Federations (Paperback)

~ John Joseph Adams (Editor), Lois McMaster Bujold (Contributor), Orson Scott Card (Contributor), Anne McCaffrey (Contributor), George R. R. Martin (Contributor), L. E. Modesitt Jr. (Contributor), Alastair Reynolds (Contributor), Robert Silverberg (Contributor), Harry Turtledove (Contributor)
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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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Product Description

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

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books; X edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607012014
• ISBN-13: 978-1607012016
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	R. Friesel Jr. "found_drama" (Burlington, VT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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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.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Most boring anthology I (sadly) own!, December 29, 2009

By	kete (Germany) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This was one of the very first items I bought for my new Kindle - and boy, do I regret it! Moreover I had to spend more than $13,- for it, being located in Europe, and quite frankly, I feel ripped off.

There was hardly any story I liked or found even slightly interesting, apart from the known dignitaries, like Card, McCaffrey, Bujold etc. who delivered okay, but not outstanding work.

I was totally baffled that a writer like Bradford was considered good enough to contribute to this volume. Her story reads like it was written by a ten year old. The things (cannot even call them stories) with the hamster and the throne rooms - you've got to be kidding me, hu?!?

All in all, I can only recommend to not buy this thing in any way, shape or form - but especially not as an eBook, because first you cannot resell it and second you cannot even use it as a doorstop.