- Hardcover: 960 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312876351
- ISBN-13: 978-0312876357
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.5 x 6.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,974,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard SF of the `90s Defined and Demonstrated,
By
This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Paperback)
This edited volume assembled by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer contains 41 "hard science fiction" stories sampled from the best writers of the 1990s. It stands alone as a collection, but is best seen as a continuation of their previous anthology, The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF. Their similarly-themed Space Opera Renaissance is a logical next read.
My favorite stories are: Greg Egan - Wang's Carpets. A new kind of life is both hard to detect and understand. Robert Reed - Marrow. A long-term mission on a generation ship redefines long-term. Joe Haldeman - For White Hill. Just another love story on home planet Earth. Karl Schroeder - Halo. A fight-against-terrorism story with characters who never meet. Vernor Vinge - Fast Times at Fairmont High - Convinces you to read--or not read--Rainbows End, depending on your taste. Sarah Zettel - Kinds of Strangers. How do marooned astronauts respond to stress? This is a particularly good collection--there was not a single story I didn't like. SF readers should scan the table of contents before buying, however, since these stories have all appeared elsewhere. The book's preface and brief introductions to each story add significant value. They contain the usual author bios and pointers to other story collections, novels and series. Each intro also presents each author's definition of "hard SF" and excerpts informatively from the authors' own descriptions of their work. The editors' inclusive definition of hard SF as technology and concept-driven science fiction allows entry to an intriguing variety of stories and perspectives. The authors' definitions enrich this definition and teach us interesting lessons about the evolution of science fiction during the 1990s. I recommend the book to science fiction readers who enjoy solid stories in this genre. I further recommend it to Kindle and iPhone users who want something good to read during the snippets of found time in their hectic schedules.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic 1 volume highlight of the last decade in hard SF,
By "sdixonsf" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Hardcover)
A monumental anthology waith many of the best stories published in the last ten years, including many novellas not easily included in smaller anthologies.Some particular favorites: "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Greg Egan. A young boy finds himself a little too happy with his life. He has a tumor in his brain that has the side effect of making him happy, even when faced with the news of his approaching death. He undergoes a radical new surgery, but afterward, can he ever be happy again? "Into the Miranda Rift" by G. David Nordley. An exciting new variation on "Journey to the Center of the Earth," except here to journey is through the middle of Uranus' moon. 12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard SF Is Not Entirely Dead,
By Terry Sunday - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Hardcover)
If, like me, you lament the state of science fiction today, and if, like me, you long to read stories that will transport you back to the days of the masters of "hard" science fiction--writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, Hal Clement and Malcolm Jameson--then this thick volume could be just what you're looking for.
In general, I find today's science fiction unreadable. Every once in a while, out of desperation, sheer boredom or an attack of unwarranted optimism, I pick up a new-release SF paperback, or check one out from the library. I am invariably disappointed. Some current SF books I can't even finish, whereas I continue to read the old ones over and over. I can't recall ANY memorable SF books written within the last 20 years. In my humble opinion, there are very few recent books that even begin to compare to the "hard" SF classics like "Space Cadet," "The Deep Range," "Mission of Gravity" or "Bullard of the Space Patrol," to name just a few. "The Hard SF Renaissance," however, gives me some hope that all is not lost. If you're a fan of "hard" SF, the stories in this book should appeal to you. While I don't agree that they collectively presage a "renaissance" of the "hard" SF style, they are nonetheless all quite good and live up to their billing. I commend this volume to you if you want to read good, "hard" SF without having to pull out an old, dog-eared, brittle 1950s classic from your collection. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent selection of stories, great introductions,
By pretygrrl - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Hard SF Renaissance (Paperback)
Don't underestimate the size of this volume! It's almost 1,000 large pages in small print.
Excellent selection of real hard SF stories. An inspiring and challenging read. I found myself alternating between dictionary, encyclopedia and video searches (google video and youtube) in order to try and wrap my head around many of the concepts. The editors did a truly masterful job in selecting, introducing and ordering the stories to achieve a full immersion into science, politics and futurism. The introductory notes that precede each story are brief, but do a great job of placing the author into the proper scientific and political context. I never realized just what a tight knit club hard SF is. The focus of most stories is not science alone, however. Most take place in the near future, and in imagining the future, the authors cannot and do not ignore the politics, economics and sociology that would be required to achieve it. Make no mistake, these guys are hard core Libertarians for the most part. Thanks to this book, I am giving money to the Ron Paul campaign! I also never quite realized that hard SF doesn't confine itself to physics alone. There are stories by biologists, statisticians and geneticists. If i were a natural sciences teacher, I would require my students to get this book. I recommend taking your time with this anthology. I paused in my reading of it to check out novels and other stories by a number of the authors included here. I think of this anthology as a text book, or maybe a syllabus, for the hard science fiction fan. |
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