Solaris Rising 2
Praise for
Solaris Rising
“One of the three or four best SF anthologies published this year... there’s nothing here that isn’t at least good, and some that’s outstanding.”
Gardner Dozois,
Locus
Magazine
“**** The literary equivalent of a well-presented buffet of tasty snacks.”
SFX
Magazine
“This anthology of new short stories is essential reading.”
BBC Focus
Magazine
“A+, highly recommended... A very strong, eclectic anthology with something to please any lover of contemporary SF.”
Fantasy Book Critic
“An excellent collection... In my review of
Engineering Infinity
, I pondered ‘I’d be surprised if there’s a stronger anthology in 2011.’ Well, the same publisher has now produced another anthology that is right up there with it.”
BestSF
“Believe me, it’s a journey well worth taking. Science fiction storytelling at its finest...”
Mass Movement
Magazine
“If you’re of a mind to dip your toes into science fiction, then this is a perfect starting point. At the same time, a rewarding read for SF aficionados. One anthology anyone with an interest in SF shouldn’t miss!”
A Fantastical Librarian
“Chock-full of enjoyable and interesting new SF stories: diverse, entertaining and, for those who don’t already know the authors, a great introduction to their work. I hope it’s the first of many.”
SF Crow’s Nest
“This is a must buy anthology for SF fans. Be ready; you are in for a treat.”
Terror-Tree
“Solaris have, in a short time, established a fine tradition of publishing top quality anthologies. A must for fans of SF in its shorter (and some would say, more perfect) form.”
SFRevu
“A strong showcase of the genre.”
Locus Online
SOLARIS RISING
2
THE NEW SOLARIS BOOK OF
SCIENCE FICTION
EDITED BY
IAN WHATES
Solaris Books
SOLARIS RISING
2
THE NEW SOLARIS BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION
EDITED BY
IAN WHATES
INCLUDING STORIES BY
Paul Cornell
Nancy Kress
James Lovegrove
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Eugie Foster
Neil Williamson
Nick Harkaway
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Robert Reed
Allen Steele
Kim Lakin-Smith
Kay Kenyon
Mercurio D. Riviera
Martin Sketchley
Norman Spinrad
Liz Williams
Martin McGrath
Mike Allen
Vandana Singh
First published 2013 by Solaris
an imprint of Rebellion Publishing Ltd
Riverside House, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0ES, UK
ISBN (epub): 978-1-84997-494-3
ISBN (mobi): 978-1-84997-495-0
Cover Art by Pye Parr
‘Extensions: An Introduction’ © Ian Whates 2012
‘Tom’ © Paul Cornell 2013
‘More’© Nancy Kress 2013
‘Shall Inherit’ © James Lovegrove 2013
‘Feast and Famine’ © Adrian Tchaikovsky 2013
‘Whatever Skin You Wear’ © Eugie Foster 2013
‘Pearl in the Shell’ © Neil Williamson 2013
‘The Time Gun’ © Nick Harkaway 2013
‘When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone’ © Kristine Kathryn Rusch 2013
‘Bonds’ © Robert Reed 2013
‘Ticking’ © Allen Steele 2013
‘Before Hope’ © Kim Lakin-Smith 2013
‘The Spires of Greme’ © Kay Kenyon 2013
‘Manmade’ © Mercurio D. Rivera 2013
‘The Circle of Least Confusion’ © Martin Sketchley 2013
‘Far Distant Suns’ © Norman Spinrad 2013
‘The Lighthouse’ © Liz Williams 2013
‘The First Dance’ © Martin McGrath 2013
‘Still Life with Skull’ © Mike Allen 2013
‘With Fate Conspire’ © Vandana Singh 2013
The right of the authors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Designed by Rebellion Publishing
CONTENTS
Extensions: An Introduction
, Ian Whates
Tom
Paul Cornell
More
, Nancy Kress
Shall Inherit
, James Lovegrove
Feast and Famine
, Adrian Tchaikovsky
Whatever Skin You Wear,
Eugie Foster
Pearl in the Shell
, Neil Williamson
The Time Gun
, Nick Harkaway
When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone
, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Bonds
, Robert Reed
Ticking
, Allen Steele
Before Hope
Kim Lakin-Smith
The Spires of Greme
, Kay Kenyon
Manmade
, Mercurio D. Rivera
The Circle of Least Confusion
, Martin Sketchley
Far Distant Suns
, Norman Spinrad
The Lighthouse
, Liz Williams
The First Dance
, Martin McGrath
Still Life with Skull
, Mike Allen
With Fate Conspire
, Vandana Singh
EXTENSIONS:
AN INTRODUCTION
IAN WHATES
S
OLARIS’ CONFIRMATION IN
late December 2011 that they wanted me to compile a second volume of
Solaris Rising
provided the perfect end to a very good year. The original volume had been a joy to work on, the critical acclaim it subsequently received both humbling and gratifying. To me,
Solaris Rising 2
is not so much a sequel as an extension to that first book; an expansion, if you will. The whole idea of
Solaris Rising
is to demonstrate the diversity, vitality, and sheer strength of modern SF; here was my chance to take that concept a step further.
I would be happy to work again with any of the authors who feature in
SR1
, and the simplest way to proceed would have been to go back to those same talented wordsmiths and solicit submissions, but how would that demonstrate ‘diversity’? Instead, I determined to do the opposite: to gather an entirely new cast of contributors. So I sat down and began to draw up an approach list...
The very first story I accepted for the book was from Paul Cornell. In a career that is still gathering momentum, Paul has already achieved success in writing for TV (not just for Doctor Who) and comics (both Marvel and DC) as well as literary SF. I’ve come close to publishing Paul a couple of times in the past but it never quite happened, so when he assured me that he would be submitting a story for
SR2
I was sceptical. Then he delivered “Tom”, dispelling any doubts. I rate this as one of Paul’s finest stories to date, and that says a lot bearing in mind that his work has been shortlisted no fewer than five times for Hugo Awards in various categories.
Liz Williams has more strings to her bow than the average elven archer. Liz holds degrees in philosophy and artificial intelligence and boasts a past that includes tarot reading on Brighton Pier and being caught up in civil unrest while teaching English in Kazakhstan. These days she seems content to teach creative writing, report on all things pagan for the Guardian newspaper, co-run a witchcraft supply and retail business in Glastonbury (check out the hugely entertaining
Diary of a Witchcraft Shop
) and write some of the most profound science fiction and fantasy around. Liz invariably brings a unique dimension to any project, as “Lighthouse” amply demonstrates.
I first met Nick Harkaway in 2009, shortly after his debut novel
The Gone-Away World
had been shortlisted for a BSFA Award. I was immediately impressed by his charismatic vitality – a quality that spills over into his writing. I approached Nick regarding a story for
SR2
during the launch party for his second novel,
Angelmaker
, thus catching him at a moment of ebullient weakness (and who wouldn’t be happy when your new novel has just received glowing endorsements from the likes of William Gibson?). This, of course, gave him little opportunity to say no. Nick’s story, “The Time Gun”, has a lot in common with its author: quirky, clever, and fizzing with energy.
I’ve been a fan of Nancy Kress since the 1990s, when I bought a signed limited edition of her wonderful
Beggars in Spain
. Nancy is someone I’ve long hoped to work with. Little did I realise when accepting Jack Skillingstead’s poignant “Steel Lake” for
Solaris Rising
that Jack is married to Nancy (hey, bear with me – there’s a big ocean between here and the US). How could I spurn such an opportunity? Nancy’s story was one of the first to be accepted for
SR2
and would, I’m sure, be a highlight of any book.
A few years ago, Kim Lakin-Smith and I found ourselves pitted as bitter rivals when we each had a story shortlisted for the BSFA Award. It was a role we spectacularly failed to master, even grabbing a bite to eat together before the awards ceremony. In the event, neither of us won, though I wasn’t
too
disappointed as the winning story (co-written by Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia) was one I’d published. Subsequently, I was privileged to also publish Kim’s novel
Cyber Circus
, which has garnered considerable critical acclaim and was itself shortlisted for a couple of awards. I had no hesitation in inviting Kim to submit for
SR2
, which proved a wise move; “Before Hope” is one of her best stories to date.
Neil Williamson and I became friends before I’d actually read any of his work. I cannot begin to describe my relief on picking up his short story collection
The
Ephemera
and finding that I loved it. A musician as well as a writer, Neil is part of a Glasgow-based cabal of talented authors whose members have included the likes of Hal Duncan, Michael Cobley, Gary Gibson, and Andrew J. Wilson. I was delighted when Neil’s story “Arrhythmia” made the shortlist for the BSFA Award in 2011. In my humble opinion, “Pearl in the Shell” is even better.
Martin Sketchley is another writer with an alternative identity as a musician. Rather bizarrely, we first met at an air show. As RAF jets roared past overhead, wowing the crowd, we discovered that we both wrote science fiction. Martin’s stories invariably examine the complexity of relationships and cut to the very heart of what it means to be human, and his contribution here is no exception.
Robert Reed has mastered the tricky art of producing short fiction in prolific quantity at a standard that never drops below ‘good’ and frequently rises a great deal higher than that. I first encountered his work in the pages of
Asimov’s
and
Fantasy & SF
; indeed, there seemed a period when every month a new Robert Reed story would appear in one or other of those prestigious magazines, or even in both. I read them avidly, waiting for the quality to fall, but it never did. “Bonds” provides further proof of just how fine a writer Robert is.