A few months back, James Bow, a local sci-fi author who I have enjoyed in the past, asked me to read and review two of his upcoming releases: “The Sun Runners,” which I reviewed a few weeks ago, and “Tales from the Silence,” a collection of short stories that I didn’t have a chance to finish until yesterday! Not for lack of trying, I assure you… November and December are just hideously busy.
The book is a wonderful reminder that the science fiction is at its best in short stories. A collection of authors all writing in the same universe/timeline as "The Sun Runners," this work was a lovely revisit to the setting as seen through the eyes of some truly talented and gifted writers.
Bow himself adds a few short works to the piece, but most of them are written by other contemporary writers, and even the worst of the lot was very good (just a little deus-ex-machina for my tastes). But the best of the bunch are extremely well done... my favourite is probably "The Guards at Chelela Pass" for its simple, unassuming humanity, but "Right to Repair" by Fiona J. Moore was clean, well-paced, and fundamentally very human.
This collection reminds us what great sci-fi is about: Using a setting or situation as a lens which we can all examine ourselves, and "Tales from the Silence" provides enough width and depth that I was always drawn along to the next story, the next batch of characters, the next moment.
Exceptional work by all involved, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good short-form sci-fi!