Synopses & Reviews
Not since William Gibson and Bruce Sterling galvanized science fiction in the 1980s has the emergence of a new writer been heralded with such acclaim as that attending David Marusek, whose brilliant first novel, Counting Heads, appeared to rave reviews in 2005. But Marusek did not come out of nowhere. Aficionados of the genre had already taken note of his groundbreaking short fiction: masterfully written, profoundly thought-out examinations of futures so real they seemed virtually inevitable.
Now, in this collection of ten short stories, Maruseks fierce imagination and dazzling extrapolative gifts are on full display. Five of the stories, including the Sturgeon Award-winning “The Wedding Album,” a shattering look at the unintended human consequences of advanced technology, are set in the same future as Counting Heads. All ten showcase Maruseks talent for literate, provocative science fiction of the very highest order.
Synopsis
On the short fiction of David Marusek, from Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times: Marusek... may have a relatively modest body of work (just 10 short stories in print over the span of 13 years), but each of these pieces has so far proven to be as concentrated and potent as a dwarf star. In The Wedding Album, a story first published in 1999, he fashions an ominous and surprisingly moving tale about a bride and groom who repeatedly discover, forget and rediscover that they are merely computer-generated re-creations of a flesh-and-blood newlywed couple, fated to watch as their living counterparts, their marriage and civilization itself decay over the centuries... The Wedding Album is a story whose beauty can be appreciated even by readers who are intimidated by weather reports, despite the factt that I've just given away its major plot points.