The Girls With Kaleidoscope Eyes: Analog Stories for a Digital Age

by Howard V Hendrix

Overview

Ranging from flash to full novella lengths, the ten pieces featured here include stories about time travel and the 1939 World's Fair, a tendentious man/dog relationship on Mars, a spam-blocker program that incidentally shuts down the universe, giant artworks among the nearly immortal, Einstein channeled by a fortune teller, Big Data meets March Madness, and enhanced bonobos trying to re-create Shakespeare's lost play Cardenio. Hendrix's stories transcend time and show us the futures the human race yet may face, in the digital age and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933846774
Publisher:	Fairwood Press LLC
Publication date:	08/13/2019
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

The Critic as Writer by Gregory Benford

Knot Your Grandfather’s Knot

Habilis

The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Monuments of Unageing Intellect

Palimpsest

The Perfect Bracket

Red Rover, Red Rover

A Little Spooky Action

The Infinite Manqué

Whatever Became of What Might Have Been?

Editorial Reviews

06/24/2019

Hendrix’s first book since the 2006 novel Spears of God collects a pleasing array of science fiction stories. While there are no explicit links between the individual stories, recurring ideas such as the Mobius strip bring a sense of unity. The history of science fiction is well represented, with “Palimpsest” and “The Infinite Manque” paying homage to Arthur C. Clarke and Daniel Keyes, respectively. Other highlights include “Whatever Became of What Might Have Been,” a comparison of addictions; “Knot Your Grandfather’s Knot,” a poignant time travel story centered on the 1939 World’s Fair; “Monuments of Unageing Intellect,” an exploration of the implications of immortality; and the title novella, which combines AI and genetics to explore potential ramifications of the surveillance state. Occasionally the scientific and philosophical explorations take precedence over characterisation, but the clever mix of story length and style keeps the reader’s attention. Fans of idea-driven SF will enjoy dipping in here and there or reading the collection straight through. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Howard Hendrix here demonstrates his imagination, versatility, and heart, in story after story. He has a gift for combining the latest news from the sciences with permanent truths of human nature to make fictions that are quirky and memorable. Highly recommended."
--Kim Stanley Robinson, author of Red Moon

"Howard Hendrix's work glows with imagination, compassion, and ingenuity. The characters are alive, and the science is gripping."
--Jack McDevitt, author of The Engines of God

"Just when you think you know where these tales are going, the floor drops out under you. The characters seem like people you might recognize--until they don't. Near future, far future, Earth or far out in space, the stories entertain and satisfy, but above all they make you think. And not all the questions asked lead to pretty answers."
--Sheila Finch, author of Triad

"Howard Hendrix is one of science fiction's cleverest writers--a fountain of ideas any one of which would have made Asimov or Clarke proud. Prepare to have your mind blown."
--Robert J. Sawyer, author of Quantum Night

From the Publisher