What do you think?
Rate this book
The Good New Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition
This is the second of two companion anthologies that chronicle the history of the SF adventure story. With this book, editor Gardner Dozois is attempting to disprove the old adage that "they don't write 'em like that anymore." Which, of course, they do, as writers like Peter F. Hamilton, Michael Swanwick, George Turner, and John Varley amply demonstrate in these pages. The selections here date from 1977 to 1998, although Dozois has limited himself by omitting subgenres such as cyberpunk, military SF, and even hard SF. While this makes the The Good New Stuff somewhat dubious as a historical overview of the adventure SF field, it allows Dozois to uncover some real gems that might otherwise have gone overlooked, including a couple of stories first published in the Brit-lit SF magazine Interzone. It's safe to say that in the hands of authors like Robert Reed, Walter Jon Williams, and Stephen Baxter, the grand tradition of SF is alive and well. --Craig E. Engler
Contents
Preface (The Good New Stuff) • (1999) • essay by Gardner Dozois
Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe • [Eight Worlds] • (1977) • novelette by John Varley
The Way of Cross and Dragon • (1979) • novelette by George R. R. Martin
Swarm • [Shaper/Mechanist] • (1982) • novelette by Bruce Sterling
The Blind Minotaur • (1985) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick
The Blabber • [Zones of Thought] • (1988) • novella by Vernor Vinge
The Return of the Kangaroo Rex • [Mirabile] • (1989) • novelette by Janet Kagan
Prayers on the Wind • (1991) • novella by Walter Jon Williams
The Missionary's Child • (1992) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh
Poles Apart • [Trimus] • (1992) • novella by G. David Nordley
Guest of Honor • (1993) • novelette by Robert Reed
Flowering Mandrake • (1994) • novelette by George Turner
Cilia-of-Gold • (1994) • novelette by Stephen Baxter
Gone to Glory • (1995) • novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson
A Dry, Quiet War • (1996) • novelette by Tony Daniel
All Tomorrow's Parties • (1997) • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley
Escape Route • [Confederation Universe Stories] • (1997) • novella by Peter F. Hamilton
The Eye of God • (1998) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum
Contents
Preface (The Good New Stuff) • (1999) • essay by Gardner Dozois
Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe • [Eight Worlds] • (1977) • novelette by John Varley
The Way of Cross and Dragon • (1979) • novelette by George R. R. Martin
Swarm • [Shaper/Mechanist] • (1982) • novelette by Bruce Sterling
The Blind Minotaur • (1985) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick
The Blabber • [Zones of Thought] • (1988) • novella by Vernor Vinge
The Return of the Kangaroo Rex • [Mirabile] • (1989) • novelette by Janet Kagan
Prayers on the Wind • (1991) • novella by Walter Jon Williams
The Missionary's Child • (1992) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh
Poles Apart • [Trimus] • (1992) • novella by G. David Nordley
Guest of Honor • (1993) • novelette by Robert Reed
Flowering Mandrake • (1994) • novelette by George Turner
Cilia-of-Gold • (1994) • novelette by Stephen Baxter
Gone to Glory • (1995) • novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson
A Dry, Quiet War • (1996) • novelette by Tony Daniel
All Tomorrow's Parties • (1997) • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley
Escape Route • [Confederation Universe Stories] • (1997) • novella by Peter F. Hamilton
The Eye of God • (1998) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
39 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Gardner Dozois
645 books360 followersGardner Raymond Dozois was an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004. He won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, both as an editor and a writer of short fiction.
Wikipedia entry: Gardner Dozois
http://us.macmillan.com/author/gardne...
Wikipedia entry: Gardner Dozois
http://us.macmillan.com/author/gardne...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 30, 2025
Overall this was a really solid collection of science fiction short stories from the 90s, which I enjoyed much more than The Good Old Stuff - I think the writing style was much more in line with the modern day and therefore just more palatable. Still some hits and misses, but it’s definitely opened my eyes to the world of science fiction and given me a better idea of the specific sub-genres that I like.
Goodbye, Robinson Crusoe by John Valley - 3.5*
- This was a fun intro into this anthology. It followed a 14-year-old boy/man in his second childhood living on a Pluto, where it seems that some sort of Earth simulation has been set up for a number of people to live on. The plot itself was enjoyable, but there were a number of themes (a 30-year-old woman sleeping with a 14-year-old boy being one) that don’t hold up in the modern day.
The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R.R. Martin - 5*
- Call me ignorant or naive but I didn’t know George R.R. Martin had written much before Game of Thrones, but this was brilliant. It’s more of a philosophical commentary on what truth is, what faith is, and whether anything we believe to be true is actually true - but in this story it was in the context of different worlds.
Swarm by Bruce Sterling - 4*
- I feel like this story was a commentary on colonisation and how the West is going to destroy itself with its superiority complex - or maybe it was just an adventure to another planet with a few twists along the way.
The Blind Minotaur by Michael Swanwick - 3*
- This literally tells the story of a blind minotaur with a lot of allusions to how he became blind, without actually telling us anything. I don’t mind a book that leaves you guessing or ends on a cliffhanger, but this one just didn’t really give me much at all.
The Blabber by Vernor Vinge - 3.5*
- I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if I’d read it as a standalone novella, as it just felt a bit too long to be part of a short story collection. I liked the overall premise, I was just expecting something a bit more fast paced which maybe comes down to my own personal preference, as I know this one is popular among other readers.
The Return of the Kangaroo Rex by Janet Kagan - 3*
- This whole story was just a bit meh, I didn’t hate it but I also just didn’t really care.
Prayers on the Wind by Walter Jon Williams - 4*
- I really enjoyed this one. It’s set on a planet where society is centred around religion, with the “Omniscient” being their god. I think it raised some interesting questions about religion and science in general, but overall it was a fun adventure that I wasn’t sure where it was heading.
The Missionary’s Child by Maureen F. McHugh - 4.5*
- Another really exciting adventure story with quite a thrilling chase scene midway through. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout this one, although I’m not entirely sure what the title relates to.
Poles Apart by G. David Nordley - 4*
- This is set on a world where three different species have come to live together in harmony, and the story documents the struggles with this. Throughout this book, I do think there seems to be a theme of societal issues being represented in a philosophical but science fiction manner, and I seem to be enjoying the stories more that do that, as opposed to a generic science fiction adventure tale.
Guest of Honour by Robert Reed - 3*
- The concept of this story was interesting - the genes from 63 rich people are combined to create a new human adult, who is then sent off on adventures round the universe, the knowledge of which she’ll impart to her “parents” when she returns. It sounds really cool, but I found it quite dull - I think it would have worked better as a novel so that there was more time to get invested in all the different characters.
Flowering Mandrake by George Turner - 4*
- This story is about an extraterrestrial being that by pure chance makes its way to Earth. It was interesting to read about it entirely from the perspective of a non-human, as usually it’s the other way round. Everything in this just seemed to work really well.
Cilia-of-Gold by Stephen Baxter - 4*
- This story is set on Mercury and follows a group of scientists gathered there that discover life exists on the planet they thought was uninhabitable. I found it to be a sweet and wholesome story.
Gone to Glory by R. Garcia y Robertson - 2*
- Probably my least favourite of the short stories covered so far. It just didn’t make any sense to me, and even at the end when everything was explained, it seemed like a bit of a reach. It follows a man called Defoe who’s sent to a place/planet/not sure where some one has been kidnapped/killed/attacked/not sure, and he has to investigate (alongside everyone else, I’m not entirely sure why he was there). Not for me.
A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel - 3.5*
- This one followed some evil people/aliens that came to a town of sorts and brutally murdered some of the locals. I’m not entirely sure why they did that, but it was an enjoyable enough read nonetheless.
All Tomorrow’s Parties by Paul J. McAuley - 4.5*
- This was such a cool concept - humanity has evolved to the point that people can live forever, while cloning themselves an unlimited number of times and then pool all the knowledge of all the clones together - and seeing the effect this has on the natural evolution of humanity. Wonderful.
Escape Route by Peter F. Hamilton - 3.5*
- This story recounts a group of scientists travelling into space in order to find gold, but instead stumble across an abandoned spaceship which could provide them with even greater riches than they ever imagined. I really enjoyed the plot of this one and I think the twists were well executed. However I believe this sub-genre of science fiction is called “hard science”, which did make it a bit tricky for me to follow in places as I’m probably just not clever enough to understand most of the science described.
The Eye of God by Mary Rosenblum - 4*
- The final instalment of this anthology explores gender, sexuality and how that relates to breeding/fertility. It was a really interest concept and I would have liked it to delve deeper into the relationships between the characters, although the short story format prevented that.
Goodbye, Robinson Crusoe by John Valley - 3.5*
- This was a fun intro into this anthology. It followed a 14-year-old boy/man in his second childhood living on a Pluto, where it seems that some sort of Earth simulation has been set up for a number of people to live on. The plot itself was enjoyable, but there were a number of themes (a 30-year-old woman sleeping with a 14-year-old boy being one) that don’t hold up in the modern day.
