believe other reviews praise the Karl Schroeder story read by Jonathan Frakes. If I ever run across another audiobook read by Jonathan Frakes, I will run the other way. He paused in all the wrong places, put weird emotional glosses on things, and OMG the awful accent! I don't even know what the story was about except that I did not care.

Overall I did enjoy the concept linking the stories, and the way each author explored a different aspect of this world had lots of great potential. If only more of them had lived up to it.

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the stories are either sequels to or direct descendents of the stories in the first volume, so although it could possibly be read as a stand-alone, it's much better as a set.

The first volume focuses more on ideas - the creating of society, the striving to find a new way of doing things, the irrationality of how the world is currently structured. It's all about new ecological and economic processes. Whereas this volume is more the consequences of the created societies once the shiny newness wears off and inflexibility returns.

There's an implicit challenge throughout the first book that seems mostly missing from this one. There's a feeling of "we could make a difference, if only we'd think outside of the box." This volume seems to be the reversal of that challenge - the bad side to the new philosophies and the unintended consequences.

I couldn't help but think of the lady in the first volume that said that they weren't trying to create a utopia. They just wanted something that "sucked a little less." I just didn't expect it to suck quite as much as it does. (The societies, that is, not the stories.)

[Uli Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having been part of Margaret Atwood's Practical Utopias project I really feel we urgently need people from all fields of research and mindset cooperating on ideas for the future. Stories with a common theme might be a good start.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was published first on Audible.com as interrelated short stories, set in the same near-future universe. I read it as a book. Of the five authors, two are already favorites: John Scalzi 7768043and Elizabeth Bear.
“In the Forests of the Night” by Jay Lake introduces us to Cascadiopolis, an amalgam of the Pacific Northwest cities of Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

“Stochasti- City” by Tobias S. Buckell is about vertical gardening in skyscrapers in Detroit and a former soldier arranging a revolution against a security company.

"The Red in the Sky is our Blood" by Elizabeth Bear is also set in Detroit and is about Cadie, who along with her daughter, is on the run from the Russian mafia.

“Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis” by John Scalzi the title means ‘use everything, but the squeal’ and it’s about a slacker kid who gets a job as a pig farmer, and the slacker stops an anarchist trying to take over New Saint Louis’ pig farms.

“To Hie from Far Cilenia” by Karl Schroeder is the only story in this collection I didn’t care for. This story is about spies trying to track down plutonium, which was fine, then it gets weird and goes to virtual cities. It began in Norway.

I got this book for Phil last Hanukah from Amazon at Don’s suggestion.

[Lakshmana Swamy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got 'In the Forests of the Night' for free on Audible. It was pretty good, mostly because of narration by BSG's Saul Tigh!

[Bill Tillman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Duck, fancy prose about futuristic Portland. Meaningless, boring giving rise to frustration.

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

METAtropolis: Cascadia - Echoes of Resistance in a Fragmented World

In METAtropolis: Cascadia, author Jay Lake delves deeper into the dystopian landscape of the METAtropolis, focusing on the shattered remnants of the Pacific Northwest. Through a blend of audio drama and written narrative, listeners and readers are immersed in a world where nature clashes with technology, and the fight for survival fuels both conflict and unlikely alliances.

Key Themes and Elements:

The Cascadia Fracture: The region of Cascadia has splintered into isolated enclaves, each struggling for control of resources and grappling with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. This fragmentation creates a backdrop of tension and uncertainty, shaping the actions of individuals and communities.

Conflict and Alliances: The story follows a diverse cast of characters, from corporate executives to hackers, eco-activists, and displaced citizens, as they navigate the dangers and complexities of the fractured Cascadia. Alliances are forged and broken as individuals pursue their own agendas, often blurring the lines between hero and villain.

Technology and Nature: The METAtropolis series explores the interplay between technological advancements and the natural world. In Cascadia, this tension is heightened as nature reclaims urban spaces, and characters grapple with the consequences of technological overreach. Questions of sustainability and adaptation are brought to the forefront.

