Northern Stars

by Glenn Grant (Editor), David G. Hartwell (Editor), John Park (Contributor)

From the earliest days of modern science fiction, Canada has given readers some of the most important authors in the field--and many of the finest stories. World Fantasy Award-winning editor David G. Hartwell has teamed up with Canadian writer and critic Glenn Grant to compile Northern Stars , an anthology of stories by the writers who have built Canada's rich science fiction tradition. Now in paperback for the first time, Northern Stars is the definitive overview of science fiction's northern frontier, a valuable addition to any fan's library.

Contributors

Joel Champetier
Lesley Choyce
Michael G. Coney
Charles de Lint
Candas Jane Dorsey
Dave Duncan
James Alan Gardner
Wiliam Gibson
Phyllis Gotlieb
Glenn Grant
Terence M. Green
Eileen Kernaghan
Donald M. Kingsbury
Judith Merril
Yves Meynard
John Park
Claude-Michel Prevost
Garfield Reeves Stevens
Spider Robinson
Esther Rochon
Robert J. Sawyer
Daniel Sernine
Heather Spears
Jean-Louis Trudel
Elisabeth Vonarburg
Peter Watts
Andrew Weiner
Robert Charles Wilson

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Canada, Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Andrea]

The most Canadian thing I've seen all day, besides the latest news report:

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always attracted to short story anthologies as I enjoy the multiple view points on a cohesive subject. Look no further than the Thieves' World books to see what a great anthology looks like (so great they created twelve of them). Another example is Bezerker Base. There are a couple of fine Shadowrun anthologies as well. However, this anthology that I have before me today is based on Canadian Science Fiction writers and we shall see if it's defined enough for this lover of the short story to appreciate.

Northern Stars has almost thirty stories in its nearly four hundred pages and while every story is certainly at least a touch of sci fi, it crosses a lot of sub-genres. We have everything from horror, dystopian, space, erotic, touches of fantasy and more making it a difficult read at times with the switching from one type of science fiction to another. It was certainly best read one story at a time and then switching to another activity (like sleep in a lot of cases).

The book left me a little bored at times. My main criticism with many short stories is that they don't always have logical ends (or sometimes even logical beginnings) and far too many stories felt like they needed a prologue or an epilogue. Also, I'm not huge on horror (even sci-fi horror) and quite a few stories such as We Have Met the Alien (and It is Us) or Just Like Old Times didn't keep my interest at all.

This is not to say that there aren't good stories found in this mix, Distant Signals and Ballads in 3/4 Time are two stand out stories. I also enjoyed the dark humor found in the Byrds. As expected, The Winter Market by William Gibson was so good, I had a realization of why the heck had I not read Neuromancer and immediately purchased a copy.

There is a lot of good here, but the problem is you have to find it. Unfortunately there is not any time where I could say I read three great stories in a row. It was more like one great story, one so-so story, and one what did I just read (I'm looking at you Reckoning of Gifts). I absolutely know Canadians can write sci-fi, but this book never quite came to the level I hoped. A mild recommendation especially if you don't mind flipping around. Enjoy.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Made it through 6 of the offerings in this anthology before admitting defeat. One or 2 were ok, and the intro from Judith Merril was interesting if you're into history-of-SF stuff, but too many of the stories were atrociously bad ("A Niche", "Under Another Moon", and the painfully Islamophobic "Remember, the Dead Say"). Maybe there's some gems buried further on, but I just don't have the patience right now to try n find them.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rating here is mainly due to its historic importance to Canadian SF although it does contain good stories. David Hartwell (bless his soul) "discovered" many Canadian authors during his career and this book highlights the strength of Canadian SF and showcases some great authors.

[Andy Janes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of Canadian science fiction. Would like to read a more recent version as well!

[Nora MacLean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a difficult book for me. Some of the stories were interesting and fascinated me, others I really struggled to connect to.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection. I loved the Niche story and the one by Sawyer.

[Foxtower · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's me... I like stories that make sense. There was ONE story that I enjoyed while all the rest were so cryptic and senseless it seemed to just like literary masturbation.

[Tyche · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something special about reading a nightmarish apocalypse and thinking 'this is my nightmarish apocalypse'. People who live in New York or London must feel some deeper connection to those countless horrid futures the cities have been given, and I felt some sort of connection when I read about a child hiding on the frozen surface of a river I see every day, caught up in a Canada-Quebec war.

Overall this was a surprisingly quality book. Highlights for me were:

'A Niche' by Peter Watts, which was a story about sad people being turned into living deep-sea submarines. I'll really have to check out more of Watts' stuff, cuz his writing hits a bunch of notes I like. Luckily, it seems like a bunch of it is available for free on his website.

'The Reckoning of Gifts' by James Alan Gardner, which had stellar momentum and gets a lot of drama out of 'priests + gay = stressful time'.

'The Cauldron' by Donald M. Kingsbury and 'Just Like the Old Times' by Robert J. Sawyer were really fun Time stories. Absolute tragedy that the novel from which 'The Cauldron' was a preview excerpt was never published. :'(

Something about 'Carpe Diem' by Eileen Kernaghan resonated with me. I liked its vagueness.

'Stolen Fires' by Yves Meynard was breathtakingly fantastic and fantastical. Astonishingly tragic bit of redefinition at the end there!

'Outport' by Garfield Reeves-Stevens had a good concept.

And the translation of 'Stardust Boulevard' by Jane Brierly was some utterly delicious prose. Can't go wrong with lone protagonists wandering the empty ruins of modern cities.

Also, the story 'Distant Signals' by Andrew Weiner was real engaging except for the fact it was a story about aliens. Just wanted to say that to the void. Real sad to check up on what most of the people collected in this book got up to since, but one of the people was Peter Watts, and it looks like he's gotten up to much since.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reading, and a great way to find new authors you'd like - and hey! Canadian! Eh!

Charles De Lint's story in this collection is quite unlike his usual stuff (I don't mean that in a bad way), and there's a wonderful story I about people in an underwater research station - Peter Watts, "A Niche" - that stuck with me a good long while after I was done the collection. It was quite good.

[Karen Haigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite short-story collections. Breaks many molds.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

mmm it was okay