Today I conclude this protracted look at sci-fi short stories from the year 1995 by looking at the final tale...it's a novella...in the Gardner Dozois anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction, Thirteenth Annual Collection, containing his picks from that year. As far as my own life is concerned, that year had its ups (my family, especially the birth of our wonderful daughter) and downs (some really screwed-up characters at work) while in all, I have to give it all a pretty high score. But enough of '95, I'm ready to move on to the next year...first, though, that last story...
MORTIMER GRAY"S HISTORY OF DEATH by Brian Stableford
As previously mentioned, this is one of those long stories that Dozois seemed to have a special penchant for, but to his credit was one that I didn't think was overblown. It's set around the year 3000 as "emortal" Mortimer Gray, like the rest of humanity by that time on an Earth steeped in its returning tumultuous ice age and reaching out and settling the cosmos, has been genetically modified to stop aging, rejuvenate and become immune to sickness. Accidents, homicides and suicides still happen, though, and people are becoming more and more intrigued by death itself as their lives drag on from century to century...Gray is over 200 years old. Being a historian, he sets out to write a history of death as it was regarded by humanity, eventually stretching out to ten volumes...with very mixed reviews from others. The novella alternates between Gray's personal ongoing life and a third-person account of him and his progress with the book. But it's the ending of this intriguing tale that made it all work, similar to a theme I've read from Isaac Asimov. We may think we have it all figured out, smug in our scientific achievements within T'HIS galaxy. But it's only one of billions and there's something else heading our way...
And, whew, finally I'll be starting my look at 1996's short science fiction next week...
No comments:
Post a Comment