Audio Drama and Written Narrative: The story unfolds through both audio drama episodes and written prose, offering a multi-layered experience. The audio format brings the characters and settings to life through voice acting and sound design, while the written narrative provides additional depth and context.

Strengths and Considerations:

Strengths:

Lake's immersive worldbuilding and vivid characters bring the fractured world of Cascadia to life.
The blend of audio drama and written narrative creates a unique and engaging storytelling experience.
The story explores thought-provoking themes of environmentalism, societal collapse, and the resilience of human connection.
The diversity of perspectives and moral ambiguity of the characters challenge listeners to think critically about the motivations and consequences of actions in a dystopian world.

Considerations:

The combination of audio and written formats might not appeal to all audiences equally.
The fragmented nature of the story and the shifts in perspective can require focused attention to fully grasp the narrative threads.

Conclusion:

METAtropolis: Cascadia is a compelling and thought-provoking addition to the METAtropolis series. It expands the dystopian universe with a focus on the tensions between nature and technology, and the complexities of human interactions in a fragmented world. While the blended format might not suit all preferences, it offers a unique and immersive experience for those seeking a captivating blend of audio drama and prose.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bull Dancers Jay Lake
It makes sense for Jay Lake to open this collection again. We get some more information here about the world, and I felt like the pace was much better than in his first novella.

Water to Wine Mary Robinette Kowal
Lots of interesting tech touched on here, as well as your same old maneuvering to get what you want, as we see with the rancher. I was intrigued by the "wino" currency as well.

Byways Tobias S. Buckell
Echoes the themes of his contribution to the orgional METAtropolis, and I liked the descriptions in this one- I could really picture the machines and setting. The point about ideas moving from city to city and butting up against others and becoming better was well argued as well.

Confessor Elizabeth Bear
This one went a different direction than her first tale, but still kept kids as a motivation. I enjoyed seeing the more hopeful side of things in this one. Also- Tree Octopus???

Deodand Karl Schroeder
Again, Karl Schroeder delivers the most interesting story, with the most focus on tech, and again I really liked it! The idea of how the animals could start to "talk" and how it influenced programs was really intriguing to me. I do wish there had been more on virtual cities here.

A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves Ken Scholes
This one again shows how things don't really change, and was probably the one with the least tech in it. I did like the positive change Mary was working for and how she represented real hope with a real chance.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to hear about a follow-up of METAtropolis: The Dawn of Uncivilization, though not as happy that the focus would be Cascadia. To me, it was the least interesting of the linked cityscapes presented in the original collection. However, I was gratified to find that we weren't going to spend the entire time hiking in the woods. Though the stories in this collection were more closely linked together, at least geographically, I found them to be more variable in quality, so I will address them all separately.

"The Bull Dancers" (by Jay Lake, narrated by René Auberjonois)
The collection opens with a direct follow-up of the Tyger Tyger storyline established in "In the Forests of the Night" from the original. I found it took a long time to get interesting. Auberjonois's gravely voice was probably selected for its similarity to Michael Hogan's, but it became very grating as the long story progressed. This is one of the stories I think I'd prefer reading for myself.

"Water to Wine" (by Mary Robinette Kowal, narrated by Kate Mulgrew)
I differ from a lot of other reviewers in that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It had a nice mix of past and present, while giving us a protagonist who seemed like a normal person, unlike the highly militarized characters who inhabit most of the other stories. I liked how the story shows technology as both a positive and negative force, while also evaluating the ethical issues with fundamentalist environmentalism. Mulgrew was an appropriate choice to narrate the protagonist, though she can work a little on her French pronunciation (she swallows the final r in words like "terroir").

"Byways" (by Tobias S. Buckell, narrated by Wil Wheaton)
This was my favourite story in the collection. I really liked the idea of suburban wastelands being digested by giant concrete mulchers. All of the individual characters seemed very distinct, both because they are well described and because Wil Wheaton does a fantastic job creating different voices. The story has a good sense of humour, too. Buckell wrote one of my favourites in the original collection ("Stochasti-city").

