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A collection of science fiction and fantasy tales that focuses on the adventures of secondary and background characters includes contributions by L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Nathan Archer, Jody Lynn Nye, Sharon Lee, Laura J. Underwood, Mark Tiedemann, and other outstanding authors.
374 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2004
2 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Lee
168 books789 followersSharon Lee has been married to her first husband for more than half her lifetime; she is a friend to cats, a member of the National Carousel Association, and oversees the dubious investment schemes of an improbable number of stuffed animals.
Despite having been born in a year of the dragon, Sharon is an introvert. She lives in Maine because she likes it there. In fact, she likes it so much that she has written five novels set in Maine; contemporary fantasy trilogy Carousel Tides, Carousel Sun, Carousel Seas, and mysteries Barnburner and Gunshy.
With the aforementioned first husband, Steve Miller, Sharon has written twenty novels of science fiction and fantasy — many of them set in the Liaden Universe® — and numerous short stories. She has occasionally been an advertising copywriter, a reporter, photographer, book reviewer, and secretary. She was for three years Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and was subsequently elected vice president and then president of that organization.
Despite having been born in a year of the dragon, Sharon is an introvert. She lives in Maine because she likes it there. In fact, she likes it so much that she has written five novels set in Maine; contemporary fantasy trilogy Carousel Tides, Carousel Sun, Carousel Seas, and mysteries Barnburner and Gunshy.
With the aforementioned first husband, Steve Miller, Sharon has written twenty novels of science fiction and fantasy — many of them set in the Liaden Universe® — and numerous short stories. She has occasionally been an advertising copywriter, a reporter, photographer, book reviewer, and secretary. She was for three years Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and was subsequently elected vice president and then president of that organization.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 29, 2016
Most stories focus on the famous, but this is a collection of stories about those who rarely get their stories told. Some are in the gutter, others are just anonymous workers getting by. The characters & the worlds are great, though.
Table of Contents:
Voyeur by Eric Witchey - horribly accurate addiction tale. The drug was the twist, a neat idea, but I couldn't buy in properly to get the impact. My fault or the author's? 3 stars
Digger Don't Take No Requests by John Teehan - fun character gaming the system to move outward on the fringes. Vaguely reminiscent of Rhysling from the The Green Hills of Earth. 4 stars
The Gate Between Hope & Glory by Holly Phillips - is about a captive work force & to what lengths people can be pushed. 4 stars
Riis Run by Eluki Bes Shahar - had some good elements, but the dialect was too thick. It was real work trying to understand the first person narration. The reasoning for doing the run didn't hold up, which really harmed the story. The end point was good, though. 2.5 stars
Bidding The Walrus by Lawrence M. Schoen was fun, interesting, & well done. Sometimes gifts are a little too good to be true. 3.5 stars
The Gift by Laura J. Underwood had more angst & envy than seemed fit. Didn't really work well for me. It was a fantasy story & otherwise well written. 2.5 stars
The Dock To Heaven by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is what I expected from this anthology. A slick operator in a high tech rat warren. 4 stars
Find A Pin by Ru Emerson was surprisingly good & touching, although neither SF or fantasy. More of a general, every day story. 4 stars
Sailing To The Temple by Alan Smale was another fantasy. I think some of the spiritual point went over my head, but it was well done. 3.5 stars
The Pilgrim Trade by Mark W. Tiedemann is about the dispossessed, people without franchise in a future world that fits well with our own. 5 stars
More To Glory by Patrice Sarath was a weird, scary world. High tech, but low in so many ways. Fairly horrible & well done point. 4 stars
Gonna Boogie With Granny Time by Sharon Lee was another with dialect that was way too thick. Not a bad idea, but poorly executed with the POV change. 1 star
Angel's Kitchen by Chris Szego was a really good fantasy. I did not see the end coming, but it hits hard & made a great point. 5 stars
Lair Of The Lesbian Love Goddess by Edward McKeown was wonderful! With a title like that, it had to crash or fly. Funny & very good. 4 stars
Contraband by Nathan Archer was really interesting. Just how corrupt can a person be? What are the limits? Great idea & setting featuring an anonymous gov't worker. 5 stars
Spinacre's War by Lee Martindale started out very well, but the ending was a bit much. The detritus of the armed forces fitting into the theme of this anthology well. 3.5 stars
Bottom Of The Food Chain by Jody Lynn Nye was just awesome. It fit a couple of huge themes (coming-of-age & winning the lottery) into a low port indeed. 5 stars
Zappa For Bardog by Joe Murphy was weird, but good. It certainly didn't go where I thought it was & the perspective was unique, to say the least. 4 stars
The Times She Went Away by Paul E. Martens was obvious in some ways. A very memorable woman spacer drops by between jobs & time dilation does its thing. Told from a smitten man's point of view. Excellent! 4 stars
Scream Angel by Douglas Smith starts off kind of tacky. It's the old traveling circus gambit, but stick with it. The characters develop along with the story into a super tale. 5 stars
Overall, this was one of the best anthologies I've read in a long time. Highly recommended!
