War Stories: On Sale!

I don't know how long it'll be on sale, but Amazon has marked down War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, edited by myself and Jaym Gates to $3.82 for the Kindle edition! That's a bit off the regular listed price of $5, and quite a bit cheaper than the print edition. 

If you haven't read it yet, it's a good time to pick it up, and read stories from Linda Nagata, Karin Lowachee, Ken Liu, Yoon Ha Lee, James Sutter, Maurice Broadus, Jake Kerr, Janine Spendlove, TC McCarthy, and a bunch of others. 

I'm very proud of this little book, and of all the stories in it. Jaym and I wanted to push against the typical tropes of Military SF, and I think we succeeded. There's things like power armor, AI, and space battles, but all with the backdrop of how warfare affects people. 

So if you're looking for a good book, it's a good opportunity to check it out! 

Joe Haldeman's Forever War

When I was in High School, I devoured Ender's Game and Starship Troopers, but it wasn't until I'd left graduate school that someone forced me to read The Forever War. When I did, I sort of missed the point of the book, and going back to it recently with this research, I'm finding that it's a book that's growing for me each time I read it. It's certainly one of the best SF novels that I've ever read.

I've interviewed Joe several times already, and we included him in War Stories, with his story Graves leading off the TOC. Going back and looking at how his book was written has been something I've wanted to do for a while now, and after writing up this column, I have to say, I need to give the book another read to fully appreciate it, I think.

Go read Joe Haldeman's Forever War over on Kirkus Reviews.

• Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, Brian Aldiss. Aldiss has some interesting points to make here about TFW and its placement in genre literature.
• Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970 to 1980, Mike Ashley. Ashley notes where Haldeman began writing and where he was able to first publish his stories.
• Science Fiction Writers Second Edition, Richard Bleiler. Blieler has a good biographical sketch of Haldeman in this edition.
• The Forever War, Joe Haldeman. Haldeman himself has some things to say about his own book. My 1991 edition has a good author forward.
• Sci-Fi Chronicles: A Visual History of the Galaxy's Greatest Science Fiction, Guy Haley. This recently released book isn't terribly academic, but it has a page devoted to Haldeman (written by Damien Walter). Overall, it's a really neat, (dense) book with a TON of material. Good for flipping through.
• Survey of Science Fiction Literature, vol 2, Frank Magill. Magill has a solid review of TFW in volume 2.
• Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Vol. 2- The Man Who Learned Better, 1948-1988, William H. Patterson Jr. Patterson talks about Heinlein's interactions with Haldeman in 1975 here.
• Fights of Fancy: Armed Conflict in Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by George Slusser and Eric Rabkin. There's a fantastic essay from Haldeman called Vietnam and other Alien Worlds, which is well worth reading. (Here's a good source online.

Online Sources:

• Interim Report: An Autobiographical Ramble by Joe Haldeman. This is a fantastic autobiography from Joe, which provides some extremely helpful details about his life.
• Many, many thanks to Joe Haldeman himself, who agreed to be interviewed for this. I'll post up our conversation at some point in the near future.

War Stories: In Stores Today!

At long last, War Stories: New Military Science Fiction is officially out in bookstores today! Co-edited by Jaym Gates and myself, the anthology takes a new look at warfare in science fiction, with the central focus of how the people who wage it and are caught up in it are impacted by the fighting.

Here's the back-cover blurb:

War is everywhere. Not only among the firefights, in the sweat dripping from heavy armor and the clenching grip on your weapon, but also wedging itself deep into families, infiltrating our love letters, hovering in the air above our heads. It's in our dreams and our text messages. At times it roars with adrenaline, while at others it slips in silently so it can sit beside you until you forget it's there.

Join Joe Haldeman, Linda Nagata, Karin Lowachee, Ken Liu, Jay Posey, and more as they take you on a tour of the battlefields, from those hurtling through space in spaceships and winding along trails deep in the jungle with bullets whizzing overhead, to the ones hiding behind calm smiles, waiting patiently to reveal itself in those quiet moments when we feel safest. War Stories brings us 23 stories of the impacts of war, showcasing the systems, combat, armor, and aftermath without condemnation or glorification.

Instead, War Stories reveals the truth.

War is what we are.

