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Ruins #2
Ruins Extraterrestrial
The new anthology of stories set within or about extraterrestrial ruins.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Eric T. Reynolds
21 books6 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Publisher and Editor of Hadley Rille Books, based in Kansas City, Missouri.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Publisher and Editor of Hadley Rille Books, based in Kansas City, Missouri.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 23, 2014
This is a 2008 book I bought and read around publication which was released in e-book form in 2011 (so my inclusion at 2011 releases) and I re-bought together with its companions (Metropolis, Terra) as the price was very low and I wanted to finally read properly Terra and read metropolis.
I did also a quick reread of this one to write a little on FBC about it and it was as good as I remembered; below is my FBC mini-review:
Editor Eric T. Reynolds comments on Ruins Extraterrestrial in the introduction.
"We have long been fascinated with ruins. Even people who lived during ancient times were interested in the artifacts left by even more ancient cultures. Ruins hold so much mystery that even the best analysis can give only an impression of a long-vanished culture. Whether future ruins of Earth or those found on distant worlds, their artifacts are small pieces to larger puzzles that can never be absolutely complete. To study them we have to think beyond our present world experience. This is true of earthly ruins as well as those of non-human origin.
Cultures that evolved independently of us will have developed societies far beyond our imagination. And yet, that’s what carries us forward and motivates us to take those long trips across the void, confronting unknown obstacles in order to bring back knowledge from the remnants of a vanished civilization. How safe the visits will be will vary. Exploring alien ruins can be dangerous, both unintentionally on the part of those who left them, as well as by design. Some might still have a presence that can be triggered by the arrival of an unsuspecting archaeological team. Others will be completely dead."
Table of Contents: Ruins Extraterrestrial:
Introduction by Eric T. Reynolds
Stonework by Wendy Waring
Beyond the Wall by Justin Stanchfield
The Empty Utopia by Christopher McKitterick
Borrowed Time by Gustavo Bondoni
Charybdis by Sue Blalock
Introduction to the Findings of Team 150B-T.2U by Raiden Mesc Gerarti by Elizabeth Kate Switaj
The Dam by Harvey Welles and Philip Raines
The Fateful Voyage of Dame La Liberté by Lavie Tidhar
Memories by Robert B. Marcus, Jr.
Watcher in the Dark by Suanne Warr
Jigsaw by Douglas Smith
Heartcry by Willis Couvillier
When All Is Known by Cheryl McCreary
Red City by Rob Riel
Combustible Eden by Davin Ireland
The Price of Peace by Tristan S. Davenport
Song of the Child-Prophet by Jonathan Shipley
Flies by Paul L. Bates
Planetfall by Jack Hillman
Inheritance by Trent Walters
Inclusions by Camille Alexa
I, Fixit by Ted Stetson
Among the Shards of Heaven by Jennifer Crow
Looking back at the anthology I notice some familiar names that have become mainstays in the sff community since I've read the book, most notably Lavie Tidhar and Douglas Smith, while I also got and plan to soon read Christopher McKitterick's 2010 novel Transcendence.
The stories range from dark to humorous, from human perspective to alien one, from explorers from civilizations that are like ours, to explorers that come from strange cultures, from pure exploration to accidental findings and from peaceful settings to warlike ones. As they are only a few pages short, the stories feature usually only a few characters but almost always something interesting either happens or is discovered, so there are a few twists, great atmosphere and world building that is just exceptional given the few pages each author has to work with. There is even a two pages story where the place is the only character!
Overall I would say that Ruins Extraterrestrial (highly recommended) is the perfect place to start the exploration of this superb trio of anthologies.
I did also a quick reread of this one to write a little on FBC about it and it was as good as I remembered; below is my FBC mini-review:
Editor Eric T. Reynolds comments on Ruins Extraterrestrial in the introduction.
"We have long been fascinated with ruins. Even people who lived during ancient times were interested in the artifacts left by even more ancient cultures. Ruins hold so much mystery that even the best analysis can give only an impression of a long-vanished culture. Whether future ruins of Earth or those found on distant worlds, their artifacts are small pieces to larger puzzles that can never be absolutely complete. To study them we have to think beyond our present world experience. This is true of earthly ruins as well as those of non-human origin.
Cultures that evolved independently of us will have developed societies far beyond our imagination. And yet, that’s what carries us forward and motivates us to take those long trips across the void, confronting unknown obstacles in order to bring back knowledge from the remnants of a vanished civilization. How safe the visits will be will vary. Exploring alien ruins can be dangerous, both unintentionally on the part of those who left them, as well as by design. Some might still have a presence that can be triggered by the arrival of an unsuspecting archaeological team. Others will be completely dead."
Table of Contents: Ruins Extraterrestrial:
Introduction by Eric T. Reynolds
Stonework by Wendy Waring
Beyond the Wall by Justin Stanchfield
The Empty Utopia by Christopher McKitterick
Borrowed Time by Gustavo Bondoni
Charybdis by Sue Blalock
Introduction to the Findings of Team 150B-T.2U by Raiden Mesc Gerarti by Elizabeth Kate Switaj
The Dam by Harvey Welles and Philip Raines
The Fateful Voyage of Dame La Liberté by Lavie Tidhar
Memories by Robert B. Marcus, Jr.
Watcher in the Dark by Suanne Warr
Jigsaw by Douglas Smith
Heartcry by Willis Couvillier
When All Is Known by Cheryl McCreary
Red City by Rob Riel
Combustible Eden by Davin Ireland
The Price of Peace by Tristan S. Davenport
Song of the Child-Prophet by Jonathan Shipley
Flies by Paul L. Bates
Planetfall by Jack Hillman
Inheritance by Trent Walters
Inclusions by Camille Alexa
I, Fixit by Ted Stetson
Among the Shards of Heaven by Jennifer Crow
Looking back at the anthology I notice some familiar names that have become mainstays in the sff community since I've read the book, most notably Lavie Tidhar and Douglas Smith, while I also got and plan to soon read Christopher McKitterick's 2010 novel Transcendence.
The stories range from dark to humorous, from human perspective to alien one, from explorers from civilizations that are like ours, to explorers that come from strange cultures, from pure exploration to accidental findings and from peaceful settings to warlike ones. As they are only a few pages short, the stories feature usually only a few characters but almost always something interesting either happens or is discovered, so there are a few twists, great atmosphere and world building that is just exceptional given the few pages each author has to work with. There is even a two pages story where the place is the only character!
Overall I would say that Ruins Extraterrestrial (highly recommended) is the perfect place to start the exploration of this superb trio of anthologies.
January 29, 2012
Love this collection of short SF set in the ruins of extraterrestrial civilizations.
March 14, 2020
Great collection.
Such a wonderful variety of stories. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the others in this collection.
Such a wonderful variety of stories. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the others in this collection.
November 2, 2025
As always, some great ones, some OK.
But well worth the read.
But well worth the read.
October 10, 2015
I'd been lucky enough to read a couple of excellent short story collections so my bar was pretty high when I started this. The majority of the stories were very compelling and well written but the number of misses was higher than I expected.
Overall worthwhile and I'll probably read the others in this collection.
Overall worthwhile and I'll probably read the others in this collection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews