Selected by Electric Literature as one of the best short story collections of 2016
AN EXTRAORDINARILY RESONANT AND PROPHETIC COLLECTION OF SPECULATIVE SHORT FICTION FOR OUR TECH- SAVVY ERA BY DEBUT AUTHOR ALEXANDER WEINSTEIN
Children of the New World introduces readers to a near-future world of social media implants, memory manufacturers, dangerously immersive virtual reality games, and alarmingly intuitive robots. Many of these characters live in a utopian future of instant connection and technological gratification that belies an unbridgeable human distance, while others inhabit a post-collapse landscape made primitive by disaster, which they must work to rebuild as we once did millennia ago.
In "The Cartographers," the main character works for a company that creates and sells virtual memories, while struggling to maintain a real-world relationship sabotaged by an addiction to his own creations. In "Saying Goodbye to Yang," the robotic brother of an adopted Chinese child malfunctions, and only in his absence does the family realize how real a son he has become.
Children of the New World grapples with our unease in this modern world and how our ever-growing dependence on new technologies has changed the shape of our society. Alexander Weinstein is a visionary new voice in speculative fiction for all of us who are fascinated by and terrified of what we might find on the horizon.
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From Library Staff
From Library Staff
A beautifully written vision of a dystopic future revealed through a series of (mostly) unconnected short stories.
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Add a CommentOne of the stories caught my attention listening to this interview: http://beta.ttbook.org/interview/mourning-our-lost-and-broken-technology. I was intrigued enough to put everything else aside and begin reading the ebook immediately. The stories presented original, challenging and disturbing ideas. It is not difficult to imagine that we pose the greatest threat to the destruction of our current culture.
Fans of television's Black Mirror will want to pick up this short story collection, which explores the complex ways in which humans and technology interact. Set in a recognizable near-future world and ranging in tone from the darkly humorous to the heartwrenching, these 12 tales tackle topics including (but not limited to) artificial intelligence, implanted memories, virtual reality, and digital reincarnation.
A beautifully written vision of a dystopic future revealed through a series of (mostly) unconnected short stories.