Helen Jackson. Build Guide. (Interzone #244, Jan-Feb 2013)
A neat story that starts with a skinny teenager joining a tight-knit, orbit-hardened and cynical work crew, that goes on a slightly different trajectory than you might guess.
Guy Haley. iRobot. (Interzone #244 Jan-Feb 2013)
A wind-blown desert with a dessicated human corpse and a humanoid robot buried in the sand, leaving the reader to imagine the events that led to this scene.
F. Brett Cox. The Amnesia Helmet. (Eclipse Online).
“Buck Rogers came to the Rialto Theater in Clarksville, Illinois, when Marlena was eleven years
Paul di Filippo. A Palazzo in the Stars. (Solaris Rising 1.5)
The First Men in the Moon from an Italian perpective, which of course involves beautiful scenery, food, and a molto bella lady with attitude (this latter being a Filippian requisito).
Paul Cornell. A New Arrival the the House of Love. (Solaris Rising 1.5)
Cornell bodaciously envisages a world in which almost anything is possible, and indeed the impossible
Alastair Reynolds. Vainglory. (Edge of Infinity)
Used to trilogies that frequently go to the far reaches of the galaxy in both space and time, Reynolds still manages to get an epic sweep into this narrative.
Stephen Baxter. Obelisk. (Edge of Infinity)
One of a number of stories in the collection that looks to the Chinese as the people who will get us further into space.
Hannu Rajaniemi. Tyche and the Ants. (Edge of Infinity)
A nice blend of SF and fantasy, set on the moon, through the eyes of a young girl being cared for by an AI, with some interesting friends.
Genevieve Valentine. The Advocate. (Eclipse Online).
“The Martian Embassy in New York is at the north edge of Midtown along First Avenue, in a grey building set back from the street by a courtyard and surrounded by a high stone wall….”
Gwyneth Jones. Bricks, Sticks and Straw. (Edge of Infinity)
A clever story that looks at the exploration of the solar system via telepresence rathern than in person, and to explain much more would be to give away too much, but suffice to say it provides an interesting perspective.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Safety Tests. (Edge of Infinity)
Through the well-observed downbeat and wry narrative voice of a spacepilot licence examiner, we look at some of the issues in making a life out there in the solar system.