Eclipse One ~edited by Jonathan Strahan

–Published: 2007
–263 pages
–5/5 stars

There is something special about being present at the beginning of a project, especially when one is a reader and that project is a literary one. I am currently reading several ‘classic’ science fiction authors, some who began their work in my lifetime, and one of the things I think about as I read their work is that I don’t have that special connection of having jumped on the bandwagon right at the beginning. Although it doesn’t change my reading experience and may sound a bit pretentious, I cannot help imagine what it must have been like to read the first Asimov, the first Bradbury, the first Clark or Heinlein, etc. at the time their stories were published. It is a unique experience to be a part of the collective conscious of a group of readers who all discovered something together.

Jonathan Strahan, editor of several notable science fiction and fantasy anthologies has given me that opportunity, the chance to witness the beginning of something special. His goal was to create/edit his own anthology with stories that did not revolve around a central theme–an anthology that harkened back to classic science fiction anthologies, particularly Terry Carr’s Universe, which began in 1971 and continued through 17 volumes. It was out of that desire that Eclipse was born. A fantastic Michael Whelan cover promises speculative fiction worth reading, and much to my great pleasure, Eclipse One makes good on that promise.

This book sat on my to-read shelf for all of two days before I began reading it. My intention was to savor the stories, reading one or two at a time in between other novels I was reading. It is a testament to this collection that each story made me want to see what was going to come next. I could not put it down.

I am a big proponent of the short story medium. Good short stories are such a joy to discover. I am accustomed, however, to even my very favorite authors having short stories in their collections that I do not enjoy. Eclipse One was a stellar reading experience from start to finish. There was not one poorly written story in the bunch. Not one. And while I enjoyed some stories more than others, each and every story made me appreciate the author and want to read more of their work. Jonathan Strahan did everything right with this volume.

The stories are spread out amongst fantasy and science fiction (with a bit of horror thrown in) and yet there are no stories which trot out the old cliches of fantasy or science fiction. Each story is fresh and unique. There are fun stories, touching stories, and one quite chilling story. Each and every story has one thing in common: it is entertaining.

One of the things I appreciated about Eclipse One was the fact that Mr. Strahan didn’t set out to create a cinder block of a book, crammed full of as many stories as he could fit in. Instead this volume contains 15 well chosen stories that come together in a book that one can read and enjoy and yet not have to commit months to complete. It is very refreshing to see in an anthology.

Below I’ve rated each story and given a short comment on it. You may wonder about my rating the book as a whole a 5 out of 5 stars when there are some stories that did not garner that high of a rating. The reason is simple: Each story is well written, entertaining, and accessible. Stories that I rated below a 4 certainly weren’t perfect, but none of the stories were disappointing. Mr. Strahan, you have impeccable taste.

For the sake of this anthology it might be helpful to understand that I am not rating these stories based on the skill of the writer, I am rating them based on my experience reading them–how they made me feel, what I personally got out of reading them. Anything I have rated a 4 or above means that it is a story I will read again. In fact all the 4+ stories are ones that I will no doubt be reading aloud to my wife within the next week or so, a habit that I have whenever I read short stories that I enjoy. The 3-3.75 rated stories are ones that I still enjoyed, but in comparing my experience to the other stories I wanted to differentiate how I felt about them. Clear as mud? Good, onward we go:

“Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse” ~Andy Duncan (4/5)

Right from the start I was smiling. I would describe this story as a slightly askew Norman Rockwell scene. I initially rated this story lower because I felt the ending was unnecessarily abrupt. However, I looked up the person referenced in the denoument of the story and the facts of her early life added an extra dimension to the story that pushed the rating right back up there.

“Bad Luck, Trouble, Death and Vampire Sex” ~Garth Nix (3.5/5)

An enjoyable take on characters in an urban fantasy setting. The only reason I marked it less than a 4 was the fact that I spent much of the time reading it wondering why it never fails that authors who write young adult books seem to revel in the opportunity to use the work ‘fuck’ when writing adult fiction. There is an essay in there somewhere.

“The Last and Only, or Mr. Moscowitz becomes French” ~Peter S. Beagle (5/5)

Wow! Sad to say that this is my first experience with Peter S. Beagle. I am thrilled with his turn of phrase in this story. There is a dash of P.G. Wodehouse with a healthy dose of melancholy thrown in that made this story a delight to read.

“The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large” ~Maureen F. McHugh (4/5)

Working in the psych field, I found this tale particularly fascinating. A fictional account of a very real disorder makes this story interesting and poignant.

“The Drowned Life” ~Jeffrey Ford (4.5/5)

Beautiful use of description and metaphor. This story built up a nice sense of foreboding as it played out. I am certainly planning on picking up Jeffrey Ford’s short story anthologies.

“Toother” ~Terry Dowling (5/5)

Chilling!

“Up the Fire Road” ~Eileen Gunn (3/5)

Fun story told from the alternating viewpoint of the two main characters. I felt the ending was a bit weak compared to the rest of the story, thus the lower rating.

“In The Forest Of The Queen” ~Gwyneth Jones (4.5/5)

Hauntingly beautiful and thought provoking. There is a real sense of wonder and of sadness in this story.

“Quartermaster Returns” ~Ysabeau S. Wilce (5/5)

Loved it. Laughed out loud while reading this one. Great fun.

“Electric Rains” ~Kathleen Ann Goonan (4.5/5)

Very interesting post-apocalyptic story. It was very satisfying as a short story and yet I would have gladly read on if it had been expanded to an even longer story.

“She-Creatures” ~Margo Lanagan (5/5)

I really enjoyed the classic, gothic feel of this story. It felt like the kind of eerie tale one would hear in a pub in the days of old. Great story.

“The Transformation of Targ” ~Jack Dann & Paul Brandon (5/5)

I laughed out loud several times reading this one. I loved the concept of an evil overlord developing a good side. Well done!

“Mrs Zeno’s Paradox” ~Ellen Klages (4/5)

Very short, entertaining story poking fun at a scientific principle and women on diets.

“The Lustration” ~Bruce Sterling (4/5)

This is the only story that I would consider high concept science fiction. Although it left me with questions I found it entertaining and well written.

“Larissa Miusov ~Lucius Shepard (3.75/5)

Not the strongest story in the book but certainly very intriguing and mysterious and again, a well written tale. I would have preferred that the novel end with a story like The Transformation of Targ, but that is just me.

In the end I highly recommend this book. If you are into fantasy more than science fiction it is safe to say that you will really enjoy the stories here as they skew towards the fantastic. My only disappointment is that I will have to wait another year for Eclipse Two. Congratulations Jonathan Strahan! Not only have you scored with a fantastic Michael Whelan cover that just begs to be taken home, but you have crafted the kind of collection that should be the cornerstone of fantastic anthologies for years to come.
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This is my third read in The Sci Fi Experience 2008.