Table of Contents:
Voyeur by Eric Witchey - horribly accurate addiction tale. The drug was the twist, a neat idea, but I couldn't buy in properly to get the impact. My fault or the author's? 3 stars
Digger Don't Take No Requests by John Teehan - fun character gaming the system to move outward on the fringes. Vaguely reminiscent of Rhysling from the The Green Hills of Earth. 4 stars
The Gate Between Hope & Glory by Holly Phillips - is about a captive work force & to what lengths people can be pushed. 4 stars
Riis Run by Eluki Bes Shahar - had some good elements, but the dialect was too thick. It was real work trying to understand the first person narration. The reasoning for doing the run didn't hold up, which really harmed the story. The end point was good, though. 2.5 stars
Bidding The Walrus by Lawrence M. Schoen was fun, interesting, & well done. Sometimes gifts are a little too good to be true. 3.5 stars
The Gift by Laura J. Underwood had more angst & envy than seemed fit. Didn't really work well for me. It was a fantasy story & otherwise well written. 2.5 stars
The Dock To Heaven by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is what I expected from this anthology. A slick operator in a high tech rat warren. 4 stars
Find A Pin by Ru Emerson was surprisingly good & touching, although neither SF or fantasy. More of a general, every day story. 4 stars
Sailing To The Temple by Alan Smale was another fantasy. I think some of the spiritual point went over my head, but it was well done. 3.5 stars
The Pilgrim Trade by Mark W. Tiedemann is about the dispossessed, people without franchise in a future world that fits well with our own. 5 stars
More To Glory by Patrice Sarath was a weird, scary world. High tech, but low in so many ways. Fairly horrible & well done point. 4 stars
Gonna Boogie With Granny Time by Sharon Lee was another with dialect that was way too thick. Not a bad idea, but poorly executed with the POV change. 1 star
Angel's Kitchen by Chris Szego was a really good fantasy. I did not see the end coming, but it hits hard & made a great point. 5 stars
Lair Of The Lesbian Love Goddess by Edward McKeown was wonderful! With a title like that, it had to crash or fly. Funny & very good. 4 stars
Contraband by Nathan Archer was really interesting. Just how corrupt can a person be? What are the limits? Great idea & setting featuring an anonymous gov't worker. 5 stars
Spinacre's War by Lee Martindale started out very well, but the ending was a bit much. The detritus of the armed forces fitting into the theme of this anthology well. 3.5 stars
Bottom Of The Food Chain by Jody Lynn Nye was just awesome. It fit a couple of huge themes (coming-of-age & winning the lottery) into a low port indeed. 5 stars
Zappa For Bardog by Joe Murphy was weird, but good. It certainly didn't go where I thought it was & the perspective was unique, to say the least. 4 stars
The Times She Went Away by Paul E. Martens was obvious in some ways. A very memorable woman spacer drops by between jobs & time dilation does its thing. Told from a smitten man's point of view. Excellent! 4 stars
Scream Angel by Douglas Smith starts off kind of tacky. It's the old traveling circus gambit, but stick with it. The characters develop along with the story into a super tale. 5 stars
Overall, this was one of the best anthologies I've read in a long time. Highly recommended!
June 30, 2012
I just wasn't that crazy about this collection. Couple good stories, and quite a few that have only the most tenuous relation to the theme. The ones I liked best were some of the least thematic. Gonna run this one by the used book store, see if it's worth a few cents; if not, it's off to Goodwill. The continuing saga of "There is such a thing as too many books, if you can't walk through your residence without turning sideways."
April 25, 2011
This was a wonderful anthology to be a part of. My only regret is that eluki's story appears directly in front of "Bidding the Walrus;" it's so good that anything that came after it (i.e., mine) pales in comparison.
My thanks to editors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller for including me in such a fine book.
My thanks to editors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller for including me in such a fine book.
July 14, 2010
As in most short story collections, this was a mixed bag. For the most part the stories were very good. But there were a few that were beyond my simple mind. Even so, I would recommend this book to all of my Sci-Fi loving friends :o)
December 7, 2022
Like most collections, this one is neven. There are some great stories and some really blah ones.
February 11, 2013
Short stories structured around the loose theme of life and survival in lower social classes, that is, the beggar at the dregs of the futuristic society, the healer magically tending the local slum, the hacker off-grid at the space station.
I really didn't enjoy this. One or two stories held my interest enough for me to completely read them, but I found the rest terribly dull and skimmed only their first couple pages. Not an anthology I'll seek out again. No stories or authors of particular merit. Still, it wasn't bad enough to earn just one star.
I really didn't enjoy this. One or two stories held my interest enough for me to completely read them, but I found the rest terribly dull and skimmed only their first couple pages. Not an anthology I'll seek out again. No stories or authors of particular merit. Still, it wasn't bad enough to earn just one star.
April 8, 2015
there were a couple of good stories here. But since I know these aren't main characters if characters at all in series, I am not going to go look for any of these.
there was some real crap in here too. several I didn't even read beyond the first paragraph. wow.
there was some real crap in here too. several I didn't even read beyond the first paragraph. wow.
September 10, 2013
An excellent collection. This book of short stories focuses on those from the underbelly of societies. The various authors do a great job of showing this perspective.
September 16, 2015
There were a couple of short stories in this that I completely loved, but overall I wasn't too bothered about most of the stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews