Escape From Earth: New Adventures in Space

An anthology from 2006 of 7 original novellas published by the Science Fiction Book Club. The editors recognized at the time that very little science fiction that teens would enjoy (as well as appealing to adults) was being published. How are new readers going to step into science fiction? The young adult/juvenile niche had been swamped for years (and continues to be to this day) by fantasy novels aiming for a teen audience.

• Introduction: Escaping from Earth • (2006) • essay by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann
• Escape from Earth • (2006) • novella by Allen Steele
• Where the Golden Apples Grow • (2006) • novella by Kage Baker
• Derelict • (2006) • novella by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Space Boy • (2006) • novella by show more Orson Scott Card
• Incarnation Day • (2006) • novella by Walter Jon Williams
• Combat Shopping • (2006) • novella by Elizabeth Moon
• The Mars Girl • (2006) • novella by Joe Haldeman

Well, the editors did a reasonably good job. These are mostly good stories aimed at a teenage audience. What sort of surprised me was that they were not stories to get hooks into me, to get me invested. I don't know how young teens would react. I was disappointed.

Set in the then present of 2006, Allen Steele's "Escape From Earth" was a fun exciting romp, something a twelve+ year old boy would maybe relate to. However, I think most boys who read Heinlein novels might make a different choice at the end than our main character Eric did. I mean, a cute girl, the stars, starships, your dreams come true and you say No? I don't think so. Well, Eric has a secret plan to make it happen someday, and he's not telling. I wouldn't mind reading a sequel to this story.

"Where the Golden Apples Grow" by Kage Baker hit me as a weaker story. As an adventure story on Mars written in the present day I thnk you need to pay more attention to what is believable. This wasn't very believable. 2+ stars. As an adventure story, not too bad. Others clearly disagree since Dozois included it in his year's best science fiction collection (24th edition).

I will give an OK 3+ stars to the well imagined Derelict by Geoffrey Landis. This was another adventure story, set now in orbital colonies, and involves a group of 3 friends exploring a space station that had a disaster about 80 years in the past from the time of the story. A surprise lies at the end when they find out what really happened. One of the better stories here.

“Spaceboy” by Orson Scott Card was an annoying dud. Card tried too hard with this fantasy thing and his anal obsession. I abandoned this story. Other than Ender's Game I have a hard time liking Card's fiction. 1 star

Incarnation Day by Walter Jon Williams is very good as far as an imaginative idea but it was another story that didn't really click with me.

"Combat Shopping" I skipped after a few pages.

"The Mars Girl" I recognized quickly as having read before. I recall liking it. show less