METAtropolis: Cascadia

By: Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elizabeth Bear, Ken Scholes, Karl Schroeder, Tobias Buckell

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Jay Lake

This provocative sequel to the Hugo and Audie Award nominated METAtropolis features interconnected stories by today’s top writers of speculative fiction – performed by a galaxy of Star Trek stars.

As the mid-20th century approaches, the Pacific Northwest has been transformed - politically, economically, and ecologically - into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. The End of Days seems nearer than ever. And the legend of the mysterious Tygre Tygre looms large.

METAtropolis: Cascadia is the creation of Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee Jay Lake; Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; New York Times best-selling author Tobias S. Buckell; Hugo Award winner Elizabeth Bear; Aurora Award winner Karl Schroeder; and critically acclaimed author Ken Scholes. The team of narrators is any Star Trek fan’s dream: Rene Auberjonois (“Odo”); Kate Mulgrew (“Capt. Kathryn Janeway”); Wil Wheaton (“Wesley Crusher”); Gates McFadden (“Dr. Beverly Crusher”); Jonathan Frakes (“Cmdr. William Riker”); and LeVar Burton (“Geordi La Forge”). Jay Lake, who also served as Project Editor, introduces this stunning sequel, written and produced exclusively for digital audio.

Check out the original METAtropolis here.;Learn more about the narrators and authors at the METAtropolis: Cascadia microsite now.©2010 Joseph E. Lake, Jr., Mary Robinette Kowal, Tobias S. Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, Ken Scholes (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Original Work, 2012

Outstanding narration carries the day here

This is the second anthology in a series that began with METAtropolis: the Dawn of Uncivilization. This collection riffs off the first story in that anthology, taking place in a transnational entity that includes the geographical areas formerly known as British Columbia, Washington and Orgeon states. The stories are set around the year 2070 in post-industrial, post-capitalist, post-national world and are all read by actors from various incarnations of Star Trek.

The first story, written by Jay Lake and read by Rene Auberjonois (immediately recognizable as Odo from Deep Space Nine) details a very old, very rich man’s final days as he searches for the answers to an event that occurred forty years earlier. I really enjoyed this story and the chance to revisit some of the characters from the original METAtropolis.

The second story was written by Mary Robinette Kowal and narrated by Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway of Voyager). This was probably my least favorite of all the stories so far. It was mostly a love letter to the art of wine making that could have been set in any era and lacked a clear connection to the rest of the stories in these anthologies. For instance, as soon as I realized it was going to be about wine, I anticipated an explanation of a concept that has come up in a few of the other stories, where instead of money, some people have currency called ”winos.” But the term never even gets mentioned in this story . . . did Ms. Kowal miss the world-building sessions??

The third story was written by Tobias S. Buckell and read by Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of The Next Generation). The setting for this story presented another cool idea that was new to me. The main character is part of a crew whose job it is to de-construct expressways and empty suburban housing tracts. Having grown up in one of these anonymous suburbs (and escaped as soon as I could to a densely populated downtown neighborhood) I have to admit that I loved the scenes where the bulldozers crashed through the paperboard houses. If that’s not a big enough hint, other parts of the narrative extoll the virtues of cities, such as that more patents are produced by city-dwellers and city dwellers use less energy, particularly if you can figure out a way to grow food nearby. Like the stories in the first METAtropolis, this one has an extremely positive view of the future of cities, which is not all that common in post-apocalyptic literature.

The next story was by Elizabeth Bear and read by Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher in The Next Generation). This is a bit of a more conventional scifi story involving genetic engineering, combined with a murder mystery plot. The twist at the end is foreshadowed pretty heavily and so was really no shock.

Karl Schroeder once again takes the prize for most cool ideas in one story with his entry here, read by Jonathan Frakes (Comander Riker of The Next Generation). It begins with the protagonist wearing something like Google Glasses. Since he is a visitor to Cascadia without proper paperwork, he is mandated to wear them whenever he is out in public, and the glasses are programmed by the authorities to restrict what he sees. It’s a frightening vision of how state censorship could be implemented on a person-by-person basis in the future, just by using technology. And that’s just a side thought. The overall plot asks how will we recognize when computers and machines become self-aware, and mixes in questions about the rights of corporations . . . and others . . . to be treated as individuals in certain situations. It’s a complex plot that only a master like Schroeder can pull off.

