Voices for the Cure, edited by James Palmer

Voices for the Cure: A Speculative Fiction Anthology, edited by James Palmer, is an anthology to benefit the American Diabetes Association with a variety of stories that seem to accord to no particular theme other than—as indicated by the title—speculative fiction. The anthology starts off strong, and while it does weaken at points, it works out overall to be a good read.

In “The Hand You’re Dealt” by Robert Sawyer, Toby is a cop in Mendelia habitat. A crime that initially seems to be a simple homicide becomes more complicated as Toby discovers more information, and in the end, it leaves him questioning his entire way of life. The story flows well and is well-written, although it suffers a bit from the two problems that often appear in detective stories. At one point, the information that Toby knows is listed out as though we’re being provided the pieces to a puzzle, while at the same time, we don’t have enough information for the last piece to fall into place—partly because we don’t know quite enough about how Mendelia works to put it all together. In the end, however, the story ties up neatly with a satisfying resolution, although it does leave some questions about the way the justice system works in Mendelia.

“The God Biz: A Miracle Brigade Story” by Mike Resnick is a lighthearted story about a man whose search for wealth leads him into accidental godhood—and more problems than you would think a god could have. While some might call “The God Biz” a fluff story, Resnick’s writing makes it worth reading, regardless. There might not be any Earth-shattering revelations about the nature of reality and the world, but what we get is a funny, enjoyable story that follows through all the way in tone, style, and resolution.

Cory Doctorow’s “Craphound” starts out goofy, with a garage-sale-hunting alien paired up with Jerry, a guy who buys and sells from yard sales to make his living. When Jerry breaks the Craphound’s Code, their friendship suffers. The story goes from light and fun to something a little more serious, and Doctorow does an impressive job of making us accept the idea of aliens in what seems to be today’s world, perhaps even a bit in the past, while keeping the thread of the story throughout. The social-commentary-through-aliens shtick has been done and overdone, but by making this story about the relationship between two guys hunting for junk, Doctorow manages to keep it fresh and fun.

“Human Sacrifice for Fun and Profit” by Ernest Hogan is about a science fiction writer, Theremin, who professes to have a cult following. He’s captured by a pair of “agents” who initially refuse to give their identities, and the story consists primarily of dialogue between him and them. While some of the lines are funny, overall, it feels like a cross between an overextended joke and the kind of story that people tell when they’re at bars trying to impress someone enough to have company for the rest of the night. Theremin feels like a classic Mary Sue—a character who exists only as wish fulfillment for the author. Hogan’s writing is good, and the dialogue flows well, but this story really didn’t work for me.

With Lucy A. Snyder’s “The Great VÜDÜ Linux Teen Zombie Massacre,” the title might well tell you everything you really need to know about the story, although it’s a little misleading—Linux isn’t really that important to this story. On the other hand, there is an undead badger, which might make up for it. The story consists of fast-paced action with a pulp feel, and how much you like it will depend upon how much you like pulp action. It’s set up well, with believable—or at least consistent—worldbuilding and coherent events, but in the end, for my taste, there’s not quite enough to it.

“B.L.A.N.K.I.E.” by James Palmer is about how an electronic blankie takes care of its child, Timmy, and I can’t really tell you anything else without spoiling it for you. It never becomes clear why the title is in all caps, suggesting some sort of acronym, but perhaps that’s insignificant. The real issue I had is that there isn’t a viewpoint character to sympathize with, which means that “B.L.A.N.K.I.E.” is told without any solid emotional input from anyone. We don’t know how surprised or shocked or happy to be at any point, because we can’t tell what the standard is for behavior or even whether there is one. By the end, I found myself unsure of what message Palmer was trying to get across and didn’t know whether I should view the ending as positive or negative for Timmy. Perhaps that’s deliberate, but if so, I think the story would be better served if it included elaboration on the emotional state of someone in it instead of the rather calm recital of events provided.

Gary A. Braunbeck’s “Kite People” is about an unexplainable phenomenon in a park that gives people who encounter it new hope. “Kite People” is short—only about five and a half pages—but feels like it needs to be either significantly shorter or significantly longer. We don’t get an explanation for the phenomenon, and a story that starts out feeling as though it’s going to be a joke suddenly dips into sentimental territory without ever coming back. There is one section break, and the parts on either side seem so entirely unmatched that they feel like two different stories. Braunbeck’s writing is good, but the story itself doesn’t seem to work.

“An Interesting Week for Emmy” by Eugie Foster* tells of Emmy, whose life takes a sudden turn for the surprising when her boss collapses while he’s yelling at her. The story has something of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy feel about it, which works surprisingly well for a short story and puts the anthology back on track. Foster’s writing is fun and breezy, with a style that matches the content of the story perfectly. We find ourselves easily able to sympathize with Emmy, and the ending is satisfying.

In Mur Lafferty’s “Barry Kolman, Hero,” we meet Barry, who’s been bitter all his life because he wasn’t born with superpowers. As he tells the story of his life to his newfound drinking buddies, we become interested along with them. Lafferty’s writing is good and does justice to the story. While “Barry Kolman, Hero,” doesn’t involve saving the world or breaking genre boundaries, it’s a fun read and leaves the reader feeling happy.

“Mister Adventure and the Race Against Time” by Davey Beauchamp starts out with Alex, a.k.a. Mister Adventure, trapped in a cell and confused. His confusion seems to finally let up at the end, but to be honest, mine didn’t. As far as I can tell, some things happen, and maybe there are two people, one of whom is somehow pretending to be—or is?—the other, and there’s a little girl whose life is at stake. This story didn’t work for me at all, and I found myself unable to tell how much of my confusion was deliberately intended by the author and how much was coincidental.

[*Disclosure notice: Eugie Foster is the managing editor of The Fix.]

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