"Confessor" (by Elizabeth Bear, narrated by Gates McFadden)
I found this one pretty tiresome. McFadden's narration was a little flat and whiny, but I found that most of the story didn't really interest me. It featured lots of romantic nostalgia that felt superficial. Looking back on the original, I realized that Elizabeth Bear's story was my least favourite in that one, so she's an author I don't think I will be revisiting. One of the weaker stories in the collection.

"Deodand" (by Karl Schroeder, narrated by Jonathan Frakes)
A direct follow-up of the last story in the original Metatropolis, "To Hie from Far Cilenia", this was the weakest story in the collection by far. The story was weighted down with a ton of exposition, woven into the dialogue by making the protagonist shockingly clueless about the world he inhabits. The dialogue went a little something like this: "Do you know what _________ is?" "No." "Let me explain it for the next ten minutes while you try not to understand." This became frustrating because the story reexplained pieces of technology that the audience should already understand from earlier stories, like smartdust which was already explained in "Water to Wine". On top of that, the writing was loaded with clichés.
Unfortunately, the story was worsened by very poor narration by Jonathan Frakes. The main problem was his decision to try Ukrainian, British, and Dutch accents when he clearly doesn't have the ear for them. Someone should have told him that it wasn't working. It was all very unfortunate, because Schroeder did have some very cool ideas, about human-animal interfaces and the distinction between person and thing, on offer. I just don't think the story was handled very well for this audiobook.

"A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves" (by Ken Scholes, narrated by LeVar Burton)
The final story in the collection is a big improvement, and brings us back to the legacy of Tyger Tyger. A lot of reviewers on audible.com complain about the story being anti-Christian: the story features one preacher who has lost faith and another who has developed a highly militant form of Christian fundamentalism, while it sows the seeds of a new form of religion. I'm not sure the story is making an argument about Christianity per se, rather than an argument against any theology or ethics based on fear. Burton was a good narrator for this story because his different character voices were convincing. It also kind of brought me back to my childhood watching Reading Rainbow.


A note on the narration:
The original Metatropolis had three actors from Battlestar Galactica (Michael Hogan and Alessandro Juliani who were excellent, and Kandyse McClure who was fine) but they were supplemented by excellent professional narrators (Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki). When they first announced this collection, I thought they had done a little bit of stunt casting by choosing the whole roster of narrators from the Star Trek Universe. It felt like they were trying to cast their net toward much more mainstream science fiction fans, but not all of these narrators were really up to the task. Given the choice, I would replace Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, and René Auberjonois with professional narrators. If they had been interested, Brent Spiner, Roxann Dawson, and Avery Brooks might have been better choices, respectively.

Plus, I missed having the editor introduce the various stories in the collection. John Scalzi added some interesting perspectives to the stories and how they came about. It would have been really neat if Jay Lake had done more to pursue this kind of dialogue.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories. I love how authors can pack so much into such a small package. This was no exception. All of the stories were well written and left me wanting to understand more of the world in which they took place. This stories all take place in the same post-apocalyptic world. I love the common vocabulary and tech, and the continuity between the stories. I did not read the first installment of this anthology, but I will be going back to get it.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Six short stories, each written by different authors, set in the same near-future pacific northwest territory which has broken away from the United States. Each story is narrated by a different actor from the Star Trek Next Generation series.

The stories touch upon conservatism vs. liberalism, religion and environtalism. However, the stories meander aimlessly and are largely each uninteresting, and the connection between them seems forced.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again like the others I found some stories I really liked and others I didn’t care for. The premise is great and I like the world building that has been done by all the authors. Some stories really work for me and others don’t. I think most readers will agree with this but may think differently with each story.

[Dan Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much to my surprise, this series continues to be enjoyable. I believe I will be picking up the 3rd book soon.
[Audiobook bonus: all the readers were Star Trek actors. No one ever explained how this came about. But it was just a nice lagniappe.)

