Beyond the Sun

Colonists take to the stars to discover new planets, new sentient beings, and build new lives for themselves and their families. Some travel years to find their destination, while others travel a year or less. Some discover a planet that just might be paradise, while others find nothing but unwelcoming aliens and terrain. It's not just a struggle for territory but a struggle for understanding as cultures clash, disasters occur, danger lurks and lives are at risk. Eighteen stories of space colonists by both leading and up and coming science fiction writers of today. Mike Resnick spins a tale of aliens who find Earth future diverse and surprising as they plan an invasion. Grandmaster Robert Silverberg examines what happens when Jews tired of fighting for their homeland start over on a planet then must deal with a dybbuk (spirit) and aliens who wish to convert to Judaism. Autumn Rachel Dryden has colonists threatened by alien animals which burst out of shells on the ground like piranhas ready to feed on flesh. Jason Sanford has Amish colonists on New Amsterdam finding their settlement and way of life threatened by a comet and the English settlers who want to evacuate them. And a new story from Hugo and Nebula-winner Nancy Kress.From the AuthorThis is a dream project inspired by memories of my love of space exploration and reading clippings on the NASA landings with my Grandma Melson throughout her life. Sometimes I wonder if our sense of wonder has faded these days. Did space travel become too commonplace for some? So I asked top Science Fiction and Fantasy writers, including four of my favorites, to imagine space colonization in various forms. It was funded on Kickstarter, then picked up by Fairwood Press, a top independent SFF publisher.  I think the result is a lot of fun. I hope you'll agree. Contributors in Table of Contents order: Nancy Kress, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jamie Todd Rubin, Brad R. Torgersen, Alex Shvartsman, Autumn Rachel Dryden, Jean Johnson, Jason Sanford, Cat Rambo, Simon C. Larter, Jennifer Brozek, Maurice Broaddus, Jaleta Clegg, Erin Hoffman, Anthony R. Cardno, Nancy Fulda, Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick3 reprints (Dryden, Sanford, Silverberg), the rest entirely original. From the Back Cover"Jack Williamson used to say that spaceflight was to science fiction what the Trojan war was to the Greeks. In recent years, myth is being replaced by the pragmatic, and this insightful anthology demonstrates that truth." --James Gunn, SFWA Grandmaster "Beyond the Sun mixes courage, redemption, and stark terror in tales of distant worlds. Buckle in."--Jack McDevitt, author of Firebird"Thomas Wolfe said, 'You can't go home again,' but in this thoughtful, exciting collection of stories about mankind's push to the stars, we see that we take the attributes with us that make us human. A wonderful collection of space-faring stories that reminds us that all we can depend on when we explore the universe is the unexpected." --James Van Pelt, author of Summer of the Apocalypse"This is science fiction doing what only science fiction can do--pushing us out past the warm envelope of our biosphere, exploring our ultimate destiny as a species. A truly phenomenal collection."--Ted Kosmatka, author of The Prophet of Bones