I got a surprise package in the mail the other day: my contributor copy of Twenty-First Century Science Fiction, an anthology edited by David Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden. It's a collection of stories by science fiction writers whose careers have taken off since the start of the new century, and the list of authors is certainly impressive. We've got me, Jo Walton, me, Charles Stross, me, Paolo Baciagalupi, me, Cory Doctorow, me, Elizabeth Bear, me, John Scalzi, me, Vandana Singh, me, Yoon-Ha Lee, me . . .
. . . and ME!
My story in the collection is "Balancing Accounts," making this the third time that story has been collected since it first appeared in F&SF. (I'll have to write another "How I Did It" post about that story, since it's showing signs of being my best-known work.)
Since I just got my copy yesterday, I haven't had a chance to read through all the stories yet -- although I've already read some of them elsewhere. It will be interesting to see if any common themes or recognizable trends show up. Is there any characteristic of science fiction in the new century? I recently ventured to speculate about current and future trends in SF, so this will provide a chance to see if I hit the mark.
Congratulations, Jim! I was about to say that the story isn't typical of your work, but since then you've written several sly hard-SF/space opera stories, so maybe you're starting a new sub-genre. "Hard snark" is taking it too far, so you'll have to think of a catchy term for it. Then write a manifesto.
Posted by: Alexander Jablokow | 10/26/2013 at 07:27 AM