New Legends

by Greg Bear

Book Overview

Hard science fiction--SF that takes known scientific principles as its starting point--is, for many readers, the durable core of the field. But it is also accused, of being, as Greg Bear puts it, a restrictive genre without a soul. Here, Nebula Award winner Bear puts forth the counterargument: an original collection of new SF tales from the cutting edge of the field, each an example of science fiction with a great soul.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312862016
• ISBN13: 9780312862015
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The SF of science-related fields

This collection of SF explores many fields of science like a collection of short stories has never done before. Each story sheds like onto some science related topic, some newly written about and some reworked. What follows is the story title, science explored and synopsis Elegy Neurology Squid neurons in human brains Desperate Calculus Epidemiology Superflu infects 97% of humans Future Marriage Psychology Couple argue after losing game show Coming of Age in Karhide Xenosociology Nostalgic coming-of-age for alien High Abyss Xenometerology Victorious king takes scientific flight Recording Angel "Chrono-sociology" Ancient human disrupts future society When Strangers Meet "Xenomonarchology" The One commontates on New Year ritual The Day the Aliens Came "Interxenosexology" Alien neighborhood orgies on Earth Gnota Transgenetics Soldier struggles with inplant and donor Rorvik's War Military technology Drafted soldier fights Russians Radiance Experimental physics Team struggles to build weapon for government Red Blaze is the Morning Archeology Telepathis alien talks to man at dig site One Explorative astronomy Isolated couple explore solar systems Scarecrow Theology Couple stranded on Saturn moon Wang's Carpet Xenobiology Post-human faction explores new planet

Not Free SF Reader

A fine anthology that Bear put together here. There is also a reminiscence he wrote about a group of right wing sf writers being asked to talk to the government about space weapons etc. meeting Arthur C. Clarke while discussing this and telling him off for having the temerity to actually disagree with them, because he was not American, with Heinlein the ringleader. Friendly bunch. Bit insecure too, by the sound of it. New Legends : Elegy - Mary Rosenblum New Legends : A Desperate Calculus - Sterling Blake New Legends : Scenes from a Future Marriage - James Stevens-Arce New Legends : Coming of Age in Karhide by Sov Thade Tage em Ereb of Rer in Karhide on Gethen - Ursula K. LeGuin New Legends : High Abyss - Gregory Benford New Legends : Recording Angel - Paul J. McAuley New Legends : When Strangers Meet - Sonia Orin Lyris New Legends : The Day the Aliens Came - Robert Sheckley New Legends : Gnota - Greg Abraham New Legends : Rorvik's War - Geoffrey A. Landis New Legends : Radiance - Carter Scholz New Legends : The Red Blaze is the Morning - Robert Silverberg New Legends : One - George Alec Effinger New Legends : Scarecrow - Poul Anderson New Legends : Wang's Carpets - Greg Egan Scientist use squid neurons against Alzheimer's, may have found a surprising relationship as a consequence. 4 out of 5 Population control by epidemic. 3.5 out of 5 Taking gameshows way too seriously. 2.5 out of 5 Puberty gender blues cured by dedicated fracking and food, even if the flavor can be a crapshoot. 4 out of 5 Large scale type war. 3 out of 5 Personality variations don't quite cut it, universal aims are worth a shot though. 4 out of 5 Better understand the local entertainment customs. 3 out of 5 Trading with the long way out of towners is quite odd. 4 out of 5 Hard, life or death choices, with pigs like us. 4.5 out of 5 Drafted into simulation. 4.5 out of 5 Space missile defense politics, physics and prevarication. 3.5 out of 5 Archaeologist time swap. 4 out of 5 Astronomically improbable flop gets robots religion, and they are guided to the irrational light. 3.5 out of 5 A conservative transhuman polis sets out to search for alien life on other planets. The planet they find surprises them in a bit way, as the carpetlike inhabitants seem to grow by a pattern described by an obscure mathematician. Their nature allows them to perform as a Turing machine, and they are running one pretty impressive simulation. A story you might just have to read a bit of twice. 5 out of 5

If you liked "Child of the River" or "Diaspora" try it.

This contained "Wang's Carpet" which I believe became part of "Diaspora" & "Recording Angel" which is set in the world of "Child of the River". It also contains other good stories enjoy!