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A review by bookph1le
Dark Beyond the Stars: A Space Opera Anthology by Jennifer Foehner Wells, Patrice Fitzgerald, Elle Casey, Annie Bellet, David Gatewood, S.M. Reine, Susan Kaye Quinn, Julie E. Czerneda, Rysa Walker, Ann Christy, Blair C. Babylon, Theresa Kay, Autumn Kalquist
4.0
The upside the anthologies like this is they give me a chance to sample various authors' writing, and that sometimes leads to me discovering new favorite authors. The downside is when I check out those authors to find that their other books are nothing like what's in the anthology. It doesn't mean I wouldn't like their other books, but it is disappointing not to find more of what drew me to them in the first place. With both this anthology and with some of The Future Chronicles anthologies, I've passed over authors' other works because they didn't sound anything like what I'd enjoyed in the anthology.
That aside, I did enjoy this anthology. There's a little of everything in here, from stories that are kind of a mashup of fantasy and sci-fi to more traditional space operas to stories that combine sci-fi with elements of suspense novels. Because the range is wide, I imagine most readers would find something to enjoy.
In particular, these stories caught my eye:
Containment by Susan Kaye Quinn
I've read other works by Quinn before, and her sci-fi is very solid--which isn't too hard to believe, considering her background in science before she started writing. Yet her work also has a very human edge, and she often explores the question of what it means to be human and how humanity might change with the advent of new and better augmentation technologies. Even though this story centers around an AI, she's examining that question in reverse. As the AI slowly develops self-awareness, I could draw a lot of parallels between it and people grappling with what makes them people.
Protocol A235 by Theresa Kay
I loved the creepy atmosphere in this one. It kept me reading because I just didn't know what was going to happen next, and I enjoyed the psychological suspense of it. I hope Kay plans on writing more sci-fi in the future.
Carindi by Jennifer Foehner Wells
I thought this was a really touching story about the connection between the two main characters, and the lengths to which they were willing to go for one another.
Animal Planet by Patric Fitzgerald
This was another story with a creepy, suspenseful edge. I figured out the twist before it was revealed, but it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story at all. I particularly loved that she chose to tell it by using an older character as a lens, and Jane was a just plain fun character. I'd love to read more about Jane!
The Event by Autumn Kalquist
This one had a sort of Minority Report vibe that I thought was really interesting.
To Catch an Actor by Blair C. Babylon
I thought this story was really clever, and the characters were so well-done. I would love to see more works set in this universe. I think it has a lot of potential.
2092 by Rysa Walker
I like Walker's The Chronos Files series, so it was interesting to see her develop her whole mythology from a different angle.
That aside, I did enjoy this anthology. There's a little of everything in here, from stories that are kind of a mashup of fantasy and sci-fi to more traditional space operas to stories that combine sci-fi with elements of suspense novels. Because the range is wide, I imagine most readers would find something to enjoy.
In particular, these stories caught my eye:
Containment by Susan Kaye Quinn
I've read other works by Quinn before, and her sci-fi is very solid--which isn't too hard to believe, considering her background in science before she started writing. Yet her work also has a very human edge, and she often explores the question of what it means to be human and how humanity might change with the advent of new and better augmentation technologies. Even though this story centers around an AI, she's examining that question in reverse. As the AI slowly develops self-awareness, I could draw a lot of parallels between it and people grappling with what makes them people.
Protocol A235 by Theresa Kay
I loved the creepy atmosphere in this one. It kept me reading because I just didn't know what was going to happen next, and I enjoyed the psychological suspense of it. I hope Kay plans on writing more sci-fi in the future.
Carindi by Jennifer Foehner Wells
I thought this was a really touching story about the connection between the two main characters, and the lengths to which they were willing to go for one another.
Animal Planet by Patric Fitzgerald
This was another story with a creepy, suspenseful edge. I figured out the twist before it was revealed, but it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story at all. I particularly loved that she chose to tell it by using an older character as a lens, and Jane was a just plain fun character. I'd love to read more about Jane!
The Event by Autumn Kalquist
This one had a sort of Minority Report vibe that I thought was really interesting.
To Catch an Actor by Blair C. Babylon
I thought this story was really clever, and the characters were so well-done. I would love to see more works set in this universe. I think it has a lot of potential.
2092 by Rysa Walker
I like Walker's The Chronos Files series, so it was interesting to see her develop her whole mythology from a different angle.