cover image Infinite Loop: Stories about the Future by the People Creating It: Software Development's Own Anthology of Science

Infinite Loop: Stories about the Future by the People Creating It: Software Development's Own Anthology of Science

Larry Constantine. Backbeat Books, $19.95 (310pp) ISBN 978-0-87930-298-6

Of the recent slew of gimmick SF anthologies, this one, by professional computer programmers and software developers, is well worth scanning. It would have been much improved, however, had first-time editor Constantine trimmed the ancillary material he appends to each story, hyping the writers and their work. The names here likely to be familiar--Steve Rasnic Tem, Pati Nagle, P. J. Plauger--present the most accomplished stories, though not always the most effective. For that look to Colin J. Robey's ``Flickering Lights,'' about computer viruses; Sandy Stewart's ``The Lion and the Snake,'' in which human intelligence is downloaded to a computer; Nagle's ``Pygmalian 3.0,'' about simulated intelligence; Sonia Orin Lyris's ``The Animal Game,'' which explores game-playing in cyberspace; and Brian A. Hopkins's ``My Father's House,'' whose characters are a group of colonists in space. Of the 24 contributors, 12 appear with their first science fiction sales, including Plauger's first story, ``Wet Blanket,'' which was published in Analog 10 years ago. (Apr.)