Infinities Wars is a strong collection of short stories written by amazing writers. If you're looking for entertaining and enlightening jaunts into a different world, definitely pick up this series of anthologies. They're AMAZING.

Just read this after being in my library for a while, thought i would my time reading it but ended up not being able to put it down well worth reading

"Infinity Wars" eBook was published in 2017. This collection of short stories are from several different authors. What they have in common is War.

I have to say I was not a fan of this short story collection. I read about half of the stories in the book, then quit. I like military science fiction, but these stories did not grab me. I give this short story collection a 2.8 (rounded up to a 3) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Published by Solaris on September 12, 2017

Infinity Wars collects a number of original science fiction stories about war, some of which are surprisingly good. The approaches are generally different from typical military science fiction.

The protagonist of Caroline M. Yoachim’s “Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship” is sent on a mission to defeat a Borg-like enemy that uses a virus to assimilate parts of other races into a single organism. To do that, alien parts must be engrafted to her body so she appears to have already been assimilated. The story is made more interesting by a moral dilemma that the narrator must confront as she comes to understand the consequences of her mission.

Nancy Kress always has interesting ideas. In “Dear Sarah,” she imagines a young woman joining the Army to fight against the anti-alien terrorists who resent the loss of jobs that followed trade with the aliens who made clean energy available (at a price) to Earth. Her family condemns her as a traitor. I think the point of the story is that a percentage of Americans will always want to blame aliens for their problems, whether the aliens are terrestrial or ET, instead of blaming themselves for their own failures. A Waco situation develops and another point of the story might be that military solutions are never good solutions to a standoff. The story works because the protagonist needs to make a tough moral choice, and internal conflicts are at the heart of strong fiction.

“Oracle” by Dominica Phetteplace is an amusing story about a woman who uses software to manage the Pentagon’s “war-of-the-month club,” its success measured by the president’s approval ratings — until the war AI begins to think for itself. Also amusing is Garth Nix’s “Conversations with an Armory,” in which a group of disabled soldiers from the last war are trying to fight the new one, but can’t convince a sentient and rather bossy armory to open its doors.

“Weather Girl” by E.J. Swift is one of the most creative and powerful stories in the volume. It imagines weather as a weapon, not by controlling weather but by suppressing satellite and other information so that countries facing devastating storms receive no warning. The story gets its power from the personal cost that the weather war has on the woman who directs it. “Perfect Gun” by Elizabeth Bear tells the powerful story of a mercenary who doesn’t have a conscience and his relationship with a weapon that does.

A planet colonized by each of Earth’s two remaining warring factions is in a low-key conflict. Eleanor Arnason’s “Mines” imagines what it is like to live there, as told from the standpoint of an ex-soldier who has two jobs: searching for land minds with her giant poached rat, and spotting soldiers who are unfit (also with the help of her giant poached rat). This is another powerful story, providing a very personal view of how war messes people up — and how others might choose not to notice.

In Rich Larson’s “Heavies,” a soldier sent to a peaceful colony to look for signs of insurrection is startled when colonists suddenly engage in the mass murder of people from Earth. The fault, of course, rests with meddlesome Earth.

Less successful entries include David D. Levine’s “Command and Control,” a fairly ordinary battle story that uses teleportation technology as the key sf device, although the story is notable for featuring Tibetan characters in a war for liberation against the Chinese. In “The Last Broadcasts” by An Owomoyela, a woman named Daja who has ill-defined special abilities is hired to cover up the fact that a distant human colony has come under attack (and will soon be wiped out) by aliens. The story focuses on her moral dilemma, although not very deeply. I liked the setting and the premise more than the story itself. “The Evening of Their Span of Days” by Carrie Vaughn reads the like first chapter of a book told from the perspective of the person in charge of repairing docked ships at a space station. A war is coming and the station needs to gear up for it. If this were, in fact, the first chapter of a book, I would happily read the next chapter because the story and the main character are interesting. The fact that the story ends without a resolution, however, is disappointing.

Stories that didn’t work for me at all: “The Moon Is Not a Battlefield” by Indrapramit Das is a wordy conversation or interview involving Indian soldiers tasked with defending their patch of the moon. “Overburden” by Genevieve Valentine is about an incompetent colonel seeking a promotion. Peter Watts’ “ZeroS” is a fairly typical zombie soldier story.

RECOMMENDED

No connection to either Marvel story of very nearly the same name, but the latest anthology in Jonathan Strahan's Infinity project*, this time with a theme of future war. An interesting one, because of course military SF is already its own thing, and one which with obvious exceptions (not least John Scalzi) largely happens in a Baen/Puppies ghetto off on the far side of the genre from the diverse, Tor-friendly roster of writers here. And I think the reluctance to write anything which could even potentially be mistaken for that sort of gung-ho, heroic Space Americans vs evil Space Islamo-Fascist Commies twaddle has perhaps limited the variety within <i>Infinity Wars</i>. Over and over, we see cynical conflicts motivated in part or in whole by resource grabs, conflicts in which both sides' leaders are the enemy of their own soldiers as much as the nominal foe. And this despite recent history offering a fresh proof that near as dammit good versus evil conflicts do sometimes exist, without any Westerners needing to be involved, in the shape of the Kurds versus Da'esh. Still, if that absence can leave the book a little samier than it might have been, most of the stories manage to avoid getting too Pat Mills about it, restraining themselves for the most part to showing us that war is stupid and people are stupid rather than whacking us around the head with an excess of authorial editorialising. Genevieve Valentine's story is particularly nicely balanced, giving us a protagonist whose awfulness dawns gradually with no clumsy 'Aaaaaah!' moments, and I greatly enjoyed Garth Nix's piece, told entirely in dialogue as ragtag human(ish) soldiers attempt to talk an obsolete AI armory around. Indrapramit Das was probably my favourite of the several stories which relocate the nexus of future geopolitics to the BRICs; but the highlight in terms of provoking thought, and lowlight in terms of how cheery those thoughts were, was inevitably the last and I believe longest piece, by SF's answer to Schopenhauer, Peter Watts.

Though if the leaves you too down, it is well worth reading the author bios, many of which detail their dogs and one of which genuinely includes My Favourite Spoon.

*Albeit with an apparent change of cover artist, which seems a shame given the unified look of the earlier ones.

(Netgalley ARC)

Filled with adventures out of this world, Infinity Wars delivers all the blood, betrayal, and violence you could expect. From science being the main driving force to our ambitions, to the darkest abyss of why we thrive, and seek excuses, in times of war. War ultimately never ends, as is evident in the title of this kick-ass and vicious anthology. I'm trying not to add any spoilers, hopefully I got that right.

The sixth entry in Jonathan Strahan's Infinity Project, INFINITY WARS, explores what war would be like in the future. That, however is such an oversimplification as to be misleading. There's military science fiction, and then there's the type of military science fiction as depicted by the terrific 15 stories written by some of the best in the science fiction field that are included in this volume. The stories here are largely character driven, and focus on the impact that war has on its participants as well as those people who are not active participants. As usual, Strahan has assembled a star-studded diverse group of writers, both new and old, both unfamiliar and well-known.

I've always been a sucker for anything Peter Watts writes, and his story "ZeroS" does not disappoint. A group of zombies - resurrected humans who are used to test new weaponry that is essentially an upgrade to the human body, turning them into enhanced humans - are dispatched to fight a series of encounters that is beta testing for the weapons systems. The story explores the humanity that the soldiers still have - even though they are technically dead - as they witness first hand the violence of war and the atrocities they are visiting upon their victims. The zombies - the ZeroS of the title - don't actually know what's going on at first. All they know is if they serve their period as ZeroS - they will eventually be returned to real life. But as the realization that they are nothing but test subjects hit them, the conflict between war and wanting to live again comes to the forefront. It's a terrific tale.

Another favorite is Elizabeth Bear's "Perfect Gun", about a freelance operative named John who buys a "rig" - a war machine with an AI for a brain - to allow him to provide his services to the highest bidder. It took time for John and the rig to build a relationship - an odd term to be using between a mercenary and a war machine - that once built, proved to make for a profitable period for John. Profitable, that is, until moral ambiguity entered the fray. The reaction of the ship - whose John (and we, for that matter) never learned, made it's own decision by the end of the story. "Perfect Gun" lets us know that even AIs have their limits.

