Two Tales From Tomorrow (Volume 1) and More Tales from Tomorrow (Volume 2)
By John Patin
I’m gonna change up and review a few short stories. Normally I don’t read short stories, but these were recommended, so why not? Both of these books are very small, perhaps 11,000 words each, self-published through CreateSpace.
What they’re about: The Tales From Tomorrow series is an old-school sci-fi ‘zine’, an attempt to resurrect those ancient times when the market boasted many such monthly episodic issues. The first contained a story called ‘Passengers,’ about an infestation on a spaceship traveling toward a near star on an exploration mission, and the resulting discovery. Second is ‘Aid Station,’ a doctor’s account of a struggle for a distant planet. Volume Two contains three stories: ‘FM’, ‘Daywraiths,’ and ‘Vacations.’ ‘FM’ took us further into the future of the world of the first two stories, as a crew fought to both survive and stop an alien invasion of Earth. The latter two were extremely short – one about a mysterious case of gremlins, and the other an immortal’s concerns over boredom.
Look/design: Each book was laid out with a classic look – eye-catching and leaving no doubt what was contained within: sci-fi! It’s old-school and lacking polish, but clearly represented the genre. It reminded me of a Sun cover or something of a conspiracy-theory output – just a little on the cheesy side. I zapped two points for that. Rating – 18/20.
Editing/formatting: Again, the inside layout had the same feel – old-fashioned, but lacking any information other than the titles of each story. I’m not sure what else I expected, but felt it was missing something. I hooked a tractor beam to it and pulled off another point despite my inability to nail down my complaint. The editing was impeccable and I found no remarkable anomalies whatsoever. I understand with a short story it’s easier to revise and trap any alien entities hell-bent upon wreaking havoc with your presentation, but since I could find none, I cannot complain. Excellent job! Score: 19/20.
Story/content: I’m lumping all five stories together, from the 500-word to the 11,000-word. I have to say that one reason I don’t normally read short stories is that there isn’t enough time to develop the characters and get to know them, and I had that problem here, but not so much as I had predicted. They were represented well enough that I felt I got to share some portion of the light years they’ve traveled aboard their ships, learned a bit of their plight, and was pulling for them. Only two points blasted for that shortcoming. The narrative was excellent and the words flowed naturally – this writer really knows how to capture a scene, no matter what world it’s on (or off). Each of the stories had its own little point to make, and made it well, without shoving you out an airlock. The only real complaints I have are that the first story hopped around a bit and lost me in some of the jumps here and there, and the last story was so short that it was vague. Two more points vaporized. But even with these few distractions, I focused on the intent of the ‘zine’ – entertainment, and at a very reasonable price. It packed a lot of bang for your buck. Although the individual characters were not particularly memorable, I found enough comedy, drama, and struggle to make the first two volumes worth the price of admission. Mission accomplished. I give it 56/60 points.
Summary: I understand the series is up to Volume Seven now, and I look forward to reading the rest. I recommend these stories to anyone looking for a little diversion in a galaxy not so far away. I truly admire the excellent writing and creative ideas. You have another fan, Mr. Patin. Total score: 93/100.
By John Patin
I’m gonna change up and review a few short stories. Normally I don’t read short stories, but these were recommended, so why not? Both of these books are very small, perhaps 11,000 words each, self-published through CreateSpace.
What they’re about: The Tales From Tomorrow series is an old-school sci-fi ‘zine’, an attempt to resurrect those ancient times when the market boasted many such monthly episodic issues. The first contained a story called ‘Passengers,’ about an infestation on a spaceship traveling toward a near star on an exploration mission, and the resulting discovery. Second is ‘Aid Station,’ a doctor’s account of a struggle for a distant planet. Volume Two contains three stories: ‘FM’, ‘Daywraiths,’ and ‘Vacations.’ ‘FM’ took us further into the future of the world of the first two stories, as a crew fought to both survive and stop an alien invasion of Earth. The latter two were extremely short – one about a mysterious case of gremlins, and the other an immortal’s concerns over boredom.
Look/design: Each book was laid out with a classic look – eye-catching and leaving no doubt what was contained within: sci-fi! It’s old-school and lacking polish, but clearly represented the genre. It reminded me of a Sun cover or something of a conspiracy-theory output – just a little on the cheesy side. I zapped two points for that. Rating – 18/20.
Editing/formatting: Again, the inside layout had the same feel – old-fashioned, but lacking any information other than the titles of each story. I’m not sure what else I expected, but felt it was missing something. I hooked a tractor beam to it and pulled off another point despite my inability to nail down my complaint. The editing was impeccable and I found no remarkable anomalies whatsoever. I understand with a short story it’s easier to revise and trap any alien entities hell-bent upon wreaking havoc with your presentation, but since I could find none, I cannot complain. Excellent job! Score: 19/20.
Story/content: I’m lumping all five stories together, from the 500-word to the 11,000-word. I have to say that one reason I don’t normally read short stories is that there isn’t enough time to develop the characters and get to know them, and I had that problem here, but not so much as I had predicted. They were represented well enough that I felt I got to share some portion of the light years they’ve traveled aboard their ships, learned a bit of their plight, and was pulling for them. Only two points blasted for that shortcoming. The narrative was excellent and the words flowed naturally – this writer really knows how to capture a scene, no matter what world it’s on (or off). Each of the stories had its own little point to make, and made it well, without shoving you out an airlock. The only real complaints I have are that the first story hopped around a bit and lost me in some of the jumps here and there, and the last story was so short that it was vague. Two more points vaporized. But even with these few distractions, I focused on the intent of the ‘zine’ – entertainment, and at a very reasonable price. It packed a lot of bang for your buck. Although the individual characters were not particularly memorable, I found enough comedy, drama, and struggle to make the first two volumes worth the price of admission. Mission accomplished. I give it 56/60 points.
Summary: I understand the series is up to Volume Seven now, and I look forward to reading the rest. I recommend these stories to anyone looking for a little diversion in a galaxy not so far away. I truly admire the excellent writing and creative ideas. You have another fan, Mr. Patin. Total score: 93/100.
