Second Contacts

by Michael Rimar (Editor), Hayden Trenholm (Editor), Barry King

Second Contacts presents seventeen stories from writers in six countries (Canada, United States, England, Mexico, Israel, and the Netherlands) that answer the question: What happens after first contact? Set fifty years in the future, they explore the aftermath of alien contact, for us and for them.

Stories:
- The Susans Come Home by Barry King
- Connoisseurs of the Eccentric by Jetse de Vries
- Soil of Truth by Nicole Lavigne
- Wash Away on Fiant Lux by Robin Wyatt Dunn
- Free Radical by David Tallerman
- A Girl and Her Tentacle Monster by Naomi Libicki
- As Below, So Above by Matt Moore
- This Beautiful Creature by Morgan Crooks
- Translator by Albert Nothlit
- Grief by K.G. Anderson
- Strong Arms Be Our Conscience by Andrew Barton
- Cleansing the Glittering World by David K. Yeh
- The Peace of the Worlds by Jaime Babb
- Get the Message by Peter Wendt
- SCAR TISSUE by Rhea Rose and Colleen Anderson
- STITCH by Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
- Look, Don’t Touch by Holly Schofield

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

ebook

First published November 10, 2015

Reviews

[Reggie_Love]

Originally I tried writing little notes for each story to better provide a summary, but I found myself writing "stunning" and "brilliant" for almost everything. Even the stories that didn't have me over-the-moon (sorry, I had to) were still really good. What surprised me most was the amount of female main characters; over three-fourths focused on the stories of women or female identified aliens. While only being about twenty pages a piece, each story was able to create a new world, draw the readers in emotionally, and develop drama and action to keep the readers also on our toes. Stories range from humans across the timeline dealing with different aliens, as well as other aliens meeting other aliens. Hell, one story involves a plant-like alien that made me cry. A fucking plant made me cry!!!! Seriously. Stop what you're doing and read this. NOW.

[Kate]

Featured on All Our Worlds!

Stories about interspecies relations that aren't just plain "us vs them" war are exactly the sort of thing I want to see more of in science fiction.

Second Contacts is an intriguing series of short stories about the relationships between different species. Sometimes this is humans and aliens, sometimes it's multiple non-human species. The characters and situations are immediately interesting: aliens trading their fancy tech for our funny historical anecdotes! Plant-like aliens and their spaceship!

On the downside, the plots aren't always as promising as the characters. A few of the stories seem to drag, and others never have that moment of clarity that explains an intentionally-confusing opening.

But most of the stories were creative, memorable and thought-provoking, showing a piece of the diversity, both human and not, that the universe offers.

I'm looking forward to another collection someday!

(the cover was a bit too goofy, I thought)

[Ron]

Second Contacts provides a decent collection of stories on continued interaction with aliens. An example is "The Peace of the Worlds" which brings a 2nd Martian invasion, only this one of trade that manages to destroy the world. As with any collection, the reader's enjoyment and interest will vary from story to story. Personally, I most enjoyed " A Girl and Her Tentacle Monster", "Grief", Strong Arms Be Our Conscience", and "As Above, So Below. Chances are that you may find a tale or two that appeals to you.

[Karen Anderson]

This is a totally biased review because I have a story ("Grief") in the anthology.

That said, I think that Michael and Hayden did a tremendous job of pulling together an anthology on a theme, second contact, that drew in a wide range of highly inventive stories. If you read on the SF side of speculative fiction, I think you'll find some provocative ideas in here — certainly material that will make you want to explore more books and anthologies from Bundoran Press. Enjoy!

[Robert]

As always, anthologies are difficult to grade, as quality varies, sometimes greatly, between stories. Overall, this is pretty good, with stories by Matt Moore, Andrew Barton, K.G. Anderson, David K. Yeh, and Peter Wendt standing out for me. Worth a read.

[Brian Gaston]

An interesting take on First Contact (second in this case).

Most of the stories were good and a few were very good.

[Edwin Downward]

Honourable mentions go to:

Grief by K.A.Anderson
Stitch by Liz Westbrook

[Charl]

Excellent collection.

[Ian McKinley]

This was a very competent compilation of short stories. Neither Science Fiction nor short stories play to my core interests and they don't always keep my attention, but I found the bulk of the submissions in this volume interesting. I suppose I'm a tough audience for this type of fiction. If you like it, then you'll probably really like this book.

[Michelle Olms]

Great book