"Survivor" – by Charles Stross
"Survivor" is a portion of Stross' upcoming novel, Accelerando, which apparently has been serialized in Asimov's through the last year or so. Not having read any of the previous stories, I can't say how well this holds up with them. Stross has created an interesting universe where death is never final because a loved one can just be copied again. I do have to say that, while I didn't understand the nuances of the story because I haven't read previous ones, this story itself made a modicum of sense. Stross does a good job allowing new readers to come in to his world. The story itself doesn't have a lot of substance to it, which is probably because it's part of a larger whole. The cat, Aineko, is a god-like figure in the world, with his hidden hand the ultimate driving force to the story. Even the somewhat bloody conclusion can be seen as intentional, and it will be interesting to see where this one goes. It has a rather uplifting ending with some foreboding of what's going to take place in the (final?) chapter of this story. I have to admit that I'm not as fond of the hard science stories as I am other, lighter fare, so take my reservations with that in mind. While the story is good, it didn't really grab me.

"Sisyphus and the Stranger" – by Paul Di Filippo
Author of the delightful "And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon" in this year's 21st Annual Year's Best Science Fiction, Di Filippo has given us another interesting story, this one giving us an alternate history where the French developed N-Ray technology, which powers both its society and weapons. N-Ray weapons ended the First World War almost before it began and has led France to be the hyperpower in the world. Albert Camus is a functionary in Algeria, assistant to the incompetent Governer-General of the colony, and he's extremely dissatisfied with his lot in life. He sees himself as the mythical Sisyphus, always toiling away and not getting anywhere from it. He's given the opportunity by a mysterious stranger to change that, however, by preventing the Emperor's assassination. This story is very existential, and I think it would probably mean more if I was more familiar with Camus' work. Di Filippo intentionally leaves a lot of stuff unexplained, including just who the stranger is and why he's doing what he's doing. Camus is well-characterized, though, and I found the world in which he lived fascinating. From what I understand of Camus' work, this story fits the framework quite nicely.

"Though I Sang in My Chains Like the Sea" – by William Barton
William Barton seems to have really loved Science Fiction as a kid. The two stories of his that I have read ("Off on a Starship" and this one) involve a kid in the 1950s or 1960s who revels in all the science fiction he can get his hands on. In "Off on a Starship," Win winds up on a spaceship and finds himself alone on an alien world. In "Though I Sang in My Chains Like the Sea," the boy wakes up to find that everybody in the entire world has shrunk to doll size. It's very hard at first, but slowly people adapt and start trying to just go on with their lives. But then people start getting smaller, and smaller, and…well, you get the picture. The imagery in the story is wonderful, the most evocative one being also on the cover of this issue, when everybody's small enough that a mantis is towering over them. While it starts out being an interesting "what-if" story, it suddenly evolves into…something else. Perhaps it's something about leadership and bravery? Win's best friend's father makes some statement about bravery which Win refutes, and then the ending gives some montage of leadership from the 1950s to the current day. I'm not sure. It was an interesting journey, but I'm not sure the story got to where it was going. Evocative and exciting, the story kind of loses its way at the end. Still worth reading, though.

"The Catch" – by Kage Baker
Yes, the reason I bought this issue. Another Kage Baker Company story. This one adds a even more to the Company mythos, showing us how the Company does not admit mistakes and what happens when it does actually make one. In this case, Porfirio and his new partner, Clete, are charged with cleaning up one of those mistakes. It seems that a ten-year-old boy was rescued from an automobile accident with the intention of making him immortal. Ten years is much too old for the process, however, and he turns into a horribly disfigured genius. A genius who can time travel without a machine. After years of searching for him, the Company has given up…until Porfirio happens across him. Baker succeeds once again in giving us an interesting character study along with the some nice concepts. However, I have to admit that it's one of her weaker ones. Seeing what the Company does to try and cover up its mistakes was fascinating (opposed to us just being told about it like in past books), but I've never been the biggest Porfirio fan. I did feel sorry for Bobby, though. His insanity wasn't his fault, and it was tragic to think what was going to happen after Porfirio captures him. A quality story that only suffers in comparison to other Baker stories.

"Scatter" – by Jack Skillingstead
This is a weird one. Skillingstead takes the trend from a few years ago (I don't think it's as prominent now) of resurrecting old movie stars for new commercials and other video ventures (epitomized by the release of Natalie Cole's duet with her father in "Unforgettable") and adds to it. Daniel Frye was sent over a balcony by his wife, but he was rich enough to have an incorporeal existence as a digital construction after he had died. He opens his own private detective agency, and he enjoys appearing as movie stars of the past. When Kari Tolerico comes into his office to say a murder is going to happen, he is appearing as Robert Mitchum in 1947. Thing is, that murder is supposed to be him, as somebody doesn't want even an incorporeal Daniel Frye to exist any more. This is a short little story with an interesting concept. It's almost entirely concept, in fact, as we don't really get a handle on any of the characters except for Daniel himself. It's interesting how, after dying, he can't seem to handle being himself. It's almost a story about identity, as the conversation he has at the end of the story demonstrates. He refuses to show himself as himself, instead hiding behind celebrity and an old picture of himself. Despite that, it's not very deep and just mildly diverting.

"A Change of Mind" – by Robert Reed
Robert Reed has to be one of the most prolific short story writers today. He seems to be in at least one magazine every month, and this month he's in both Fantasy & Science Fiction and Asimov's. In "Change of Mind," Reed addresses the idea of memes and how they can be used and abused in the future. Reporter Morgan Lee is on the trail of an old boyfriend of hers, Daniel Pitt, who seems to be moving across the world doing weird things to communities. In one of them, every person living in a housing complex suddenly learns Mandarin. In a Swiss community, everybody's colour perception becomes skewed. The FBI and CIA are after him, but he has said he will only reveal himself to Morgan, so she is enlisted to help. The trek brings back a lot of memories, and it turns out things aren't quite what they seem as they begin to zero in on their quarry. This story is as good as Reed usually is, with an interesting concept, nice twist, and plausible characters. The idea of memes being such a controlled force is great, and the reasoning behind what is happening is also first-rate. The only thing I didn't get was the revelation of a certain person's identity at the end, as it just comes out of nowhere. Still extremely well done, though.

"Skin Deep" – by Mary Rosenblum
This is the story of a man horribly disfigured in a fire when he was very young and his attempt to finally fix himself so people won't look at him strangely anymore. He grasps on to any potential cure that he can find. But quick-fixes often come with a price that we're not willing to pay. Rosenblum has created a future of completely interactive networks which become the lifeline for Halsey when he discovers just what the purpose behind his experimental surgery is. The idea of re-growing a face is intriguing and the two main characters (Halsey and the doctor) leap off the page. Halsey was not just physically scarred, but emotionally wrecked and he's had to live with this for years. When he discovers that he may not have to anymore, he's thrilled but hesitant. After he discovers the real reason behind everything, he has to get away from everything. An interesting idea done wonderfully with a semi-tragic ending.

"We Could be Sisters" – by Chris Beckett
In a story about identity and "nature vs nurture," Beckett gives us a story about alternate worlds and what might have been. He also makes a wry background comment about the new tolls to drive into London, which I thought was pretty good. In the future, you have to "subscribe" to certain areas of London in order to even go there. Crime has been wiped from these areas, leaving it to fester in "free" parts of London. Jessica is head of an art gallery, but she stumbles upon a street performer who stares at her and says "we could be sisters!" It turns out that Tammy is a different version of Jessica, in a world where her mother was coerced into not giving her up for adoption. Unwanted and unloved, Tammy wasn't cared for and was ultimately removed from the home, but not before the damage was already done. In Jessica's world, she grew up in a happy home after her mother gave her up. A story that examines the basics of who we are and where our personalities come from, "We Could be Sisters" is poignant but also a bit obvious. Once the two characters meet, there isn't much doubt about what's going happen. Ultimately, even Jessica isn't surprised. This is made up for slightly by the ending, which demonstrates even more the emotional isolation that is Jessica's life, and how, even with her wonderful upbringing, she isn't as emotionally fulfilled as Tammy is. While Tammy leads a hard life, she seems more attached to her world despite the fact that she moves from universe to universe. If it had been any longer, this story's predictability would have been a bad thing, but at ten pages, it's pretty good.

"Perfectible" – by Geoffrey A. Landis
This is a short little dissertation on perfection and the human need to seek it. It's only a page long, and it involves a man who creates a species of robots that would wipe imperfection from the human race by killing any humans who weren't perfect. It doesn't quite have the effect he thought it would. This is a fun little morality story, a short parable that doesn't take very long to make its point. Quite enjoyable.

"The Word That Sings the Scythe" – by Michael Swanwick
This is a sequel to "Iron Dragon," which was in Asimov's last year and was reprinted in both 21st Annual Year's Best Science Fiction and Hartwell's Year's Best Fantasy 4. While I didn't really care for "Iron Dragon" that much (I think I said that it was mildly entertaining but I didn't really like the atmosphere), I found this story to be excellent. The boy in that story, Will, was cast out of his village after the dragon was killed. He's basically an outlaw, and he joins a refugee band as the war rages around them. He meets a young girl who is about to be raped by a gang of miscreants, and rescues her. Unwilling to leave her on her own despite not wanting a companion, he allows her to join him. When they meet up with three centaurs who are cleaning up behind the rampaging armies, he finds out more about the girl than he wanted to know. The mystery of the girl gets deeper when they get to the refugee camp and the final revelation is quite startling. I'm not sure why this story was different to me than "Iron Dragon," but I really enjoyed it. Will has come to accept his exile and so he seems a lot surer of himself, which is quite different from the previous story, so maybe that's it. The girl is very intriguing and Swanwick allows the revelations to flow naturally. And I loved the flirtatious yet extremely gruff centaurs. Probably the best characters in the story.

"The Defenders" – by Colin P. Davies
In a colony world where humans are besieged by demons, a race of "defenders" is born of the genetic material of young girls. It's been a particularly bloody battle, and Elisa and her grandfather go out to the battlefield looking for something. What they find brings the question: just who are the real demons. Is it them? This short little tale is interesting but didn't really grip me that much. There's not room for much characterization, but the concepts are mildly diverting. Elisa shows the wide-eyed innocence of the young as she pictures her Defenders being heroic when in reality they are just doing a job. A diverting tale with a startling ending.

"Liberation Day" – by Allen Steele
The seventh story in Steele's second Coyote series, the plot of this story is self-evident from the title. The renegade colonists are trying to wrest control of Coyote back from their Collectivist oppressors, and the final battle is drawing near. A natural event brings everything into sharp focus, however, forcing the colonists to adjust their plans and before they themselves are wiped out. This is a great story though it does jump into things with minimum of exposition. If you're not familiar with past Coyote stories, you may find yourself a bit lost. It's not too bad, as I have only read one Coyote story before this, but it is there. The characterization is excellent and plot is captivating. As in the previous Coyote story I read, I did find the main villain to be a bit one-note, but everything else is great in this one. According to the introduction, these stories are going to be collected in Coyote Rising in December, and I may have to look for it. Good stuff, and an excellent way to end the issue.