The Hard SF Renaissance [Paperback]

David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Something exciting has been happening in modern SF. After decades of confusion, many of the field's best writers have been returning to the subgenre called, roughly, "hard SF"-science fiction focused on science and technology, often with strong adventure plots. Now, World Fantasy Award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present an immense, authoritative anthology that maps the development and modern-day resurgence of this form, argues for its special virtues and present preeminence-and entertains us with some spectacular storytelling along the way.

Included are major stories by contemporary and classic names such as Poul Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Paul Levinson, Paul McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Charles Sheffield, Brian Stableford, Allen Steele, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, and Vernor Vinge.

The Hard SF Renaissance will be an anthology that SF readers return to for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002) is a thematic sequel to their 1994 anthology The Ascent of Wonder. The first anthology argued that "[t]here has been a persistent viewpoint that hard [science fiction] is somehow the core and the center of the SF field." The Hard SF Renaissance asserts that hard SF has truly become the heart of the genre and supports its assertion by assembling nearly a thousand pages of short stories, novelettes, and novellas originally published between the late 1980s and early 2000s. A different theory says hard SF stories are engineering puzzles disguised as fiction; The Hard SF Renaissance repudiates this theory in regard to modern hard SF. Most of the selections have strong prose and rounded characters, several are classics, and gadget-driven clunkers are mercifully few.

Contributors to The Hard SF Renaissance range from SF gods like Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frederik Pohl; to promising newcomers like Alastair Reynolds, Karl Schroeder, and Peter Watts; and to acclaimed SF writers not usually associated with hard SF, like James Patrick Kelley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bruce Sterling, and Michael Swanwick.

You may have noticed the lack of women in that list. It reflects the book: the 30-odd contributors (some with two stories) include only three women (Nancy Kress, Joan Slonczewski, and Sarah Zettel, with one story each). Some eyebrow-elevating omissions are Eleanor Arnason, Catherine Asaro, Nicola Griffith, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Connie Willis, all of whom have written hard SF stories in the period covered by The Hard SF Renaissance. They've certainly written SF harder than the book's implicit definition (the book reprints Kim Stanley Robinson's fine story "Sexual Dimorphism," in which fossil DNA serves as a metaphor for the protagonist's failing relationship; a few cosmetic changes and this SF story would be mainstream). The absence of several crucial authors makes The Hard SF Renaissance a less-than-definitive anthology of late-20th-century hard SF. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

From Paul McAuley's tale of runaway technology ("Gene Wars") to Gregory Benford's story of evolution and murder ("Immersion"), the 41 stories in this annotated anthology provide a strong argument for the revival of hard sf as a major force in the genre in the 1990s. Showcasing short fiction by veteran sf authors like Kim Stanley Robinson, Joe Haldeman, Bruce Sterling, Nancy Kress, Ben Bova, and Arthur C. Clarke, the collection charts the emergence of trends in the genre. Primary among them are the movement away from a conservative, pro-military route and toward a more liberal-minded science, as well as the rising prominence of British and Australian authors. Each story is prefaced by brief commentaries that continue the arguments posited in the general introduction. For libraries wanting a definitive collection of hard sf written since 1990, this is a priority purchase. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031287636X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312876364
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #778,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic 1 volume highlight of the last decade in hard SF, January 25, 2003

By 

"sdixonsf" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Hardcover)

A monumental anthology waith many of the best stories published in the last ten years, including many novellas not easily included in smaller anthologies.
Some particular favorites: "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Greg Egan. A young boy finds himself a little too happy with his life. He has a tumor in his brain that has the side effect of making him happy, even when faced with the news of his approaching death. He undergoes a radical new surgery, but afterward, can he ever be happy again?

"Into the Miranda Rift" by G. David Nordley. An exciting new variation on "Journey to the Center of the Earth," except here to journey is through the middle of Uranus' moon.
"Great Wall of Mars" by Alistair Reynolds. A pyrotechnic, breathtaking tour-de-force space opera from one of the most exiting new SF talents.
"Fast Times at Fairmont High" by Vernor Vinge envisions a near future where the junior high science projects of techno-savvy young students can have global repercussions.
"Understand" by Ted Chiang shows how deadly it can be to become smater than everyone else.
"Griffin's Egg" by Michael Swanwick is a captivating depiction of a future lunar society.
"Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly is both a re-examination of the issues in Tom Godwin's classic "The Cold Equations," and a thoughtful examination into the implications of dealing with alien intelligences who have alien mores and priorities.
"Marrow" by Robert Reed. Humans living and traveling on a gargantuan alien-constructed starship populated by millions of beings invesigate a mystery deep in the center of their own ship, finding there a world stranger than any outside of the ship.
All the storoes in this book range from very good to excellent. There isn't a stinker in the bunch. A worthy addition to any science fiction bookshelf.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard SF Is Not Entirely Dead, April 19, 2006

By 

Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Hardcover)

If, like me, you lament the state of science fiction today, and if, like me, you long to read stories that will transport you back to the days of the masters of "hard" science fiction--writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, Hal Clement and Malcolm Jameson--then this thick volume could be just what you're looking for.

In general, I find today's science fiction unreadable. Every once in a while, out of desperation, sheer boredom or an attack of unwarranted optimism, I pick up a new-release SF paperback, or check one out from the library. I am invariably disappointed. Some current SF books I can't even finish, whereas I continue to read the old ones over and over. I can't recall ANY memorable SF books written within the last 20 years. In my humble opinion, there are very few recent books that even begin to compare to the "hard" SF classics like "Space Cadet," "The Deep Range," "Mission of Gravity" or "Bullard of the Space Patrol," to name just a few.

"The Hard SF Renaissance," however, gives me some hope that all is not lost. If you're a fan of "hard" SF, the stories in this book should appeal to you. While I don't agree that they collectively presage a "renaissance" of the "hard" SF style, they are nonetheless all quite good and live up to their billing. I commend this volume to you if you want to read good, "hard" SF without having to pull out an old, dog-eared, brittle 1950s classic from your collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent selection of stories, great introductions, January 6, 2008

By 

pretygrrl (BROOKLYN, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Paperback)

Don't underestimate the size of this volume! It's almost 1,000 large pages in small print.
Excellent selection of real hard SF stories. An inspiring and challenging read. I found myself alternating between dictionary, encyclopedia and video searches (google video and youtube) in order to try and wrap my head around many of the concepts.
The editors did a truly masterful job in selecting, introducing and ordering the stories to achieve a full immersion into science, politics and futurism. The introductory notes that precede each story are brief, but do a great job of placing the author into the proper scientific and political context. I never realized just what a tight knit club hard SF is.
The focus of most stories is not science alone, however. Most take place in the near future, and in imagining the future, the authors cannot and do not ignore the politics, economics and sociology that would be required to achieve it. Make no mistake, these guys are hard core Libertarians for the most part. Thanks to this book, I am giving money to the Ron Paul campaign!
I also never quite realized that hard SF doesn't confine itself to physics alone. There are stories by biologists, statisticians and geneticists.
If i were a natural sciences teacher, I would require my students to get this book.
I recommend taking your time with this anthology. I paused in my reading of it to check out novels and other stories by a number of the authors included here.
I think of this anthology as a text book, or maybe a syllabus, for the hard science fiction fan.