[Mark Descher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should be "listened to" instead of "read", as it is an audio book.
And, although I love Star Trek, I am mildly dissapointed.
The stories are "almost good" in their best, and "almost bad" in their worst moments, whilw swimming through the ocean of mediocre most of the time.

[FrauMiest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr, sehr gut!

Die Art Anthologie, die ich am meisten schätze: Verschiedene Autorïnnen mit unterschiedlichen Ansätzen und Perspektiven in einem setting, mit einem Bogen, der sich erst am Schluss offenbart.

Große Empfehlung.

[Todd Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this better than the first book, although this one does have a better cast of narrator's with one exception. Scott Brick is one of the best, but I can see he didn't quite fit the Star Trek theme. Great book!

[Takiyah Dudley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit harder to get into unlike the first book. It sometimes felt as if the stories didn't to together until the last two.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked these stories

[Jacque Hodges (Carter) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first which was just ok for me. Some of my favorite readers.

[Alexis Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable series a very good look at some possible futures well maybe ;-)

[Kelly Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cutting edge sci-fi: thought-provoking and full of real possibilities, with alcohol-backed currency and digital nation-states being just a few.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only loved the wine story tbh. The rest was rather boring.

[Brandon Mehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every story in this collection. A glimpse of possible close futures, on the back of hope and despair for how our environment and societies could turn out.

[Julie Capell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second anthology in a series that began with METAtropolis: the Dawn of Uncivilization. This collection riffs off the first story in that anthology, taking place in a transnational entity that includes the geographical areas formerly known as British Columbia, Washington and Orgeon states. The stories are set around the year 2070 in post-industrial, post-capitalist, post-national world and are all read by actors from various incarnations of Star Trek.

The first story, written by Jay Lake and read by Rene Auberjonois (immediately recognizable as Odo from Deep Space Nine) details a very old, very rich man’s final days as he searches for the answers to an event that occurred forty years earlier. I really enjoyed this story and the chance to revisit some of the characters from the original METAtropolis.

The second story was written by Mary Robinette Kowal and narrated by Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway of Voyager). This was probably my least favorite of all the stories so far. It was mostly a love letter to the art of wine making that could have been set in any era and lacked a clear connection to the rest of the stories in these anthologies. For instance, as soon as I realized it was going to be about wine, I anticipated an explanation of a concept that has come up in a few of the other stories, where instead of money, some people have currency called ”winos.” But the term never even gets mentioned in this story . . . did Ms. Kowal miss the world-building sessions??

The third story was written by Tobias S. Buckell and read by Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of The Next Generation). The setting for this story presented another cool idea that was new to me. The main character is part of a crew whose job it is to de-construct expressways and empty suburban housing tracts. Having grown up in one of these anonymous suburbs (and escaped as soon as I could to a densely populated downtown neighborhood) I have to admit that I loved the scenes where the bulldozers crashed through the paperboard houses. If that’s not a big enough hint, other parts of the narrative extoll the virtues of cities, such as that more patents are produced by city-dwellers and city dwellers use less energy, particularly if you can figure out a way to grow food nearby. Like the stories in the first METAtropolis, this one has an extremely positive view of the future of cities, which is not all that common in post-apocalyptic literature.

The next story was by Elizabeth Bear and read by Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher in The Next Generation). This is a bit of a more conventional scifi story involving genetic engineering, combined with a murder mystery plot. The twist at the end is foreshadowed pretty heavily and so was really no shock.

Karl Schroeder once again takes the prize for most cool ideas in one story with his entry here, read by Jonathan Frakes (Comander Riker of The Next Generation). It begins with the protagonist wearing something like Google Glasses. Since he is a visitor to Cascadia without proper paperwork, he is mandated to wear them whenever he is out in public, and the glasses are programmed by the authorities to restrict what he sees. It’s a frightening vision of how state censorship could be implemented on a person-by-person basis in the future, just by using technology. And that’s just a side thought. The overall plot asks how will we recognize when computers and machines become self-aware, and mixes in questions about the rights of corporations . . . and others . . . to be treated as individuals in certain situations. It’s a complex plot that only a master like Schroeder can pull off.

