F/SF

ISFDB 205017. OCLC 13567721.

This collection seems to contain fewer, but longer stories than editions from other years. It is also a pretty average collection. By the time I was finished reading it (it took me a while because this was my "purse book" that I read in waiting rooms) I couldn't remember much about any of the previous stories. So, I went back through. Here's a brief summary and a short impression of each:
"The Picture Man" -- A professor takes in a homeless man who, it turns out, can do a pretty neat trick with a camera. Other faculty want to exploit it. -- This story was entertaining, had a good concept and plot, and ended well.
"Cash Crop" -- On another planet, the people are struggling to survive a native disease, and also trying to adapt Terran plants to the native soil. Centers mostly on a young girl and her father. -- Extremely good concept, young girl perspective felt genuine. Very depressing.
"We Remember Babylon" -- The ancient city of Babylon has been recreated in near-future Arizona. I'm not sure why. Our narrator goes there and tries to integrate. I'm not sure why. -- It took me forever to get through this one, mostly because I didn't really follow it. It didn't seem to have a plot, either.
"What Makes Us Human" -- A colony ship from a colonized planet tries to head back to Earth and meets another ship that is operating very strangely. The only two awake have to figure out what's going on and how to continue their mission.-- I really didn't like this one. It wasn't terribly logical or even realistic (within the given framework, of course. Few SF tales are realistic given today's world).
Salvador -- Near future US military team is wiping out Central American natives. Technology vs. mysticism. -- I really, really didn't like this one. It was brutal, bloody, depressing and, again, made no sense.
"Press Enter" -- Victor's next door neighbor dies leaving a "suicide note" on his computer. Government hacker is assigned to figure out what's going on. Victor and hacker fall in love. Will not spoil anything else for you. -- This was my favorite story, even though the end was sad. Really makes you think.
"The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything" -- Self-explanatory. -- Very humorous and lighthearted. My second favorite.
"Bloodchild" -- Insect-like aliens and humans have developed a symbiotic relationship. Benefits the aliens much, much more. -- This was stomach-turningly gross. Ick, ick, ick. No, thank you. However, Octavia Butler is always innovative.
"The Coming of the Goomba" -- Written from the perspective of an alien who has an extremely different worldview than that of humans. -- The worldview and narration were the story here. Otherwise it's your average "humans come to planet and wipe out the indigenous'' sort of tale. Really well done, and I enjoyed it after I caught on to the language and figured out what was going on.
"Medra" -- Medra is the last living person on a planet. She has her reasons for being there. Jaxon comes to the planet because he's being paid to neutralize a weapon that's rumored to be there. Jaxon and Medra like each other a lot. -- Kinda boring. More attention paid to describing the planetary ruins than developing either character or the plot. So much was said about the lizards that I expected them to become important later. They weren't. ( )

It's been a long time since I've read this collection - some well known contributers: Connie Willis ("Cash Crop"), Ian Watson ("We Remember Babylon"), Lucius Shepard ("Salvador"), Stephen R. Donaldson ("What Makes Us Human"), John Varley ("Press Enter"), George Alec Effinger ("The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything"), Octavia Butler ("Bloodchild"), Tanith Lee ("Medra") first interested me in it. The story which I most remember is "Press Enter", sad to say, mostly because of a particularly graphic description of a woman committing suicide by melting her head in a microwave. However, the story is actually a pretty tightly plotted thriller about computer hackers and war survivors (I know, this doesn't really seem to tie together but it's a wonderful fit). I enjoy re-reading this book every once in a while. The other stories are also worth the price of admission. ( )