When asked to think of Danish authors, Hans Christian Andersen is probably the first to come to mind, and then, possibly, Peter Høeg or Søren Kierkegaard. Denmark, however, has a thriving modern science fiction community as evidenced by the stories collected in Sky City: New Science Fiction Stories by Danish Authors. The stories were all published in Danish in 2007 and 2008, with this volume, apparently, being their first English translation.
Sky City is set in a super-high skyscraper in Tokyo where Romi has been sent to find pottery made by a master potter. The strange setting of the building, which is constantly being rebuilt by nanobots is more intriguing that Romis quest, although Manfred Christiansen manages to tie Romis job to the skyscraper in a satisfying and unexpected manner.
Niels Gjerløffs Departure is less a story than a vignette, lacking both plot and conclusion as the author follows Irina and Peter as they prepare to leave Earth for Europa. Adding to the slightness of the work is the iffy translation of the story which should have been checked by someone other with a more firm grasp of English.
The White Bear offers a disturbing look at Russian gangsters living in China. Although neither of Richard Ipsens characters, who kidnap girls from remote villages in order to sell them as courtesans, are admirable, the White Bear of the title does understand the code of ethics to their job and must deal with the consequences when his partner breaks that code.
Glen Stihmøes strangely titled Helium Loves Company, the Helium refers to one of the characters, is a post apocalyptic world in which small groups must try to survive on their own, constantly weary of strangers. The primary group has determined they must move on, nomad style, in order to survive, leading them into conflict with other groups who either fear their encroachment or see them as prey, until they find one of the strangest collections of people on the decimated world.
The Last Astronaut is an almost surreal story by Flemming R. P. Rasch which incorporates many of the tropes of science fiction, notably robots and time travel, but little of the underlying logic.
In The Organism on Maneo, Morten Brunbjerg describes a group of students excited by the recently discovered alien life form which has been quarantined. Although they understand that as freshman, they wont get to examine it, their teachers connections allow them to study images of the creature and make guesses about its nature. Eventually two of the students are able to learn more in a story which warns, not about seeking knowledge, but rather about seeking knowledge without the proper precautions.
Patrick Leis offers a tale of an interrogation of a US Air Force Colonel in The Tourist who was responsible for an attack on his own country. Although the interrogation scenes dont seem particularly realistic, the main point of the story is the mystery behind the colonels actions, which imply he is in collusion with a vast conspiracy. Leis does an excellent job playing with the readers and interrogators expectations as he introduces various science fictional possibilities.
Dan Mygind reminds the reader that the news business is, in fact, a business in Know Your Target Audience. Even as information is uncovered on a decades old conspiracy, the informations effects are judged prior to any decision about making disclosure of the information or what form such disclosure should take, offering an extremely cynical view of the information which is allowed to be fed to consumers.
The Red Parakeets is an indictment of societys tendency to enforce conformity on its members. Camilla Wandahls protagonist has avoided a fad for genetically modified pets which spread to various other aspects of life, a decision which eventually leads to her imprisonment. The satire is narrowly focused and the premise doesnt particularly hold up, at least to an American audience where diversity may be more acceptable.
Kenneth Krabats The Short Arm of History is reminiscent of Frederik Pohls Gateway. A strange artifact has been discovered which can apparently send people to other worlds. But while Pohls novel offered the knowledge that some seekers were successful, Krabats story doesnt offer that glimmer of hope and so makes the reader question the lemming-like volunteers who keep trying out the machine without being able to return data.
Søren Elmerdahl Hemmingsen offers a look at the measures taken following a terrorist attack in A Contribution to the History of Denmark, which shows the Danish and American response, both militarily and popularly, to an attack of a giant reptile. The attack and its aftermath are the background to a budding romance between Mogens and Ingeborg. Further complicating their relationship is Ingeborgs espousal of measures that Mogens isnt entirely sure of, but is willing to overlook for the sake of his infatuation.
When the Musics Over posits a strange alien invasion of Earth in which spacecraft flood the world with representations of human music, television, and art. A. Silvestri not only looks at the human response, militarily, artistically, and scientifically, but also explores what it means to be creative and what the cost of creativity can be.
The E-Puzzle looks at Thomas Smiths attempts to map personality traits in an effort to perfect a means of recording peoples minds, memories, and personalities, one of many recurring themes in this anthology. When his drug-abusing son, Adam, is murdered, his need to perfect the process is made more urgent. Nikolaj Højbergs portrayal of Smith is as a cold, calculating businessman who doesnt trust the personality and personal relationships of the people around him, even as he works to extract them.
Built around a team investigating the death of an alien, Ellen Miriam Pedersens Leading, Feeding seems more intent on exploring the personalities and relationships of her characters than the alien that brought them together. An unnecessary metafictional introduction to the characters breaks the rhythm of the story early in the narrative and it never fully recovers.
Anonymity and seclusion is established early in Camilla Fonss Bach Friiss You Are My Best Friend when she fails to give either character a name. The two characters are apparently enjoying a quiet afternoon together, talking and getting coffee. Nevertheless, there is a strange vibe given their apparent closeness and, at the same time, a distance between the two. Friis provides indications of a reason without spelling out the situation.
