Far Horizons:: All New Tales From The Greatest Worlds Of Science Fiction

Far Horizons is the science fiction equivalent of Robert Silverberg’s bestselling fantasy anthology Legends. For both books, Silverberg invited some of the most renowned authors in the field to write a new story based on their most popular series or settings. For instance, the first story in Far Horizons is Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Old Music and the Slave Women,” which takes place in the same Hainish universe as her famous novels The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. Dan Simmons wrote a piece set in the realm of Hyperion, Anne McCaffrey turned in a Helva story from the world of The Ship Who Sang, and so on. Like Legends, the list of writers in Far Horizons reads like a Who’s Who of the genre: Le Guin, Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Simmons, Nancy Kress, Frederik Pohl, Gregory Benford, McCaffrey and Greg Bear, as well as Silverberg himself. And like Legends, the authors take a page or two to introduce their stories so that newcomers won’t be totally lost. The average story in Far Horizons is, as you might expect, a significant cut above the average SF story, although this anthology is not quite as successful as its predecessor. Authors like Le Guin and Simmons have come up with some first-rate stuff, but Card and McCaffrey have produced stories that are mediocre at best. Overall, though, the book has far more ups than downs, and serious readers won’t want to miss this one. Those new to the world of SF will also find Far Horizons an invaluable reference when they’re looking for good authors to read. –Craig E. Engler
* 1 • Introduction (Far Horizons: The Great Worlds of Science Fiction) • essay by Robert Silverberg
* 5 • Old Music and the Slave Women • [Hainish] • novella by Ursula K. Le Guin
* 53 • A Separate War • [Forever War] • novelette by Joe Haldeman
* 89 • Investment Counselor • [Ender Wiggin] • novelette by Orson Scott Card
* 119 • Temptation • [The Uplift Series] • novella by David Brin
* 175 • Getting to Know the Dragon • [Roma Eterna] • novelette by Robert Silverberg
* 207 • Orphans of the Helix • [Hyperion Cantos] • novelette by Dan Simmons
* 259 • Sleeping Dogs • [Sleepless] • novelette by Nancy Kress
* 295 • The Boy Who Would Live Forever • [Heechee] • novelette by Frederik Pohl
* 343 • A Hunger for the Infinite • [Ocean/Galactic Center] • novelette by Gregory Benford
* 379 • The Ship That Returned • [The Ship Who Sang] • novelette by Anne McCaffrey
* 419 • The Way of All Ghosts • novelette by Greg Bear