Weekly Short Stories: 1991 Science Fiction, Part 8

Today I conclude my look at 1991 science fiction short stories as they appeared in the Gardner Dozois-edited anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction, Ninth Annual Collection. Here we go...

JACK by Connie Willis

Best of today's four stories, in my opinion, it's England during the Battle of Britain in 1940 when the Nazis bombarded it relentlessly.  The civil defense is spotlighted here, and one of their more difficult tasks is to search bombed areas for survivors buried beneath the rubble.  Enter a mysterious man who has an uncanny ability to find them, even when there seems to be no evidence of their presence.  This fascinating story seamlessly transforms into another genre and asks the question: just who is the monster here?

LA MACCHINA by Chris Beckett

This is a robot story naturally set in a future where they have taken over the traiditonally menial jobs in society. Looks like there is a renegade robot running loose, one who "thinks" on a higher level of complexity and betrays a sentient nature. The protagonist hunts it down...but isn't ready for the paradigm shift about robots at story's end. This one kind of reminded me of Asimov's robot stories...

ONE PERFECT MORNING, WITH JACKALS by Mike Resnick

Here is a prequel story to Resnick's 1988 Kirinyaga...press on the title to read my reaction. It's about the Kikuyu leader Koriba who emigrates from his native Earth...and from his hopelessly transformed homeland in Kenya.  And it's also a story about a father and his grown son parting ways. A brief bittersweet tale...

DESERT RAIN by Mark L. Van Name and Pat Murphy

A sculptor transplanted from her beloved San Francisco area to the despised southwestern desert after getting married to a man deeply involved in computers and artificial intelligence is introduced by him to Ian, whose digital presence surrounds her in their home while hubby is gone most of the time. It's easy to guess where this is all going, but what impressed me was how the author back in 1991 understood AI devices like Alexa and others like "her".  On the other hand, didn't the breakthrough movie 2001: A Space Odyssey anticipate it all 24 years earlier with Hal?

Next week I begin the next book in the Gardner Dozois sci-fi anthology series, covering the year 1992...