Federations [Paperback]

John Joseph Adams (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2009

Edited by John Joseph Adams, editor of Wastelands and The Living Dead. From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations will continue that tradition, and herein you will find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg and Harry Turtledove. Additional authors: Alan Dean Foster, Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason, John C. Wright, Allen Steele, James Alan Gardner, Catherynne M. Valente

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Accomplished editor Adams (The Living Dead) explores a host of galaxy-spanning empires in this breathtakingly rich anthology. Lois McMaster Bujold's elegant, elegiacal masterpiece Aftermaths brings grace and sorrow into the silence between stars. Clever and subtle, Alan Dean Foster's Pardon Our Conquest examines how diplomacy is perceived by the losing side. Even Harry Turtledove's Someone Is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy far surpasses what one might expect from the pun-filled adventures of a space hamster named Rufus Q. Shupilluliumash. Newer writers also contribute standouts: Trent Hergenrader's Eskhara is poignant, masterful and terrifyingly relevant to modern life, Georgina Li's Like They Always Been Free is a harsh, bright vision of futuristic love and Catherynne M. Valente's Golubush, or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy smoothly transforms mundane copywriting into a linked series of flash fictions. Superior writing, fantastic storytelling and creative adherence to the theme will keep readers enthralled. (July)
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Review

"Breathtakingly rich [...] Superior writing, fantastic storytelling and creative adherence to the theme will keep readers enthralled." -Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Federations is definitely one of those anthologies that offers something for everyone. [...] the stories in Federations mostly keep a very human perspective on the hugeness and strangeness of a galaxy teeming with life. And that's reason enough to sign on to its galactic charter."- io9.com

"For this anthology of twenty-four stories, editor John Joseph Adams tasked some of the brightest luminaries of speculative fiction to write stories of vast, galaxy-spanning empires. [...] By mixing writers with great experience in with newer authors, Adams captures both the feel of the old pulp magazines and the practical elements of the ever-changing science of astronomy and space travel. ... Editor Adams has collected both the finest writers and their finest tales in the definitive volume of vast, epic, interstellar Federations." - Sacramento Book Review

"Where the book shines is with the original stories, many of which are by quite new writers. [...] The mix--of  old and new stories, of newer and more established writers, and of tones and styles--is vigorous and impressive." - Locus Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books; X edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607012014
• ISBN-13: 978-1607012016
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Joseph Adams, called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble, is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as OZ REIMAGINED, THE MAD SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION, EPIC: LEGENDS OF FANTASY, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, ARMORED, UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS: NEW ADVENTURES ON BARSOOM, LIGHTSPEED: YEAR ONE, BRAVE NEW WORLDS, WASTELANDS, THE LIVING DEAD, THE LIVING DEAD 2, BY BLOOD WE LIVE, FEDERATIONS, THE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, and THE WAY OF THE WIZARD. He is a four-time finalist for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is the co-host of Wired.com's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. Forthcoming anthologies include WASTELANDS 2 (Night Shade Books, 2013) and ROBOT UPRISINGS (Doubleday, 2014). Find him online at johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars good space operatic anthology December 5, 2009

By R. Friesel Jr.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In many ways, I've started to come to believe that you can't go wrong with a John Joseph Adams' collection. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse was incredible, The Living Dead was great, and Federations...? Also very very good.

The "dust jacket description" of this anthology pretty much sums it up... It collects a few different modern takes on the classic science fiction trope: What does it take; what does it mean for a civilization to be interstellar and/or pan-galactic?

My take of Federations, it gets a composite rating of 3.9130 (individual stories below)

* "Mazer in Prison" (Orson Scott Card): 3/5
» About what you'd expect from Card. So it doesn't disappoint but it doesn't exactly thrill, either.
* "Carthago Delenda Est" (Genevieve Valentine): 4/5
* "Life Suspension" (L. E. Modesitt, Jr.): 2.5/5
* "Terra-Exulta" (S.L. Gilbow): 3/5
» Reminds me a bit of that Stephen King piece that opens Wastelands. The letter-writing format is a tough one to write in and I appreciate the effort here. And I don't dislike this piece but it seems... too short? or just that its hand is tipped too early and that kind of blows the ending a bit?
* "Aftermaths" (Lois McMaster Bujold): 4/5
* "Someone is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" (Harry Turtledove): 2/5
» Not terribly intriguing, and a little puerile/juvenile. To me... I can see why it was included (for the variety and for the perspective it brings) but it just doesn't do it. Not for me.
* "Prisons" (Kevin J. Anderson & Doug Beason): 2.5/5
» So much potential, and almost good; but why did I wind up feeling like it needed to be more subversive? (E.g., so many heteronormative relationships!--if the prison revolt leader had been lovers with another man, well now maybe that might have been a little more intriguing.)
* "Different Day" (K. Tempest Bradford): 5/5
* "Twilight of the Gods" (John C. Wright): 4/5
» The Tolkien-esque language can be a little off-putting at first but it really starts to make sense after you get about a third of the way in.
* "Warship" (George R. R. Martin and George Guthridge): 5/5
» I can't imagine why it took so long for Martin to shop this piece--unless Guthridge really brought that much to it. The execution is very spot-on.
* "Swanwatch" (Yoon Ha Lee): 4/5
» I want to like this more. It's beautiful but a bit oblique--and that's fine but somehow it doesn't jump to where it needs to be.
* "Spirey and the Queen" (Alastair Reynolds): 5/5
» Awesome. Did you like Watts' Blindsight? Did you like Sterling's "Swarm"? A little bit like that. (Only robots.)
* "Pardon Our Conquest" (Alan Dean Foster): 3.5/5
* "Symbiont" (Robert Silverberg): 4.5/5
» Highly disurbing; more so than I thought it would be. (Just read this one; skip the introduction.)
* "The Ship Who Returned" (Anne McCaffrey): 4/5
* "My She" (Mary Rosenblum): 4.5/5
» Brilliant. Nicely subversive and almost perfect.
* "The Shoulders of Giants" (Robert J. Sawyer): 2.5/5
* "The Culture Archivist" (Jeremiah Tolbert): 5/5
» This one is funny in the way that "Someone is Stealing..." (vida supra) could/should have been.
* "The Other Side of Jordan" (Allen Steele): 4.5/5
» Serves a little bit as a reminder that one of the things you're going for (when you're going for sci-fi) is the "deep milieu". This has got it. And I love it for it.
* "Like They Always Been Free" (Georgina Li): 4/5
» Very dense; worthwhile.
* "Eskhara" (Trent Hergenrader): 5/5
» The allegory bits are obvious but rather than detract, they make it all very worth while.
* "The One with the Interstellar Group Consciousnesses" (James Alan Gardner): 4/5
» Cute, and a bit novel, but kind of like an artisan soda: not really bad for you but not really necessary but damn tasty but kind of a cloying aftertaste?
* "Golubash, or Wine-War-Blood-Elegy" (Catherynne M. Valente): 4.5/5
» A little on the oblique side but the framing for the story is absolutely killer.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent anthology December 21, 2010

