• Adrienne Martini of the Baltimore City Paper liked the stories more than the editing, while
• Locus‘s Gary Wolfe’s liked the book quite well.

Library Journal
Award-winning editors Dozois (editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine) and Strahan (reviews editor of Locus and co-editor of Science Fiction: The Best of . . . and Fantasy: The Best of… anthology series) have put together an exceedingly fine set of stories written specifically for this collection by some of the best sf authors writing today. These 18 tales run the gamut from technologically centered hard science (think exploding comets and artificial intelligence) to character-driven soft science (settling on new worlds). Alien perspectives are balanced by humanistic introspection. Many of the stories mine the genre’s favorite nuggets by exploring political and ethical questions from varied and unusual points of view. In the great tradition of space opera-not to be confused with soap opera, although there is some similarity in the epic sprawl of the underpinnings-the collection shows both remarkable diversity and cohesiveness. Standouts from Kage Baker, Paul J. McAuley, Nancy Kress, Gregory Benford, and Dan Simmons, among others, make this a solid purchase for public libraries with sf and/or short story collections.

I have notes going back ten years, to some time in 1997, for a book to be called The New Space Opera. It was going to be completely different than it turned out to be, and my dear friend Simon Brown was originally going to co-edit, but today it all came to fruition. I went to the post office box on the way home from work and there were two bright, sparkling copies of the Australian edition of The New Space Opera. I literally could not be happier. It’s been a real trip working with Gardner, all of the authors, Stephanie in Australia, Diana in the US, Marianne (who proofed it beautifully), and literally everyone else. A big shout out to Stephan Martiniere for the cover, and to the folk at Harper for such great design. I’m pleased as punch! It should be in the shops in three weeks or so. I hope you all like it as much as I do!

The New Space Opera
Jonathan Strahan & Gardner Dozois. HarperCollins (www.harpercollins.com), $15.95 paper (528p) ISBN 978-0060846756. Cover by Stephan Martiniere.
The New Space Opera shares with the old the interstellar sweep of events and exotic locales, but Dozois and Strahan’s all-original anthology shows how the genre’s purveyors have updated it, with rigorous science, well-drawn characters and excellent writing. Many of the 18 stories play with the scope that characterizes classic space opera. In Greg Egan’s “Glory”, creatures embody themselves as aliens to perform archeological research, only to get caught up in a struggle between two worlds. Robert Reed’s “Hatch”, limited in locale to the hull of a giant ship, proves that the scope of the struggle for life is always epic. Stephen Baxter’s “Remembrance” walks a line between the personal and the global as resisters against Earth’s conquerors remember one man’s struggle against the alien invaders. Kage Baker’s humorous “Maelstrom”, in which an acting troupe on frontier Mars puts on a Poe story for the miners there, tells a personal story in an epic setting. The New Space Opera teaches us that despite the bizarre turns humanity may take to conquer these outré settings, a recognizable core of humanity remains. (June.)

Late last year we began to discuss the cover options for The New Space Opera, the anthology that I’ve co-edited with Gardner Dozois for HarperCollins. Harper in the US were interested in using some very cool astronomical art, which would have been fine. But, around the same time I got a call from Stephanie Smith at HarperAustralia, who asked who they should use for the cover. I recommended Stephan Martiniere, who is probably the best big spaceship guy out there right now. Stephanie looked into it and said Stephan was going to do it, and then Harper in the US decided they’d use the same cover, which was great. I got a first look at Stephan’s remarkable artwork earlier this year, and at the US design a little while ago (see their design below). Here’s the Australian version, which I think totally rocks! Many thanks to Stephanie, who made it all happen, and to Stephan for doing such a great cover. I really could not be happier with it.