Galactic Empires kicks off with “Winning Peace” by Paul J. McAuley. An indentured scavenger is assigned the task of going to a remote location in space to find out what happened to a fellow scavenger who had been teaming up with an alien Cha!. He has a plan up his sleeve to escape indenture, a plan only accelerated by what he finds upon investigation of the location. Not everything is predictable, however, in this classic story rendered in contemporary voice. “Night's Slow Poison” by Ann Leckie is a mixed effort. It tells of a galactic voyage in which a guardsman is forced to confront an uneasy history through the eyes of his dead lover. Leckie has not shortage of imagination, but technique is a challenge, making this a rough read. Continuing with alternate perspectives, “All the Painted Stars” by Gwendolyn Clare is a human encounter told from the alien's view when its octopus-self gets stuck aboard a human ship. The ship is not of human origin, however, and the alien finds itself in a compromising situation. More classic sf in a modern voice.
Overwrought is the first word coming to mind thinking of Brandon Sanderson's writing, and the novella “Firtstborn” does not dispel the notion. It tells of two brothers, one who has perpetually lived in his older, more successful brother's shadow. Only things aren't as they seems. As with all the Sanderson fiction I've read, the reader's intelligence is not taken for granted, and as a result ideas are confirmed and reconfirmed through redundant exposition. The supposedly adult main character, a man in high galactic military command, is presented as a teen with typical teen problems (not popular, not successful), which gives the premise of the story a barely credible emotional foundation. Another novella, “Riding the Crocodile” tells of a husband and wife who, after thousands of years alive, have decided to take on one last project before allowing themselves to die. Learning of a system that has never been penetrated despite millions of attempts, the pair leave the Amalgam and set flight on their last adventure, and in doing so put their decision to the test in ways the reader cannot predict—a nice palette cleanser after the immature Sanderson offering.
The waiting stars debo dart. a braided story. It tells of the exploration of a damaged menship in one aspect. And the light. and the life of a woman forced to adopt cultural norms not of her own. Bodard takes the odd approach of featuring most things inside the heart. of the main characters, IE something close and personal, then throws a galactic conspiracy their way. IE classic SF universe building, but never bridges the two for the latter story. If a migrant, the personal works for the former, the scope never truly comes across, but our semi awkward technique loose here tight there, along with semi tilted, stilted dialog does no favors. “Alien Archeology” by Neal AsherAlien archeology has the solid, milk fed bones of a romping space adventure. A man named Morley suspect individuals are playing a game of far future cat and mouse over an exotic alien artifact. But the story lacks the muscle and sinew it needed. If execution and technique are not important for the reader, the story has a chance of being entertaining. If they are important well, prepare for a story that can't help itself.
A fluffy, light, largely soulless story, “The Muse of Empires Lost “ by Paul M. Berger tells of a young woman with telepathic powers on a planet with gods living in the ground. She meets a mysterious man who promises her power and a flight off world. Generic storytelling, Berger never establishes the setting enough to make the world come to life. “Ghostweight” is a story written in Yoon Ha Lee's deadpan, abstract style about a fighter pilot seeking revenge on the empire which destroyed her world. To do so, she hijacks one of their most sophisticated fighter jets, a kite jet, that attacks through origami folds in space/time. And oh yea, the pilot's companion is an esoteric ghost. Lee's algebraic style works in some cases, but so too does it lack the detail and sensuality to bring the emotion and action to proper life. A lot of imaginationn is needed to fill the gaps as it flits and darts forward.
A
personal, introspective piece, “The Colonel Returns to the Stars”
by Robert Silverberg is the story of an ageing, retired general
convinced to go undercover on one last galactic mission to capture a
protege who has gone rogue. While that premise may seem
action-packed, Silverberg spends most of the time inside the
general's head and the mental adjustments needed to leave the
comforts of retirement and actually face his friend-turned-enemy.
Clean, smooth prose with nice detail about finding yourself in
unintended circumstances. With the next story, warning: “The
Impossibles by Kristine Kathryn Rusch” contains a spunky main
character who rolls her eyes. It's a courtroom drama featuring a law
student about to graduate doing galactic pro bono work. Aliens as in
Men
in Black are
her clientele, including one with a burglary charge. Cheap fluff,
like an early 90s sit-com with aliens...