The anthology contains 23 stories (21 original, 2 reprints), from some of the finest SF authors writing today. Needless to say, I'm very, very proud of this book, and after 2+ years of work, which included planning, soliciting, a kickstarter campaign, editing, and more, it's finally here for the general public to read.

Interested? Here's what you can do to help:

• You can buy the book from Apex Publications: Trade Paperback, eBook.
• You can buy the book from Barnes & Noble: Trade Paperback, nook.
• You can buy the book from Amazon.com: Trade Paperback, Kindle.
• You can buy the eBook from Drivethrufiction.
• Have a Kobo? No problem.
• You can read Karin Lowachee's fantastic story, 'Enemy State' over on Apex Magazine. You can also read Joe Haldeman's 'Graves' over on Nightmare Magazine and Keith Brooke's 'War 3.01' over on Lightspeed.
• You can add the book up on Goodreads. If you've read it, please consider rating the title or leaving a short review!
• Win a copy via Goodreads! (Ends October 10th, 2014)

Not convinced yet? Here's what some of the reviewers have said about the book:

"An essential set of stories for readers interested in military science fiction" - Paul Weimer, SF Signal

"Last came the ‘Aftermath.’ It was this group that hit hard and tried it’s best to give everyone a good, thorough mindfuck." - Nathan, Fantasy Review Barn.

"Put all this together and you have a superior anthology with one or two genuinely outstanding stories. " - David Marshall, Thinking About Books

"Having read it I think I’ll need to go look up some more of those authors and add them to my reading list. Not one of the stories in the collection seemed like it didn’t belong there, and all of them had something novel and engaging about them." - James Kemp, Themself.

"War Stories is a collection of military science fiction that at once salutes any and all who have ever worn a uniform in service to a nation, just as the stories collected here call into question what society demands of its warriors and how, in making those demands, society sometimes fails to consider the deeper question: Why am I asking this person to go if I am not willing to go myself?" - Aaron Sikes, Goodreads.

"War Stories is pretty hefty military SF anthology that boasts a wonderfully diverse group of authors, including veterans and active duty military personnel. The twenty-three stories in this timely collection tackle contemporary issues (drones and robotization of war; privacy rights; colonialism; PTSD) with an eye to the future. The result is a rather imaginative glimpse into the future of warfare, and the impact these changes (and sometimes, lack thereof) have on all those involved: soldiers, civilians, robots, clones, and, yes, even aliens." - Kelly, Goodreads.

"[O]verall, an excellent, eye-opening read that goes far beyond what I expected of this genre. "Lauren Smith, Violin in a Void.

Finally, if you're in Vermont this Saturday, join myself, F. Brett Cox and James Cambias at Phoenix Books in Burlington, where we'll read some selections from the book, answer questions and sign copies. Details are here.

Huge thanks are due to our 357 backers, my co-editor Jaym, Galen Dara for her fantastic artwork and our fantastic authors for their incredible stories.

War Stories: The Book!

 

So, UPS stopped by with five boxes loaded down with copies of War Stories. It's a real book! I can flip the pages, my name is on the cover, and holy crap, guys, it's a real book! Now begins the process of shipping them out to Kickstarter backers - I see many envelopes in my future.

Here's the final cover and description:

War is everywhere. Not only among the firefights, in the sweat dripping from heavy armor and the clenching grip on your weapon, but also wedging itself deep into families, infiltrating our love letters, hovering in the air above our heads. It's in our dreams and our text messages. At times it roars with adrenaline, while at others it slips in silently so it can sit beside you until you forget it's there.

Join Joe Haldeman, Linda Nagata, Karin Lowachee, Ken Liu, Jay Posey, and more as they take you on a tour of the battlefields, from those hurtling through space in spaceships and winding along trails deep in the jungle with bullets whizzing overhead, to the ones hiding behind calm smiles, waiting patiently to reveal itself in those quiet moments when we feel safest. War Storiesbrings us 23 stories of the impacts of war, showcasing the systems, combat, armor, and aftermath without condemnation or glorification.

Instead, War Stories reveals the truth.

War is what we are.

I'm biased, but there are some fantastic stories in here. Early indications from readers are really good, and I'm looking forward to seeing this out and about the reading public.

If you missed out on the Kickstarter and want a copy, you can now preorder the anthology and get the ebook for free! Our expected publication date is October.

You also have a day and a bit left (ends August 1st) to register to win one of two copies from GoodReads.