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Solaris Book of New Science Fiction #1
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction
An eclectic collection of all-original science fiction stories from some of the foremost luminaries in the genre. Featuring new tales of far future murder, first contact, love and war from such well-regarded and award winning authors as Peter F. Hamilton, Stephen Baxter, Adam Roberts, Jeffrey Thomas, Eric Brown, Paul Di Filippo, Neal Asher, Jay Lake and Ian Watson, this collection is sure to delight all fans of good science fiction. "A wide range of topics and diverse styles characterizes this enjoyable collection of science-fiction stories. While mediocre science fiction fails to work on any level other than the conceptual, the best of the stories in this new Solaris anthology successfully navigate both conceptual and emotional territory... Editor Mann has gathered a collection that should appeal to science-fiction buffs, and make a worthwhile introduction for novices. Stands as proof that science fiction is alive and well." Kirkus Discoveries, VNU US Literary Group
Content:
In His Sights - Jeffrey Thomas
Bioship - Neal Asher
C-Rock City - Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
The Bowldler Strain - James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus - Paul Di Filippo
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton
A Distillation of Grace - Adam Roberts
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
Cages - Ian Watson
Jellyfish - Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads - Mary Turzillo
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse - Brian Aldiss
The Accord - Keith Brooke
The Wedding Party - Simon Ings
Third Person - Tony Ballantyne
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown
Content:
In His Sights - Jeffrey Thomas
Bioship - Neal Asher
C-Rock City - Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
The Bowldler Strain - James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus - Paul Di Filippo
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton
A Distillation of Grace - Adam Roberts
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
Cages - Ian Watson
Jellyfish - Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads - Mary Turzillo
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse - Brian Aldiss
The Accord - Keith Brooke
The Wedding Party - Simon Ings
Third Person - Tony Ballantyne
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 30, 2007
9 people are currently reading
367 people want to read
About the author
George Mann
360 books674 followersGeorge Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 9, 2011
Hopes were pinned on Windbag for two reasons. First, its symptoms were less startlingly dramatic than Bowdler''s, and nowhere near as unsettling. Second, by its very nature, Windbag instilled the avoidance of vulgarity. No-one who caught Windbag would resort to four-letter words, not while they were so enthusiastically utilizing fourteen-letter words. The full range of the English language was theirs to command, so what need was there to wallow amid the baser idioms when altogether more refined and elegant modes of expression were available? from "The Bowdler Strain".
My favourite stories were "Personal Jesus", the amusing tale of "The Bowdler Strain" and the poignant "Last Contact", but overall this was a very good selection of stories.
My favourite stories were "Personal Jesus", the amusing tale of "The Bowdler Strain" and the poignant "Last Contact", but overall this was a very good selection of stories.
November 1, 2018
It's always hard to rate an anthology. So 3 stars it is, and the best stories are Brian Aldiss' Four Ladies of the Apocalypse and James Lovegroves The Bowdler Strain.
November 21, 2012
I don’t read many anthologies, puzzling since I enjoy reading and writing short stories, but after reading this one, I may pick up some more. Mr. Mann has gathered an interesting set of writers for this book, mostly British since Solaris is a British publisher, and most of whom are unknown to me.
In my experience, anthologies are a mixed bag, just like magazines Analog, Asimov’s, and Science Fiction and Fantasy. That’s not a bad thing if you think about it – everyone has different taste in stories so if all the stories appealed to me chances are none would appeal to someone else. A happy medium is important so that more people will by the book. A side benefit is that you might find yourself reading a story that you would not have since it is in the book anyway thus expanding your palate.
Of the 16 stories, here is the breakdown:
• Really Liked – 4
• Enjoyed – 4
• OK – 4
• Didn’t Care For – 4
Of the four I didn’t care for, only one was poor in my opinion, the other three just had subject matter that I don’t like.
My favorite was the last story – The Farewell Party by Eric Brown. It tells the story of a group of friends who hang out at a pub once a week and one day a stranger comes in and becomes a friend. The science fiction aspect unfolds gradually as we find out more about the stranger. Even though I saw the ending coming, it was very satisfying. The reason I like this one best is because the characters are well written and the story line flows so brilliantly.
The most humorous story was Jellyfish by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold, two names well known in this genre. It is a tongue-in-cheek, no holds barred, no prisoners satire on the science fiction writing life, conventions and publishers. I laughed out loud several times, and if you have been fen for long, the inside jokes will induce serious hilarity – don’t drink anything while reading this unless you want it coming out your nose as you laugh.
The story that confused the heck out of me was Four Ladies of the Apocalypse by Brian Aldiss. I just could not get a handle on it. Oddly, it was the shortest story in the book.
Some of the notable authors in this collection, in addition to those mentioned, are Neal Asher, Stephen Baxter, Peter F. Hamilton, and Mary A. Turzillo. While many of the authors are probably well known, I am not familiar with their work.
If you enjoy short fiction, I recommend adding this book to your collection.
In my experience, anthologies are a mixed bag, just like magazines Analog, Asimov’s, and Science Fiction and Fantasy. That’s not a bad thing if you think about it – everyone has different taste in stories so if all the stories appealed to me chances are none would appeal to someone else. A happy medium is important so that more people will by the book. A side benefit is that you might find yourself reading a story that you would not have since it is in the book anyway thus expanding your palate.
Of the 16 stories, here is the breakdown:
• Really Liked – 4
• Enjoyed – 4
• OK – 4
• Didn’t Care For – 4
Of the four I didn’t care for, only one was poor in my opinion, the other three just had subject matter that I don’t like.
My favorite was the last story – The Farewell Party by Eric Brown. It tells the story of a group of friends who hang out at a pub once a week and one day a stranger comes in and becomes a friend. The science fiction aspect unfolds gradually as we find out more about the stranger. Even though I saw the ending coming, it was very satisfying. The reason I like this one best is because the characters are well written and the story line flows so brilliantly.
The most humorous story was Jellyfish by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold, two names well known in this genre. It is a tongue-in-cheek, no holds barred, no prisoners satire on the science fiction writing life, conventions and publishers. I laughed out loud several times, and if you have been fen for long, the inside jokes will induce serious hilarity – don’t drink anything while reading this unless you want it coming out your nose as you laugh.
The story that confused the heck out of me was Four Ladies of the Apocalypse by Brian Aldiss. I just could not get a handle on it. Oddly, it was the shortest story in the book.
