Dead Neon: Tales of Near-Future Las Vegas

The 14 contributors to this insubstantial anthology, most of whom lack science fiction publishing credentials, bypass focused extrapolation in favor of satire, surrealism, and vaguely hinted catastrophes. The best of the lot is Chris Niles's "Sin's Last Stand," in which Las Vegas is finally overwhelmed by the tyranny of the religious right, sort of like The Handmaid's Tale condensed to 12 pages. Felicia Campbell's "4/18" destroys Vegas with a mysterious toxin that freezes gamblers, revelers, and debauchees in place forever. Vu Tran's "Kubla Khan" is genuinely haunting, and there is even a parody of Harlan Ellison in C.J. Mosher's "A Girl and Her Cat," but longtime SF readers looking for a richness of ideas won't find it here. (Oct.)