Galactic Empires

Galactic Empires

Neil Clarke, publisher of the award-winning Clarkesworld magazine, presents a collection of thought-provoking and galaxy-spanning array of galactic short science fiction.

From E. E. "Doc" Smithâ€™s Lensman, to George Lucasâ€™Â Star Wars, the politics and process of Empire have been a major subject of science fictionâ€™s galaxy-spanning fictions. The idiom of the Galactic Empire allows science fiction writers to ask (and answer) questions that are shorn of contemporary political ideologies and allegiances. This simple narrative slight of hand allows readers and writers to see questions and answers from new and different perspectives.

The stories in this book do just that. What social, political, and economic issues do the organizing structure of â€œempireâ€ address? Often the size, shape, and fates of empires are determined not only by individuals, but by geography, natural forces, and technology. As the speed of travel and rates of effective communication increase, so too does the size and reach of an Imperial bureaucracy.Sic itur ad astraâ€”â€œThus one journeys to the stars.â€

At the beginning of the twentieth century, writers such as Kipling and Twain were at the forefront of these kinds of narrative observations, but as the century drew to a close, it was writers like Iain M. Banks who helped make science fiction relevant. That tradition continues today, with award-winning writers like Ann Leckie, whose 2013 debut novelÂ Ancillary JusticeÂ hinges upon questions of imperialism and empire.

Here then is a diverse collection of stories that asks the questions that science fiction asks best. Empire: How? Why? And to what effect?

Table of Contents:
- â€œWinning Peaceâ€ by Paul J. McAuley
- â€œNightâ€™s Slow Poisonâ€ by Ann Leckie
- â€œAll the Painted Starsâ€ by Gwendolyn Clare
- â€œFirstbornâ€ by Brandon Sanderson
- â€œRiding the Crocodileâ€ by Greg Egan
- â€œThe Lost Princess Manâ€ by John Barnes
- â€œThe Waiting Starsâ€ by Aliette de Bodard
- â€œAlien Archeologyâ€ by Neal Asher
- â€œThe Muse of Empires Lostâ€ by Paul Berger
- â€œGhostweightâ€ by Yoon Ha Lee
- â€œA Cold Heartâ€ by Tobias S. Buckell
- â€œThe Colonel Returns to the Starsâ€ by Robert Silverberg
- â€œThe Impossiblesâ€ by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- â€œUtriusque Cosmiâ€ by Robert Charles Wilson
- â€œSection Sevenâ€ by John G. Hemry
- â€œThe Invisible Empire of Ascending Lightâ€ by Ken Scholes
- â€œThe Man with the Golden Balloonâ€ by Robert Reed
- â€œLooking Through Laceâ€ by Ruth Nestvold
- â€œA Letter from the Emperorâ€ by Steve Rasnic Tem
- â€œThe Wayfarerâ€™s Adviceâ€ by Melinda M. Snodgrass
- â€œSeven Years from Homeâ€ by Naomi Novik
- â€œVerthandiâ€™s Ringâ€ by Ian McDonald
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Country	USA
Author	Neil Clarke
Binding	Kindle Edition
EISBN	9781597806176
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	Night Shade Books
Manufacturer	Night Shade Books
NumberOfPages	636
PublicationDate	2017-01-17
Publisher	Night Shade Books
ReleaseDate	2017-01-17
Studio	Night Shade Books

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