The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R.R. Martin - 5*
- Call me ignorant or naive but I didn’t know George R.R. Martin had written much before Game of Thrones, but this was brilliant. It’s more of a philosophical commentary on what truth is, what faith is, and whether anything we believe to be true is actually true - but in this story it was in the context of different worlds.
Swarm by Bruce Sterling - 4*
- I feel like this story was a commentary on colonisation and how the West is going to destroy itself with its superiority complex - or maybe it was just an adventure to another planet with a few twists along the way.
The Blind Minotaur by Michael Swanwick - 3*
- This literally tells the story of a blind minotaur with a lot of allusions to how he became blind, without actually telling us anything. I don’t mind a book that leaves you guessing or ends on a cliffhanger, but this one just didn’t really give me much at all.
The Blabber by Vernor Vinge - 3.5*
- I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if I’d read it as a standalone novella, as it just felt a bit too long to be part of a short story collection. I liked the overall premise, I was just expecting something a bit more fast paced which maybe comes down to my own personal preference, as I know this one is popular among other readers.
The Return of the Kangaroo Rex by Janet Kagan - 3*
- This whole story was just a bit meh, I didn’t hate it but I also just didn’t really care.
Prayers on the Wind by Walter Jon Williams - 4*
- I really enjoyed this one. It’s set on a planet where society is centred around religion, with the “Omniscient” being their god. I think it raised some interesting questions about religion and science in general, but overall it was a fun adventure that I wasn’t sure where it was heading.
The Missionary’s Child by Maureen F. McHugh - 4.5*
- Another really exciting adventure story with quite a thrilling chase scene midway through. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout this one, although I’m not entirely sure what the title relates to.
Poles Apart by G. David Nordley - 4*
- This is set on a world where three different species have come to live together in harmony, and the story documents the struggles with this. Throughout this book, I do think there seems to be a theme of societal issues being represented in a philosophical but science fiction manner, and I seem to be enjoying the stories more that do that, as opposed to a generic science fiction adventure tale.
Guest of Honour by Robert Reed - 3*
- The concept of this story was interesting - the genes from 63 rich people are combined to create a new human adult, who is then sent off on adventures round the universe, the knowledge of which she’ll impart to her “parents” when she returns. It sounds really cool, but I found it quite dull - I think it would have worked better as a novel so that there was more time to get invested in all the different characters.
Flowering Mandrake by George Turner - 4*
- This story is about an extraterrestrial being that by pure chance makes its way to Earth. It was interesting to read about it entirely from the perspective of a non-human, as usually it’s the other way round. Everything in this just seemed to work really well.
Cilia-of-Gold by Stephen Baxter - 4*
- This story is set on Mercury and follows a group of scientists gathered there that discover life exists on the planet they thought was uninhabitable. I found it to be a sweet and wholesome story.
Gone to Glory by R. Garcia y Robertson - 2*
- Probably my least favourite of the short stories covered so far. It just didn’t make any sense to me, and even at the end when everything was explained, it seemed like a bit of a reach. It follows a man called Defoe who’s sent to a place/planet/not sure where some one has been kidnapped/killed/attacked/not sure, and he has to investigate (alongside everyone else, I’m not entirely sure why he was there). Not for me.
A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel - 3.5*
- This one followed some evil people/aliens that came to a town of sorts and brutally murdered some of the locals. I’m not entirely sure why they did that, but it was an enjoyable enough read nonetheless.
All Tomorrow’s Parties by Paul J. McAuley - 4.5*
- This was such a cool concept - humanity has evolved to the point that people can live forever, while cloning themselves an unlimited number of times and then pool all the knowledge of all the clones together - and seeing the effect this has on the natural evolution of humanity. Wonderful.
Escape Route by Peter F. Hamilton - 3.5*
- This story recounts a group of scientists travelling into space in order to find gold, but instead stumble across an abandoned spaceship which could provide them with even greater riches than they ever imagined. I really enjoyed the plot of this one and I think the twists were well executed. However I believe this sub-genre of science fiction is called “hard science”, which did make it a bit tricky for me to follow in places as I’m probably just not clever enough to understand most of the science described.
The Eye of God by Mary Rosenblum - 4*
- The final instalment of this anthology explores gender, sexuality and how that relates to breeding/fertility. It was a really interest concept and I would have liked it to delve deeper into the relationships between the characters, although the short story format prevented that.
June 12, 2023
Seventeen science fiction stories published in the late 1900s. Although the subtitle and preface bill them as adventure stories, they are not what I think of as prototypical SF space opera in which adventure is the whole point. These stories are better than that; the "good" outweighs the "adventure." They are driven by plot, character, and/or philosophy, not action for action's sake. There were a couple I would not myself call adventure stories. As in any good anthology, some stories will please some people more than others, but I enjoyed all of the stories herein.
