Sci-fi jackpot

Although I no longer read much science fiction, I do make an exception for Connie Willis, whose entertaining stories display remarkable imagination, skill, humor and a willingness to do extensive research. Each of these is evident in Terra Incognita (2018), a collection of three previously published novellas.

In "Uncharted Territory," explorers from Earth trying to map the planet Boohte are joined on an expedition by an expert on mating habits who decides that the odd activity of their aborigine guide is just that — mating behavior. But who is he trying to impress?

"Remake" was written in 1995 and has almost come true already. Willis imagines a Hollywood that has ceased making movies — or at least real movies with real actors. Instead everything is done on computers, and old movies and long-dead actors are recycled in new ways. Cigarettes and booze are being scrubbed from old movies. Marilyn Monroe stars in a remake of Pretty Woman. Gone With the Wind gets a happier ending when Rhett Butler says, "Frankly, my dear — I love you, too."

Into this world comes Alis, a young woman who dreams of dancing in movies, preferably with Fred Astaire. Then the man who loves her discovers her actually dancing in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and several other films? Is it time travel, or is something else going on?

Finally "D.A.," the shortest, newest and most amusing of the stories, finds a student accepted into Space Academy and whisked into orbit against her will. She never even applied for the academy and doesn't want to be in space. To explain what the title means would require a spoiler alert.

Each of these tales is great fun and full of surprises. The research I mentioned earlier is especially evident in "Remake," in which Willis goes into detail about a host of movies, even to the point of knowing at which point in a film a certain action occurs.