To me, the best science-fiction postulates the positive and negatives of the future it’s portraying, and both are explored well in AROUND THE DARK DIAL, eleven short stories from J.D. Sanderson that, as intended, feel like scripted dramas from the classic age of the radio play, or early science-fiction anthology television. In fact, reading this book felt like watching an early season of The Twilight Zone.
Of the eleven stories, I have a few favourites. DAUGHTER, one of the most poignant of all the tales, expresses what lengths a father would go to if there was ever a need to do something… radical… to protect his daughter.
I also enjoyed SNOWSTORM. Perhaps the grimmest and one of the most well written of the stories, it shows a future where populism drives behaviour, for better or worse. A prescient telegraphing of today’s global geopolitical climate.
THE CIRCUS PEANUT GALLERY, another favourite, is a smart and concise exploration of a possible future where humans and animals can communicate, and a real glimpse of the potential complexities that this would bring to our door.
In REARING, Sanderson channels his inner Asimov as experimental robots become sentient and contemplate the Zeroth law of robotics, which defines perhaps how robots understand that humanity may not be the best arbiter of it’s own future.
The stories in this anthology open the doors briefly to existential questions about humanity, our technological future, and the importance of predicting the emotional rollercoaster humanity is on, as we venture into these new technological territories. J.D. Sanderson is an ideas man, this book proves it, and I’m very much looking forward to investigating more of his work.
You can buy AROUND THE DARK DIAL on Amazon.