Review:  I have to admit, at more than a few points, this could easily have been a horror anthology rather than a sci-fi anthology.  Many of these stories contain an element of the unsettling, drawing more from the "alien invader" side of the genre than anything else.  In some cases, I found myself reminded more of "Brave New World" in the tenor of these tales.

Considering that this collection IS an anthology, it has a surprising level of cohesiveness from one segment to another.  No one story stood out as the odd-man-out, nor were there component pieces that seemed to drag down the works.  Throughout, the writing and concepts are solid - offering both the shock factor of innovative and fresh ideas as well as the craftsmanship one expects from seasoned authors.

If anything, it would have been nice if there had been more polish to the artwork throughout the book, but at no point did the artwork really drag the quality down.  It just never seemed to match up to the high gloss of the writing being showcased.

For fans of well-written fiction of any stripe, The Wonders of Science can't help but appeal.

Overall: 4 stars.

Alex Haas