She Treads Softly: Fold Catastrophes

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Fold Catastrophes

Fold Catastrophes by Peter Watts
9/22/26; 352 pages
Tachyon Publications

Fold Catastrophes by Peter Watts is a highly recommended collection of eleven hard science fiction short stories. The introduction to the collection, Desert Prophet Wanted, is by Richard K. Morgan.

An anticipated, these are all well written, incredibly detailed speculative hard science fiction stories. Some of the stories tie into novels Watts has written. Although you can appreciate the stories without reading the novels first, familiarity with them and the characters can help you readily follow the story line. As with any short story collection some stories may resonate with readers more than others. Included after each story are author's notes, which was a welcomed addition.

Contents include:
Gut Feelings: Anti-Google sentiments are violently released via a gut bacteria.
Twenty One Second God: A mass mind event impacts 15 million people and Meta wants to study a survivor.
Contracting Iris: Iris has symptoms that may be her MS or a novel biological zoonotic infection that entered the cornea via tears/strange rain.
Defective: A defense station is set to stop the invasion of our sun by an alien race.
Giants: The story of ultra distant galactic travel aboard the Eriophora
Test 4 Echo: Exploring the volcanic ocean floors of Saturn's moon, Enceladus, with an AI rover that has limited sentience, and survival instincts.
ZeroS: Special ops supersoldiers zombie squad are reanimated corpses
Critical Mass: Artist and sculptor Leo Gregory is coasting on his legacy as his art work disappears.
The Colonel: Colonel Jim Moore is on a mission investigating and thwarting the increase of hive minds.
Wisdom of Crowds: The Starfish Initiative announces an unmanned hypersonic glide vehicle carrying a payload of 300 kilotons will have the target chosen by a million randomly selected voters.
Game Theory: It's all a simulation.

Fold Catastrophes is an excellent choice for fans of Peter Watts and hard science fiction. Thanks to Tachyon Publication for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

No comments:

Post a Comment

John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.