Edited by Daniel Wilson, roboticist and author of Amped, and John Joseph Adams, series editor of Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, Press Start to Play is a thrilling, engaging collection of brilliant and thoughtful short fiction about playing, designing and living within video games. Only the amazing roster of contributors matches the anthology's thematic breadth.
Game designer Rhianna Pratchett's "Creation Screen" presents a main character in a role-playing game who wonders why she must endure pain, fighting and danger in thrall to an unseen player. Hugh Howey (Wool) offers a marvelous short story about a stay-at-home mom's distinctive way of playing a military shooter video game. NFL punter and inveterate gamer Chris Kluwe explores the commonality between achievement in football and video games.
Ken Liu (Grace of Kings) weaves a multi-level story about a prince captured by a space bounty hunter hired by the king. And io9 editor Charlie Jane Anders skillfully writes about social disability and savant-level video game accomplishment in "Rat Catcher's Yellows"; her lens focuses on circumstances surrounding a lesbian whose loving partner has disappeared into a video game that simulates a kingdom of cats.
There are so many shimmering standouts in this collection that readers will be hard-pressed to choose a favorite. Short stories must do the same world-building heavy lifting as novels, in far less space, and each one within Press Start to Play does so capably, making every piece worth reading. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor