A wide range of topics and diverse styles characterizes this enjoyable collection of science-fiction stories ...
the best of the stories in this new Solaris anthology successfully navigate both conceptual and emotional
territory. In Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact," one of the collection's best, an astrophysicist and her widowed
mother convene to witness the end of the universe, while in "C-Rock City," a joint offering from Jay Lake and
Greg van Eekhout, an orphaned son returns to his birth planet to search for his mother. Other entries make pointed
comments about spirituality and society, such as the clever, entertaining "Personal Jesus," by Paul Di Filippo,
in which computer researchers accidentally stumble upon a chip that channels God, only to immediately begin
marketing it as a personal device called the "godPod" ... Editor Mann has gathered a collection that should appeal
to science-fiction buffs, and make a worthwhile introduction for novices. Stands as proof that science fiction is alive and well.
-- Kirkus Reviews
The opening salvo from new British genre imprint Solaris, and the calibre of authors on display in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction shows that this is a publisher with pulling power enough to attract the very best writers. The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is intriguing: old and new – cutting edge, yet delightfully good old-fashioned futures. It is certainly a fascinating read and one which sets out the Solaris stall as potentially having something for everyone – and it is mercifully light on the Over the Top military action! ... There is something for everybody in this strong collection of stories and as a opening manifesto, it is brave selection. One hopes that the publisher and editor will maintain their nerve and be brave enough to keep publishing such bright writing and in doing so perhaps break away from following trends.
-- Ian Emsley, SF Revu
Solaris gathers an impressive collection of authors and tales for its first anthology.
Covering the broad terrain of science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy, The Solaris book of New Science Fiction boasts 17 new short stories. Books of short stories are, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, like a box of chocolates, in that you never know what you’re going to get. However with names like Brian Aldiss, Neal Asher, Stephen Baxter, Peter F. Hamilton, Adam Roberts and Ian Watson, this book should appeal to most people’s sweet tooth.
There are the usual dark and forbidding tales you’d expect in a collection of this nature (see Stephen Baxter’s Last Contact), but James Lovegrove and Paul Di Filippo provide excellent comic relief, too, with their stories The Bowdler Strain and Personal Jesus. Messrs Resnick and Gerrold tell the sort of story that will reduce you to giggles or cause a blinding migraine, all depending on how seriously you take it. Short stories are notoriously difficult to write well, and while some tales feel like sketches, others such as The Accord by Keith Brooke and In His Sights by Jeffrey Thomas are well worth reading.
-- Den Patrick, Dreamwatch
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction 2007 edited by George Mann will please most fans of short science fiction. There are some heavyweight contributors: Peter F. Hamilton, Stephen Baxter, Adam Roberts, Jeffrey Thomas, Eric Brown, Paul Di Filippo, Neal Asher, Jay Lake, Brian Aldiss, and Ian Watson. The stories range from thoughtful, to experimental, to more visceral action-packed experiences. Whatever your taste in fiction, you're likely to find it here. Overall, this is a nice anthology. Editor George Mann has done an excellent job bringing together the Solaris vision of the future.
-- Apex Digest
It’s to be hoped this will be the first in a series, as the present volume features some very fine, and highly original stories... One may readily recognize in this Solaris Book the most fun SF anthology in a while. Writers have a great time; stories that hint of doom but effervesce anyway; good humor, intense witty engagement with the reader -- the spirit is almost that of 50 years ago. Yet conscious of present realities... The Solaris Book has its fair share of the somber. But even here the ideas flow plentifully, and there is joy in creation. A fine, exuberant anthology.
-- Nick Gevers, Locus
Those who dismiss science fiction as merely the sum of the pulp-ish trappings it often utilises – aliens, space travel, future technology – could do a lot worse than to gamble eight quid on this collection, especially for the Eric Brown piece and the best of the rest: Tony Ballantyne’s hugely original tale of future war, Third Person; Simon Ings’s mesmeric The Wedding Party and Ian Watson’s Cages, which fulfils the science fiction model by being a strong, human tale that could not be told without the fantastical elements at the heart of it.
