Fairy tales are more than simple entertainment. In fact, they're among our most formative influences, adding a visceral heft and sting to the purely verbal warnings of authority. Unfortunately, the traditional fairy tale inevitably hinges on one or more supernatural occurrences, effectively removing it from the realm of the possible, and consigning it to allegory. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's also quite possible -- and timely, and fun -- to hinge a morality tale on scientific occurrences. Some might even say it increases a story's relevance, to know it could actually happen.
Together with longtime anthologists John Helfers and Martin H. Greenberg, Wil McCarthy has assembled a book of 14 tales, by authors as solidly scientific as Gregory Benford and Stanley Schmidt, as poetic as Paul DiFilippo and Bruce Holland Rogers, and as outrageous as Richard Garfinkle and Robert E. Rogoff. Other contributors include Thomas Wylde, Ronnie Seagren, Michelle West, Scott Edelman, Richard E. Friesen, and yes, Wil McCarthy.
Quite frankly, folks, this is not your ordinary theme anthology. It's worth a look, and 6.99 of your hard-earned dollars.
From here, you may return to Wil McCarthy's
fiction page or Old Time
Science Bar.