Reviewing S3 1½ years after its release in hardback (½ year after paperback) certainly brings to mind the adage about barn doors & horses, though you can still buy it (used even) on Amazon. Reviewers have already reviewed, tending toward approval, though acclamation is not universal. Awards, including one Hugo, have been awarded, as Editor Hayden brags on his website. And other editors have seconded some of the selections in annual anthologies. So, should you bother with this book if you haven't already? Depends on what kind of stories you like. Since S3 presents a motley crew (with no apologies to the band) with no consistent theme or even genre, you have to decide by the individual stories, although this review uses the age-old tactic of lists to give some perspective to the contents.

But first, Ted Chiang 2002-Hugo-award-winning "Hell Is The Absence of God," the "big dog" award-wise in this block of stories. From the life-sucks-then-you-die-who-can-say-where-you'll-wind-up school of fiction, this story takes even that nihilistic notion a step further by collapsing all potential religious states down to the prevalent Christian one, then shows it to be beyond our control or comprehension. The prose is unexceptional; likewise, the characters. The storytelling distances itself and the characters from you. Even the basic concept just emulates religious tracts that most of you wouldn't normally read. So, why did it win the Hugo and make several other award ballots? Societal subtext? That's been powerful before.

Now for those lists (follow the links to the end of this review):

• By genre, S3 provides 6 fantasies, heavily weighted toward religious motifs, and 10 SF stories, weighted toward the "If this keeps going" sub-genre.
• By notoriety of author, a nice spread with 6 established names, 4 rising, 3 who're getting noticed, and 3 just getting their feet in the door (& a tough door it is to get even that far inside).
• By reading satisfaction, from best to worst, which of course is purely opinion; toward the end, things get terse, cute, and/or snide:
  1. "The Sea Wind Offers Little Relief" by Alex Irvine (Précis: Mankind has eliminated literacy and stories by greatly enhancing interpersonal communication, then comes along a poem that must be read, & only a rebel locked away for a century & half can do it) — As other reviewers noted, "Sea Wind" presents a considerable challenge, though worth the effort. It's both elaborate & dense in concept as well as obscure in plot, i.e., what's going on. Even the reviewers who liked the story did not grasp its essence: it's a story that tackles the time when people move beyond their need for storytelling … or think they have. In the process of discussing how this momentous change in human psyche was attempted, the story violates its archetype, discussing itself, engaging its reader directly. Surprisingly, writers overlooked this story for their Nebula nominations because it's 1 of the rare ones about the business itself.
  2. "Wings" by Colin Greenland (Précis: Aliens, similar to angels, settle on Earth & burrow into everyday life) — Slowly unfolds engaging characters in scenes that carry forward bits, building to a sad ending.
  3. "Home Is the Sailor" by Brenda W. Clough (Précis: Odysseus lays dying, but denies it shown his role in the cycle of life) — Nice story, touching, essential human drama.
  4. "Wolves Till the World Goes Down" by Greg van Eekhout (Précis: Demi-god crows redirect Fate by quickening apocalypse) — Told with quick, intriguing strokes, this story turns myth on its ear, making the outcome interesting even to people not into Norse tales.
  5. "Gestella" by Susan Palwick (Précis: Werewolf ages faster than her human mate until he moves on with the help of the local pound) — Told in 2nd person. Involving prose, characters, & plot, though downer ending.
  6. "The Barbarian and the Queen" by Jane Yolen (Précis: 13 assorted ways they could chat) — Engaging play with a common fantasy trope. Virtuoso performance by a master writer, but in the end, cotton candy.
  7. "Power Punctuation!" by Cory Doctorow (Précis: Corporate states rule, & a blue-collar worker ends up running one and defeating its enemy) — Amusing, cynical. Plays with language structure, but moves along.
  8. "The Old Rugged Cross" by Terry Bisson (Précis: The Freedom of Religious Observance Act enables a condemned child-killer to elect to be executed by crucifixion) — Amusing, well-told, but more cotton candy.
  9. "In Which Avu Giddy Tries to Stop Dancing" by D.G. Compton (Précis: Though everybody expects everybody to dance everywhere — & enjoy it — a man stops hearing the music anymore & tries to) — Transparent justification to allow suicide. Mildly interesting, but the slide into parable steals even that connection.
  10. "La Vie en Ronde" by Madeleine E. Robins (Précis: A woman slides into another universe of strange beings where she makes a difference with their youngsters) — Surreal, whimsical, nice, but skimmed it anyway.
  11. "Senator Bilbo" by Andy Duncan (Précis: A good ol' boy hobbit Senator named Bilbo meets an ironic comeuppance) — Told well enough, but … shrug.
  12. "Hell Is The Absence of God" by Ted Chiang (Précis: Angelic visitation bring disaster as well as miracles. Heaven & Hell are explicit, but the means to get to either place aren't any clearer than they are now.) — See above.
  13. "Interview: On Any Given Day" by Maureen F. McHugh (Précis: A teenager chooses poorly about sex) — So sad, too bad. Yawn.
  14. "Sun-Cloud" by Stephen Baxter (Précis: A sentient colonial organism lives and dies on an alien planet. ) — Prolog offered nothing new. Skimming confirmed that.
  15. "The Secret Egg of the Clouds" by Geoffrey A. Landis (Précis: In the 2nd Space Age, we find people of great diversity in floating cities on Venus.) — Excuse for an escalating parable about, well, man's inhumanity to man. Irony? Maybe.
  16. "Tom Brightwind, or, …" by Susanna Clarke (Précis: In 18th-century England, an earnest human doctor, a fairy, a river ford, & things happen for entirely too many words) — If you like styled, dated encounters between beings full of themselves, have at it.