Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
How would first contact—on earth, in space, on another planet—transform our understandings of technology, philosophy, and what it means to be human? What kind of cognitive dissonance would society experience, if we discovered a previously unrecognized sentience on Earth?
What would life be like if it originated in a frigid ocean beneath an impenetrable shell of ice? Or on a world whose haze obscures any view of the universe beyond? Or on an unfathomable scale in the depths of space? Or . . .
Life—beyond us.
Dive in as the European Astrobiology Institute presents fifty-four original SF Stories and Science Essays on life, from microbial to macro, from automatic to sagacious. Each speculative story is followed by a professional essay illuminating the scientific underpinnings of the story and providing a new window into the cutting-edge knowledge about exploration for life in the universe.
SF STORIES BY: Eugen Bacon, Gregory Benford, Renan Bernardo, Jana Bianchi, Tobias S. Buckell, Eric Choi, Julie E. Czerneda, Tessa Fisher, Simone Heller, Valentin D. Ivanov, Mary Robinette Kowal, Lisa Jenny Krieg (translated by Simone Heller), Geoffrey A. Landis, Rich Larson, Liu Yang (translated by Ladon Gao), Lucie Lukačovičová, Premee Mohamed, G. David Nordley, Malka Older, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Tomáš Petrásek, Brian Rappatta, Arula Ratnakar, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Bogi Takács, Peter Watts, and B. Zelkovich.
SCIENCE ESSAYS BY: Jacques Arnould, William Bains, José A. Caballero, Dimitra Demertzi, Martina Dimoska, Tessa Fisher, Dennis Höning, Valentin D. Ivanov, Fabian Klenner, Nina Kopacz, Geoffrey A. Landis, Natuschka Lee, Ania Losiak, Stephen Francis Mann, Connor Martini, Tony Milligan, Philippe Nauny, Julie Nováková, Erik Persson, Tomáš Petrásek, Joanna Piotrowska, Giovanni Poggiali, Amedeo Romagnolo, Stefano Sandrelli, Floris van der Tak, Jan Toman, Sheri Wells-Jensen, and Raymond M. Wheeler.
INTRODUCTION BY: Stephen Baxter
FOREWORD BY: Julie Nováková
AFTERWORDS BY: Wolf D. Geppert; Lucas K. Law and Susan Forest
EDITED BY: Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest
Previous anthologies by Laksa Media (Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Where the Stars Rise, Shades Within Us, Seasons Between Us) have been recommended by Publishers Weekly, Booklist (American Library Association), Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Locus, Foreword Reviews, and Quill & Quire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The European Astrobiology Institute follows up its 2020 Strangest of All anthology with a gratifyingly diverse selection of 27 stories of alien life, each paired with an essay that evaluates, contextualizes, or responds to the scientific ideas presented in the fiction. Mary Robinette Kowal's "Still as Bright," a welcome episode set in her Lady Astronaut universe, is followed up by José A. Caballero's "—And the Moon Be Still As Bright," a brief primer on "21st century exoplanetology." Standout tales include the tender "Cloudskimmer" by Geoffrey A. Landis; the poetic "Lumenfabulator" by Liu Yang, trans. from the Chinese by Ladon Gao; the experimental "The Last Cathedral of Earth, in Flight" by Tobias S. Buckell; the intriguing "Forever the Forest" by Simone Heller, and the horror thriller "Devil in the Deep" by Lucie Lukačovičová. The essays are consistently strong and fascinating, making this clever conceit work well. Though any reader will be able to find something to enjoy here, this will be a particular treat for hard SF fans.
Customer Reviews
Original Anthology of Science Fiction and Science Essays
“Life Beyond Us” is the second anthology by the European Astrobiology Institute edited by Julie Nováková. These anthologies focus on science fiction stories that feature different possible types of life. The stories explore the possibilities, from giant ice worms on Titan, to extremophile bacteria beneath the surface of the Earth. There are scientific essays following each story, that explore the concepts exhibited in the story. There are even further references if one wishes to follow-up on the ideas presented.
The stories and essays in the collection are all original, and were commissioned for this volume. I found they were all interesting, although I liked some more than others. Ms. Nováková is herself both a scientist and an accomplished Czech author. This is a great collection that satisfies the science fiction reader, educates the reader on real scientific concepts. What more could one want from an anthology?