Josh Smith Online

When I realized that Seeds of Change a new anthology by John Joseph Adam, the man behind Wastelands, had come out I was already excited and as I explored the books site and its topics I became even more ecstatic. Seeds of Change is an anthology described as, “confronts the pivotal issues facing our society today: racism, global warming, peak oil, technological advancement, and political revolution. Many serve as a call to action. How will you change with the future?”. I’ve only had a chance to read one of the full length excerpts so far and I am excited to pick up the whole anthology.

My favorite line thus far is, “I can do all things through explosives, who destroy for me.”, from Tobias Buckell’s Resistance which you can read in its entirety on the Seeds of Change site. This story as well as the others that are included in the anthology are powerful and interesting not only because of the issues they tackle and the manner in which they are presented but also because the Authors have shared what gave them the motivation for these stories.

The other thing I really like about Seeds of Change is just in how the book is available and marketed. You can read three full length stories as well as many other excerpts. To make these even better, the teaser stories are available online, as a mobipocket file, a pdf and also for the Sony ebook reader. I love the use of multiple formats to let me consume the information in whatever manner suits me. Another publisher currently doing this right is Tor, who has been providing short fiction in several formats as part of their new web presence. If the samples have tipped you over the edge then I highly recommend picking up a copy which is another place that Seeds of Change shines, you aren’t locked into a hardcopy of the book, you can also order it on FictionWise in a variety of ebook formats and it’s even reasonably priced for an ebook to boot.

I can’t wait to read this, and I already have a stack of books 2 feet high that I want to read so that says a lot. Since John Joseph Adams also provides a reading list with his anthologies picking this up could lead to a structural breakdown in my bookshelf, but it looks like it will be well worth it.