Ballard’s overpopulation classic, “Billenium,” is followed immediately by “Amaryllis” and Paolo Bacigalupi’s “Pop Squad,” in which children are vanishingly rare. The stories are grouped loosely by theme. It is, however, not the most brutal story in this book - and the argument over whether or not it even qualifies as a dystopia should be an interesting one. This is the only story in the collection that I did not completely reread, as I remember how much it affected me the first time. Longtime listeners of EscapePod will recognize “Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs” by Adam Troy-Castro. I have an abiding affection for this story, in which all the brutality of a world where women are executed for having abortions is filtered through the eyes of a little girl who has never known anything else. “Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment: One Daughter’s Personal Account” by Mary Rickert first appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award and the Stoker Award. Carrie Vaughn’s “Amaryllis,” reprinted here, has just been nominated for the 2011 Hugo Award for best short story.

The new stories in Brave New Worlds are also of the highest quality. The world that Le Guin has built is beautiful - except for that singular, terrible room. However, in this context, it provides a respite for the mind’s eye. This story should already be familiar to most readers, who will know exactly what to expect when they see Le Guin’s name on a collection of dystopias.

Other classics that have been reprinted in Brave New Worlds include “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Treisman also pointed out that “The Lottery” is the only story by a woman of the period to be regularly anthologized. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker’s fiction editor, noted on her podcast that the magazine received angry letters from its readers after “The Lottery” was published. People within the genre criticize its lack of obvious scientificitional elements and its magazine of origin. It is the kind of science fiction that provokes tempers on all sides. Brave New Worlds opens with “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, which was first published in 1948 by The New Yorker. However, I found them to be moving works of science fiction that will stay with me for a long time.ĭystopias have been part of science fiction since the beginning. Once again, John Joseph Adams has proved that he has a keen eye for a good story. Anyone who is interested in the grim meathook side of the science fiction genre should pick up Brave New Worlds, the new anthology of dystopian fiction.

Brave New Worlds by John Joseph Adams