Writers of the Future #24

Every year another volume of the Writer's of the Future emerges. The pages of each volume are filled with stories that have been culled from thousands of hopeful entrants to the Writer and Illustrators of the Future Contest. The Contest is divided into four quarters and within each quarter eight finalists are chosen. Of the eight, only three win a chance to appear in the anthology. Professional writers judge which stories win. Occasionally a finalist (one of those in each quarter who did not win) are chosen to appear in the volume; these are called published finalists.

I first discovered the contest approximately ten years ago and always enjoy reading the volumes. This one was especially good with many evocative stories. This review will focus on the stories and not the fantastic illustrations that accompany them, but the artwork is really stellar as well (the volume is illustrated by the winners of the Illustrator contest). There are also several articles, which while interesting, I'll skip over in the interest of keeping the attention on the fiction.

A Man in the Moon by Dr. Phillip Edward Kaldon
This is one of my favorites. Technically not a winner (he is the only published finalist in this volume) but the world-building is superbly detailed and authentic. The story, which centers around the characters involved in the colonization of the moon, is heart-warming, interesting, and hopeful. A well told tale, all around.

Bitter Dreams by Ian McHugh
Wow. Again, fantastic world-building. This is a tale of a twisted Australian outback with magic wielding gunslingers and demons waiting at every corner. Can't wait to read more in this setting.

Taking a Mile by J. Kathleen Cheney
In a future where clones are used to serve as temporary stand-ins for their originals, the fate of one particular clone whose original has perished is very much in jeopardy. An interesting and exciting story set in the maybe-land of a possible tomorrow.

Crown of Thorns by Sonia Helbig
Another story set in Australia, though this one is rather different than Ian McHugh's, it is no less horrific. Children living in rural small towns are routinely tested through a painful process that determines whether they will be taken by the higher class humans who live elsewhere. Having a child 'pass the test' is a mixed blessing for a community; the child is taken and never seen again but the town receives material benefits.

Hangar Queen by Patrick Lundrigan
I really enjoyed this tale of an AI that is incapable of interacting with its environment but can watch, often in horror, as the humans who created it fight a prolonged war.

Snakes and Ladders by Paula R. Stiles
A mercenary wounded during the investigation of an abandoned warehouse suffers bizarre hallucinations. This is a strange tale and saying too much of it ruins the several little surprises in it.

Epiphany by Laura Bradley Rede
A beautiful story of a group of circus freaks freeing themselves from their cruel master and discovering a world they are unprepared for.

Cruciger by Erin Cashier
Among my favorites, this is the story of a world building spaceship that is sent to create a second Earth. Humanity has died out and it alone carries the means to resurrect the human species. However it must make a crucial decision when the world it must destroy to rebuild Earth turns out to have sentient life of its own. The aliens encountered in this story are well thought out and their interaction with the spaceship quite moving, which speaks to the high quality of the writing.

Circuit by J.D. EveryHope
An intelligent book weathers many owners and their lives, which it witnesses, reveal a story just as fantastic as the stories within the book.

A War Bird in the Belly of the Mouse by David Parish-Whittaker
I really enjoyed this characterization of a war weary pilot who was plucked out of the past to engage in 'safe' wargames with modern pilots. He has never acclimatized to his future or to the loss of his companions from so many years ago. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but it makes sense in the context of the story.

Simulacrum's Children by Sarah L. Edwards
An artificial man is building other artificial people. He takes a human boy as a servant and together they have several misadventures, ultimately finding the truth of the simulacrum's origins.

The Bird Reader's Granddaughter by Kim A. Gillet
A girl whose grandmother reads fortunes is forced to go live with the old woman when her parents are killed. She too has the gift but her mistakes in understanding how to read the future almost doom everyone.

The Girl Who Whispered Beauty by Al Bogdan
This is a rather strange story, but delightful. Whisper girls, who cling to life in a precarious way, are able to modify humans. But these modifications cost the whisper girls and they have to careful in the application of their powers. Just a beautiful read, very imaginative and original.