Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays, edited by Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law & Susan Forest

To complement my recent reading of Meeting the Alien: An Introduction to Exosociology (see review here), I can't think of a better follow-up than this book I am commenting on, a publication sponsored by the European Astrobiology Institute.

This is a collection of short science fiction stories, most of them written by scientists themselves, each accompanied by an excellent essay on the story's theme. It also features contributions from top-tier science fiction writers such as Stephen Baxter, Mary Robinette Kowal and Peter Watts among others.

It would be a daunting task to comment on each story individually. Suffice it to say that the level of scientific speculation is high and that, overall, the reading has proven to be highly engaging.

Below is the index of stories and essays included in this anthology:

* Foreword (Life Beyond Us) • essay by Julie Novakova

* Introduction (Life Beyond Us) • essay by Stephen Baxter

* Hemlock on Mars / short story by Eric Choi; Planetary Protection • essay by Giovanni Poggiali

* The Dog Star Killer / short story by Renan Bernardo; That Cold Black Cloud • essay by Stefano Sandrelli

* Titan of Chaos / short story by G. David Nordley; Flying Instead of Diving • essay by Fabian Klenner

* Cloudskimmer / short story by Geoffrey A. Landis; Earth's Sister Planet • essay by Dennis Honing

* The Lament of Kivu Lacus / short story by B. Zelkovich; Robots in Space Are Great • essay by Ania Losiak

* Heavy Lies / short story by Rich Larson; Major Transitions • essay by Stephen Francis Mann

* The World of Silver / short story by Tomáš Petrásek; Wet Wet Wet • essay by William Bains

* Spider Plant / short story by Tessa Fisher; Signs of Life (and How to Find Them) • essay by Tessa Fisher

* This Is How We Save Them / short story by Deji Bryce Olukotun; Valuing Life • essay by Erik Persson;

* The Far Side of the Door / short story by Premee Mohamed; Space Agriculture • essay by Raymond M. Wheeler

* Ranya's Crash / short story by Lisa J. Krieg (trans. of Die Todbringerin) [as by Lisa Jenny Krieg]; You Are Not Alone! • essay by Jacques Arnould

* Spiral / short story by Arula Ratnakar; Spiraling Into the Unknown • essay by Tomáš Petrásek

* The Last Cathedral of Earth, in Flight / short story by Tobias S. Buckell; The Latest Black Hole Planet, in Formation • essay by Amedeo Romagnolo

* The Secret History of the Greatest Discovery / short story by Valentin D. Ivanov [as by as by Валентин Иванов]; Cooperation Without Communication • essay by Valentin D. Ivanov [as by Валентин Иванов]

* Human Beans / short story by Eugen Bacon; Microbial Life and Belonging • essay by Tony Milligan

* The Mirrored Symphony / short story by D. A. Xiaolin Spires; Mirror Images • essay by Dimitra Demertzi

* Lumenfabulator / short story by Liu Yang; Crystal Green Persuasion • essay by Nina Kopacz

* Cyclic Amplification, Meaning Family / short story by Bogi Takács; The Science of Xenolinguistics • essay by Sheri Wells-Jensen

* The Diaphanous / short story by Gregory Benford; Life 2.0 • essay by Geoffrey A. Landis

* The Sphinx of Adzhimushkaj / short story by Brian Rappatta; Finding Common Ground • essay by Philippe Nauny

* Defective / novelette by Peter Watts; How Did They Know It Was Agni? • essay by Joanna Piotrowska

* The Dangers We Choose / short story by Malka Older; The Habitability of Water Worlds • essay by Floris van der Tak

* Third Life / short story by Julie E. Czerneda; The Unveiled Possibilities of Biomaterials in Space • essay by Martina Dimoska

* Forever the Forest / short story by Simone Heller; Astra Narrans • essay by Connor Martini

* Still As Bright / short story by Mary Robinette Kowal; — And the Moon Be Still As Bright • essay by José A. Caballero

* Devil in the Deep / short story by Lucie Lukačovičová; Some Like It Hot • essay by Natuschka Lee, Lucie Lukačovičová

* Deep Blue Neon / short story by Jana Bianchi; Destined for Symbiosis • essay by Jan Toman

* Afterword I (Life Beyond Us) • essay by Wolf D. Geppert

* Afterword II (Life Beyond Us) • essay by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law

* Acknowledgments (Life Beyond Us) • essay by editor

* About the Contributors (Life Beyond Us) • essay by editor

* About the Editors (Life Beyond Us) • essay by editor

Meeting the Alien: An Introduction to Exosociology by Andreas Anton, Michael Schetsche

What can we say about a book titled An Introduction to Exosociology? Initially, it might seem that there's nothing to say: it would be a blank book, as we have no knowledge of life beyond our planet, nor have we had any contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. I’m not being cynical; as you’ll see, the authors manage to provide a thorough study of the state of the art in this subject.

So, what do the authors mean by this book? On one hand, they address humanity’s attempts to tackle this issue. For example, the growing field of astrobiology and its research into life forms on other planets in our solar system or beyond.

As the title suggests, the book explores how extraterrestrial civilizations might organize themselves and communicate, as well as the potential effects of such interactions on human society. The authors’ approach is primarily academic and scientific, but they also incorporate—rightly, in my opinion—elements of science fiction to illustrate theories and dilemmas related to contact with extraterrestrials. For instance, the Dark Forest hypothesis from the eponymous book by the brilliant Cixin Liu.

The book addresses unconventional topics from both a sociological and scientific perspective, touching on areas like astrobiology, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence through radio signals), and the lesser-known SETA ((Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts, a form of astro-archeology, inspired by the Fermi Paradox). The authors also offer a critical perspective, discussing, for example, the debate about sending active signals into space with the intent to make our planet known. Or, in the case of SETA, the idea that it dangerously flirts with pseudosciences such as ufology.

It also considers the important question of how the discovery of extraterrestrial life might impact our political and social structures, and it provides a study of various cases: how the discovery of extraterrestrial life or an artifact from another civilization might affect us, and so on.

In summary, Meeting the Alien: An Introduction to Exosociology is a very interesting book for anyone interested in the study of extraterrestrial life and its implications.

Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore

A very well-crafted alternate history. Although, as someone who is not North American, I assume I miss some details that readers from this country might appreciate, the dedication and love Ward Moore pours into his work are unmistakable. Moore imbues the novel with just the right tone, lending solidity to the story—or rather, to the (alternate) history he is telling us.

What’s curious is that the narrative begins with a premise quite different from where it ultimately leads, taking a very peculiar path through the events in which the protagonist participates, some against his will.

A highlight is the realism the author imbues into the alternate society, set in the mid-20th century (that is, the period in which it was written in 1953), where the Confederate South won the Civil War, creating a United States of America far less prosperous than it historically has been.

Another book for my virtual shelf of time travel stories, and another great classic on my list
of top 100 novels from David Pringle's book.