What else is in WARRIORS?
For those of you who are wondering whether the rest of the stories in the new WARRIORS anthology -- besides Diana Gabaldon's "The Custom of the Army" -- are worth reading, here is a short description of the ones that I liked, in no particular order. (Everybody's tastes differ, so this is strictly my personal opinion. If you have any comments on the stories in WARRIORS, feel free to post them here.)
Some spoilers below. Don't read below if you don't want to know yet!
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1) "Forever Bound", by Joe Haldeman. The story of a futuristic military program in which a team of five men and five women are "jacked", forever linked to one another by means of an electronic implant in each person's skull which enables them to share the thoughts and feelings of all of the other members of the group. An intriguing premise, and somewhat reminiscent of the movie "Avatar".
2) "Clean Slate", by Lawrence Block. An incest survivor turns serial killer, in an attempt to wipe out the memories of her father's sexual abuse. Chilling, but very well-written.
3) "Soldierin'", by Joe R. Lansdale. A humorous look at the Buffalo Soldiers, a troop of black cavalry fighting Indians on the frontier, circa 1870. I liked the narrator's cynical outlook on life, and his dry wit.
4) "The Pit", by James Rollins. Dog-lovers will find this story disturbing, although it has a positive ending. The story of a dog stolen from its suburban home and forced to compete in a series of savage dog-fights in which losing means death. Told from the dog's point of view. (If you want to read a much lighter and more enjoyable story from the point of view of a dog, try THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein. I loved that book, and I'm not even a dog-owner.)
5) "The Girls from Avenger", by Carrie Vaughn. This is the story of Em, one of a group of female pilots during World War II known as the Women's Air Service Pilots (WASP). When one of her fellow female pilots is killed in an accident, Em battles the sexism and condescension of the men in the chain of command in order to learn the truth of what happened to her friend. A well-written story, one of my favorites in the collection.
6) "Out of the Dark", by David Weber. A tale of alien invasion of Earth, told partly from the point of view of the aliens (which I found quite amusing at times) and partly from the point of view of the human survivors. The story ends with a completely unexpected plot twist.
7) "The Scroll", by David Ball. I liked this story very much. A man is captured by the emperor of Morocco and given a brutal choice: kill, or watch others die instead. But he is a Christian, and so he refuses to give in to the emperor's demands. A fascinating, and ultimately heartbreaking, contest of wills ensues.
Some spoilers below. Don't read below if you don't want to know yet!
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
1) "Forever Bound", by Joe Haldeman. The story of a futuristic military program in which a team of five men and five women are "jacked", forever linked to one another by means of an electronic implant in each person's skull which enables them to share the thoughts and feelings of all of the other members of the group. An intriguing premise, and somewhat reminiscent of the movie "Avatar".
2) "Clean Slate", by Lawrence Block. An incest survivor turns serial killer, in an attempt to wipe out the memories of her father's sexual abuse. Chilling, but very well-written.
3) "Soldierin'", by Joe R. Lansdale. A humorous look at the Buffalo Soldiers, a troop of black cavalry fighting Indians on the frontier, circa 1870. I liked the narrator's cynical outlook on life, and his dry wit.
4) "The Pit", by James Rollins. Dog-lovers will find this story disturbing, although it has a positive ending. The story of a dog stolen from its suburban home and forced to compete in a series of savage dog-fights in which losing means death. Told from the dog's point of view. (If you want to read a much lighter and more enjoyable story from the point of view of a dog, try THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein. I loved that book, and I'm not even a dog-owner.)
5) "The Girls from Avenger", by Carrie Vaughn. This is the story of Em, one of a group of female pilots during World War II known as the Women's Air Service Pilots (WASP). When one of her fellow female pilots is killed in an accident, Em battles the sexism and condescension of the men in the chain of command in order to learn the truth of what happened to her friend. A well-written story, one of my favorites in the collection.
6) "Out of the Dark", by David Weber. A tale of alien invasion of Earth, told partly from the point of view of the aliens (which I found quite amusing at times) and partly from the point of view of the human survivors. The story ends with a completely unexpected plot twist.
7) "The Scroll", by David Ball. I liked this story very much. A man is captured by the emperor of Morocco and given a brutal choice: kill, or watch others die instead. But he is a Christian, and so he refuses to give in to the emperor's demands. A fascinating, and ultimately heartbreaking, contest of wills ensues.
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