Cities edited by Peter Crowther and stories by China Mieville, Michael Moorcock, Philip di Filippo and Geoff Ryman
01/08/2003 . Source: Laura Kayne 

pub: Gollancz. 292 page unusual shaped hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-575-07504-X.

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In today's world, cities are extremely common. Most of us in Western society live in or near one and probably go about our everyday lives without really noticing the feel of the place in which we live and work.

But a city can have its own beat and can tell us a lot about its inhabitants and the society they create. Cities can have many different sides. What you see in the daytime may be very different to what the city shows us at night. What one person considers his home-city to be may differ from the idea his neighbour has of that same place. It is the city as metaphor for society, what it can tell us about its occupants, that has inspired the writers of this volume.

In addition, this being a fantasy-orientated collection, the writers were free to explore the very limits of what a city can and could be and the part it plays in its inhabitants' lives. They have attempted to stretch the idea and description of the city so that it becomes something quite removed from those we are familiar with. In all these novellas, the city is a backdrop for other characters and stories.

Sometimes the city is described quite briefly but the outline of a place, one that is different from our everyday reality, helps to place these characters and stories in fantastic worlds and tells us how different their society and reality is from our own. This is a collection of worlds worth visiting.

Paul di Filippo in 'A Year in the Linear City' portrays a city very much like present-day New York but with subtle changes. There is a Riverside and a Trackside and blocks that go on for so long that you cannot communicate with those several hundred thousand blocks away.

The narrator, Diego, is a writer of 'cosmogonic fiction' who imagines what it would be like to have a machine that connected between blocks to allow communication or to live in a city where fate was unknown instead of being overshadowed by it the whole time.

Eventually, Diego embarks on a journey to another part of the city and is amazed by the differences found there. In an ending that is symbolic of the nature of the city, its inhabitants and di Filippo's tale as a whole, Diego's best friend, influenced by Diego's realisation that there is more to their world than they knew, decides to follow a train to discover where the real limits of the city are and what lies beyond.

This is an intriguing tale, with the city more as setting and backdrop than character and one that has much in common with the New York we know today. However, it is the subtle changes that bring home the differences between Diego's world and ours making us wonder, as all good fantasy and Science Fiction should, 'What if?' 'The Tain' by China Mieville introduces us to a darker side of city life.

Here is a destroyed, post-war London which is inhabited by groups of soldiers and crazed civilians disturbed by the terror of war and by the enemy. It is also home to hidden groups of the enemy - strange vampire-like creatures called Imago who were created by reflections in mirrors and glass. In particular are the Tain, where the clarity of reflection and imagery made the reflections gain lives of their own.

Soon, they rebelled and passed through into their creators' world. Amongst vivid descriptions of a ruined London and some interesting ideas about what such a place would look and feel like, we are given a cross between a horror story, a mystery and a hero's quest.

One man decides to go up against the leader of the Imago and in the processes uncovers their story. A well-written short story that keeps its mystery and originality and the reader's interest by telling the tale from each side in turn. Michael Moorcock in 'Firing the Cathedral' creates a future, post-September 11th world.

Religion and nation are in conflict and much of the Western world is in disarray and ruin. Jerry Cornelius, a regular character of Moorcock's, is our guide through this new and troubled worry as he tries to find his way to peace. Although the storyline is a little confusing at times and it jumps from place to place and time to time, we gradually build up an idea of people and places very similar, yet also very changed, from our own.

Moorcock's description of the cities, as well as his cast of characters as they move through them, is rich and colourful and worth persevering with. The final part of this quartet of tales is 'V.A.O.' by Geoff Ryman. Again set in the future, this is set in a city very changed. Technology reigns supreme, together with paranoia, watchfulness and distrust, creating an Orwellian Big Brother-style atmosphere.

When a V.A.O. (Victim Activated Ordnance) system, the latest in community protection, is hacked into and taken over by the very people it was supposed to activate against, a mystery ensues. Determined to discover what is happening are a group of pensioners, including one of the creators of the system. In following a cleverly disguised trail, he learns more about his world and his place within it, whilst at the same time allowing us a glimpse as well.

This is a cleverly conceived world and storyline. The city as an entity does not play a big role but is instead a part of the narrator's world, one that is different from our own yet recognisable in aspects that could be taken to extremes and be instrumental in creating this technologically dependent world where modern, young computer hackers are now OAPs trying to get around the system in an old people's home.

As with any collection, the variety of authors here make for a variety of styles, characters and settings, creating a well-written and entertaining volume of stories. I have a personal favourite among them - 'The Tain' but the others were also enjoyable.

For fans of any of the authors included this book would be a satisfying addition to bookshelves and, as an introduction to the authors, 'Cities' is also well-worth dipping into. My only disappointment was that none of the stories were linked directly as to the city as more of an entity, with a bigger role to play within the society of the characters.

Given the overall theme of the collection, this would be have been very interesting to see. In general, though, I did enjoy the book and look forward to future Foursight anthologies.

Laura Kayne