What do you think?
Rate this book
Conflicts
A spaceship hurtles into the unknown carrying humanity's last hope, but does it also carry the seeds of its own doom? The galaxy's ultimate facilitator finds himself pursued by relentless enemies, while, of greater importance, there's a puzzle to be solved. A trivial disagreement between two off-duty super soldiers out for some R&R escalates and escalates, eventually endangering an entire world... Thirteen tales of human striving, of ingenuity, brilliance, desperate action, violence, and resolution. Thirteen tales of Conflict, of Science Fiction at its absolute best. Includes stories by Neal Asher, Eric Brown, Andy Remic, Keith Brooke, Michael Cobley, Chris Beckett, Martin Sketchley, and many more.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Ian Whates
122 books81 followersIan 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!
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!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 22, 2011
This is an anthology of contemporary SF short stories thematically linked by conflict. Although that is conflict in quite a broad sense; these aren't all tales of war and battle. In fact, I was suprised by the range in this collection and I found myself generally favouring the more thought provoking and subtle stories than the more overtly action oriented ones.
All of the stories in this collection are new and I have never read any of these authors before which is precisely what I was looking for when I was deciding on my next anthology to read. Generally I find myself reading too much older fiction and I like to force myself to read something contemporary every now and then. I say force myself but this was hardly a chore to read, most of the stories being of a high standard.
The ones I particularly liked were "The Maker's Mark" by Michael Cobley, a series of fragments that piece together to reveal an intriguing game of cat and mouse, "Sussed" by Keith Brooke, a story that keeps changing direction everytime you think you know where it's going, "War Without End" by Una McCormack, a thought provoking story about morality in war, "In the Long Run" by David L. Clements, a mind bending story of mankinds struggle for survival against an information plague, and "Songbirds" by Martin Sketchley, which was a bleak yet compelling account of an alien invasion seen through the eyes of a teenage girl.
Now I hear there is a follow up to this anthology called "Further Conflicts" also edited by Ian Whates. After enjoying this one so much, I am deeply tempted to read that as well.
All of the stories in this collection are new and I have never read any of these authors before which is precisely what I was looking for when I was deciding on my next anthology to read. Generally I find myself reading too much older fiction and I like to force myself to read something contemporary every now and then. I say force myself but this was hardly a chore to read, most of the stories being of a high standard.
The ones I particularly liked were "The Maker's Mark" by Michael Cobley, a series of fragments that piece together to reveal an intriguing game of cat and mouse, "Sussed" by Keith Brooke, a story that keeps changing direction everytime you think you know where it's going, "War Without End" by Una McCormack, a thought provoking story about morality in war, "In the Long Run" by David L. Clements, a mind bending story of mankinds struggle for survival against an information plague, and "Songbirds" by Martin Sketchley, which was a bleak yet compelling account of an alien invasion seen through the eyes of a teenage girl.
Now I hear there is a follow up to this anthology called "Further Conflicts" also edited by Ian Whates. After enjoying this one so much, I am deeply tempted to read that as well.
Displaying 1 of 1 review