Free Space

A group of writers including Poul Anderson, John Barnes, Gregory Benford, Ray Bradbury, and others offers stories about the twenty-third century, where individual societies outside of Earth have evolved into a galactic federation without formalized government known as Free Space.

An all-new anthology, comprising 17 stories and three poems, whose ``shared-future'' backdrop is inspired by Libertarian Futurist philosophy. By consensus, then, the future denizens of Free Space will, inevitably, be healthier, happier, smarter, and more fun-loving than the gloomy, tyrannical fatalistic grouches who choose to remain lurking at the bottom of Earth's gravity well. Humor indeed is an important and effective component of the material here, which ranges from William F. Buckley's Soyuz cosmonauts demanding political asylum in the US so that they can meet Solzhenitsyn, to the self-referential metafiction of John Barnes, by way of luminaries such as James P. Hogan, Gregory Benford, Ray Bradbury, Poul Anderson, and others less renowned but more politically committed. Worth a try: It's often engaging and chortle-provoking, even if you find politics tiresome. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This sf anthology focuses on a libertarian view of a free-space universe spanning 300 years. Twenty contributors of 19 original stories and one poem include William F. Buckley Jr., Gregory Benford, Poul Anderson, and L. Neil Smith. An intriguing collection by some of the genre's best writers; recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Editors Linaweaver and Kramer have assembled 20 original, mostly satirical stories by both well-known writers and newcomers in what is surely the only libertarian sf anthology ever printed. In them, the twenty-third-century "galactic federation" stands in for the U.S. federal government as a bastion of inefficiency and overregulation, exemplified hilariously in Dafydd ab Hugh's "Nerfworld," about a woman whose federation-funded project to implement the first laser launcher is turned into a chemical rocket propulsion system because of turf wars between government agencies. Poul Anderson turns in a passionate tale of freedom, "Tyranny," and Gregory Benford tells of entrepreneurs capturing a wormhole in the longish "Early Bird." There are no weak entries, but the prize for puckishness goes to John Barnes for "Between Shepherds and Kings," a postmodern romp about a horror writer and incipient alcoholic who is asked to contribute a story to a libertarian anthology and just can't get going on such a dumb idea. Nimble and clever throughout. John Mort