If there is a single unifying theme to the stories collected here it is that nothing (and no one) is just as it appears. Whether it's a matter of individual identity (conflicted as in "The Real Story" or transcendent as in the title story), illusion, misinformation, or multiverse cross-over, Reynolds nests misdirection and incomplete understanding at the core of each tale; "Zima Blue and Other Stories" is as much an anthology of mysteries and whodunnits as it is traditional SF (and these stories are most certainly that).

Not that each story is equally rewarding, mind you. While "Beyond the Aquila Rift," "Enola," and "Zima Blue" are truly brilliant and "Spirey and the Queen" is as giddy a space-opera hoot as any a Golden Age periodical produced, "Hideaway" and "Angels of Ashes" were merely adequate and felt forced and gloomy. "Understanding Space and Time" is comparatively a piece _sui generis_ here, as if Reynolds mixed a Cosmic Cocktail using Douglas Adams' Whiskey and cosmology infodump soda; the musical selections that accompany it are well-chosen, though.

Via Spirey, Reynolds also provides me with a phrase I know I'll be using now and again when she worries about "suffering from acute existence failure." Nice; thanks, Al! ( )

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Beyond the aquila rift was so good. The rest of the stories are quite good too. Recomended. ( )

I’ve recently read many science fiction works by Alastair Reynolds, but this was the first collection of his short stories I’ve seen. It is a pretty broad assortment of stories, some more science fiction than others, and a few that are rock “hard”. What I mean by that is that the astrophysics is meticulously explained, far above my ability to comprehend. In fact, he could just be spouting absolute nonsense and not one in a million could call him on it.

If you like space opera, or Alastair Reynolds in particular, the majority of these stories will find your favor. I thought the title work, Zima Blue, was particularly poignant. ( )

Another collection of short stories, but this time I am not very convinced by the quality. There are some slightly connected stories in the middle that are quite good, but the rest is really just mediocre. A bit of "can skip" book. ( )