Brian P. Ørnbøl takes up the theme of isolation with Dreams of Stone, a nihilistic story of a woman living in an apparently world-spanning, intensely populated city, but does not have a connection to anyone. Dreaming of seeing a natural setting, when she decides to leave the city, she does meet up with, but still fails to connect with, others who can offer her scant help, demonstrating an astounding lack of knowledge including geography despite the presence of GPS units in the world. Eventually she elects to just drive south through the never-ending urban environment in search of something she has never before experienced.
The Green Jacket mirrors the conformity theme of The Red Parakeets in Gudrun Østergaards story in which Ivara, a thirteen year old girl, rebels against the need to stay in her own area and wear only the latest designated fashions by hiding the titular article of clothing even after it became dated. Ivara manages to escape from her elite ghetto and discover that other people can live their own lives, but the dangers and uncertainty of such a life scares her back to a more comfortable conformity.
In the Surface offers a pessimistic view of the ecological future from Sara Tanderup, in which fish are dealing with the results of climate change and ecological disaster. It is a short piece, but one filled with anxiety, as well as turning a blind eye to the negatives if there are any positives that can be found in a situation, ultimately resulting in a disturbing tale.
Perhaps the strongest story in the book is the final one, Lars Ahn Pedersens Interrogation of Victim No. 5. Opening as a police interrogator questions a woman who apparently suffers from some form of amnesia, the interrogator is able to work closely with her to remember an attack as she walked across a park. The emotions and situations feel quite real, and the interrogation scene reinforces the feeling that the similar scene in Patrick Leiss story doesnt quite feel right. Pedersens science fictional elements are chilling, showing how things can work out even when they go dreadfully wrong and leaving the reader wondering about the storys aftermath even as the story feels complete in itself.
Manfred Christiansen | Sky City |
Niels Gjerløff | Departure |
Richard Ipsen | The White Bear |
Glen Stihmøe | Helium Loves Company |
Flemming R. P. Rasch | The Last Astronaut |
Morten Brunbjerg | The Organism on Maneo |
Patrick Leis | The Tourist |
Dan Mygind | Know Your Target Audience |
Camilla Wandahl | The Red Parakeets |
Kenneth Krabat | The Short Arm of History |
Søren Elmerdahl Hemmingsen | A Contribution to the History of Denmark |
A. Silvestri | When the Music’s Over |
Nikolaj Højberg | The E-Puzzle |
Ellen Miriam Pedersen | Leading, Feeding |
Camilla Fønss Bach Friss | You Are My Best Friend |
Brian P. Ørnbøl | Dreams of Stone |
Gudrun Østergaard | The Green Jacket |
Sara Tanderup | In the Surface |
Lars Ahn Pedersen | Interrogation of Victim no. 5 |
© Steven H. Silver (all rights reserved)
Reposted with the author’s permission and SF Site’s Editor, Rodger Turner. We’re thanking them.
First publication in SF Site: http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/skovgaard.html
Steven H. Silver
Born: April 19, 1967, Hinsdale, Illinois, USA
Steven H Silver is an American science fiction fan and bibliographer, publisher, and editor.
He has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer eleven times and Best Fanzine three times without winning. Silver is a longtime contributing editor to SF Site and has written that site’s news page since its inception.
In 2003, he co-edited three anthologies with Martin H. Greenberg, Wondrous Beginnings, Magical Beginnings, and Horrible Beginnings, which reprinted the first published stories of authors in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. In 2004, he became the publisher of ISFiC Press.
Silver published his first short story, “Les Lettres de Paston”, in the final issue of Helix SF.Silver had earlier written a column on alternate history for the magazine.
In 2009 and 2010, he edited the two volume Selected Stories of Lester del Rey for NESFA Press. The first volume is entitled War and Space and appeared in August, 2009. The second volume, Robots and Magic was published in February 2010.
In 1995, he founded the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and has served as a judge ever since. He was on the short story jury for the Nebula Award in 2002, and on the novel jury for the Nebula Award in 2003, 2006, and chaired the novel jury in 2008. In 2005, Silver was one of the co-ordinators of the Nebula weekend in Chicago. In 2008, he was appointed SFWA Event Coordinator and has helped run the Nebula Award Weekends in that capacity since 2009.
Silver is known as an on-line reviewer and has written several articles for science fiction fanzines, as well as publishing his own annual fanzine Argentus, which was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and won the Chronic Rift Roundtable Award for Best Fanzine in 2009 and the monthly APA-zine Plata.
In addition to his writing and editing activities, Silver is involved in running science fiction conventions. He has chaired Windycon twice, founded Midfan and chaired the first Midwest Construction, and ran programming for Chicon 2000, the Worldcon. From 1998 through 2006 and again from 2008, he sat on the board of directors for ISFiC. He served as a vice chair for Chicon 7 in 2012.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_H_Silver
On SF Site: http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/
ISFiC Press: http://www.isficpress.com