September 26, 2016
You might not enjoy all the adventure stories in this book but you should find some you like. These stories run the gamut from funny to serious. This book was published in 1999, so you might have already read some of these stories.
April 20, 2025
DNF 50%. Maybe the last set of stories are better.
Every story but one was dripping with sexism, some with a side of homophobia or racism. This includes those stories by women. I guess that's what Dozois calls the "Grand Tradition".
Space swashbuckling has been shown by many authors to be a fun time which can be created without the lantern-jawed, white, straight male; simpering sex slaves or endless wily seductresses; and inferior colonize-me aliens. Take Jemison's The Effluent Engine or DeNiro's A Voyage to Queensthroat. It was almost shockingly dissapointing to read this "new" collection falling back on the 50's pulp tradition of sci-fi setting on Allan Quatermainteen teen boy fantasies, after having become accustomed
The one exception was Vinge's story, which was an inane remix of Heinlein's Star Beast and his own Fire Upon the Deep, and not a great read as a result.
The editor's introductions to each story are poorly written and edited. Runon sentences in epic paragraphs. Disrespectful comments towards the authors. Endless parentheticals.
Every story but one was dripping with sexism, some with a side of homophobia or racism. This includes those stories by women. I guess that's what Dozois calls the "Grand Tradition".
Space swashbuckling has been shown by many authors to be a fun time which can be created without the lantern-jawed, white, straight male; simpering sex slaves or endless wily seductresses; and inferior colonize-me aliens. Take Jemison's The Effluent Engine or DeNiro's A Voyage to Queensthroat. It was almost shockingly dissapointing to read this "new" collection falling back on the 50's pulp tradition of sci-fi setting on Allan Quatermainteen teen boy fantasies, after having become accustomed
The one exception was Vinge's story, which was an inane remix of Heinlein's Star Beast and his own Fire Upon the Deep, and not a great read as a result.
The editor's introductions to each story are poorly written and edited. Runon sentences in epic paragraphs. Disrespectful comments towards the authors. Endless parentheticals.
May 3, 2025
I think I might like this even better than I liked its predecessor, The Good Old Stuff. It's jam-packed with truly thought-provoking and tautly written science fiction stories and novellas. I enjoy having my imagination stretched, and it's been a while since I've had it stretched like this. None of your standard time-travel, little-green-men fare here. It ranges from far-future to nigh-cyberpunk to Baroque space opera to...well, I don't even know, because some of these tales are delightful genre-benders. Some of them truly challenged my reading comprehension, and the concepts proposed and discussed are, to my knowledge, completely original. Gardner Duzois knows his trade, and has an eye for well-written and original sci-fi. A pity I missed his run as editor at Asimov's Science Fiction. I would consider his two compilations here absolute must-reads for any newcomers looking to dip their toes into the genre for the first time.
May 3, 2025
Every so often I pick up an epub version of a book I forgot I'd read years ago in hard copy, and sometimes its a book I really enjoyed but don't quite recollect — so its a very pleasant surprise re-read. So it was with this anthology featuring some very famous authors: R. Garcia y Robertson, Janet Kagan, George R. R. Martin, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Reed, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, John Varley, and Vernor Vinge to name several. All the stories are excellent but the top three for me were: Goodbye Robinson Crusoe by John Varley; The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R. R. Martin; and A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel. If you haven't sampled this before in print or epub do yourself a favor. Get a copy and enjoy.
More at my blog: https://bookworminthedark.blogspot.com.
More at my blog: https://bookworminthedark.blogspot.com.
July 9, 2025
This is an collection of older (1977 to 1997) stories, which I found generally mediocre to bad. Which is surprising, since Dozois did a good job as editor of Asimov's. Doubly so since many of the authors here have excellent track records.
I only found 4 of the 17 stories worth reading. Many of the stories ultimately ended without really going anywhere, and some of them were so meandering and illogical I didn't finish them.
I only found 4 of the 17 stories worth reading. Many of the stories ultimately ended without really going anywhere, and some of them were so meandering and illogical I didn't finish them.
November 1, 2024
More great short stories, you can tell I like shorts....
Most of them were good.
Most of them were good.
April 15, 2012
Somehow the stories just didn't work for me, which is odd, as I usually lap up anything by Gardner Dozois. The only real exception was the beautifully written final story, "The Eye of God" by Mary Rosenblum, which I had to put away halfway through because I couldn't deal with the piercing strength and hopelessness of the emotion.
Read
August 22, 2008The Good New Stuff: Adventure in SF in the Grand Tradition by Gardner Dozois (1999)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews