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5.0 out of 5 stars
A well-balanced and varied batch of stories, September 6, 2005
This review is from: Space Soldiers (Paperback)
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The anthology opens with Paul J. McAuley's "Gardens of Saturn"
(1998, Interzone), set in his excellent "Quiet War" series. Two
veterans of the winning side, both stranded in the Saturn system at
war's end, meet by chance years later on Phoebe. Ex-Colonel Vera
Jackson is desperate to escape her job as nursemaid (and worse) to a
fat, rich drunk. She draws Baker, an old comrade, into a complicated
extortion scheme aimed at the drunk's mother, a wealthy recluse.
The scheme goes awry, in a classic tale of the "biter bit", with a
deliciously nasty sting in its tail. An "A" story, one of my two
favorites in the book.
Hot new writer Alastair Reynolds' "Galactic North" (1999, Interzone;
reprinted in Dozois, 17th Year's Best SF) is a glorious Technicolor
update of "Pirates of the Asteroids." The ramliner Hirondelle,
loaded with 20,000 colonists in reefersleep, is boarded by a band of
desperados led by Capt. Run Seven ("... you can call me Seven").
Capt. Irravel Veda has been neuromodified to feel she's the mother
to her 20,000 passengers....
Reynolds gives new meaning to the old wetnavy cliche' "a stern
chase is a long chase" in this gorgeously silly space-opera. Snippets:
"Why are you so interested in our weapons?" the Nestbuilder asked.
"We are not aware of any wars within the chordate phylum at this
epoch."
"It's a personal matter," Irravel said...
The Slug made the Nestbuilder fold its armoured, spindly limbs
across its mouthparts, a gesture of displeased huffiness.
"You chordates," it said. "You're all the same."
[later] "Even if it was your fault, Veda, you did it wth the best of
intentions. So you f*cked up slightly. We all make mistakes."
"Destroying whole solar systems is just a f*ck-up?"
"Hey, accidents happen..."
I love this stuff -- can you tell? An A/A+ story; my favorite here.
Stephen Baxter explores a strange far-future war for lebensraum "On
the Orion Line" (2000, Asimov's). The Silver Ghosts, by
manipulating the basic constants of space-time, have blockaded
humanity within the Orion Arm; the human economy, based on
continual expansion, is feeling the strain.
This is a report from the front on a disastrous raid into Silver Ghost
territory. It's an odd story, but made me think. "A-"
Robert Reed looks at a war hero through the eyes of his grandson in
"Savior" (1998, Asimov's), as he is about to be arrested for alleged
atrocities in fighting off an alien attack. A well-done "slice of life"
piece; "B+".
Tom Purdom examines the special problems of a kid growing up in
a dysfunctional military family in "Legacies" (1994, Asimov's). A
thoughtful, well-written story: "B/B+".
William Barton's "Soldiers Home" (1999, Asimov's) is a moody
look at the aftermath of war. Ashe, a veteran who lost his home,
family & comrades to the Starfish, decides on a whim to settle in an
abandoned space habitat. He wrestles with ghosts from the war, in a
parallel universe to his fine novel When We Were Real. "Soldiers
Home" is interesting but not wholly successful: "B".
Plus a classic Saberhagen Berserker story, "Masque of the Red Shift"
(1965, "B"); a 10-page precis of The Forever War, Joe Haldeman's
"Time Piece" (1970, "B"); and a vigorous, if dated Fritz Lieber,
"Moon Duel" (1965, "B/B-").
So it's a well-balanced and varied batch of stories. I enjoyed it, and if
you're in the mood for a fast-paced (but thoughtful) look at future
warfare and its consequences, I recommend Space Soldiers.
This is the latest in the long-running series of theme reprint
anthologies edited by Dann & Dozois. All that I've seen have been
interesting, providing the theme is to one's taste. Glancing through
the list of titles, both Timegates and Clones were better than average,
and are worth looking for.
Review copyright 2001 by Peter D. Tillman
First published at SF Site
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