Sunday, January 03, 2010

Review: Eclipse Two - Jonathan Strahan editor


Eclipse Two
Edited by Jonathan Strahan
287 printed pages
Night Shade Books http://www.nightshadebooks.com

Again, I know I am a bit slow at getting out reviews, but I just don't see how you can review what you haven't read. Maybe if it's a complete crapfest, but otherwise, I would rather give my opinion cover to cover.

So the latest in the Eclipse series. First impression is Strahan is a very competent editor. His feel for the genre is every bit as good as Carr or Dozois, and Eclipse Two reflects that easily. There doesn't seem to be any underlying theme, but still manages to set itself off from the "best of" crowd. Don't get me wrong, I love best ofs, Eclipse feels more like an anthology. But it does swing some big stories, The absolutely (no pun intended) Exhalation by Ted Chiang or David Moles Down and out in the Magic Kingdom. And go ahead, and start the cat calls because I loved Skin Deep by Richard Parks when I first read it and it fits so well in this volume. Or The Hero by Karl Schrodeder. What a fantastic image huh?

Sometimes it's the last story that really drives the ideals of the collection home and Strahan really does that in style. I had not read Alastair Reynolds Fury before so it was like finding a hidden gem. Oh believe me, with 15 top notch stories, there were many a pleasant find but Fury was very special. I mean how can you go wrong with ancient empires, robots, evil all spread across 30k years of history? You can't! I loved it! What's more, I am willing to bet that you would too!




No comments: