Solaris Rising
Ian Whates, ed.
Solaris Books
mass market paperback $7.99
ebook $6.99 Kindle Nook

A number of years ago, Solaris Books started an original anthology series entitled The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction. The series was edited by George Mann and ran to three volumes. I loved all three. They each contained solid science fiction in a number of subgenres. One of the best things about them was that, since Solaris is a British company, they contained stories by a number of writers who aren’t as well known on this side of the pond. This allowed me to discover some new favorites.

I’m not sure why the original series was discontinued, but I was sad to see it go. Fortunately, it’s back. And it’s been back a while. Solaris Rising was published two years ago. I usually don’t read anthologies in a short period of time, tending to dip into them between novels or when I have a spare minute. (That’s something I’m trying to change.) Solaris has become the Go-To publisher for top-notch anthologies, themed or unthemed. There are several sitting on the shelf I’m going to try to read over the next couple of months, including Solaris Rising 2, Edge of Infinity, and Fearsome Journeys (this one’s fantasy).

Anyway, I digress. Thanks to ebooks, titles don’t go out of print so quickly and are often still available for quite some time after publication. (I know the first few weeks after publication still matters in traditional publishing, but I’m speaking as a reader here.) My point is that Solaris Rising is still available should you decide to purchase a copy. And you should decide to. This is a solid anthology.

There are 19 stories here, ranging from alternate history to hard science to intimate character studies. The table of contents reads like a roster of many of the top names in the field. Mike Resnick. Ian Watson. Peter Hamilton. Eric Brown. Paul di Fillipo. Keith Brooke. Pat Cadigan. Alastair Reynolds. Stephen Baxter.

Rather than give a synopsis of each story, I’ll list some of my favorites. Dave Hutchinson tells the story of “The Incredible Exploding Man”, in which a soldier lives through a terrible accident. In “Rock Day”, Stephen Baxter shows us a young boy alone in the world. Adam Roberts asks “Shall I Tell You the Trouble with Time Travel”? Jack Skillingstead looks at an unusual form of addiction in “Steel Lake”. Mike Resnick and Laurie Tom look at sibling relationships in “Moon Cakes”.

Ian Watson riffs on Capricorn One in “How We Came Back From Mars”. In “Yestermorrow”, Richard Slater shows how to catch a killer that history says will never be caught. Jaine Fenn is an author I’d not heard of, but the one way mission through a portal in “Dreaming Towers, Silent Mansions” has made her an author I’m keeping an eye out for. Keith Brooke and Eric Brown give us a corporate executive who must make a life changing decision on a colony world in “Eternity’s Children”. Alastair Reyonlds takes us on a mission to carve a message “For the Ages” on a neutron star. And finally Peter Hamilton gives us a literary writer who discovers he can’t escape his past writing for the pulps in “Return of the Mutant Worms”.

There are others, but these were the ones I liked the most. I’m sure you’ll have a different group of favorites. This was a solid anthology of science fiction. Not speculative fiction. Not slipstream. Pure science fiction. I’m looking forward to Solaris Rising 2 as well as an ebook only volume called Solaris Rising 1.5. Solaris Rising 3 is scheduled for next year. I’m hoping the series will run well into the double digits.