Tomorrow Factory: Collected Fiction

This one covers a whole lot of ground.From a unique mashup of technology making possible an extreme version of NIL for college basketball recruits to multiple visits to a strange world of the future where technology makes it possible to prepare for the big high school party or stay up for days on end partying; the author can paint an amazing picture in a single page, a handful of them or as many as 30.A great introduction to an author I was unfamiliar with. Highly recommended!

I read this book all in a couple days because I just couldn't put it down. I was bumping into doorways all weekend, bumping into walls. With twenty-three stories in a single book, they're all fairly short, and even the longest stories move at a brisk pace that kept me turning pages. Which isn't to say they're all fast-paced in the action, some are more thought provoking and emotional, but never linger in one place long enough to get boring. My husband isn't a big reader and even he was compelled to read on when he took a peek at Extraction Request.For being all sci-fi short stories by the same author, there's a LOT of variety between genres and tone. It's clear that the author enjoys experimenting with his writing and isn't afraid to try new things, and he's remarkably successful in all of them.One of my favorite things about this book is that, at the end, Rich Larson did a brief author's note about each story, talking about his process and inspirations. Some of the inspirations surprised me, and it was fun to reread the stories and search for the faint echoes of the books, games and movies that influenced them.Which isn't to say that Rich Larson's writing ever felt derivative. I never got the dull, dragging feeling of reading material already worn to threads by other sci-fi stories before it, because even the more common staples of the genre were transformed by the author's vivid prose and characterization (the latter is especially hard to pull off in such short stories, I consistently fell in love with the characters in just a few paragraphs of getting to know them)

What a great read... Reads. These stories are so perfectly written that even those only a page long will fill your mind with long lasting impressions.

Every die-hard sci fi fan has their favorite authors and sub-genres. Some prefer the classic greats, Asimov, Clarke, Niven, etc., while others shun everything that isn't considered "hard" sci fi. Fine. But for readers who are interested in the new stuff, the type of writing that regularly appears in all the top sci fi mags and year's best anthologies, Rich Larson is where it's at. Seriously, this guy is crazy prolific and crazy talented... Just buy the book and see why.

Bind-expanding stories and wonderfully creative use of language. A must read.

What a great anthology of short stories! I devoured this book. So many of these stories that i would love to see expanded

Very enjoyable

The stories are all dark and often very confusing. Most contain scenes or references to gay sex. Definitely not for young readers. There are also many instances of poor grammar and spelling. "he is not smiling how he smiled..." "... scars were wyrdly pretty."

I love well written short stories. I tend to read them when I have a few minutes to spare. This book fitted my needs exactly.

Not to my taste. The esoteric themes require too much effort.

A great collection of very varied stories, with real characters and up to the minute twists. Recommended for all sf fans!

Brilliant set of contemporary sci-fi stories. Fast paced, beautifully written, surprising, original.

This is a great collection of stories, particularly as all of them come from the same author, and especially so since the author in question was (as in the foreword) only 25 when they were written. I don’t know if there’s a sci-fi category of ‘Grimdark Cyberpunk’ but if there is, this collection would fit in well. It’s not for everyone – if you are offended by adult themes and / or strong language look elsewhere – but I enjoyed it a lot. The stories are consistently good with few duds (no more ‘poetry’ please!) and range from near-future Pattaya to an X-rated tribute to 2001 – A Space Odyssey in ‘The Ghost Ship Anastasia’. Highly recommended for lovers of the dark side of sci-fi.