The Dimension Next Door
Author: Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, Eds.
Title: The Dimension Next Door
Publisher Daw Fantasy
ISBN: 9780756405090
Rating: 7/10

Anthologies are a tricky lot. Either the stories are all good or they all suck, and everybody has their favorites. “The Dimension Next Door” is no different. Within its pages, there are sleepers, and then there are stories that tingle the spine and encourage the reader to plow through the book even further. Fortunately, there are more of the latter than the former.

Composed by anthology pro Martin Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, the collection of short stories range from pure fantasy to cyberpunk to horror, from the outset the editors set the bar high, gripping the audience with unique plot lines and believable characters that insist on being heard, even at 3 a.m. in the morning. Such is the case with “The Fourteenth Virtue” and “Waiting for Evolution”, by Anton Strout and Jody Lynn Nye respectively. Nye’s portrayal of a female astronaut who lands in an alternate Earth populated by Neanderthals is particularly evocative and reminiscent of French writer Pierre Boulle (The guy who wrote “Planet of the Apes”).

Although the book does have its moments, some stories leave much to be desired, such as Chris Piersons, “AFK” a gimmicky portrayal of a soldier in virtual reality who ventures into our world to stop a Columbine-style school shooting. The obviousness of the plot and the cheesy dialogue between the main character and his squad come off as self-serving and somewhat manipulative. The only way it could get any more absurd is if Brad Pitt and BJ Blazkowicz parachuted down and killed Nazi zombies disguised as Trench Coat Mafia figures.

Overall though, the disappointment that is “AFK” is overshadowed by a high quality of tales that not only push the boundaries of science fiction and fantasy but also entertain.

(PS. I checked the Urban Dictionary for “AFK”. It can mean either “Away From Keyboard or “A Free Kill, most often used during Internet gaming.)

John Winn - Staff Writer
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The Dimension Next Door by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes

By John Winn

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Categories : Reviews: Books

Tags : sci-fi, sci-fi book reviews, science fiction

Beth Harkness

If the majority push the envelope and enterain that sounds OK to me. When I read anthologies my hope is to find one or two authors that I have not read before that make me want to go out and read more of their stuff.
Lomax Lamat

I suppose the idea of an anthology is to get fans to buy it cause they want to read a short story from their favorite author about their favorite characters and then hopefully the person will read the other stories and like the other authors and go buy those books as well. As an avid Jim Butcher Fan, i buy all the anthologies he is in. I learned a long time ago to stop reading the s/s of the other authors, as all that did was totally turn me off to them. The way I look at it, I figure its worth the 12 bucks to read a Butcher short story between the novels.
Emma Salisbury

OTOH Anthologies are great places to discover new authors. I do so much reading that even if someone recommends a new author I rarely pick up a novel just on the chance that it might be decent. While anthologies may be purchased on the strength of the name of one or two contributors I have found that occasionally there will be a hidden gem that turns me on to someone I had never read before.
Juliet

i never new that the word Anthologies ment a book of short stories. this book of short sotires seems to have one of every type of story in it. I guess they figure that way it will be like by everyone. pretty smart if ya ask me.

Jules!