The Good New Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition

3.8/5 ( ratings)

This is the second of two companion anthologies that chronicle the history of the SF adventure story. With this book, editor Gardner Dozois is attempting to disprove the old adage that "they don't write 'em like that anymore." Which, of course, they do, as writers like Peter F. Hamilton, Michael Swanwick, George Turner, and John Varley amply demonstrate in these pages. The selections here date from 1977 to 1998, although Dozois has limited himself by omitting subgenres such as cyberpunk, military SF, and even hard SF. While this makes the The Good New Stuff somewhat dubious as a historical overview of the adventure SF field, it allows Dozois to uncover some real gems that might otherwise have gone overlooked, including a couple of stories first published in the Brit-lit SF magazine Interzone. It's safe to say that in the hands of authors like Robert Reed, Walter Jon Williams, and Stephen Baxter, the grand tradition of SF is alive and well. --Craig E. Engler

Contents
Preface • • essay by Gardner Dozois
Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe • [Eight Worlds] • • novelette by John Varley
The Way of Cross and Dragon • • novelette by George R. R. Martin
Swarm • [Shaper/Mechanist] • • novelette by Bruce Sterling
The Blind Minotaur • • shortstory by Michael Swanwick
The Blabber • [Zones of Thought] • • novella by Vernor Vinge
The Return of the Kangaroo Rex • [Mirabile] • • novelette by Janet Kagan
Prayers on the Wind • • novella by Walter Jon Williams
The Missionary's Child • • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh
Poles Apart • [Trimus] • • novella by G. David Nordley
Guest of Honor • • novelette by Robert Reed
Flowering Mandrake • • novelette by George Turner
Cilia-of-Gold • • novelette by Stephen Baxter
Gone to Glory • • novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson
A Dry, Quiet War • • novelette by Tony Daniel
All Tomorrow's Parties • • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley
Escape Route • [Confederation Universe Stories] • • novella by Peter F. Hamilton
The Eye of God • • novelette by Mary Rosenblum