Caroline M. Yoachim provides another favorite, "Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship", about a soldier that is heavily modified to infiltrate an enemy ship to try to prevent said enemy - the Faceless, who modify themselves by using body parts from conquered foes - from making progress using "fire kittens" to teleport - because that's what they do - weaponry, and thus turn the tide of the war. The modifications to Eknudayo's body come with a catch; if she doesn't complete her mission within a specified period of time, she will actually become a member of the enemy race. It's a fascinating story about the lengths participants in war will go to in an effort to prevent the enemy from gaining an advantage.

Garth Nix gives us the delightful "Conversations with an Armory", in which military personnel at a lonely, isolated, and nearly abandoned outpost desperately try to activate and open an armory, controlled by an entertaining but strictly rule following AI, so as to get at its stored weapons cache and as a result defend themselves against an attack. This is not a deep, thought provoking story by any means, but in its own way lets the reader know that there can be a humorous side to war as well as the side we're all to familiar with.

These aren't the only terrific stories in the book, of course. "Dear Sarah", by Nancy Kress, shows us how war can affect familial relationships, and not in a good way. An Owomoyela gives us "The Last Broadcasts", about the deceptions involved in war and how one participant reacts to that deception once the truth comes out. It's a powerful lesson about war not being just about guns and ships and explosions. Dominica Phetteplace's "The Oracle" is a tale of realizing not all that you wish for, especially in war time, is a good time, especially when it comes to the AIs involved. E.J Swift gives us "Weather Girl", a rather interesting story with a twist I don't remember having read before, about being able to block enemies from determining weather patterns and how disastrous storms can be used as weapons. Sometimes weapons have unintended consequences - in this case it's a former partner of the protagonist getting caught in the path of the storm - result, and those consequences do weigh heavily on the people who make those decisions. Eleanor Arnason's "Mines" is a study of people living on an Earth devastated by climate change and how those people cope. Here, mines dot the landscape, and these mines and how they are detected are the backdrop of a relationship between two people. It's a touching, powerful tale.

I could continue, but I think that you get the idea of how these stories operate. They make you think about war in a different way - a way that may not be something that you're used to. Stories by Carrie Vaughn ("The Evening of Their Span of Days"), Indrapramit Das ("The Moon is Not a Battlefield"), Aliette de Bodard - rapidly becoming a favorite of mine - ("In Everlasting Wisdom"), David D. Levine ("Command and Control"), Rich Larson - a rising star in the field - ("Heavies"), and Genevieve Valentine ("Overburden") all give us glimpses into the future of war and its effects on those involved.

Once again, Jonathan Strahan has assembled an outstanding anthology; he's one of the best there is at putting themed anthologies together, and of course his annual "Year's Best" is always a treat. Strahan has his finger on the pulse of the field when it comes to short fiction, and he always seems to pick the best of the best. I highly recommend Infinity Wars and everything else Strahan puts together. Reading any of his books will be time well spent.

With Infinity Wars (Solaris, September 2017), Jonathan Strahan’s Infinity Project turns its attention to military science fiction. Each volume of Strahan’s Infinity Project anthologies—Infinity Wars is the sixth—has taken some aspect of hard sf and turned it on its head a bit, offering fresh takes on old themes, often from authors not normally known for writing hard sf. (I reviewed Engineering Infinity, the first book of the Infinity Project, in 2001; last year I reviewed the fifth book, Bridging Infinity. I’ve read them all.) Now it’s military sf’s turn, and if there’s a subgenre of science fiction that could use some shaking off of the shibboleths, this is it.

That’s because military sf has more than its share of detractors, a result of it being associated, rightly or wrongly, with a certain ultra-conservative, anti-government, paranoid brand of American politics, one whose bent has gotten more and more strident as its mantle passed from Heinlein to Pournelle to a younger generation: Disch traces this evolution of this strain in his 1998 study, The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of. See also David Auerbach’s piece for The Daily Beast. These survivalist/soldier-of-fortune power fantasies aren’t the only kind of military sf out there, but there’s an awful lot of them (whereas, as Disch points out, masterpieces like The Forever War are singular), and it’s what people think of when they dismiss military sf.

