Futuristica, Vol. 2

The Futuristica anthology series sets out to publish stories that are “women positive, sex positive, and science positive,” all set in the near and not-so-near future and friendly to readers of all ages and backgrounds. The stories in this second volume are of varying quality, but overall it succeeds with high-energy tales that find hope, purpose, or both in an often gritty future. In Sandra M. Odell’s “Lost in Translation,” the fretful Mur’wpsix resurrect a troublesome panda from a derelict genetic-archive ship from Earth, intending it as a gift to a human delegation. Abby Goldsmith’s “Across an Eon” is a poignant look at love and sacrifice among a family marooned in the distant future. “A Song for the Barren” by G. Scott Huggins throws together hard-edged but weary enemies, human and otherwise, on a planet once brutally occupied by Earth. In George Allen Miller’s “The Thirty-Eight,” Earth’s first multidimensional explorer finds her discovery is nothing like what anyone expected. Many of the authors are promising novices, and readers interested in finding new voices will want to catch their work. (May)