A quick one: all reviewers of science fiction should be banned from using the phrase ‘what it means to be human’. If they were, then they might explain what it is they think they see in an SF novel without dropping into safe cliche.  I’ll never forget when I was maybe fifteen years old, an English teacher of mine said it wasn’t enough to say that something in a book was evocative, you had to say what it evoked and what that meant. This phrase, which I’ve used often myself, is SF’s equivalent of ‘the imagery is evocative’.  Surely we can be smarter than that?

I’m curious. Greg Johnson over at SF Site doesn’t deserve to be singled out, but in his review for Al Reynolds’ Zima Blue he says ‘Hard science fiction, and space opera, are styles of SF that tend to work better at lengths longer than short stories’. I’ve just edited a volume of space opera stories, and have another that contains some hard sf and space opera stories coming shortly, and they’re all short stories pretty much, and I’ve heard this view before, but is it true?  I do think the novella may be the best length for science fiction, but wasn’t science fiction founded on the short story? If you run through Bob Silverberg’s The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, isn’t it filled with short stories? And, aren’t a lot of them hard SF or space opera?  When did it become popular wisdom that sf works better at longer lengths? And why? Is there something that we were doing, back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, that we’re not doing here in the Oughties?

Am I reading your story? Well, I might be. I’ve now handed in the final corrections for the Australian edition of The New Space Opera.  That means that I’ve now finished work on all of this year’s book projects, except for Eclipse, which is pretty cool. Actually, I’ve bought a terrific Maureen McHugh story for the first Eclipse, and have just started to see a few other stories. The deadline for that is in May, so I’m both excited and a little nervous about how it’s all going to work out. I’m also really happy with the way The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year is being received. The first book has done really well, and it looks certain that Volume 2 will happen next March. Which means that I’m now, at last, diving into reading 2007’s short fiction. I’ve been letting it build up while I work on projects, and read a few novels, but I’m now officially reading, which means I could be reading your story. And, if you think I might not be, feel free to drop me an email to see. I’m eager to see stories from all venues, so if you think there’s a chance I might miss it, please let me know.

The ever kind and generous Jason Nahrung spoke to a few people about space opera for The Brisbane Courier Mail. I was fortunate enough to be included in the article. Be sure to check it out. We’re only a few months away from the book being published, after almost a decade, so it’s pretty exciting.

I’ve just about talked myself out of the Australian science fiction anthology idea. This is the critical period in whether I do things. I’ve spoken to at least one person who thinks it’s a great idea, and one who thinks I’m out of my tree. They both have good points. The main thing about it is that it’s a distinctly non-commercial idea, and I have to decide whether I can afford that time and money. Hmm.