If Infinity Wars seems like a breath of fresh air, it’s because what Crank! editor Bryan Cholfin once called “war pornography” is nowhere to be found. Yes, there are military operations; yes, there’s some awfully clever military hardware; and yes, there’s a mercenary or two (in Elizabeth Bear’s “Perfect Gun,” the eponymous weapon has more of a conscience than its mercenary owner). But the 15 stories in Infinity Wars, by and large, explore war—their remit was for them to imagine the future of warfare—without going so far as to celebrate it. The perspectives are diverse, and so are the authors (fewer than half are men); if there’s a common thread, it’s that most of these stories take place on the ground—at the front, in the trenches, at the supply depot—or after the war is over. The cost of conflict—on populations, on the soldiers themselves—is never ignored.

These stories see grunts and clerks dealing with the fog and confusion of war: a maintenance worker at a depot seconded to the war effort in Carrie Vaughan’s “The Evening of Their Span of Days”; a young and confused soldier sent to defend the aliens whose arrival disrupted the world’s economy in Nancy Kress’s “Dear Sarah.” They see veterans dealing with the aftermath: Eleanor Arnason’s restrained and powerful “Mines,” a story ostensibly about a minesweeper telepathically linked to a mine-detecting rodent that has things to say about PTSD, damage and survival.

These stories also reveal an up-to-date understanding of warfare. And by that I don’t mean tech. As Strahan writes in his introduction, “War seems to have evolved from an easy-to-spot state-vs.-state conflict to something muddier and harder to understand, where individual acts of terrorism contrast with hi-tech conflict conducted at arm’s length by soldier-bureaucrats with devastating affect [sic] for those on the ground.” That understanding shows up in many ways. Two of them, Rich Larson’s “Heavies” and Genevieve Valentine’s “Overburden,” offer takes on colonization and occupation, and the damage occupation does to occupier and occupied alike. Several stories explore disinformation and propaganda. In “The Last Broadcasts,” An Owomoyela tells the story about an information officer told to censor news about a colony world that cannot be rescued; Aliette de Bodard’s “In Everlasting Wisdom” implants “appeasers” with symbionts to enforce loyalty to the emperor; and E. J. Swift’s “Weather Girl” weaponizes weather forecasts, with information on oncoming storms hidden or revealed as part of military strategy. In “The Oracle,” Dominica Phetteplace explores how predictive software can be turned to military purposes.

The anthology ends with a novelette from Peter Watts, “ZeroS,” that touches on a theme Watts returns to repeatedly: the nature of human consciousness. In this story, soldiers’ consciousnesses are suppressed so that they can fight using their non-conscious selves (intelligence without consciousness: something Watts posited in Blindsight). It’s a difficult circle to square, but one deeply relevant to the subject matter. There is a tension between war as dehumanization and war as a deeply, almost quintessentially human activity. What does it mean to have our humanity stripped away? Or more precisely: is what being stripped away here our humanity. Tor.com has reprinted the story, so you can read it online.

These are bracing stories, stories that ring true and feel relevant, in a way that stories about space navies thundering against each other can never be, because those stories are an anachronism: rules of war from the age of sail, transmogrified into an interstellar setting. The best stories about war are universal.

Infinity wars is not all about military, gung-ho action, although there is an element of that within many of the stories. The collection is chiefly about exploring the subject from many different angles, sometimes very indirectly, as civilians far from the action gradually find their lives changing in a world where the effects of war begin to impose on their lives. But there is also room for considering how the actions of an individual might have a direct impact on the morale of the population or even influence potential military interaction between political powers.
Certainly, the stories are very much about the individual, and the morality, and horror of conflict. But there is also time for humour and moments of tenderness, with the sinister, urgent undercurrent of tension of something dire about to happen. There is also a good variety of writing styles, so that although the collection is linked under one theme there is no sense of sameness.
The stories do give pause for thought, because, no matter how sophisticated we become, the cause of war boils down to people starting them. The responses to conflict large or small also remains the same in principle, the difference is just the type of technology which is used to fight them.

Strahan has put together another terrific anthology with some of today's top authors. If Jonathan Strahan's name is on as editor, i will always read and recommend!

