Among the Stars is a space opera theme anthology from Fiction River. There aren’t many stories in this anthology, compared with say, Rhonda Parrish‘s or Third Flatiron, or even the IWSG, so it’s a quick read of quick reads. This came as part of a storybundle.com space opera bundle, possibly curated either by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (whose work I generally like) or Kevin J Anderson, the organiser of Storybundle (and Rusch’s partner). I get the impression I’m missing something here…

Among the Stars

ed. by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch reaches for the stars with this latest volume of Fiction River Presents. With stories that take the reader from pulse-pounding terror and utter darkness to sheer joy and wish fulfillment, this volume runs the gamut of the space opera genre. So, get ready for a wonderful journey and see why Adventures Fantastic says: “If you haven’t checked out Fiction River yet, you should. There’s something for everyone.” 

Table of Contents 
“Get Inside” by Dayle A. Dermatis 
“Sole Survivor” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 
“The Mooring Buoy” by Jamie McNabb 
“Schrodinger’s Bar” by Kim May 
“Upon_A_Starship.png” by Brigid Collins 
“Jelly’s Heroes” by Louisa Swann 
“Dreams of A Moon” by Dean Wesley Smith 
“Charlie Company” by JC Andrijeski 
“H-Hour” by Steven Mohan, Jr.  [goodreads]

My Review

I sometimes wonder how these stories are selected, but the editor makes it clear in the introduction: they have all been published in the associated scifi fanzines. Several of the authors are regulars in both the fanzines and the Fiction River world, and readers of those may find they’ve seen all these stories before.

I hadn’t. They are not that varied a bunch, given the raft of scifi that you can get, and the space opera theme was there, but gave way fairly rapidly to military scifi. In the introduction to the last two the editor says ‘the rest are military scifi.’ I would have classed the previous two as military also. And two of the others featured ‘Academy’ or cadets in training…. but yes, it’s a big crossover area.

The standout story was Schrodinger’s Bar. Kim May says she uses this venue every time she needs a bar. I think I’ll go looking for it in more places, possibly simultaneously.

This is not the first Fiction River Anthology I’ve read. Would I read more? Maybe not.

Book Review | Among the Stars @KristineRusch
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2 thoughts on “Book Review | Among the Stars @KristineRusch

  • 21 March, 2021 at 2:31 pm
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    What the heck is a space opera? Never heard that term before! How are Biggles and Roscoe doing?

    • 21 March, 2021 at 9:15 pm
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      The term’s been around a long time; refers to galactic scale, big scenes, spaceships, often involving space battles–morphs into military scifi at that point, depending how much it’s about the tech, and how much it’s about the consequences. So most Star Trek series, and Star Wars are probably space opera, 2001 is not.
      Biggles and Roscoe are fine: Roscoe has an update for you in the morning 🙂

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