Trek Software: Books: Federations

Location: Home » Books » Federations

Federations
enlarge	Authors: Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, L. E. Modesitt Jr, Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Harry Turtledove Creator: John Joseph Adams Publisher: Prime Books Category: eBooks This item is no longer available Rating: 3 reviews Sales Rank: 33,222 Format: Kindle Book Media: Kindle Edition ASIN: B0024NL7MG Publication Date: April 3, 2009


Similar Items: Horizon (The Sharing Knife, Book 4) Catalyst: A Tale of the Barque Cats Terminal World Paladin of Souls


Editorial Reviews: Product Description Edited by John Joseph Adams, editor of Wastelands and The Living Dead. From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations will continue that tradition, and herein you will find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg and Harry Turtledove.

Customer Reviews: good space operatic anthology December 5, 2009 R. Friesel Jr. (Burlington, VT USA) 22 out of 25 found this review helpful In many ways, I've started to come to believe that you can't go wrong with a John Joseph Adams' collection. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse was incredible, The Living Dead was great, and Federations...? Also very very good. The "dust jacket description" of this anthology pretty much sums it up... It collects a few different modern takes on the classic science fiction trope: What does it take; what does it mean for a civilization to be interstellar and/or pan-galactic? My take of Federations, it gets a composite rating of 3.9130 (individual stories below) * "Mazer in Prison" (Orson Scott Card): 3/5 » About what you'd expect from Card. So it doesn't disappoint but it doesn't exactly thrill, either. * "Carthago Delenda Est" (Genevieve Valentine): 4/5 * "Life Suspension" (L. E. Modesitt, Jr.): 2.5/5 * "Terra-Exulta" (S.L. Gilbow): 3/5 » Reminds me a bit of that Stephen King piece that opens Wastelands. The letter-writing format is a tough one to write in and I appreciate the effort here. And I don't dislike this piece but it seems... too short? or just that its hand is tipped too early and that kind of blows the ending a bit? * "Aftermaths" (Lois McMaster Bujold): 4/5 * "Someone is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" (Harry Turtledove): 2/5 » Not terribly intriguing, and a little puerile/juvenile. To me... I can see why it was included (for the variety and for the perspective it brings) but it just doesn't do it. Not for me. * "Prisons" (Kevin J. Anderson & Doug Beason): 2.5/5 » So much potential, and almost good; but why did I wind up feeling like it needed to be more subversive? (E.g., so many heteronormative relationships!--if the prison revolt leader had been lovers with another man, well now maybe that might have been a little more intriguing.) * "Different Day" (K. Tempest Bradford): 5/5 * "Twilight of the Gods" (John C. Wright): 4/5 » The Tolkien-esque language can be a little off-putting at first but it really starts to make sense after you get about a third of the way in. * "Warship" (George R. R. Martin and George Guthridge): 5/5 » I can't imagine why it took so long for Martin to shop this piece--unless Guthridge really brought that much to it. The execution is very spot-on. * "Swanwatch" (Yoon Ha Lee): 4/5 » I want to like this more. It's beautiful but a bit oblique--and that's fine but somehow it doesn't jump to where it needs to be. * "Spirey and the Queen" (Alastair Reynolds): 5/5 » Awesome. Did you like Watts' Blindsight? Did you like Sterling's "Swarm"? A little bit like that. (Only robots.) * "Pardon Our Conquest" (Alan Dean Foster): 3.5/5 * "Symbiont" (Robert Silverberg): 4.5/5 » Highly disurbing; more so than I thought it would be. (Just read this one; skip the introduction.) * "The Ship Who Returned" (Anne McCaffrey): 4/5 * "My She" (Mary Rosenblum): 4.5/5 » Brilliant. Nicely subversive and almost perfect. * "The Shoulders of Giants" (Robert J. Sawyer): 2.5/5 * "The Culture Archivist" (Jeremiah Tolbert): 5/5 » This one is funny in the way that "Someone is Stealing..." (vida supra) could/should have been. * "The Other Side of Jordan" (Allen Steele): 4.5/5 » Serves a little bit as a reminder that one of the things you're going for (when you're going for sci-fi) is the "deep milieu". This has got it. And I love it for it. * "Like They Always Been Free" (Georgina Li): 4/5 » Very dense; worthwhile. * "Eskhara" (Trent Hergenrader): 5/5 » The allegory bits are obvious but rather than detract, they make it all very worth while. * "The One with the Interstellar Group Consciousnesses" (James Alan Gardner): 4/5 » Cute, and a bit novel, but kind of like an artisan soda: not really bad for you but not really necessary but damn tasty but kind of a cloying aftertaste? * "Golubash, or Wine-War-Blood-Elegy" (Catherynne M. Valente): 4.5/5 » A little on the oblique side but the framing for the story is absolutely killer. Mixed bag but worth the read July 19, 2010 Jonathan E. Magen 2 out of 2 found this review helpful This book has quite a diverse array of stories and, yes, most of them fall into the category of space opera. Some of these stories will be passed by without so much as a second glance but the rest of the stories are thought-provoking on many levels. While many of the authors are well known (most contributed excellent examples of their craft) some authors (of whom I had never heard) produced such outstanding stories that I have added more of their work to my reading list. A few stories are quite disturbing because they make you think rather seriously about how human society might endure the next few thousand years. Others fill you with hope, providing a hopeful peek at what a bright and positive future might be like. Though some of the stories are bland, this is an anthology produced by a group of experienced storytellers and is well worth the read. Most boring anthology I (sadly) own! December 29, 2009 kete (Germany) 5 out of 12 found this review helpful This was one of the very first items I bought for my new Kindle - and boy, do I regret it! Moreover I had to spend more than $13,- for it, being located in Europe, and quite frankly, I feel ripped off. There was hardly any story I liked or found even slightly interesting, apart from the known dignitaries, like Card, McCaffrey, Bujold etc. who delivered okay, but not outstanding work. I was totally baffled that a writer like Bradford was considered good enough to contribute to this volume. Her story reads like it was written by a ten year old. The things (cannot even call them stories) with the hamster and the throne rooms - you've got to be kidding me, hu?!? All in all, I can only recommend to not buy this thing in any way, shape or form - but especially not as an eBook, because first you cannot resell it and second you cannot even use it as a doorstop.

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.