A review in spanish
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/2017/10/infinity-wars-jonathan-strahan.html

High-quality collection of mostly nearish-future sf, including some infowars as well as post-ecocollapse resource wars. Includes Carrie Vaughn, Nancy Kress (very Kress-ian tale of a young, uneducated woman who signs up to get out of her town and ends up fighting people like the people she grew up with), Elizabeth Bear, Aliette de Bodard, Garth Nix (I liked it—a sentient armory gets woken up mid-battle); Genevieve Valentine (colonialism on a new planet), and Peter Watts (my favorite of the bunch: a zombie soldier discovers the clash between free will and electric impulses animating meat).

An excellent anthology series that explores different styles of military science fiction. The stories both compliment each other and contrast each other very well. The stories by Elizabeth Bear, Garth NIx and Caroline M Yoachim are particularly strong but all the stories are entertaining and worth of inclusion in this anthology which I highly recommend. Unusually and welcome is the fact that the majority of the authors are female.

Aunque en general la serie Infinity de Jonathan Strahan me gusta, esta última entrega me ha parecido bastante floja. Veamos por qué.

Evening of the Span of Their Days, Carrie Vaughn

Los inicios de la guerra desde la perspectiva de un taller de reparación espacial. Flojo.

The Last Broadcasts, An Owomoyela

Con una interesante premisa sobre el control de la información en un conflicto bélico y una protagonista "particular", creo que esta historia podría haber dado más de sí, pero se queda en poco.

Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship, Caroline M Yoachim

Utilizando como base una de las paradojas que tanto interesan a la autora, pero con cierto toque pulp descerebrado, este relato celebra las diferencias y se postula como mensajero de las buenas relaciones entre especies.

Dear Sarah, Nancy Kress

Interesante relato sobre cómo afecta a los más desfavorecidos la adquisción de nuevas tecnologías. En este caso, llegan de la mano de los extraterrestres, pero el problema de fondo no es ese. Kress nos hace reflexionar sobre los cambios y cómo afrontarlos.

The Moon is Not a Battlefield, Indrapramit Das

Este relato mezcla la cultura india con una narración realista de combates lunares en una guerra fría que se desarrolla principalmente en nuestro satélite. Más que recomendable.

Perfect Gun, Elizabeth Bear

La antropomorfización de los objetos llevada a un límite obsesivo. Olvidable.

Oracle, Dominica Phettaplace

Inocente y divertida aproximación al nacimiento de una IA omnisciente. Al principio parece un relato premonitorio sobre la pérdida de privacidad, pero pronto deriva a un alegato pacifista.

In Everlasting Wisdom, Aliette de Bodard

En este relato, Aliette pervierte una de las ideas fundamentales del universo de Xuya, la concepción de las Mentes en un cuerpo humano. La perversión viene de introducir aliens en el cuerpo para controlar la mente, subyugada al eterno emperador. Inquietante.

Command and Control, David D. Levine

Un conflicto enquistado por un territorio con recursos eternamente en disputa, una nueva tecnología que podría cambiar el curso de la guerra pero que queda en nada y una idea original para buscar una solución al conflicto. Demasiadas casualidades sustentan este relato como para resultar creíble.

Conversations with an Armory, Garth Nix

Pasatiempo humorístico sobre la burocracia obsoleta que te arrancará una sonrisa.

Heavies, Rich Larson

Un lugar aparentemente idílico pero con un pasado reciente de rebelión visto a través de los ojos del encargado de vigilar que todo siga pacífico. El giro final es bastante previsible, la verdad.

Overburden, Genevieve Valentine

Aburrido y lento. No ha conseguido interesarme este relato repleto de traiciones.

Weather Girl, E.J. Swift

Partiendo de una base parecida al relato de An Owomoyela incluído en esta misma antología, este relato sobre el cambio climático y el manejo de información resulta atractivo y preocupante, por lo realista que es.

Mines, Eleanor Arnason

Aunque los elementos que utilizar Arnason para crear estos relatos son interesantes, como una guerra por colonizar un planeta con recursos y el uso de animales modificados para comunicarse telepáticamente con los soldados, el resultado final no es muy destacable.

ZeroS, Peter Watts

Complejo relato con algunos de los temas que se repiten periódicamente en la obra de Watts, como la compartimentación mental o la "zombificación" para usos militares. Aunque es interesante la aproximación científica a la posibilidad de que varias mentes compartan el mismo cuerpo, al final el relato no conduce nada.

En resumen, aunque hay algunos relatos llamativos, el nivel general de la recopilación es bastante decepcionante. Espero que la siguiente entrega del proyecto Infinity nos traiga una selección más atractiva.

