HopeStreetby Bel TerrillPublished by Pete’s PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $24.99 ISBN 9781997713029 If you’re into dystopian stories with a tech twist, HopeStreet needs to be on your radar. HopeStreet centres around a city named Toivo – picture a futuristic, grim version of Toronto. It is a bleak city ruled by AI that has stripped its residents of autonomy and joy. Enter HopeStreet, a total-immersion virtual reality game where users plug into gamer pods and all their senses are replaced. Players design a world they want to live in and everything they see, touch, feel, and taste is real. The main character, Tycho, is a Basic, a term referring to people who aren’t Plugged. Plugged people wear a Piece behind their ear, a device that allows for seamless communication but also allows others to see what they are thinking and feeling. Those who wear a Piece are safe but also easily controlled by governing bodies. The Plugged/Basic divide is an interesting concept. Sadly, the the number of free-thinking Basic people in Toivo are dwindling by the day.  The intrigue keeps ramping up as Tycho and his group of rebel friends infiltrate HopeStreet in an attempt to keep AI from taking over…

Paths to the Stars: Twenty-Two Fantastical Tales of Imagination by Edward Willett Published by Shadowpaw Press Reviewed by Toby A. Welch $19.95 ISBN 978-1-9993827-0-4 In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve read Willett’s work before. I’ve enjoyed every novel of his that I’ve consumed and hoped that his latest work would reach the same high bar. It didn’t – it hurdled right over that bar and left it hanging. This collection of twenty-two short stories spans Regina-based Willett’s career. Some of the stories were written as far back as the 1980s while others are from this century. I assumed I’d be able to detect which tales are his earlier works but I was wrong; all of the stories are expertly written. The only indicator of when Willett penned the stories was the blurb at the start of each one. It’s a requirement of mine for science fiction works to push the boundaries of imagination. And Willett didn’t disappoint. Who else would’ve thought to create a slug that sings (“A Little Space Music”) or a hibernation induction trigger that can put a human to sleep for seventy-two hours (“The Strange One”)? The readers are the ones who benefit from Willett’s willingness…