The Engine of Recall: Ten High-Tech Tomorrows

Alain Lamothe is the electronic services librarian at the J.N. Desmarais
Library, Laurentian University.

This collection of 10 sci-fi stories by Toronto-based Karl Schroeder
introduces readers to virtual realities, robots, aliens, space travel,
and world colonization, and to settings ranging from Jupiter’s clouds
to war-torn Bosnia. In “Halo,” a spacecraft is hijacked by a group
of terrorists intent on destroying worlds indiscriminately. “Cold
Convergence” portrays the harshness of life on frozen Titan. “Dragon
of Pripyat” concerns a mystery to be solved in the radioactive
wasteland of Chernobyl, while its sequel, “Alexander’s Road,”
revolves around a frantic search for stolen nuclear weapons. In the
space adventure “Solitaire,” a human being teams up with an
anti-social and technology-driven alien. Set in Bosnia, “Allegiance”
reveals a disease of the mind that is propagated by the simple touch of
a hand.

Spanning a wide range of themes and ideas, Schroeder’s well-written
and intriguing stories are a joy to read. An introduction by Stephen
Baxter is included in the book.