New Worlds 3 [Paperback]

The third volume in this series edited by Garnett offers pleasures that raise a smile but linger only fleetingly. Graham Charnock shows how heavy metal rock stars of the future may be "immortalized" by being imprisoned in a computer network via a laser beam. But the record company that engineers the transfer of the artist's soul onto computer chip can't prevent his music from turning maudlin, or his fans from turning rabid. Charnock's tale is diluted by the current glut of SF stories on retirement possibilities for rock stars. The culture of celebrity is examined from a new angle in a story by Gwyneth Jones that has a garage mechanic impetuously buying a car from its alien owner. Limited in his capacity to connect with the newest residents on Earth, the mechanic settles for material proof of his contact, much as a fan clutches at a star's clothing or autograph. According to Paul Di Filippo, bizarre creatures inhabit Earth's future, but they will spring from genetic attempts at creating slaves and real-life comic book heroes like Prince Namor. This story of a slave's righteous revenge against his sadistic master provides a wickedly satisfying conclusion.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In the 1960's, under the editorship of Michael Moorcock (he contributes an afterword here), the British sf magazine New Worlds was generally regarded as having sparked the revolution that became known as the New Wave; this relic is an annually published anthology of original material, comprising nine stories plus critic John Clute's witty, slashing, sometimes rather feline roundup of 1991's sf novels. Of the longer stories, Brian W. Aldiss offers a traumatized historical architect searching for his stolen memories; Peter F. Hamilton writes about climatic change and brain-expanding drugs that provide knowledge of the future ; and Paul J. McAuley mingles robots, virtual reality, and revolution in a future Holland. Elsewhere appear agreeable shorter variations: a strange new illness; aliens, robots, and a car mechanic; a robotized humanity rediscovering its soul in the far future; computer-stored personality; an existential waiting-in-line; and weird future street-life. Technically proficient, unobtrusively Anglophone, and different enough to be worthy of investigation by original- anthology enthusiasts. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The third issue of the nineties' incarnation of Britain's most celebrated science fiction magazine which aims to publish the most innovative and original stories by new and well-known writers from all over the world. Authors featured include Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock and John Clute.