Another Review copy book, and this time a single author collection...
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Pantheon Books.
Steven Amsterdam is a native New Yorker working in Melbourne, Australia. Things we didn't see coming is this ex-pat's collection of linked short stories in an alternate history where things after Y2k went a little...wrong. A
The protagonist is never named either, and we follow him and the world for years after Y2k's troubles (and more troubles in the course of the stories) have led to a post-apocalyptic environment, with central authority alternatively inept and overly restrictive. The protagonist tries to make his way in a world far more mixed up than ours. Internal evidence suggests that about 25 years passes during the course of the stories.
Amsterdam's stories are a good example of mundane science fiction. The only real speculative element is the fact that this is an alternate history and future, where Y2k went far worse than in our world. Other than that, this fiction is purely literary in nature, style and tone.
I didn't quite find the style to my taste. It felt too minimalist, too narrow for my reading pleasure. Not enough speculation in the science fiction. From a dispassionate point of view, the stories are very well written and fit together well. Mundane SF fans as well as those who normally hate SF but want a small element of the speculative in their reading will highly enjoy Steven Amsterdam's collection.
Posted by Jvstin at October 10, 2009 6:51 PM