The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction
A Review of Solaris Books' First Original Science Fiction Anthology
Jul 6, 2009
Solaris Books was started in 2007 as an imprint of the Black Library, the publishing arm of Games Workshop responsible for Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40,000 tie-in books, for the purpose of publishing original science fiction and fantasy. Among its first publications was The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, its first original fiction anthology.
Solaris Gathers Both New and Established SF Authors
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction includes 16 stories, all making their first published appearance, plus a short foreword by editor George Mann. With a few exceptions, most of the stories take place on Earth or in its solar system, usually in eras not too far removed from present day. They offer a range of tones, from humorous to horrifying. Some of the highlights are described here.
Stephen Baxter, Peter F. Hamilton, and More
“In His Sights” by Jeffrey Thomas- A story featuring Thomas’s recurring character Jeffrey Stake, a private investigator with shapeshifting abilities he cannot fully control in the eerie far-future city of Punktown.
“Bioship” by Neal Asher- Eerie, chilling story about the crew of a living seagoing vessel.
“The Bowdler” Strain by James Lovegrove- Extremely funny story in which a “logovirus” escapes from a government laboratory and spreads across Great Britain, leaving its victims physically unharmed but unable to swear.
“Personal Jesus” by Paul Di Filippo- The earth has becomes a utopia after scientists accidentally find a way to contact what is apparently God Himself, and everyone carries their own personal device which dispenses divine guidance. Di Filippo does a great job of taking an outlandish premise and veering from amusing to creepy.
“If at First…” by Peter F. Hamilton- Hamilton, usually known for epic-scale space operas, takes a different tack here with a near-future story about time travel. What if a man could travel back and live his life over again, taking his knowledge of future events and future technology with him?
“Last Contact” by Stephen Baxter- Baxter combines his frequent penchant for cosmological speculation with a more down-to-earth setting with a near-future story based on the idea of the Big Rip, a hypothesis about the ultimate fate of the universe. The story does a nice job of taking hard science fiction speculations about cosmic-level events and putting them on a more intimate scale.
“The Accord” by Keith Brooke- Far-future science fiction that is a great example of the twist ending done properly- the revelation is startling, but makes sense upon rereading and puts everything in a different light.
Contents of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction
- “In His Sights” by Jeffrey Thomas (Deadstock, Blue War, Punktown, Everybody Scream. Monstrocity)
- “Bioship” by Neal Asher (Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, The Skinner, Cowl)
- C-Rock City -byJay Lake (Mainspring, Green, Escapement) & Greg van Eekhout (Norse Code)
- “The Bowldler Strain” by James Lovegrove (The Age of Ra, Provender Gleed)
- “Personal Jesus” by Paul Di Filippo (Cosmocopia, The Steampunk Trilogy, Spondulix)
- “If at First...” by Peter F. Hamilton (The Reality Dysfunction, Judas Unchained, The Dreaming Void)
- “A Distillation of Grace” by Adam Roberts (Gradisil, Salt, Yellow Blue Tibia: A Novel)
- “Last Contact” by Stephen Baxter (Flood, The Time Ships, Ring, Manifold: Time)
- “Cages” by Ian Watson (Inquisitor, Under Heaven's Bridge)
- “Jellyfish” by Mike Resnick (Santiago, Starship: Pirate, Stalking the Dragon) & David Gerrold (A Matter for Men, The Voyage of the Star Wolf, "The Trouble With Tribbles")
- “Zora and the Land Ethic Nomads” by Mary Turzillo (An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl)
- “Four Ladies of the Apocalypse” by Brian Aldiss (HARM, Sanity and the Lady)
- “The Accord” by Keith Brooke (The Accord, Genetopia)
- “The Wedding Party” by Simon Ings (The Weight of Numbers, Painkillers)
- “Third Person” by Tony Ballantyne (Recursion, Capacity, Divergence)
- “The Farewell Party” by Eric Brown (Necropath, Kethani, Helix)
Conclusion
The book remains strong fairly consistently, with only a few missteps (most notably Brian Aldiss’ “Four Ladies of the Apocalypse.”) The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is an excellent science fiction collection, both for those who are already fans of the authors included and readers looking for a way to encounter writers they haven’t read before.
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