According to editor Dario Ciriello’s
introduction, the purpose of the Panverse
series of anthologies is to afford an opportunity for publication to
authors for novella length works, specifically, but not exclusively,
focusing on newer authors. In
this third volume of the series, Ciriello offers a mystery set against
the fall of communism, an alternate history of the space program, a
classic alien planet exploration, a strange high concept world, and a
look at an horrible period of history.
Not all of the stories work, but one of them may well be among
the best stories published this year.
Jason Stoddard postulates a world in which humans had a very different
space program, with the result that Mars was colonized by Soviets and
Americans in the 1970s. The resulting world, however, was anything
but a space-faring utopia as Earth turned isolationist before the
colonies could really become self sustaining. When a spacecraft
lands on Earth, piloted by Martian Michael Hughes, he is seen as a
threat, but also as a tool for propaganda. Assigned a
guard/traveling companion, Sasha Chislenko, Hughes is able to tour the
seemingly wealthy and utopian Unity International, the worldwide
government that Earth has formed, only to discover that beneath its
shine and glister, it is as flawed as Mars. Stoddard's tale hints
at complexities and history of his two worlds which he doesn't have time
to fully explore in "Orion Rising."
"Junction 5,” by Gavin Salisbury, is the
weakest story in the book, but also the most high concept. Kerr is a
trader on the living train Tarsus, which travels from city to city.
Upon entering Junction 5, he finds himself betrayed by some of
the other traders from the train and left behind.
Falling in with a coven of witches, he begins to learn more about
the “statics” with whom the traders trade while plotting his
vengeance against whomever on Tarsus was behind the attack.
Unfortunately, while the cultures that Salisbury sketches seem as
if they can be interesting, he doesn’t go into enough detail about any
of them. Furthermore, told
from Kerr’s point of view, Salisbury chose his least interesting
character as a focus. Kerr
reacts to events, but even when it comes time to face his betrayer, he
never really takes control of the situation.
The most traditionally science-fictional story in
the anthology is Don D'Ammassa's "Martyrs," which sets up a
two-person expedition to the ruins left by an alien civilization, the
Ochrans. McNabb, a haughty archaeologists whose primary goal is to
destroy his rival's reputation, has hired local guide Pennington to take
him to the Teardrop site. Along the way, the two discuss the
possible fates of the Ochrans as well as the work previously done by
McNabb's rival. Much of the story is telegraphed by these
discussions, but the enjoyment comes from the way D'Ammassa crafts his
narrative, the give-and-take between his characters, and seeing exactly
how they achieve the denouement that is hinted at throughout the
story. D'Ammassa's world harkens back to the adventure tales of
Murray Leinster and James H. Schmitz.
Set against the fall of the Communist bloc in 1989,
“Dust to Dust” offers a serial murderer and the Czech inspector who
chases after him, even as the state the inspector works for is
crumbling. Mixing alchemy,
folklore, and history, Tochi Onyebuchi builds a complex story, at times
a little too complex, and brings the reader along through an almost Byzantine
tale and Inspector Radovan Novotny chases his suspect, Damek Vojak, with
an almost Javertesque focus while his world and his marriage cease to
offer the stability they once did. At times the narrative seems to get
away form Onyebuchi as murders build up, characters are added, and the
scene shifts from anti-Communist uprising to anti-Communist uprising.
The sense of place, however, remains strong no matter where Novotny
chases Vojak and even as the chase takes on other-worldly overtones,
Novotny remains grounded in the world he knew and is losing.
The strongest, and most disturbing, story in the
anthology is in the middle, Ken Liu’s “The Man Who Ended History: A
Documentary.” Liu provides
a look at the atrocities committed during World War II, but rather than
focusing on the Nazis, to whom most people are somewhat inured, even
when condemning them, Liu looks at the similar horrifying experiments
conducted by the Japanese of Unit 731 in Manchuria.
The story isn’t just a recital of those acts, but also a look
at who owns history. When
husband-and-wife historians/physicists Eric Wei and Akemi Kirino develop
a process that allows people to view historical events, both the Chinese
and the Japanese governments object to the use of their method.
Liu tackles a wide range of issues in his piece, and handles all
of them extremely well. The
matter-of-fact acceptance of the atrocities by many Japanese as well as
the denial among both Japanese and man-in-the-streets is easily as
disturbing as the crimes depicted.
