cover image I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein

I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein

Michael A. Burstein. Apex, $35 (412pp) ISBN 978-0-9816390-6-2

This hard SF collection wears its heart on its sleeve, along with the various passions (the Holocaust, education, moral dilemmas) of its author. Characters must reconcile their rational objectives with their emotional judgment, intervening to save history’s victims (“Time Ablaze”) or pleading for humanity’s ability to grow up (“Decisions”). The writing is often colorless, like the “transparent” prose of the classic SF writers Burstein idolizes, and the tone is elegiac and nostalgic, but the feelings are real if awkwardly expressed. Original material adds to one connected series and completes Burstein’s homages to Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke. Burstein may be too close to his models to keep younger readers satisfied, but older fans will admire his dedication to remembering and honoring the past. (Nov.)