The final story in this collection was by Ken Scholes and narrated by LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge of The Next Generation). This one takes on home-grown terrorism, religious fanatics, and questions of faith in a post-apocalyptic era. A mediocre story that was significantly uplifted by Burton’s fantastic reading.

[Tom Dillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

After listening to the first story in this collection, I was excited. Jay Lake's story had been one of my least favorite in the first collection (it was good but didn't really do it for me), but his entry for this collection, The Bull Dancers, was very good. In the end, however, I was disappointed. Most of the stories were OK, but failed to engage me. The two other standouts were Tobias Buckell's Byways, which I think dealt with some fairly subtle and delicate issues without getting preachy. The other was Karl Schroeder's Deodand, which blew me away. There was only one story that I didn't like, which was Ken Scholes' The Symmetry of Serpents and Doves. I'm not a religious person, myself, but the theme of any religion posing an existential threat to humanity ruined the story for me (not to mention the tacit assertion that the primary motivation behind terrorism is religious rather than political). I try not to let it affect me, but the fact that this story ended the collection has probably colored my feelings about the collection as a whole.

Aside from the stories themselves, when I look back, I also realized that in every single story people were driving cars. In a post-energy-collapse setting, this takes away from the stories, even if people are talking about how unusual it is or how expensive it is to drive. Ultimately, this is what separates Cascadia from the first Metatropolis. Metatropolis felt like the writers were trying to envision an optimistic post-collapse scenario, in this collection it felt like they just weren't focusing as much on that. Transportation is a huge part of our lives, and is one of the ways that a post-collapse future would look truly alien to us.

Overall, I would recommend this collection to people who enjoyed Metatropolis, but be warned that with a few exceptions, it will not blow your mind the same way.

[Becka Ramaglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I have to say is WOW! I was drawn to the first METAtropolis because I am a writer and I appreciate several writers coming together to create the world and then branch off to create the characters. I was a bit skeptical and not sure about how I felt about some of those stories.

However, with this installment, I am definitely hooked! The authors came back and followed up on loose ends from the last book that made me so happy. I like how they all can focus on the events going on in the Cascadia area and have linked everything. I can't wait until the next book comes out later this month!

I was also pleasantly surprised by the cast of readers being I listen to books on my commute to work. LeVar Burton brought be back to my childhood sitting in front of the tv watching Reading Rainbow. I loved watching him read to me! But I also recognized Jonathan Flakes which brought me back to Star Trek when my parents watched it. And I investigated and realized all of the readers for these 6 short stories were from that show. Great choices.

Can't wait to read the next one!

[Julio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviews about this book have to, inevitably, be compared to the first Metatropolis. The first Metatropolis had really original ideas and concepts, for example, take the augmented reality ideas explored in Karl Schroeder's story. Augmented reality is not new, but I think he really developed the concept and explored potential developments it could have. This originality was what made Metatropolis such a great book for me. But this was not the theme that was repeated in M:Cascadia. Instead they chose to follow up on what happened after the original stories. This doesn't mean the stories aren't fun, but I didn't get the same kick out of it. There is no blowing of mind moment I waiting for. You get to know what happened to main characters, you get to see further development of concepts created by the first book. This all makes for a fun read but for me it did not meet the expectations of a sequel to Metatropolis.

[Ammon Lauritzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as preachy as the first anthology, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the ideas discussed are fascinating - and if you don't fret about the politics of it all, the stories are good. It's a bunch of ~bite-sized stories to make one think about the future. And a lot of their predictions are completely feasible. Of course, some are nuts, but that's half of the fun.

My one actual gripe here is an apparent lack of commitment to time scale among the contributing authors. Their inconsistency was very jarring. Events of this book supposedly occur decades after those of the first one... except when they happen mere weeks later.

The narration was good - only one point hurt me was when Jonathan Frakes tried to do a Ukranian accent and sounded more like a bad stereotypical haughty French accent instead. Otherwise? Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, and (especially) LeVar Burton KILLED it. Astounding performances.