cover image New Worlds 2

New Worlds 2

. Vgsf, $13.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-575-05145-4

This second volume in the New Worlds series edited by Garnett offers further journeys from the age of AIDS into the future. Paul Di Filippo introduces a hi-tech soldier of tomorrow who writes his mother from the front lines of a ``short war'' that involves biochemical weapons. The earnest young patriot is exposed to a genetically designed virus that constantly mutates, thus eluding any cure. As he experiences various symptoms, including aphasia, and Alzheimer's Disease, his life becomes as censored as the letters he sends home. Another disease without a cure haunts gay lovers in a story by Simon Ings. Though Simon, a young hustler, supposedly loves Jerry, a time-travelling agent for the government, he can't bear to stay by Jerry's side when Jerry is infected by a virus that roams through time. In a change of locale, Jack Deighton tells the story of the first man to build water-filled canals on the surface of Mars. Deighton's story lacks realism and drama, but it is an amusing stop on this otherwise sobering and satisfying tour. Photos. (Apr.)