This has stories by some authors I recognized and some I did not. The stories are short and not always complete. They give a small look into the lives and action of different people in different but similar circumstances. A nice to to pick up when you want something quick to read.

Average rating 4.1*

Very cohesive, thoughtful, diverse collection. Compulsively readable, disturbingly relevant stories that I and would highly rec this to sci fi (especially military scifi) fans. For my complete thoughts, check out my youtube review.

Individual Story Ratings w/ my initial thoughts:

Evening of the Span of Their Days, Carrie Vaughn *4 (good little story)
The Last Broadcasts, An Owomoyela *3.75 (interesting neuro atypical character)
Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship, Caroline M Yoachim *3.75 (character motivations seemed rushed but whoa boy talk about some body horror)
Dear Sarah, Nancy Kress *3.75 (Abrupt ending, but interesting ideas, v relavent. not sure if souther portrayel was a bit too cliche?)
The Moon is Not a Battlefield, Indrapramit Das *5 (made me tear up, so much character and feeling, how things stay the same)
Perfect Gun, Elizabeth Bear *3.5 (it was committed to what it was doing but it read hyper-masculine which wasn't to my taste)
Oracle, Dominica Phettaplace *4.25 (really interesting, chilling, i could have done without the vapid millenial-esque dig at the end though)
In Everlasting Wisdom, Aliette deBodard *3.75 ( yay more aliens. Some thoughts on home deprivations caused by war)
Command and Control, David D. Levine *4 (ending was a little abrupt but overall interesting. lots of court martials in this collection)
Conversations with an Armory, Garth Nix *5 (I want more of this!)
Overburden, Genevieve Valentine *4 (*3 for the protagonist, *4 for the themes and ideas)
Heavies, Rich Larson *4.5 (love a bit of SF detective stuff. this felt almost noir even though it's not grim per se. good idea for a film that i would TOTALLY WATCH!)
Weather Girl, E.J. Swift *4 (I was really with this one up until the final paragraph which felt forced. Otherwise scary relevant)
Mines, Eleanor Arnason *3.75 ( abrupt but some interesting thoughts and great abandonment scifi)
ZeroS, Peter Watts *4.5 (chilling, fucking chilling)

This is a great short story collection containing 15 stories of the military science fiction genre. I think collections like these are a great way to find new authors and try out a genre, There will be some stories you enjoy more than other but I enjoyed all of these stories. I haven't read alot of this genre before and this collection definitely makes me want to try more. Overall I thought this was great and I definitely recommend checking this out.

The sixth entry in Jonathan Strahan's Infinity Project, INFINITY WARS, explores what war would be like in the future. That, however is such an oversimplification as to be misleading. There's military science fiction, and then there's the type of military science fiction as depicted by the terrific 15 stories written by some of the best in the science fiction field that are included in this volume. The stories here are largely character driven, and
focus on the impact that war has on its participants as well as those people who are not active participants. As usual, Strahan has assembled a star-studded diverse group of writers, both new and old, both unfamiliar and well-known.

I've always been a sucker for anything Peter Watts writes, and his story "ZeroS" does not disappoint. A group of zombies - resurrected humans who are used to test new weaponry that is essentially an upgrade to the human body, turning them into enhanced humans - are dispatched to fight a series of encounters that is beta testing for the weapons systems. The story explores the humanity that the soldiers still have - even though they are technically dead - as they witness first hand the violence of war and the atrocities they are visiting upon their victims. The zombies - the ZeroS of the title - don't actually know what's going on at first. All they know is if they serve their period as ZeroS - they will eventually be returned to real life. But as the realization that they are nothing but test subjects hit them, the conflict between war and wanting to live again comes to the forefront. It's a terrific tale.

Another favorite is Elizabeth Bear's "Perfect Gun", about a freelance operative named John who buys a "rig" - a war machine with an AI for a brain - to allow him to provide his services to the highest bidder. It took time for
John and the rig to build a relationship - an odd term to be using between a mercenary and a war machine - that once built, proved to make for a profitable period for John. Profitable, that is, until moral ambiguity entered the fray. The reaction of the ship - whose John (and we, for that matter) never learned, made it's own decision by the end of the story. "Perfect Gun" lets us know that even AIs have their limits.