An
Iain Banks/Culture-esque story, “Utriusque Cosmi” by Robert
Charles Wilson brings to life what many people dream of: to be able
to go back in time and see your younger self. A young woman, trying
to discover her place in a vast-vast universe. has
uploaded her mind to a galactic
fleet, and in the opening pages goes back in time to see her younger
physical self. More extended vignette than story, the story is
nevertheless powerful for the way Wilson juxtaposes the inner world
of one person with the expanse of physical space. “Section Seven”
by Jack Campbell is a clunky, dated, Clive Cussler-ish story about an
intergalactic secret agent going undercover to break up an illegal
arms ring. Campbell is one of the biggest names in 'galactic empire'
fiction, but this story is as vanilla as can be.
A
tantalizing piece of fiction, “Invisible Empire of Ascending Light”
by Ken Scholes
is an intense, hard edged story about a future monk who tests
would-be emperors for aptitude. But only a piece, strangely. Like an
opening chapter which closes its own loop but does not close the
overarching story, the mystery, the atmosphere, the stakes left me
wanting more. “The Man with the Golden Balloon” by Robert Reed
is a story in his Great Ship series. A married couple survey an
uncharted "corner" of the planet-sized ship and there have
an encounter which peels back more than a couple key layers of the
ship's history--power dynamics and wheels within wheels. The story
satisfies the anthology's remit, but is likely of most interest to
fans of the series.
So classic it could have been written in 1960 and nobody would bat an eye, “Looking Through Lace” by Ruth Nestvold tells of a xenolinguist who arrives on a planet, a place where “women had their own language which they never spoke with men", to investigate/do science/be a diplomat. Woke ideology in action, the elusive patriarchy finally takes (fictional) form! “A Letter from the Emperor” is an appropriately melancholy story about a long distance space voyage and a death aboard. An evocative story for the thoughts and emotions the surviving member of the crew, but not a sticky story. There is no good way to portmanteau romance plus science fiction. Roman-ci? Sci-rom? Rom-fi? Regardless, that is what “The Wayfarer's Advice” by Melinda M. Snodgrass does. In the tale, a captain piloting a space tramp (a la Firefly) salvages a space wreck, only to discover the emperor's daughter, the princess, his former lover, inside. Drama ensues. Need I say more?
A backwards perspective of Ursula Le Guin's The Word for World Is Forest, “Seven Years from Home” by Naomi Novik sees a diplomat descend upon a warring planet to foment civil war. Novik's prose is better and she gives her readers more credit than Brandon Sanderson, but I can't help but feel the emotional/moral transition the story undergoes is immature. Such things only happen in movies. Closing the anthology is the most poetically beautiful spot of space opera you're ever likely to read: “Verthandi's Ring” by Ian McDonald. An intergalactic war is occurring, and our three post-human heroes are just returning from a successful mission, looking for a little r&r. But things don't go to plan, and the three must interrupt their plans and head back out into the prosaic wilds of the universe to defend humanity, or at least what it appears to still be. Think Charles Stross in a red evening gown instead of white collar and bowtie.
In the end, Galactic Empires is a big, fat science fiction anthology that finds interesting ways of living up to its title. Roughly a third of the stories fit the stereotype one imagines when hearing the remit, but the remaining two-thirds take less predictable paths arriving at 'galactic' and 'empire'. As a result, the reader feels the differences among the stories (unlike Clarke's curated anthology Upgraded). The stories were published between 2003 and 2014, and as such offer a broad look at the state of large scale science fiction in short form at the turn of the 21st century before the woke boom. The anthology likewise acts as an interesting sounding board to Brian Aldiss' anthology series of the same name and purpose from 1976. As with any large anthology, not every story will be for every reader, but Clarke has provided enough overarching quality to make this something you pick up from your bedside table here and there to enjoy a spot of genre sf.
The following are the twenty-two stories anthologized in Galactic Empires:
Winning Peace by Paul J. McAuley
Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie
All the Painted Stars by Gwendolyn Clare
Firstborn by Brandon Sanderson
Riding the Crocodile by Greg Egan
The Lost Princess Man by John Barnes
The Waiting Stars by Aliette de Bodard
Alien Archeology by Neal Asher
The Muse of Empires Lost by Paul M. Berger
Ghostweight by Yoon Ha Lee
A Cold Heart by Tobias S. Buckell
The Colonel Returns to the Stars by Robert Silverberg
The Impossibles by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Utriusque Cosmi by Robert Charles Wilson
Section Seven by Jack Campbell
Invisible Empire of Ascending Light by Ken Scholes
The Man with the Golden Balloon by Robert Reed
Looking Through Lace by Ruth Nestvold
A Letter from the Emperor by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Wayfarer's Advice by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Seven Years from Home by Naomi Novik
Verthandi's Ring by Ian McDonald
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