Solaris is a new publisher that aims to bring modern science fiction to the mass market, and you can already find this, their launch title, on the shelves of Waterstone’s in Bradford. It’s a brave, hugely ambitious move to launch a new, mass-market, professional publishing imprint in the current market, especially one that is devoted to a genre most literary readers regard as unimportant and trashy. Solaris has a packed publishing schedule which will bring the best of new and established writers from both sides of the Atlantic to, hopefully, a new and eager market.
-- David Barnett, Bradford Telegraph & Argus
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction features 16 short stories from a high calibre list of authors. It’s a well balanced anthology with a wide range of intriguing tales... It’s an impressive anthology.
-- Sandy Auden, SFX
This anthology makes a good argument for why you should be reading short fiction. The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is the first book to be published by the Solaris imprint and aims to serve as their manifesto: to publish "outstanding science fiction and fantasy, whatever the form." Like a large majority of anthologies, your story mileage may vary, but overall, they are off to a really good start.
The book's brief introduction talks about science fiction's short form and it is clear that editor George Mann values the "sparkling gems" the format produces... Perhaps more important to regular short fiction readers is the publication of a promising new anthology that doesn't add to the already-crowded "Best of..." or themed anthology set, but instead offers a various sampling of what the science fiction genre can accomplish. There are indeed many "gems" here. Standout stories included "C-Rock City" by Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout, "The Bowdler Strain" by James Lovegrove, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter and "Third Person" by Tony Ballantyne.
-- SF Signal
Solaris is a new imprint of BL Publishing, best known for the Warhammer game tie-in novels and other media related work. This is their new, mainstream SF and fantasy line, and this is to be a regular anthology along the lines of Orbit and Universe. ... All in all, this is a well balanced, high quality collection with no bad stories and a nice mix of serious and humorous, far future and near future, quiet and disquieting stories. A promising debut to what will hopefully be a long running series.
-- Don Damassa, Critical Mass
Brand-new publisher Solaris looks to be an ambitious new player on the science-fiction scene. By centering the launch of its line of books around this original anthology, it's making a strong statement of its intentions to the science-fiction reading community. This volume contains 14 pieces of short fiction drawn straight from the big-idea-driven, visionary core of the genre. There are indications here of a preference for the more unsettling, twisty and daring possibilities latent in those mind-bending visions.
Another strength of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is that it draws freely from the deep pool of talented British writers. Some of these may already be familiar to U.S. readers, such as Ian Watson and Stephen Baxter—but other authors showcased here deserve a much larger portion of stateside attention. These included the wonderfully talented Eric Brown, Keith Brooke and Adam Roberts, along with newer writer Tony Ballantyne. All of these make memorable contributions to the book—and Brooke and Ballantyne, in particular, deliver some of the best science fiction to be found anywhere.
-- Damian Kilby, Sci Fi Weekly
Featuring 16 never-before-published short stories from genre luminaries like Peter F. Hamilton, Stephen Baxter, Paul Di Filippo, Ian Watson, and Neal Asher, this inaugural offering derives its power from its impressive thematic diversity. Hamilton's "If at First…" is a hard-boiled futuristic thriller featuring a veteran detective and a burglary case that involves the space-time continuum; "Four Ladies of the Apocalypse" by Brian Aldiss reworks Armageddon; and Di Filippo's "Personal Jesus" envisions a future where everyone owns a godPod -- a direct link to the Divinity Himself. Other noteworthy selections include "In His Sights" by Jeffrey Thomas, who revisits his signature realm of Punktown with an irony-filled splatterfest, and Asher's "Bioship," a strangely haunting story reminiscent of his novel The Skinner, where mariners aboard a sentient ship get in touch with their dark sides…
The launch of Solaris Books is nothing short of a godsend for genre fans on both sides of the pond who are searching for the ever-elusive "good stuff." If this exceptional anthology is any indication, the future of Solaris Books looks very bright indeed.
-- Paul Goat Allen, Explorations Reviews
Brand-new publisher Solaris looks to be an ambitious new player on the science-fiction scene. By centering the launch of its line of books around this original anthology, it's making a strong statement of its intentions to the science-fiction reading community. This volume contains 14 pieces of short fiction drawn straight from the big-idea-driven, visionary core of the genre. There are indications here of a preference for the more unsettling, twisty and daring possibilities latent in those mind-bending visions.
For this reader, these are the kinds of stories that renew an interest in the expansive, imagination-liberating possibilities of science fiction. Ideas that could only come from out of science fiction are at the center of every story—but, with a few exceptions, the ideas come naturally linked to the individual, artistic voices of the writers and their keen eye for characterization... Another strength of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is that it draws freely from the deep pool of talented British writers... All of these make memorable contributions to the book—and Brooke and Ballantyne, in particular, deliver some of the best science fiction to be found anywhere.
-- Damian Kilby, SF Site
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is a very good collection indeed: a good selection of varied and... interesting stories, themes and tropes. The anthology also acts as a showcase for some of the best British authors currently writing in the field, with the honourable inclusion of one or two overseas guests to provide a shot of alternative flavour... Definitely worth tracking this antho down if you'd like to sample a good selection of current writing, and I do hope that it goes on to become a regular feature of the Solaris list, preferably with companion Fantasy and Horror volumes to match: it's not like the market isn't big enough.
-- Ariel, The Genre Files
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is the inaugural anthology for the Solaris imprint from BL Publishing, containing exemplary stories both profound and emotionally captivating that are sure to get any science fiction fan excited... There are some strong stories in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, enough to warrant justified praise.... I mentioned earlier how there is always a theme, even if it's very subtle. To say “death” would be the easy way out; a lot of the stories here were rooted in ideas of people's places in society and learning to adapt to whatever ways they are supposed to. Whether it's coming back from a war with the face of a dead man or learning about alien traditions on Mars, it all comes back to being human, reacting naturally, and surviving by any means.
But really, that Stephen Baxter story, completely worth purchasing the book. I am not a member of this year's Worldcon so I cannot vote for it to win a Hugo. I am also not a full-fledged member of SFWA, and alas, cannot nudge it for a Nebula vote. If any of you out there have the power to do these things, read "Last Contact," let the world know its greatness, and make all things right.
-- Fantasy Book Spot
Solaris Books is the new science fiction and fantasy imprint from Games Workshop's publishing arm, It's heartening to see a company with Games Workshop's clout investing, as it were, in the field; so one wants to wish Solaris well -- provided, of course, that they publish good fiction. What, then, are Solaris publishing? On the basis of this anthology, quite a wide-ranging selection of SF, some of it very good indeed. Take Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact," for example: a deeply poignant story of continuing human existence in the face of impending cataclysm (in the form of the Big Rip). The tale rings true emotionally: if unavoidable apocalypse came, we probably would carry on doing things like tending our gardens, because it's human nature to do things, even if it comes to naught in the long run. There isn't really a theme that unites the stories in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, but one does get a strong sense of SF as a genre aware of its own history. The Baxter story couldn't have been written when the genre was beginning, not only because of its science, but also the way its title and plot play on established themes. I was reminded several times whilst reading this anthology of something Adam Roberts has suggested, that the future of SF will be "Poetry" (which I take to mean exploring the metaphorical possibilities of SF topoi, rather than writing straight-ahead depictions of the future). There's a fair bit of that in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, and Roberts himself contributes a fine example, "A Distillation of Grace." It's a striking examination of what can happen when people become trapped, unthinkingly, in their belief systems.
Lighter -- but nevertheless biting in its own way -- is James Lovegrove's "The Bowdler Strain". I like his work very much, and found this story hilarious. Ian Watson's contribution, "Cages," lingers long in the mind, thanks to its well-realized atmosphere and heady concoction of ideas. "The Accord" by Keith Brooke is perhaps the story in the book where ideas, emotion, prose and plot come together the most successfully. Brooke's world and his story and rendered in beautiful language, he goes seamlessly from action to affecting emotion to metaphysical speculation in an excellent piece of science fiction.
On balance, a good start for the imprint. So I do wish Solaris success, and look forward to seeing where they take us in the future.
-- David Hebblethwaite, SF Site
