Future Boston: The History of a City, 1990-2100

This richly patterned shared-world anthology was created by a group of seven SF writers, including editor Smith, who came up with the concept: ``many individual stories that, when read together, gave a picture of a city that was itself a character.'' The city is Boston from the near-future through A.D. 2100, and the vivid, complex premise posits that as it begins to sink into the sea, its denizens either desert or become scavengers poking through the rich mud for gleanings from its better days. When Aliens pick Boston as their Terran port, interstellar business booms, and Beantown is revitalized; the carefully integrated stories follow the buildup of interspecies squabbles toward a finale involving human/alien revolutionary zeal. The collaborators have worked hard to keep track of the characters and concepts, although a few do vanish in the interstices, and almost all the tales are both intriguing and deftly written. In addition to Nebula-winner Gregory Landis, rising star Alexander Jablokov ( Carve the Sky ) and critically praised first novelist Sarah Smith ( The Vanished Child ), the author roster includes Steven Popkes ( Slow Landing ) and Jon Burrowes. (Jan.)