The final story in this collection was by Ken Scholes and narrated by LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge of The Next Generation). This one takes on home-grown terrorism, religious fanatics, and questions of faith in a post-apocalyptic era. A mediocre story that was significantly uplifted by Burton’s fantastic reading.

Makes you think

Of particular interest to me were the first few stories that presented a features about this future world that are both scary and fascinating, that seem invasive to my present day ideals but which might be normal and even helpful to a future culture. Definitely makes you think, and a few of the ideas challenged me. The stories themselves aren't as engaging as the first book, but it's still a good read. If you haven't read the first book, definitely do. I started listening to this one and realized I didn't remember important details about the original "Tyger Tyger" story, so I went back and listened to it again, then started Cascadia over.

Excellent - one of the recent best!

I held off on this series for a long time because of the not so stellar reviews. I am quite perplexed now. Not only was this very refreshing from just the style point of view, each story was excellent and each reader did a superb reading. All I can think of that some of the people that bought this expected shoot-em-up vapid adventure/action stories.
These stories are very like both the old and new Star Trek series - they make you think about ethics and morals.
Unlike many other stories, both long and short, I was interested in what the future held for our characters.
This was very interesting, refreshing and even suspenseful. I'm going to go and the the first book now.

A new take on the post-apocalyptic world

I love short stories. I love how authors can pack so much into such a small package. This was no exception. All of the stories were well written and left me wanting to understand more of the world in which they took place. This stories all take place in the same post-apocalyptic world. I love the common vocabulary and tech, and the continuity between the stories. I did not read the first installment of this anthology, but I will be going back to get it.

I am really wanted to like this

This is an overly political novel that seems to be the high school equivalent of drawing a grade school car. Well they do make a solid argument for a system that might actually work in a post capital American society is fails to take into account peoples behaviors actions motivations. They managed to get away with some of this as it said in the near future rather than 100 years in the future. This society wouldMost likely breakdown after that first generation possibly the second generation. Why would anyone do effort eighteenths for highly skilled work if all you’re going to get is the same as everyone else.

So for falling in the science fiction it’s pretty good the economics is fantasy so it fits well in Science Fiction and fantasy

I really like Kate and LeVar As narrators

Forget the politics

The introduction used to grind a political axe (pointlessly). I enjoyed the stories but strongly disagree with the politics. Back to nature would be wonderful for a world with under 1 billion people - we are rapidly approaching 7 billion. We either need technology (something the characters in the book use) or we need a euthanasia program.

I was expecting better after METAtropolis

I bought this on the strength of the first book, METAtropolis, which I found very good in conception and narration, although there was some unevenness in the actual stories.

I wasn't wowed by M:Cascadia as much as by its predecessor. Although the concentration on Cascadia in this sequel might be considered a weakness, the stories had enough variety to keep my interest in spite of the quality of the narration, which was not up to the standard of the first METAtropolis. Jonathan Frakes attempt at a Slavic accent was at best uneven, and his pronunciation of several key names in the story made me wonder at the quality of the production and the change of narrator from Stefan Rudnicki for this part of the sequel.

LeVar Burton was OK, but I kept thinking that Scott Brick could have brought more depth to the presentation. Wil Wheaton's work just didn't make an impression on me. Not every actor makes a good narrator, no matter what TV series they performed in.

It's a book of short stories

The A-list performances are simply outstanding. The environmental messages are glaring but not in your face.

A book of stories of one possible future was worth the time.

It didn't make me feel like I grew when I listened. It didn't make me feel bad, it simply left me...how do you say...

Maybe leave it like that.

Interesting

Some of these stories are good, some not so much. But overall an interesting read. If you are a dyed in the wool sci-fi fan, you may want to pass on this series. Most of these stories don't rate as sci-fi, and are primarily intended as thought-provokers with underlying social commentary.
If you are seeking good science based sci-fy I would suggest not spending the time (or credits).

I really wish they'd make a fourth book

I've been a fan of the book since they made the first one and it's been a great series hopefully they make another