It's a Mad Mad World

I had never read anything by Hannu Rajaniemi before I read this collection and I was a bit doubtful in the beginning because the two first stories didn't really rock my boat. Actually I found myself a bit confused. It felt a bit like I had missed something and I had a bit of trouble understand what was going on. But by the third story it started to get better. 

 

I will not list all the stories in this collection instead I thought I would mention some of them that was really memorable.

 

The Haunting of Apollo A7LB -  A tragic love story that includes a haunted space suite.

 

Elegy for a Young Elk - Kind of hard to explain this story, but I loved the ending. It showed that despite everything a father would do anything for his child despite that the child has evolved into something new.

 

Fisher of Man - One of my favorite story in this book. Nothing to do with AI or technology, but instead it's a story about the daughter of the Sea that catches men in her net. I was intrigued with the story and with the Finnish mythology, a subject that I'm not at all are familiar with.

 

Ghost dogs - What happen with dogs that die? If they don't go to heaven, are they still in the house? A very good story and the one with the saddest ending. 

 

Paris, in Love  - A very unusual love story between a Finnish man and Paris.

 

Topsight - The death of a friend is the topic here and was it really an accident or was it murder? I wish this story had been longer, it was such an interesting story. 

 

The Oldest Game - A man against a god in a drinking contest. More Finnish mythology. I really need to read more about the old Finnish Gods. 

 

Shibuya no Love - Another interesting take on love. Heartbreaking ending. 

 

Satan's Typist - A very short story, but honestly it didn't need more to tell its story. Being a typist is really not a fun job when your boss is Satan himself. 

 

In the end, I just want to say that despite the fact that I was a bit doubtful in the beginning of this book did it turn out to be a really good collection. There were some stories I didn't that much and some were a bit confusing, but most of the stories was good. I really loved the mix of stories about technology and Finnish mythology. It gave a good balance to the collection. 

 

Thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!