By R. Taylor

Format:Paperback

I bought this book purely for Jeremiah Tolbert's story, which did not disappoint, and was surprised to see other authors I liked among the contributors. There were a number of stories that blew me away, and several that really didn't, and the rest were good. Drill-down below...

The Excellent:
"Swanwatch" by Yoon Ha Lee
* Love the structure of this universe.
"Spirey and the Queen" by Alastair Reynolds
* Perfect mixture of "You don't live in this world so I will use enough words so that the things you are seeing will make sense to you" and "I live in this word so my every thought is not a bucket of exposition."
"My She" by Mary Rosenblum
* Superb on all accounts.
"The Culture Archivist by Jeremiah Tolbert
* Funny and explorative with interesting tech. Excited to see a genderless character, but there was one thing that bugged me about it.
"Golubash, or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy" by Catherynne M. Valente
* Her first SF story is epic and brilliant.

The Good:
"Carthago Delenda Est" by Genevieve Valentine
* I think I didn't quite "get" this story, but it worked.
"Life-suspension" by L. E. Modesitt
* Interesting concept executed well.
"Aftermaths" by Lois McMaster Bujold
* More of a feel-good story than a technical masterpiece.
"Twilight of the Gods" by John C. Wright
* Another one I didn't quite "get," not being familiar with Wagner, but it was pretty and internally consistent.
"Warship" by George R. R. Martin and George Guthridge
* Good concept done well, but a little overstated.
"Like They Always Been Free" by Georgina Li
* It's hard to find a good really short story and this one definitely makes the grade, but the intensely personal voice was a little hard for me to follow.
"Eskhara" by Trent Hergenrader
* Good structure and timely concerns.
"The One With the Interstellar Group Consciousnesses" by James Alan Gardner
* Fairly clever, amusing and sweet in a heteronormative romcom sort of way.

The Decent:
"Terra-Exulta" by S. L. Gilbow
* An interesting idea, but the format bugged me and it wasn't subtle enough for its length.
"Prisons" by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason
* I couldn't tell what this one was trying to say, and it felt split somehow.
"Different Day" by K. Tempest Bradford
* Love the concept, but it doesn't really go anywhere.
"Pardon Our Conquest" by Alan Dean Foster
* I didn't get this one, but I may have been missing info from the other works in the milieu I hadn't read.
"The Ship Who Returned" by Anne McCaffrey
* Again, missing context since I haven't read the books.
"The Shoulders of Giants" by Robert J. Sawyer
* Great concept, not enough character development.
"The Other Side of Jordan" by Allen Steele
* Great concept skimmed over in favor of a fairly cardboard love story.

The Not Worth It:
"Mazer In Prison" by Orson Scott Card
* I enjoy much of Card's fiction and dearly love several of his books, but I really didn't need to read this story. It doesn't stand on its own and doesn't contribute much to its contextual works.
"Someone Is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" by Harry Turtledove
* If Steve Eley had read this on Escape Pod, I probably would have liked it, but by itself it's kind of thin. Punny, but again, I didn't need to read this.
"Symbiont" by Robert Silverberg
* Silverberg's written a zillion stories, but all the ones I've read seem to take a concept that could be interesting, give it a few quirks--a few good lines, a nice twist, a funny scene--but just not do much with it. This one was not an exception.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag but worth the read July 19, 2010

By Jonathan E. Magen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has quite a diverse array of stories and, yes, most of them fall into the category of space opera. Some of these stories will be passed by without so much as a second glance but the rest of the stories are thought-provoking on many levels. While many of the authors are well known (most contributed excellent examples of their craft) some authors (of whom I had never heard) produced such outstanding stories that I have added more of their work to my reading list.

A few stories are quite disturbing because they make you think rather seriously about how human society might endure the next few thousand years. Others fill you with hope, providing a hopeful peek at what a bright and positive future might be like. Though some of the stories are bland, this is an anthology produced by a group of experienced storytellers and is well worth the read.