cience fiction isn't just far-flung worlds and inscrutable aliens; its
canvas is vaster than space and time. The 13 new short stories anthologized
in Far Frontiers represent SF's unique ability to turn unexpected
corners. To explore the distant worlds and futures that are the subject
matter of this volume, the editors have drafted a mix of both familiar
authors who have been entertaining audiences for decades and newcomers who
are just starting to build their reputations in the genre.
In "Set in Stone," Grand Master Andre Norton follows a slave who, pushed
ahead on dangerous new-world landings, is transformed on a too-alien world.
Alan Dean Foster's "Chauna" tells of a famous man kept alive past his time
who risks mutiny in the search for ultimate beauty. In "Traces," by Kathleen
Massie-Ferch, a geologist discovers alien relics that refute her
government's one-intelligent-race dogma. Robert Sawyer's "Star Light, Star
Bright" visits colonists on a Dyson sphere rediscovering records of their
homeworld. The agricultural colony Demeter is so automated that new arrivals
disdain learning traditional farming in "Down on the Farm," by Julie
Czerneda.
Robin Wayne Bailey's "Angel on the Outward Side" invites us to follow a
mercenary who helps a woman locate her sister, who's been kidnapped by an
unbearably beautiful alien. Jane Lindskold's "Ruins of the Past" tells of a
woman driven by financial extremity into the fabled ruins of an alien
civilization--from which none return alive. In "The Last Bastion," by
Lawrence Watt-Evans, humans pressed to the galaxy's edge by the
all-consuming Link encounter a surprising willingness to negotiate.
Homesteaders on a harsh colony world deal with pecuniary incursions in Marc
Bilgrey's "Home World."
An old man in search of his memory finds solace in Peter Schweighofer's
"Forgotten." "The Cutting Edge," by Janet Pack, inaugurates nanosurgery on
humans, with unforeseeable consequences. In "Dreamlike States" by Kristine
Kathryn Rusch, a dream researcher tries to visit the dreams of his twin
brother. And Terry England's "Out of the Cradle" suggests that a society
whose members turn into energy at a certain age might harbor some
unwilling to surrender bodily pleasures.
The human condition, writ small
Several stories featured in Far Frontiers are intriguing and even
provocative, illuminating the capacity of short fiction to succinctly
encapsulate singular ideas.
For a book dedicated to SF frontiers, there's some familiar ground here:
Closed-minded techno-theocracies, cantina-frequenting mercenary rogues,
planet-hungry collectives and lost colonies have been part of SF parlance
since the pulp era. Yet the storytelling is generally fresh and the
characters and situations interesting. For example, Dr. Sehkar, the
geologist in "Traces," reacts honestly to the realization that her discovery
wouldn't be enough to change the system. The chagrin of the Link
representative lends her humanity in "The Last Bastion." In "Star Light,
Star Bright," it's cheering to read of a father's simple pride on learning
his son has reached their legendary homeworld--its name translated from old
documents as Dirt.
"Star Light" is also among those stories that tweak cliches to create new
frontiers; after all, whoever heard of anyone living outside a Dyson
sphere? Many SF societies have aspired to the energy network in "Out of the
Cradle,"
yet few have dealt with an obvious side effect: laggards who delay "crossing
over" not because they're Luddites but because they're understandably loath
to relinquish the youthful stimulations.
Other stories strike a little further afield. "Forgotten" is an affecting
reminder that speculative fiction is not limited to gizmos and
rocket ships--any journey beyond the known and the safe is game. "Chauna,"
meanwhile, features an ancient of sounder mind and failing body, asking,
compellingly, What would matter to a 162-year-old plutocrat?
"Dreamlike States" lets Carter Monroe explore the perils, not of nightmares,
but of dreams shared with someone he thought he knew.
