Another body had jostled him [Parasiel] in the press-and-heave, spilling his pint.I was not so impressed with Something Changed, the last collection of Bernice Summerfield stories I reviewed, but this is much better. Gender balance is marginally improved (two out of twenty-three stories by women, as opposed to none out of fifteen in Something Changed). Also, the stories seem to gel together much better, with a linking theme the visit of the mysterious alien Quire to the Braxiatel collection in the continuing absence of Braxiatel himself. They are all set during Season 7 of the Bernice Summerfield audios, which I listened to years ago but don't seem to have written up. If I had to pick three particular highlights they would be Jonathan Blum's "Lock", from Peter's point of view; Simon A. Forward's "Grey's Anatomy" with the return of Mordecan; and Phillip Purser-Hallard's running "Perspectives" which revisit the alien Quire at different points of the narrative. For once, an anthology that is more than the sum of its parts. You can get it here.
Next up: Old Friends, a collection of novellas by Jonathan Clements, Marc Platt and Pete Kempshall.
