To the Stars and Back: Stories in Honour of Eric Brown

by Ian Whates (Editor, Contributor), Philip Palmer (Contributor), Una McCormack (Contributor)

Eric Brown was one of the UK's finest SF authors. His work won him awards, his storytelling won him readers; more than that, though, he was a special person, and that won him many friends.

Containing all new stories from some of the UK's finest genre writers, this volume, released to mark what would have been Eric's 64th birthday, is dedicated to Eric and his family. It is our way of celebrating someone whose work inspired us and whose friendship made a difference.

Genres: Science Fiction

292 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2024

About the author

Ian Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).

Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.

This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.

Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.

In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).

In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.

In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.

His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!

Reviews

[Runalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely elegant collection of SF tales paying tribute to their friend and collected. Hugely enjoyable

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for the new Alastair Reynolds but the rest was good, too. I read this entire tribute to Eric Brown and still have no clue what Eric Brown's stuff was like outside "it was sci-fi."

[John Hodgkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd never heard of EWric Brown before, nor most of the contributors to this short story book. And, to be honest, I'm not surprised, as the majority of the stoies are second-rate, with a couple totally confusing.

[david james · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of the signed hardback, signed by all the authors. A beautiful tribute to Eric brown from many authors who actually knew him. As normal with an anthology, some stories are better than others, some stories are more in my genre than others, some stories I wouldn't even regard as SF. But every story was readable and had its own merits. Obviously some writers designed their story either around Eric, in his style or with him in mind while other authors did their own thing, and the anthology must be read with that in mind.
In summary, kudos for Ian Whates for pulling these stories together and producing a book fit for anyone's shelf.

[David Robillard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but very different quality of stories. Some are quite good while others, less so. Which is expected simply by the number of different authors involved. Still, a good read and a great tribute to the late Eric Brown. May he RIP.

[Jojo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eric who? Apparently, he had a cadre of people who loved him and enjoyed hanging out with him.

I've never read anything by Eric Brown but if the stories in this book are supposed to represent his style of writing, then I won't be seeking out his work in the future . Almost all (all?) of the stories were piddling and boring, at best.