Space Soldiers [Paperback]

I'll preface this reveiw by saying that "Starship Troupers" and "The Forever War" are among my favorite novels, so I love a good space war story. Unfortunately, that's exactly what there isn't a whole lot of in this collection. It is a strange gathering of newer stories and older ones that for the most part are lacking in actual battles. The best of the bunch is Joe Haldeman's "Time Piece" from 1970, which is the prototype story for what would later become "The Forever War." Stephen Baxter's new (2000) "On the Orion Line" is perhaps the best actual combat story included. Paul J. McAuley's "The Gardens of Saturn," and William Barton's "Soldier's Home" are about the aftermath of war. The rest truly are a mixed bag. There's nothing here remotely on the level of Phillip K. Dick's riveting novella "Second Variety," which was the literary godfather of the Terminator moveies and should be the lead whenever an anthology of sci-fi war stories is put together.

Overall, "Space Soldiers" is a disappointing collection of second rate military science fiction.

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The anthology opens with Paul J. McAuley's "Gardens of Saturn"
(1998, Interzone), set in his excellent "Quiet War" series. Two
veterans of the winning side, both stranded in the Saturn system at
war's end, meet by chance years later on Phoebe. Ex-Colonel Vera
Jackson is desperate to escape her job as nursemaid (and worse) to a
fat, rich drunk. She draws Baker, an old comrade, into a complicated
extortion scheme aimed at the drunk's mother, a wealthy recluse.
The scheme goes awry, in a classic tale of the "biter bit", with a
deliciously nasty sting in its tail. An "A" story, one of my two
favorites in the book.

Hot new writer Alastair Reynolds' "Galactic North" (1999, Interzone;
reprinted in Dozois, 17th Year's Best SF) is a glorious Technicolor
update of "Pirates of the Asteroids." The ramliner Hirondelle,
loaded with 20,000 colonists in reefersleep, is boarded by a band of
desperados led by Capt. Run Seven ("... you can call me Seven").
Capt. Irravel Veda has been neuromodified to feel she's the mother
to her 20,000 passengers....

Reynolds gives new meaning to the old wetnavy cliche' "a stern
chase is a long chase" in this gorgeously silly space-opera. Snippets:

"Why are you so interested in our weapons?" the Nestbuilder asked.
"We are not aware of any wars within the chordate phylum at this
epoch."

"It's a personal matter," Irravel said...

The Slug made the Nestbuilder fold its armoured, spindly limbs
across its mouthparts, a gesture of displeased huffiness.

"You chordates," it said. "You're all the same."


[later] "Even if it was your fault, Veda, you did it wth the best of
intentions. So you f*cked up slightly. We all make mistakes."

"Destroying whole solar systems is just a f*ck-up?"

"Hey, accidents happen..."

I love this stuff -- can you tell? An A/A+ story; my favorite here.

Stephen Baxter explores a strange far-future war for lebensraum "On
the Orion Line" (2000, Asimov's). The Silver Ghosts, by
manipulating the basic constants of space-time, have blockaded
humanity within the Orion Arm; the human economy, based on
continual expansion, is feeling the strain.
This is a report from the front on a disastrous raid into Silver Ghost
territory. It's an odd story, but made me think. "A-"

Robert Reed looks at a war hero through the eyes of his grandson in
"Savior" (1998, Asimov's), as he is about to be arrested for alleged
atrocities in fighting off an alien attack. A well-done "slice of life"
piece; "B+".

Tom Purdom examines the special problems of a kid growing up in
a dysfunctional military family in "Legacies" (1994, Asimov's). A
thoughtful, well-written story: "B/B+".

William Barton's "Soldiers Home" (1999, Asimov's) is a moody
look at the aftermath of war. Ashe, a veteran who lost his home,
family & comrades to the Starfish, decides on a whim to settle in an
abandoned space habitat. He wrestles with ghosts from the war, in a
parallel universe to his fine novel When We Were Real. "Soldiers
Home" is interesting but not wholly successful: "B".

Plus a classic Saberhagen Berserker story, "Masque of the Red Shift"
(1965, "B"); a 10-page precis of The Forever War, Joe Haldeman's
"Time Piece" (1970, "B"); and a vigorous, if dated Fritz Lieber,
"Moon Duel" (1965, "B/B-").

So it's a well-balanced and varied batch of stories. I enjoyed it, and if
you're in the mood for a fast-paced (but thoughtful) look at future
warfare and its consequences, I recommend Space Soldiers.

This is the latest in the long-running series of theme reprint
anthologies edited by Dann & Dozois. All that I've seen have been
interesting, providing the theme is to one's taste. Glancing through
the list of titles, both Timegates and Clones were better than average,
and are worth looking for.

Review copyright 2001 by Peter D. Tillman
First published at SF Site

This book is another in the series of themed anthologies co-edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It contains nine stories on the subject of war in space that were first published between 1965 and 2000. While it is not the best book in the series, it does contain some good stories and one absolute gem.

The highlight is Stephen Baxter's "On the Orion Line" which is as good as space adventure gets. It's about a war between men and aliens who are able to manipulate some of the basic laws of physics. It is the kind of story that you just cannot leave in the middle and it's a great introduction to Baxter.

As well as that tale, Paul McAuley, Alaistair Reynolds, Fred Saberhagen and Joe Haldeman all weigh in with interesting stories. Because of the wide time-span from which the stories have been drawn, most readers will find that a good portion of the stories are new and the editors provide biographical and bibliographical notes for further reading.

If you like the hard side of the science fiction spectrum and you are not already familiar with the authors mentioned, you will find this book to be a good buy. If you want more of the same, I'd suggest the anthology "Nanotech" by the same editors which is an even better collection.

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