Caroline M. Yoachim provides another favorite, "Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship", about a soldier that is heavily modified to infiltrate an enemy ship to try to prevent said eneny - the Faceless, who modify themselves by using body parts from conquered foes - from making progress using "fire kittens" to teleport - because that's what they do - weaponry, and thus turn the tide of the war. The modifications to Eknudayo's body come with a catch; if she doesn't complete her mission within a specified period of time, she will actually become a member of the enemy race. It's a fascinating story about the lengths participants in war will go to in an effort to prevent the enemy from gaining an advantage.

Garth Nix gives us the delightful "Conversations with an Armory", in which military personnel at a lonely, isolated, and nearly abandoned outpost desperately try to activate and open an armory, controlled by an entertaining but strictly rule following AI, so as to get at its stored weapons cache and as a result defend themselves against an attack. This is not a deep, thought provoking story by any means, but in its own way lets the reader know that there can be a humorous side to war as well as the side we're all to familiar with.

These aren't the only terrific stories in the book, of course. "Dear Sarah", by Nancy Kress, shows us how war can affect familial relationships, and not in a good way. An Owomoyela gives us "The Last Broadcasts", about the deceptions involved in war and how one participant reacts to that deception once the truth comes out. It's a powerful lesson about war not being just about guns and ships and explosions. Dominica Phetteplace's "The Oracle" is a tale of realizing not all that you wish for, especially in war time, is a good time, especially when it comes to the AIs involved. E.J Swift gives us "Weather Girl", a rather interesting story with a twist I don't remember having read before, about being able to block enemies from determining weather patterns and how disastrous storms can be used as weapons. Sometimes weapons have unintended consequences - in this case it's a former partner of the protagonist getting caught in the path of the storm - result, and those consequences do weigh heavily on the people who make those decisions. Eleanor Arnason's "Mines" is a study of people living on an Earth devastated by climate change and how those people cope. Here, mines dot the landscape, and these mines and how they are detected are the backdrop of a relationship between two people. It's a touching, powerful tale.

I could continue, but I think that you get the idea of how these stories operate. They make you think about war in a different way - a way that may not be something that you're used to. Stories by Carrie Vaughn ("The Evening of Their Span of Days"), Indrapramit Das ("The Moon is Not a Battlefield"), Aliette de Bodard - rapidly becoming a favorite of mine - ("In Everlasting Wisdom"), David D. Levine ("Command and Control"), Rich Larson - a rising star in the field - ("Heavies"), and Genevieve Valentine ("Overburden") all give us glimpses into the future of war and its effects on those involved.

Once again, Jonathan Strahan has assembled an outstanding anthology; he's one of the best there is at putting themed anthologies together, and of course his annual "Year's Best" is always a treat. Strahan has his pulse on the field when it comes to short fiction, and he always seems to pick the best of the best. I highly recommend Infinity Wars and everything else Strahan puts together. Reading any of his books will be time well spent.

Infinity Wars is a unique and thought provoking anthology of short stories that discuss and explore the themes of war and its impact of the individual, culture, and human existence in a myraid of ways. It is an interesting and well chosen collection that uncover the varied ways war impacts of definitions of human value and the growing presence of both robots and outer space in our future.

If you are at all interested in discussions of war - how its changed, how we view it has impacted our society, etc. - or what the roles of technology and outer space will have on it, then this is a must read.

Infinity Wars, Jonathan Strahan Ed.- Part of Strahan's Infinity book project, he delivers glimpses of possible futures and speculation in the "If This Goes On" vein. As with most anthologies, no everything is going to please you, but there are some gems here. I was especially taken by Aliette de Bodard's "In Everlasting Wisdom" which displays a deeply subjugated society at war and the humble practitioners of who, along with their alien implants, whisper gentle lies to keep the population in check( think North Korea). Also very interesting is Caroline M. Yoachim's "Faceless Soldiers, Patchwork Ship", about a young woman brought into war mainly because of her particular medical state and used to combat a plague. "The Moon is Not A Battlefield" by Indrapramit Das tells of the discounted value of human lives and the expedience of nations, who would rather fight than work together. There's a lot more here from Nancy Kress, Peter Watts, and many more. I found enough to give it the go ahead.