Some of the notable authors in this collection, in addition to those mentioned, are Neal Asher, Stephen Baxter, Peter F. Hamilton, and Mary A. Turzillo. While many of the authors are probably well known, I am not familiar with their work.
If you enjoy short fiction, I recommend adding this book to your collection.
August 5, 2023
“The Solaris Book of Science Fiction”, edited by George Mann.
ISBN 987-1-84416-448-6
First published by Solaris in 2007
Cover art by Stephan Martiniere
I enjoy reading collections of short stories because you can switch to other books and go back and pick up the next story without losing pace. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the short stories in this book except for a few which were really not to my liking such as Bioship, A Distillation of Grace, Cages and an old time low for Jelly Fish, The Wedding party and Third Person.
In His Sights, C-Rock City, Personal Jesus, If at First, Last Contact, Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads and The Farewell Party are stories well better than average. So the rating in total for this collection of short stories a ***Star. See my review per story below.
In His Sights, written by Jeffrey Thomas:
An amazing galaxy described by Jeffrey Thomas in this Short story. Extradimensional Universes with extra-terrestrial races and the possibilities to travel from and to these other places of existence.
****Stars.
Main Characters:
• Jeremy Stake, Corporal in the Colonial Forces during the Blue War, born in Tin Town as a mutant. Now a veteran.
• Edgar Santos, soldier.
• Amy Jo Serverance, soldier.
• Miriam Khaled, Veteran’s Administration worker.
• Cal Williams, former soldier.
• Ha Jinn, Thi Gonh sniper.
Bioship, written by Neal Asher.
**Stars, according to my opinion more a short story for young adults and really the plot is so thin and predictable.
Main characters:
• The living ship, The Quill.
• Sian Siminiser.
• Tom John Cable.
• Captain March.
C-Rock City, written by Jay Lake and Greg van Eekhout.
C-Rock City is built inside one of three Class C Asteroids and the three Asteroids are connected to each other by means of bridges. The tunnels and caverns were excavated by slaves and they left amazing rock art as a legacy of their existing.
****Stars.
Main Characters:
• Rocky Muldoon, Port control officer.
• “Porkpie”, second mate on the spaceship O’Hara.
• Violet4264, “Prokpie’s” mother.
The Bowdler Strain, written by James Lovegrove.
Ideative Manipulation is researched thoroughly at the laboratories in Chilton Mead and containment is a hot topic.
***Stars.
• Professor Hugo Bantling, Research Scientist at Chilton Mead.
• Colonel James Nutter, Chief of Operations at Chilton Mead.
• Dr. Roxanne Quest.
• Dr. Edwin Chao.
• Annette Murray, GP.
Personal Jesus, written by Paul Di Filippo.
A short story based on the use of some sort of an iPod, being a small quantum chip computer with a personal advisor for each and everyone. No more mistakes and if mistakes are made, the consequences are minimal. It is called a godPod and hence the title “Personal Jesus”.
Brilliant short story, including the reference to a movie (visited by our main character and his friend) named, “godPodless in Seatle”.
****Stars
Sheperd Crooks, Barista at the Sheaf and Swallow.
Anna Modesto, his colleague.
If at First…., written by Peter F. Hamilton
Time machines, wormholes and parallel universes with a catch at the end.
****Stars
Metropolitan Police Force:
David Lanson, Chief Detective.
Paul Matthews, Lieutenant.
Carmer Callowcy, Lieutenant.
Toby Jenson, Intruder at the company of Marcus Orthew.
Marcus Orthew, media and computer mogul.
A Distillation of Grace, written by Adam Roberts.
About generations and belief/religion, but not my cup of tea to be honest.
**Stars
Cole and his wife Perry and their son Parr.
Medd, the son of Parr.
Rhed, girl of the same generation of Medd.
Last Contact, written by Stephen Baxter.
Maureen and her daughter Caitlin. Caitlin is an astrophysicist and she is authority on the Big Rip.
****Stars.
Cages, written by Ian Watson.
A bit of a messy story about an alien race arriving on earth through hoops and bestowing cages on body parts of humans when they become older than a certain age. The aliens are called Varroa.
**Stars.
Miss Sally Adamson of the Combined Intelligence Agency.
Her colleague Svelte (half Serbian and half Romanian).
Tony Cullen from the Surveillance Agency(?).
Bryce, security.
Pete and Caz.
Benny, Caz’s partner.
Jelly Fish, written by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold.
A SF Story about hard drugs, did not even reached two pages and skipped to the next story.
What a disappointment and I’m not going to rate this story.
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads, written by Mary A. Turzillo.
A story about the challenges of living on Mars in a harsh environment while raising a child. Not every visitor has good intensions but it is customary to invite every visitor in.
****Star story where you can relate to the main characters who are struggling to make a living.
Zora Smythe has a Swahili background and lives together with her partner Marcus and their son Sekou under a small dome at the Martian artic pole. Both work under contract of Vivocrypt Corporation.
The Land Ethic Nomads Tango, Deshetuda, Hamzet and Valkiri.
Valkiri formally known as Estelle Query, a nuclear engineer.
Krona Centime, neighbour from the Centime Farm.
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse, written by Brian Aldiss.
***Stars.
The Accord, written by Keith Brooke.
A world with a diaspora spanning network acting like a super mind. If you die, you will become part of this super mind named the Accord. This short story plays on the world of Laverne and makes me think a little bit of the Matrix, but not plugged in. The world is also inhabited by Pterosaurs and Merfolk.
***Stars.
Tish Goldenhawk and Milton, her husband. They own the Fallen Droplet, a bar-restaurant.
They have a 4-years old son Bruce.
Angelo, a winged stranger.
Ee-jian-dee, Sen-jian-dee and Er-jian-dee, they seem to be connected.
The Wedding party, written by Simon Ings.
I enjoy reading SF, really, I do. I don’t like reading contemporary stories disguised as SF. Is it possible to give Zero stars? Yes, it is and I did not even finish the first page, what a disappointment.
Third Person, written by Tony Ballantyne.
Also, no fun to read this short story and I cannot award more than *Star.
The Farewell Party, written by Eric Brown.
In the small village of Oxenworth in Yorkshire, nine people regularly come together in de pub named Fleece to enjoy each other’s company. A stranger buys a house in the village and he turns out to be quite a celebrity and a welcome addition to the group. This all takes place while humankind met the Kéthani, an alien race. Three of the group have died and been resurrected on the home planet of the Kéthani and returned to Earth.
****Stars.
Gregory Merral, successful writer.
Khalid Azzam, working an internship at the implant ward.
Richard Lincoln, a ferryman.
Andy Souter, a professional musician (trumpet).
Doug Standish, police officer.
Jeffrey Morrow, teacher.
Ben and Elisabeth.
Samantha Kingsley, lecturer at Leeds and her husband Stuart.
ISBN 987-1-84416-448-6
First published by Solaris in 2007
Cover art by Stephan Martiniere
I enjoy reading collections of short stories because you can switch to other books and go back and pick up the next story without losing pace. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the short stories in this book except for a few which were really not to my liking such as Bioship, A Distillation of Grace, Cages and an old time low for Jelly Fish, The Wedding party and Third Person.
In His Sights, C-Rock City, Personal Jesus, If at First, Last Contact, Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads and The Farewell Party are stories well better than average. So the rating in total for this collection of short stories a ***Star. See my review per story below.
In His Sights, written by Jeffrey Thomas:
An amazing galaxy described by Jeffrey Thomas in this Short story. Extradimensional Universes with extra-terrestrial races and the possibilities to travel from and to these other places of existence.
****Stars.
Main Characters:
• Jeremy Stake, Corporal in the Colonial Forces during the Blue War, born in Tin Town as a mutant. Now a veteran.
• Edgar Santos, soldier.
• Amy Jo Serverance, soldier.
• Miriam Khaled, Veteran’s Administration worker.
• Cal Williams, former soldier.
• Ha Jinn, Thi Gonh sniper.
Bioship, written by Neal Asher.
**Stars, according to my opinion more a short story for young adults and really the plot is so thin and predictable.
Main characters:
• The living ship, The Quill.
• Sian Siminiser.
• Tom John Cable.
• Captain March.
C-Rock City, written by Jay Lake and Greg van Eekhout.
C-Rock City is built inside one of three Class C Asteroids and the three Asteroids are connected to each other by means of bridges. The tunnels and caverns were excavated by slaves and they left amazing rock art as a legacy of their existing.
****Stars.
Main Characters:
• Rocky Muldoon, Port control officer.
• “Porkpie”, second mate on the spaceship O’Hara.
• Violet4264, “Prokpie’s” mother.
The Bowdler Strain, written by James Lovegrove.
Ideative Manipulation is researched thoroughly at the laboratories in Chilton Mead and containment is a hot topic.
***Stars.
• Professor Hugo Bantling, Research Scientist at Chilton Mead.
• Colonel James Nutter, Chief of Operations at Chilton Mead.
• Dr. Roxanne Quest.
• Dr. Edwin Chao.
• Annette Murray, GP.
Personal Jesus, written by Paul Di Filippo.
A short story based on the use of some sort of an iPod, being a small quantum chip computer with a personal advisor for each and everyone. No more mistakes and if mistakes are made, the consequences are minimal. It is called a godPod and hence the title “Personal Jesus”.
Brilliant short story, including the reference to a movie (visited by our main character and his friend) named, “godPodless in Seatle”.
****Stars
Sheperd Crooks, Barista at the Sheaf and Swallow.
Anna Modesto, his colleague.
If at First…., written by Peter F. Hamilton
Time machines, wormholes and parallel universes with a catch at the end.
****Stars
Metropolitan Police Force:
David Lanson, Chief Detective.
Paul Matthews, Lieutenant.
Carmer Callowcy, Lieutenant.
Toby Jenson, Intruder at the company of Marcus Orthew.
Marcus Orthew, media and computer mogul.
A Distillation of Grace, written by Adam Roberts.
About generations and belief/religion, but not my cup of tea to be honest.
**Stars
Cole and his wife Perry and their son Parr.
Medd, the son of Parr.
Rhed, girl of the same generation of Medd.
Last Contact, written by Stephen Baxter.
Maureen and her daughter Caitlin. Caitlin is an astrophysicist and she is authority on the Big Rip.
****Stars.
Cages, written by Ian Watson.
A bit of a messy story about an alien race arriving on earth through hoops and bestowing cages on body parts of humans when they become older than a certain age. The aliens are called Varroa.
**Stars.
Miss Sally Adamson of the Combined Intelligence Agency.
Her colleague Svelte (half Serbian and half Romanian).
Tony Cullen from the Surveillance Agency(?).
Bryce, security.
Pete and Caz.
Benny, Caz’s partner.
Jelly Fish, written by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold.
A SF Story about hard drugs, did not even reached two pages and skipped to the next story.
What a disappointment and I’m not going to rate this story.
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads, written by Mary A. Turzillo.
A story about the challenges of living on Mars in a harsh environment while raising a child. Not every visitor has good intensions but it is customary to invite every visitor in.
****Star story where you can relate to the main characters who are struggling to make a living.
Zora Smythe has a Swahili background and lives together with her partner Marcus and their son Sekou under a small dome at the Martian artic pole. Both work under contract of Vivocrypt Corporation.
The Land Ethic Nomads Tango, Deshetuda, Hamzet and Valkiri.
Valkiri formally known as Estelle Query, a nuclear engineer.
Krona Centime, neighbour from the Centime Farm.
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse, written by Brian Aldiss.
***Stars.
The Accord, written by Keith Brooke.
A world with a diaspora spanning network acting like a super mind. If you die, you will become part of this super mind named the Accord. This short story plays on the world of Laverne and makes me think a little bit of the Matrix, but not plugged in. The world is also inhabited by Pterosaurs and Merfolk.
***Stars.
Tish Goldenhawk and Milton, her husband. They own the Fallen Droplet, a bar-restaurant.
They have a 4-years old son Bruce.
Angelo, a winged stranger.
Ee-jian-dee, Sen-jian-dee and Er-jian-dee, they seem to be connected.
The Wedding party, written by Simon Ings.
I enjoy reading SF, really, I do. I don’t like reading contemporary stories disguised as SF. Is it possible to give Zero stars? Yes, it is and I did not even finish the first page, what a disappointment.
Third Person, written by Tony Ballantyne.
Also, no fun to read this short story and I cannot award more than *Star.
The Farewell Party, written by Eric Brown.
In the small village of Oxenworth in Yorkshire, nine people regularly come together in de pub named Fleece to enjoy each other’s company. A stranger buys a house in the village and he turns out to be quite a celebrity and a welcome addition to the group. This all takes place while humankind met the Kéthani, an alien race. Three of the group have died and been resurrected on the home planet of the Kéthani and returned to Earth.
****Stars.
Gregory Merral, successful writer.
Khalid Azzam, working an internship at the implant ward.
Richard Lincoln, a ferryman.
Andy Souter, a professional musician (trumpet).
Doug Standish, police officer.
Jeffrey Morrow, teacher.
Ben and Elisabeth.
Samantha Kingsley, lecturer at Leeds and her husband Stuart.
May 22, 2015
I liked most of the stories in this collection; a few were disturbing. One turned me off due to the tone:*** In his Sights by Jeffrey Thomas - An extreme case of mistaken identity turns deadly.*** Bioship by Neal Asher – Captain and crew interact on a living seagoing vessel.*** C-Rock City by Greg van Eekhout and Jay Lake – A spacer searches an asteroid habitat for signs of his mother.**** The Bowdler Strain by James Lovegrove – A virus capable of being spread verbally escapes from a laboratory. Hilarious in the style of R. A. Lafferty.*** Personal Jesus by Paul Di Filippo – Technology gives everyone a direct connection to God.*** If At First... by Peter F. Hamilton – A billionaire is being stalked by a childhood friend.*** A Distillation of Grace by Adam Roberts – A teenager rebels against his society's breeding program.*** Last Contact by Stephen Baxter – End of the Universe story. Reminiscent of “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke** Cages by Ian Watson – Aliens attach awkward devices to every adult human"," for no apparent reason.* Jellyfish by Mike Resnick and David Gerold – Portrait of a dysfunctional science fiction writer. Written in the style of Kurt Vonnegut Jr."," this is a mean-spirited piece.**** Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads by Mary A. Turzillo – Environmental activists endanger a family on Mars. Good old-fashioned Hard SF story** Four Ladies of the Apocalypse by Brian W. Aldiss – A despot tries to fight abstractions. Confusing"," as are many of Aldiss's stories.*** The Accord by Keith Brooke – A bartender meets an angel.** The Wedding Party by Simon Ings – Disturbing story of an innovative people-smuggler.*** Third Person by Tony Ballantyne – Military recruiters use a hypnotic drug.** The Farewell Party by Eric Brown – Benevolent aliens may have a sinister agenda.
February 14, 2014
A mixed bag, as any anthology must be. Some were bland, 1970's holdovers full of angsty white men. Some were silly; one or two were disturbing; and some were quite good. Surprisingly, Stephen Baxter's contribution was among my favorites; I haven't liked anything else of his I've read (2 novels, 1 short story) and I almost passed on the whole collection because of him. I also enjoyed David Gerrold and Mike Resnick's skewering of the genre: I recognized Ursula LeGuin and Frank Herbert among their victims, as well as Gerrold himself. The stories cover a wide range of ideas and styles, some fascinating, some weird, none ground-breaking. As it's basically a 'best-of' magazine collection, I'd recommend it for readers interested in short form sci-fi.
April 8, 2009
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1997182.html[return][return]There were a couple of stories I liked here - Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact", and Keith Brooke's "The Accord" (which I note were also the two picked by Gardner Dozois for his annual collection) - many which didn't especially grab me, and one awful attempt to channel Kurt Vonnegut by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold.
September 21, 2025
Overall a very solid collection. I'm definitely a fan of Mann's introduction, which puts into words what I've always felt about the short form of science fiction: "It's within the SF genre, I believe, that the short story is kept truly alive and vibrant." I'm definitely following this up with some authors I need to read more of. As always, story by story:
1. In his sights, by Jeffrey Thomas. An interesting return-from-war story that could definitely use further exposition and world building, but pretty good all on its own. Will definitely be reading "Deadstock" by the same author. 8/10
2. Bioship, by Neal Asher. Definitely a cool world and concept, I just felt there was more that could have been done with it. I wanted more, but what I got left me unsatisfied 6/10
3. C-rock city, by Jay Lake and Greg van Eekhout. This one I very much liked--things set on asteroids are always fun--but like #2 above I wanted more. I wanted more exposition, more of a satisfying conclusion. 7/10
4. The Bowdler Strain, by James Lovegrove. Here we go! A fantastic, hilarious, story, reminiscent of the best of Neil Gaiman. I absolutely loved this one. 10/10
5. Personal Jesus, by Paul Di Filippo. Somebody listened to the Depeche Mode song and ran with it. Honestly, I was here for it. A lovely bit of well-thought-out world building. 8/10
6. If at first..., by Peter F. Hamilton. A VERY interesting take on time travel. I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did. A nice thriller. 9/10
7. A Distillation of Grace, by Adam Roberts. A unique sci-fi take on the Christ story, which I wasn't expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. 8/10
8. Last Contact, by Stephen Baxter. Baxter does poignant very well, and this is no exception. The end of the world, with a focused, well-developed, cast of characters and just enough exposition. 9/10
9. Cages, by Ian Watson. A story that had such potential, and in fact started out super well, before the author realized he had written himself into a corner and took the fast way out. I was really liking it before the ending completely spoiled it for me. 4/10 for wasted potential, sadly.
10. Jellyfish, by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold. I REALLY loved this story. Irreverent, a mindfuck in the best way, and hilarious too. The ending's a little weird--existentially weird--but
11. Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads, by Mary A. Turzillo. A cool little story set on Mars, with a twist I didn't really see coming at the end. 7/10
12. Four Ladies of the Apocalypse, by Brian Aldiss. Not so much a science fiction story as a moral parable. Aldiss isn't being subtle with this one, but subtlety isn't needed for it. 8/10
13. The Accord, by Keith Brooke. Starts off as a spy thriller, then goes into a discussion on unity/syncretism/adultery. I really liked this one. 9/10.
14. The Wedding Party, by Simon Ings. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I'm not sure what the point of it even was. 3/10.
15. Third Person, by Tony Ballantyne. Ooh, a very neat premise. A drug that takes people into "third-person" mode, allowing armies to conscript them. A cool idea, with flashes of good execution, but the whole McGuffin is never well-explained and the story loses something because there isn't a clear driving force. 6/10
16. The Farewell Party, by Eric Brown. What if a prolific author could influence a bunch of people, after a slow-moving apocalypse? A very fun little story. 8/10
1. In his sights, by Jeffrey Thomas. An interesting return-from-war story that could definitely use further exposition and world building, but pretty good all on its own. Will definitely be reading "Deadstock" by the same author. 8/10
2. Bioship, by Neal Asher. Definitely a cool world and concept, I just felt there was more that could have been done with it. I wanted more, but what I got left me unsatisfied 6/10
3. C-rock city, by Jay Lake and Greg van Eekhout. This one I very much liked--things set on asteroids are always fun--but like #2 above I wanted more. I wanted more exposition, more of a satisfying conclusion. 7/10
4. The Bowdler Strain, by James Lovegrove. Here we go! A fantastic, hilarious, story, reminiscent of the best of Neil Gaiman. I absolutely loved this one. 10/10
5. Personal Jesus, by Paul Di Filippo. Somebody listened to the Depeche Mode song and ran with it. Honestly, I was here for it. A lovely bit of well-thought-out world building. 8/10
6. If at first..., by Peter F. Hamilton. A VERY interesting take on time travel. I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did. A nice thriller. 9/10
7. A Distillation of Grace, by Adam Roberts. A unique sci-fi take on the Christ story, which I wasn't expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. 8/10
8. Last Contact, by Stephen Baxter. Baxter does poignant very well, and this is no exception. The end of the world, with a focused, well-developed, cast of characters and just enough exposition. 9/10
9. Cages, by Ian Watson. A story that had such potential, and in fact started out super well, before the author realized he had written himself into a corner and took the fast way out. I was really liking it before the ending completely spoiled it for me. 4/10 for wasted potential, sadly.
10. Jellyfish, by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold. I REALLY loved this story. Irreverent, a mindfuck in the best way, and hilarious too. The ending's a little weird--existentially weird--but
11. Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads, by Mary A. Turzillo. A cool little story set on Mars, with a twist I didn't really see coming at the end. 7/10
12. Four Ladies of the Apocalypse, by Brian Aldiss. Not so much a science fiction story as a moral parable. Aldiss isn't being subtle with this one, but subtlety isn't needed for it. 8/10
13. The Accord, by Keith Brooke. Starts off as a spy thriller, then goes into a discussion on unity/syncretism/adultery. I really liked this one. 9/10.
14. The Wedding Party, by Simon Ings. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I'm not sure what the point of it even was. 3/10.
15. Third Person, by Tony Ballantyne. Ooh, a very neat premise. A drug that takes people into "third-person" mode, allowing armies to conscript them. A cool idea, with flashes of good execution, but the whole McGuffin is never well-explained and the story loses something because there isn't a clear driving force. 6/10
16. The Farewell Party, by Eric Brown. What if a prolific author could influence a bunch of people, after a slow-moving apocalypse? A very fun little story. 8/10
May 8, 2014
In His Sights – Jeffrey Thomas
Bioship – Neal Asher
C-Rock City – Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
The Bowdler Strain – James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus – Paul Di Filippo
If at First… - Peter F Hamilton
A Distillation of Grace – Adam Roberts
Last Contact – Stephen Baxter
Cages – Ian Watson
Jellyfish – Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
Zora and The Land Ethic Nomads – Mary A Turzillo
Four Ladies of The Apocalypse – Brian Aldiss
The Accord – Keith Brooke
The Wedding Party – Simon Ings
Third Person – Tony Ballantyne
The Farewell Party – Eric Brown
Solaris is a new SF imprint, making an enterprising splash with an anthology of newly commissioned material from the great and good of the SF world.
In His Sights – Jeffrey Thomas
Jeffrey Thomas starts us off with a story from Punktown featuring a character who also features in a novel shortly to be published by Solaris. Bearing this in mind, I was setting myself up to be disappointed, but was genuinely impressed by this story of a shapeshifter war veteran whose face has frozen as one of his victims from his time in the war (with blue-sinned people from an alternate reality).
Very dark. Quite Gothic. China Mieville likes it.
Bioship – Neal Asher
A rather weak tale from Asher about sexual rivalry on board a sentient ship (a sea-vessel not a spaceship).
It features the genetically modified lip-tentacled humans (I presume) that we met in the novel ‘Brass Man.’
C-Rock City – Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
One of the crew of a trading vessel docks at a city composed of three linked asteroids where he has a regular date with a security guard. However, the man is also on a pilgrimage to find his mother; one of the blind slaves who built the station for The Proctor.
Very moving. Well-paced. Atmospheric.
The Bowdler Strain – James Lovegrove
An excellent tale from Lovegrove about an escaped logovirus which alters the speech centres of the brain. This particular virus, the Bowdler strain, makes it impossible for people to swear. It comes out as gibberish. It is up to the scientist in charge and the military to get the situation resolved.
See also ‘The Isolinguals’
Personal Jesus – Paul Di Filippo
Set in a world where on can have one’s own personal Jesus, rather like an i-pod, giving one advice in one’s ear. Is it all just too good to be true?
The voice of God was discovered when the first quantum computers went online and now everyone has their own godPod through which they can talk to Jesus whenever they wish. The world is a peaceful and contented place.
Our hero, however, has his doubts as to how happy he actually is.
If at First… - Peter F Hamilton
Hamilton’s story, in contrast to the previous two, is a fairly simple idea, but told ingeniously. Narrated by the policeman who investigated the original case, it slowly becomes clear to us that his history is a different one to our own.
It turns out that a man has been stalking a multi-millionaire businessman because he suspects that he has a time-machine and has been passing information to his younger self.
Things, however, are not quite as simple as that.
A Distillation of Grace – Adam Roberts
A religious cult (Roberts seems keen on his religious fanatics) settles on a world 2700 light years from Earth and, following the teachings of Shad, are composed of two thousand and forty-eight people, half male, half female, who will pair off and produce one child per couple in every generation until the birth of the final child; The Unique, and thus install Grace into the Universe.
Grace, the cult believes, travels backwards through time and will therefore reach Earth at the time of Christ’s birth.
It’s no more bonkers than any other religious theories, and Roberts writes so damn well that the characters’ convictions come across startlingly powerfully.
Last Contact – Stephen Baxter
What does one do when one knows that the world will end on a specific date, and ironically, just when SETI is beginning to receive messages from the stars?
A mother and her daughter come to terms with the discovery of the Big Rip, which is destroying the universe by degrees and will deal with the earth on October 14. Perversely, SETI – with which the mother is involved – has begun receiving messages from super-civilisations across the cosmos. The mother has her own ideas as to what these messages may be.
Cages – Ian Watson
Watson has made a name for himself by taking absurd premises and carving exquisite short pieces from them, like beautifully wrought ivory figures.
Here, earth has been invaded by Hoops, which hang in the air and disgorge giant bee-like aliens (The Harrow) who attach irremovable cages to various parts of people’s bodies. An intelligence agent is sent to a festival where some musical reactionaries are planning to transmit some of the bees’ remixed sounds back through the hoops in order to provoke them into some kind of dialogue.
As with all Watson’s work, it’s a brilliantly dense piece of writing, full of complex ‘stuff’ and surely deserves a larger format to explore more global and personal ramifications.
The concept of ‘cages’ of course, works on different levels in this story, some obvious, some more subtle.
Jellyfish – Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
In this post-modern parody, Resnick and Gerrold show us the life of a writer based on an amalgam I suspect, of PK Dick, Kurt Vonnegut and William Burroughs. A tale full of SF devices, clichés and in-jokes and featuring an attack on a whole plethora of SF writers, thinly disguised, including the two authors themselves. They even manage to sneak in AE van Vogt’s famous Sevagram.
Zora and The Land Ethic Nomads – Mary A Turzillo
A brilliant bit of character-driven drama in which an African couple and their young son, working on mars, have to temporarily take in some Land Ethic Nomads. They believe that Man should live nowhere but Earth and are trying to persuade Mars settlers to return.
When they leave, it appears that one of them, Valkini, has sabotaged their nuclear plant since their radiation monitors are showing high levels.
Four Ladies of The Apocalypse – Brian Aldiss
A prose-poem-ish piece from Aldiss in which four ladies (and a fifth) visit a dictator. The horsemen are, it appears, too exhausted by their labours to appear at this juncture.
The Accord – Keith Brooke
Tish and her husband run a bar on a strange and beautiful world. They are happy until a mysterious stranger turns up, pursued by three other mysterious strangers, intent on his capture. She becomes infatuated with the stranger and is determined to discover who or what he is.
The Wedding Party – Simon Ings
Simon Ings often reads like Ian Watson a serious acid downer.
In a future Europe, a man goes to extraordinary and somewhat surgical lengths to smuggle his African lovers into the UK.
Beautifully written. Very poetic. Very dark.
Third Person – Tony Ballantyne
The British Army are in Spain, fighting the S.E.A., and have to pillage what they need to get back to Britain. It’s a tale about military ethics and who or what one might sacrifice for the greater good.
The Farewell Party – Eric Brown
A surprise story, which starts in the real world where a group of friends who meet at a village pub are curious about a new arrival, a writer. Then we are hammered by the news that first contact has already been made, and that the aliens, the Kethani, can resurrect humans who have been implanted with one of their chips.
The narrator has already been resurrected but his recollections of the Kethani world are vague. The writer’s latest book is about a group of friends who commit joint suicide in order to be resurrected and travel the Universe together.
So who or what is the writer, and should the group be tempted by the idea?
It’s one of the most intriguing stories in this volume since its theme is Faith and conviction, and although the fact of resurrection has been proven here, the details of the ‘afterlife’ are unclear, perhaps necessarily so, or perhaps there is a more sinister purpose in the Kethani’s plans.
Bioship – Neal Asher
C-Rock City – Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
The Bowdler Strain – James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus – Paul Di Filippo
If at First… - Peter F Hamilton
A Distillation of Grace – Adam Roberts
Last Contact – Stephen Baxter
Cages – Ian Watson
Jellyfish – Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
Zora and The Land Ethic Nomads – Mary A Turzillo
Four Ladies of The Apocalypse – Brian Aldiss
The Accord – Keith Brooke
The Wedding Party – Simon Ings
Third Person – Tony Ballantyne
The Farewell Party – Eric Brown
Solaris is a new SF imprint, making an enterprising splash with an anthology of newly commissioned material from the great and good of the SF world.
In His Sights – Jeffrey Thomas
Jeffrey Thomas starts us off with a story from Punktown featuring a character who also features in a novel shortly to be published by Solaris. Bearing this in mind, I was setting myself up to be disappointed, but was genuinely impressed by this story of a shapeshifter war veteran whose face has frozen as one of his victims from his time in the war (with blue-sinned people from an alternate reality).
Very dark. Quite Gothic. China Mieville likes it.
Bioship – Neal Asher
A rather weak tale from Asher about sexual rivalry on board a sentient ship (a sea-vessel not a spaceship).
It features the genetically modified lip-tentacled humans (I presume) that we met in the novel ‘Brass Man.’
C-Rock City – Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout
One of the crew of a trading vessel docks at a city composed of three linked asteroids where he has a regular date with a security guard. However, the man is also on a pilgrimage to find his mother; one of the blind slaves who built the station for The Proctor.
Very moving. Well-paced. Atmospheric.
The Bowdler Strain – James Lovegrove
An excellent tale from Lovegrove about an escaped logovirus which alters the speech centres of the brain. This particular virus, the Bowdler strain, makes it impossible for people to swear. It comes out as gibberish. It is up to the scientist in charge and the military to get the situation resolved.
See also ‘The Isolinguals’
Personal Jesus – Paul Di Filippo
Set in a world where on can have one’s own personal Jesus, rather like an i-pod, giving one advice in one’s ear. Is it all just too good to be true?
The voice of God was discovered when the first quantum computers went online and now everyone has their own godPod through which they can talk to Jesus whenever they wish. The world is a peaceful and contented place.
Our hero, however, has his doubts as to how happy he actually is.
If at First… - Peter F Hamilton
Hamilton’s story, in contrast to the previous two, is a fairly simple idea, but told ingeniously. Narrated by the policeman who investigated the original case, it slowly becomes clear to us that his history is a different one to our own.
It turns out that a man has been stalking a multi-millionaire businessman because he suspects that he has a time-machine and has been passing information to his younger self.
Things, however, are not quite as simple as that.
A Distillation of Grace – Adam Roberts
A religious cult (Roberts seems keen on his religious fanatics) settles on a world 2700 light years from Earth and, following the teachings of Shad, are composed of two thousand and forty-eight people, half male, half female, who will pair off and produce one child per couple in every generation until the birth of the final child; The Unique, and thus install Grace into the Universe.
Grace, the cult believes, travels backwards through time and will therefore reach Earth at the time of Christ’s birth.
It’s no more bonkers than any other religious theories, and Roberts writes so damn well that the characters’ convictions come across startlingly powerfully.
Last Contact – Stephen Baxter
What does one do when one knows that the world will end on a specific date, and ironically, just when SETI is beginning to receive messages from the stars?
A mother and her daughter come to terms with the discovery of the Big Rip, which is destroying the universe by degrees and will deal with the earth on October 14. Perversely, SETI – with which the mother is involved – has begun receiving messages from super-civilisations across the cosmos. The mother has her own ideas as to what these messages may be.
Cages – Ian Watson
Watson has made a name for himself by taking absurd premises and carving exquisite short pieces from them, like beautifully wrought ivory figures.
Here, earth has been invaded by Hoops, which hang in the air and disgorge giant bee-like aliens (The Harrow) who attach irremovable cages to various parts of people’s bodies. An intelligence agent is sent to a festival where some musical reactionaries are planning to transmit some of the bees’ remixed sounds back through the hoops in order to provoke them into some kind of dialogue.
As with all Watson’s work, it’s a brilliantly dense piece of writing, full of complex ‘stuff’ and surely deserves a larger format to explore more global and personal ramifications.
The concept of ‘cages’ of course, works on different levels in this story, some obvious, some more subtle.
Jellyfish – Mike Resnick & David Gerrold
In this post-modern parody, Resnick and Gerrold show us the life of a writer based on an amalgam I suspect, of PK Dick, Kurt Vonnegut and William Burroughs. A tale full of SF devices, clichés and in-jokes and featuring an attack on a whole plethora of SF writers, thinly disguised, including the two authors themselves. They even manage to sneak in AE van Vogt’s famous Sevagram.
Zora and The Land Ethic Nomads – Mary A Turzillo
A brilliant bit of character-driven drama in which an African couple and their young son, working on mars, have to temporarily take in some Land Ethic Nomads. They believe that Man should live nowhere but Earth and are trying to persuade Mars settlers to return.
When they leave, it appears that one of them, Valkini, has sabotaged their nuclear plant since their radiation monitors are showing high levels.
Four Ladies of The Apocalypse – Brian Aldiss
A prose-poem-ish piece from Aldiss in which four ladies (and a fifth) visit a dictator. The horsemen are, it appears, too exhausted by their labours to appear at this juncture.
The Accord – Keith Brooke
Tish and her husband run a bar on a strange and beautiful world. They are happy until a mysterious stranger turns up, pursued by three other mysterious strangers, intent on his capture. She becomes infatuated with the stranger and is determined to discover who or what he is.
The Wedding Party – Simon Ings
Simon Ings often reads like Ian Watson a serious acid downer.
In a future Europe, a man goes to extraordinary and somewhat surgical lengths to smuggle his African lovers into the UK.
Beautifully written. Very poetic. Very dark.
Third Person – Tony Ballantyne
The British Army are in Spain, fighting the S.E.A., and have to pillage what they need to get back to Britain. It’s a tale about military ethics and who or what one might sacrifice for the greater good.
The Farewell Party – Eric Brown
A surprise story, which starts in the real world where a group of friends who meet at a village pub are curious about a new arrival, a writer. Then we are hammered by the news that first contact has already been made, and that the aliens, the Kethani, can resurrect humans who have been implanted with one of their chips.
The narrator has already been resurrected but his recollections of the Kethani world are vague. The writer’s latest book is about a group of friends who commit joint suicide in order to be resurrected and travel the Universe together.
So who or what is the writer, and should the group be tempted by the idea?
It’s one of the most intriguing stories in this volume since its theme is Faith and conviction, and although the fact of resurrection has been proven here, the details of the ‘afterlife’ are unclear, perhaps necessarily so, or perhaps there is a more sinister purpose in the Kethani’s plans.
August 28, 2022
As you know Solaris is a publishing company founded by BL (Black Library) Publishing - the ones that write for 40K, sigmar, Horus heresy and so on....
Some authors were known to me - others not but the majority of the guys who wrote for this anthology are authors with books already publish for solaris. Later it was sold by Rebellion & Abaddon books...
I, bought all of their books; including this the first three anthologies on the book new sf. This is the first - but why this lengthily story - well because some stories are connected with books already publish; per example Farwell Party by Eric Brown is linked to KéthaniKethani published a year later or Keith Brooke's story the Accord that must be linked with the book with the same The Accord. I also have them, to be honest I tried The Accord; really didn't care much but Kethani now interest me...
So what about all others?
I enjoyed Bowdler Strain by Lovegrove , Personal Jesus by Di Filippo and If at First by Peter Hamilton. Last Contact by Stephen Baxter is also okay...
In His Sights - Jeffrey Thomas 4
Bioship - Neal Asher 3
C-Rock City - Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout 3.5
The Bowldler Strain - James Lovegrove 5
Personal Jesus - Paul Di Filippo 4.5
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton 4.5
A Distillation of Grace - Adam Roberts 2
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter 5
Cages - Ian Watson 2
Jellyfish - Mike Resnick & David Gerrold 1
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads - Mary Turzillo 1.5
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse - Brian Aldiss 4
The Accord - Keith Brooke 2
The Wedding Party - Simon Ings 1
Third Person - Tony Ballantyne 1
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown 4
I have two more to read....
Some authors were known to me - others not but the majority of the guys who wrote for this anthology are authors with books already publish for solaris. Later it was sold by Rebellion & Abaddon books...
I, bought all of their books; including this the first three anthologies on the book new sf. This is the first - but why this lengthily story - well because some stories are connected with books already publish; per example Farwell Party by Eric Brown is linked to KéthaniKethani published a year later or Keith Brooke's story the Accord that must be linked with the book with the same The Accord. I also have them, to be honest I tried The Accord; really didn't care much but Kethani now interest me...
So what about all others?
I enjoyed Bowdler Strain by Lovegrove , Personal Jesus by Di Filippo and If at First by Peter Hamilton. Last Contact by Stephen Baxter is also okay...
In His Sights - Jeffrey Thomas 4
Bioship - Neal Asher 3
C-Rock City - Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout 3.5
The Bowldler Strain - James Lovegrove 5
Personal Jesus - Paul Di Filippo 4.5
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton 4.5
A Distillation of Grace - Adam Roberts 2
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter 5
Cages - Ian Watson 2
Jellyfish - Mike Resnick & David Gerrold 1
Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads - Mary Turzillo 1.5
Four Ladies of the Apocalypse - Brian Aldiss 4
The Accord - Keith Brooke 2
The Wedding Party - Simon Ings 1
Third Person - Tony Ballantyne 1
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown 4
I have two more to read....
October 20, 2020
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. It's good to be able to dip into a world quickly when you don't have much time to read a whole novel or series. The authors did a great job at building the worlds and the characters. A wide range of fiction: some with aliens, warfare, abstract ideas, space, humour...
March 28, 2025
It's a diverse and interesting collection of science fiction short stories. I loved some of them but didn't really like the others. Some are really well written and thought through, so I think every fan of science fiction will find at least one interesting story that clicks in this book.
On the whole, I enjoyed reading.
On the whole, I enjoyed reading.
May 23, 2019
Nice collection of short sci-fi stories. I especially liked Jellyfish, a story about the impossibly non-existent realm of Tryllifandillor. While reading the stories, it was very pleasurable, but most of the story lines didn't stick in my memory. Oh, and I liked The Bowdler Strain.
September 22, 2021
One story is worth the price of admission:
Jellyfish” by Mike Resnick & David Gerrold [2007]
Synopsis: A self-referential meta-fiction in which a science fiction writer named Dillon K. Filk slowly goes insane….or is he?
Jellyfish” by Mike Resnick & David Gerrold [2007]
Synopsis: A self-referential meta-fiction in which a science fiction writer named Dillon K. Filk slowly goes insane….or is he?
December 21, 2023
Favourites
The Bowdler Strain - James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus - Paul di Filippo
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
Zora and the Land Ethnic Nomads - Mary A Turzillo
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown
The Bowdler Strain - James Lovegrove
Personal Jesus - Paul di Filippo
If at First... - Peter F Hamilton
Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
Zora and the Land Ethnic Nomads - Mary A Turzillo
The Farewell Party - Eric Brown
March 10, 2020
3.5 stars
November 17, 2020
Great selection of stories by masterful authors.
March 21, 2021
A mixed bag of stories. A few are quite enjoyable, some even reasonably interesting and thought provoking, but some we're quite bad.
March 31, 2023
While the idea of having multiple authors, write a short story about sci fi sounds like a good idea, on paper, when executed, it provides a compilation of stories, that ranges from either being great, medicore/average or frankly terrible. Which i imagine isnt anything new in anthologies, but the amount of stories that were on the bad end were far more than the good ones.
It felt more like an advertisement for the authors, than anything else, where you pick out the ones you liked the stories or the writing style the most of, than the stories where the primary focus, so if you were looking for some new authors in sci fi, this could be a good book to look at.
What i can give all the stories and authors credit for, is their ideas of Sci fi and how they expressed their universe and story, but not everyone did a great job at making the stories interesting or worth the read.
i wouldn't say that it would be a great entry book for anyone new to sci fi, as the shift and jumps to each story might feel "disorienting".
My personal favourite stories from the book were:
James Lovegrove's "The Bowdler Strain".
Peter F Hamilton "If at first...".
Mike Resnick & David Gerrold "Jellyfish".
Tony Ballantyne "Third Person".
It felt more like an advertisement for the authors, than anything else, where you pick out the ones you liked the stories or the writing style the most of, than the stories where the primary focus, so if you were looking for some new authors in sci fi, this could be a good book to look at.
What i can give all the stories and authors credit for, is their ideas of Sci fi and how they expressed their universe and story, but not everyone did a great job at making the stories interesting or worth the read.
i wouldn't say that it would be a great entry book for anyone new to sci fi, as the shift and jumps to each story might feel "disorienting".
My personal favourite stories from the book were:
James Lovegrove's "The Bowdler Strain".
Peter F Hamilton "If at first...".
Mike Resnick & David Gerrold "Jellyfish".
Tony Ballantyne "Third Person".
June 4, 2016
I don't read much sci-fi, though I should read more. Good writing, storytelling, characters and plot in any genre is worth reading.
I only found 3, maybe 4, of these stories engaging. Some of the premises in the stories were interesting, and perhaps they could be carried out more fully in longer form.
Unfortunately, most of the stories didn't grab me. I would like to find a better collection of short stories.
I only found 3, maybe 4, of these stories engaging. Some of the premises in the stories were interesting, and perhaps they could be carried out more fully in longer form.
Unfortunately, most of the stories didn't grab me. I would like to find a better collection of short stories.
November 19, 2008
Discussed at SF Gospel:
"I was surprised at the number of stories in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction that include religious themes, both explicit and implicit."
Full review here:
http://sfgospel.typepad.com/sf_gospel...
"I was surprised at the number of stories in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction that include religious themes, both explicit and implicit."
Full review here:
http://sfgospel.typepad.com/sf_gospel...
April 17, 2009
Stopped at a very bizarre metafiction story involving science fiction writers as characters in another writer's novel. It gave me a headache. Otherwise, the stories were succinct, well-written, and thought-provoking
August 7, 2009
This book taught me how much our technolagy has and can evolve in the next 50-100 years of our lives. Also I learned that we are and have been trying to invent a "super-solider" that should take the place of a human bieng and replace it with a robot.
April 27, 2014
With the exception of one story, a really fun anthology containing well-written and intriguing tales. The "Third Person" is a fun little trip for the reader, and I love that the alien antagonists in "The Farewell Party" are never even seen or heard from.
Read
May 31, 2014James Lovegrove's "The Bowdler Strain" was quite good. Paul Di Filippo's "Personal Jesus" was interesting. Baxter's "Last Contact" was frankly excellent -- bounds beyond the rest. Don't bother with the remaining stories.
Read
August 22, 2008The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction 2007 by George Mann (2007)
March 15, 2009
Read and at least somewhat enjoyed nine of the 16 stories. Very much enjoyed two or three of those 9.
August 10, 2009
A mixed bag, some great, some not so much. The good ones made up for the weaker. Nearly all authors were from England, which was interesting, as they seem to have a different feel than American SF.
February 2, 2011
ci voleva proprio di tornare a leggere racconti brevi di fantascienza ... piccole gemme che portano in mondi lontani fantastici e che hanno sempre un finale un po a sorpresa
August 16, 2011
This was a hodgepodge collection of stories... Most of them were pretty good, a few were very good. Some were disturbing, but in a good way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews