Infinite Stars: The Definitive Anthology of Space Opera and Military SF

by David Weber, Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Editor), Brian Herbert, Elizabeth Moon, Orson Scott Card

Overview

The seductive thrill of uncharted worlds, of distant galaxies… and the unknown threats that lurk in the vastness of the cosmos. From Foundation to Lensman, Star Wars to Guardians of the Galaxy, space opera continues to exert its magnetic pull on us all.

INFINITE STARS

This is the definitive collection of original short stories by many of today’s finest authors, writing brand new adventures set in their most famous series. Herein lie canonical tales of the Honorverse, the Lost Fleet, Dune, Vatta’s War, Ender Wiggin, the Legion of the Damned, the Imperium, and more.
Also included are past masterpieces by authors whose works defined the genre, including a Miles Vorkosigan adventure, a story from the author of the Dragonriders of Pern, and a rare tale co-authored by the screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back.
Nebula and Hugo Award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and Science Fiction Grand Masters—these authors take us to the farthest regions of space.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785654589
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is a Hugo Award-nominated editor and author. His anthologies include Shattered Shields, Mission: Tomorrow, Galactic Games, Little Green Men–Attack, and, Beyond The Sun. Bryan was the original editor for The Martian by New York Times Bestseller Andy Weir (Crown, 2014). He has also edited or written gaming content for Wars, Dark Expanse, and Ascension, as well as writing tie-in fiction in The X-Files and Predator.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note and Acknowledgements 1

Space Opera: An Introduction Robert Silverberg 3

Fleet School: Renegat Orson Scott Card 13

Dune: The Waters of Kanly Brian Herbert Kevin J. Anderson 58

Legion of the Damned: The Good Shepherd William C. Dietz 87

The Game of Rat and Dragons Cordwainer Smith 100

Miles Vorkosigan: The Borders of Infinity Lois McMaster Bujold 123

Vatta's War: All In a Day's Work Elizabeth Moon 191

Lightship Chronicles: The Last Day of Training Dave Bara 203

Skolian Empire: The Wages of Nonor Catherine Asaro 218

Binti Nnedi Okorafor 249

Cooominium: Reflex Larry Niven Jerry Pournelle 295

How To Be a Barbarian in the Late 25th Century Jean Johnson 310

Strark and the Star Kings Leigh Brackett Edmond Hamilton 328

Imperium Imposter Jody Lynn Nye 359

Red: Region Five Linda Nagata 382

Revelation Space: Night Passage Alastair Reynolds 401

Duel on Syrtis Poul Anderson 438

Starbridge: Twilight World A.C. Crispin 455

Virtues Of War: Twenty Excellent Reasons Bennett R. Coles 482

The Ship Who Sang Anne McCaffrey 498

Caine Riordon: A Taste of Ashes Charles E. Gannon 516

The Iron Star Robert Silverberg 558

Lt, Leary: Cadet Cruise David Drake 580

The Lost Fleet: Shore Patrol Jack Campbell 599

Honorverse: Our Sached Honor David Weber 620

Editor Biography 657

Author Biographies 659

Copyright and First Publication Information 673

Editorial Reviews

"Space opera is celebrated in this capacious anthology with stories from a stellar lineup of its best contemporary practitioners....irresistible to space opera enthusiasts." 
-Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"While the broad sampling means readers may not enjoy every tale, the wide variety on offer makes this volume worth a look for any sf reader, regardless of their particular genre tastes."
-Booklist Review

"Infinite Stars is a strong celebration of the variety and power of the space opera subgenre, both in its history and its ongoing vitality" - Locus magazine


“celebrates the breadth and scope—and storytelling power—of space opera” - Barnes & Noble SFF blog

“a once-in-a-lifetime collection“ Unbound Worlds

"great sci-fi done right, an appetizer whetting the appetite for much larger entrees to follow." — Seattle Book Review


"After reading this volume, even the most grounded reader will be able to see that space opera has blasted off from its formulaic and predictable pulpy roots to explore galaxies of carefully crafted prose, thematic depth, and character complexity. These stories beg the reader to question the very nature of reality and gaze in wonder at the universe, pondering the struggles and joys of humans who seek to find their place in it" — Tethered by Letters

"A great anthology with a bit of something for everyone and some top notch writers to boot." - Portland Book Review

From the Publisher

10/15/2017
Hugo Award-nominated editor Schmidt has gathered 24 stories from some of the most popular authors in space opera and military sf. Many selections are reprints, such as the novella "Borders of Infinity" from Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan Saga," Nnedi Okorafor's marvelous novella "Binti," or Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton's final Stark story, "Stark and the Star Kings." Others are original contributions, often filling in gaps in their author's most popular series, including a "Skolian" story from Catherine Asaro, a "Dune" tale from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, a "Revelation Space" entry from Alastair Reynolds, and Orson Scott Card's "Renegat," which features Ender Wiggins in his role as speaker for the dead. The preference of series entries over stand-alone stories guarantees that readers unfamiliar with these books will get a tantalizing taste of the introduced universes. VERDICT With the likes of David Weber, Jack Campbell, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Moon, Charles Gannon, and Robert Silverberg, this is also a great anthology for those who want to sample the best authors in sf.—MM

Library Journal

★ 09/04/2017
Space opera is celebrated in this capacious anthology with stories from a stellar lineup of its best contemporary practitioners. The 24 selections—which include classics from luminaries such as Robert Silverberg (who also contributes an informative historical introduction), Anne McCaffrey, Poul Anderson, and Cordwainer Smith, as well as 15 works original to this volume—illustrate the wide variety of themes that space opera can accommodate: galactic empire building across space and time in Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton’s “Stark and the Star Kings”; the peculiar lives of extraterrestrial fauna in Orson Scott Card’s “Renegat” (a new episode in his long-running Ender saga); interstellar piracy in Elizabeth Moon’s “All in a Day’s Work”; cultural identity in Nnedi Okorafor’s Hugo-winning “Binti”; and military adventures (a staple of the subgenre) in stories by Lois McMaster Bujold, David Drake, and Bennett R. Coles. Although these short stories don’t always have the sweep and scope of novel-length works, the new episodes of several series—among them “The Waters of Kanly” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set amid the events of Frank Herbert’s landmark novel Dune—will make this book irresistible to space opera enthusiasts. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly