Synergy SF: New Science Fiction

Rating:
Summary: fine SF collection
Review: In the late 1980s, four volumes of Synergy were released to critical acclaim. Now Mr. Zebrowski returns to that concept of unpredictable relationships making the world what it is, but placed in a science fiction vacuum with a fifth collection. The latest anthology is a magazine in book format as it contains eight short stories, two poems, two essays, and two interviews. The stories are well written as they run the gamut from placing everyday people in strange scenarios with machines, ETs in Central Park, going back in time or relationships on another orb. The essays are a very interesting change of pace from the sci fi tales with the topics being "The First Invasion from mars" and "Who Killed Science Fiction- Again" as each will have the reader ponder about past and future. The two interviews byauthor Ray Bradbury and the late editor Cele Goldsmith Lalli (the only reprint in the compilation) provide insight though some readers will need to adjust or skip these sections as they are well done but feel out of place, which in a sense is what Synergy SF relationships is all about. This is a terrific fifth entry that will send the audience seeking a relationship with the previous quartet.

Harriet Klausner