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Anywhere but Earth

Keith Stevenson (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Calie Voorhis (Contributor),

Cat Sparks (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Simon Petrie (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Lee Battersby (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Alan Baxter (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Richard Harland (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Robert N. Stephenson (Contributor),

more…

4.21 · Rating details · 34 ratings · 13 reviews

Award winning independent Australian press Coeur de Lion publishing presents twenty-nine all new science fiction stories of humanity’s adventures out there, anywhere but Earth, featuring original works by Margo Lanagan, Sean McMullen, Richard Harland, and Kim Westwood among a galaxy of new and established Australian and overseas speculative fiction authors.

This volume cont ...more

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ebook, 728 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Coeur de Lion Publishing (first published January 1st 2011)

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Average rating 4.21 ·

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· 34 ratings · 13 reviews

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Nov 16, 2011 Thoraiya rated it it was amazing

Let me start off by saying that this book is not small. Like ‘X6’, this latest anthology is in stark contrast to the svelte offerings of Twelfth Planet Press. ‘Anywhere But Earth’ is a hearty meal to be digested slowly over days; weeks; months.

So take your time, and enjoy. The stories are diverse and consistently top-notch. Like last year’s ‘Sprawl’ and this year’s ‘ASIM #51’, none of the stories stand out as an obvious cull, and the potential for my least favourite to be someone else’s outstand ...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Dave Versace rated it really liked it

The first thing to say about the Anywhere but Earth anthology from Coeur de Lion Publishing is that it's a pretty damn thick slab of stories, over 700 pages in paperback form. There are 29 stories, most of them short but at least a few straying up into novellete territory, and most of them by Australian authors. As is the style of the times, it seems, this hefty collection of science fiction is a themed anthology. The title will give you the gist - these are all stories set far from the human ho The first thing to say about the Anywhere but Earth anthology from Coeur de Lion Publishing is that it's a pretty damn thick slab of stories, over 700 pages in paperback form. There are 29 stories, most of them short but at least a few straying up into novellete territory, and most of them by Australian authors. As is the style of the times, it seems, this hefty collection of science fiction is a themed anthology. The title will give you the gist - these are all stories set far from the human homeworld. In many cases it's not mentioned at all, and a handful don't deal with recognisably human characters at all.

Unusually (in my experience) for a book like this, editor Keith Stevenson has not elected to insert himself in the work with an introductory foreword or in fact with commentary of any kind. What you get for your money - which is incredibly good value by the way - are the stories and short author bios and nothing else. I think it was the right call, mind you - these stories speak for themselves.

As with any collection of this size, there are some stories that didn't work for me, but overall the quality is exceptionally high. To my undertrained scientific eye the vast majority pay reasonable attention to keeping the science plausible and consistent, though one or two stretch the limits in order to shoot for a more lyrical effect (I'm thinking in particular here of Margo Lanagan's "Yon Horned Moon"). As a reader I tend to be much more concerned with good storytelling than strict fidelity to science, however, and Anywhere but Earth delivers. There is such a wealth of appetising material here, ranging from punchy little episodes like C J Paget's "Pink Ice in the Jovian Rings" and Alan Baxter's "Unexpected Launch" to troubling, expansive landscapes of alien worlds like Lee Battersby "At the End there was a Man" and Chris McMahon's "Memories of Mars" to violent military thrillers like Jason Nahrung's "Messiah on the Rock" and Brendan Duffy's "Space Girl Blues".

The quality of this collection is frankly astonishing, given its size - there are only two I can think of that I didn't like at all, and perhaps only two or three others about which I was ambivalent. Of the rest, I am hard pressed to pick a favourite, but I will mention that "Eating Gnashdal", Jason Fischer's horrific vision of a post-human culture, is inventively funny and creepy; Penelope Love's "SIBO" lives somewhere at the intersection of zombies and triffids and therefore rules; and Sean McMullen's "SPACEBOOK" pulls off a view of near-future social networking with a brilliant and unpleasantly plausible twist. And I could mention at least a dozen more stories which might be in my top three on a different day.

Anywhere but Earth is a massive, generous, impressive tome. The ideas on show are clever, funny, weird and sometimes deeply alien, but almost invariably worth your reading time. ...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Alan Baxter rated it really liked it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: science-fiction, short-stories

This is a contrib copy for me, as it features my story, Unexpected Launch. However, mine is only one of 29 stories in this 728 page epic tome of a sci-fi anthology. I think this book will go down as a must-read in modern science fiction. The scope of the stories and the talent of the contributing authors is astounding. It really is a fantastic array of ideas and style. If you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll dig this book. If you’re not, it’s a great place to start. And if you know someone who says they ...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Rick Keuning rated it really liked it

This anthology is full of firsts for me. It was first lunched at my first spec-fic event just after I’d written my first short story. It’s also the first science fiction I bought on my Kindle. With all these first, I’m glad to report that it is a first rate book.
It’s also a big book, its physical size really stood out when I first saw it. I’m actually glad I was able to buy it on Kindle. Its size is because there are a lot of stories, 27 in all. With so many stories I’d expected to find some sto ...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Nathan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, speculative-fiction

This is a very impressive collection packed with short stories that are set - quite literally - anywhere but Earth. It's rare to come across an anthology with no weak links, especially one that's so long, but I think Stevenson has managed to achieve this feat.

My favourite stories were "SIBO" by Penelope Love, "Rains of la Strange" by Robert Stevenson and "Messiah on the Rock" by Jason Nahrung.

Verdict - definitely check this one out. ...more

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Dec 10, 2012 D.M. Cornish rated it it was amazing

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

It truly is like a wild tour of the voids beyond our own small ambit, all manner of visions of the future of our species, in an invigorating array of styles and approaches.

I have had a reading drought for the longest time and this collection of jewels (everyone of the stories had been thrilling and rewarding and inspiring and instructive in the craft and in imagination)as re-energised me not only to read but to write too.

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Dec 03, 2011 Mark Webb rated it it was amazing

At the recent NSW Writer's Centre Speculative Fiction Festival I attended the launch of this 29 story anthology produced by Coeur de Lion and edited by Keith Stevenson. As the name implies, Anywhere But Earth has stories based on mostly human exploration and colonisation of the galaxy, with the only common theme that the stories are not set on Earth.

There are a range of authors, with a heavy weighting towards the antipodes. There seems to be reasonable gender balance in the stories, not quite 40 ...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: anthologies-collections, aurealis-awards-2011, read-2011

Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

~~To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.~~

I can see how this would appeal to others but I found myself skipping through most ...more

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Feb 04, 2014 Michele marked it as to-read

Shelves: woman-author-scifi, science-fiction

Beautiful by Cat Sparks - 4 stars. very good

Maia Blue is Going Home - Liz Argall, 4.0 stars. Argh! Frustratingly showing all signs of potential greatness. Strange, cool idea but needs more coherence so readers can understand the ideas.

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Jan 14, 2012 Tatiana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, short-stories, aus-nz, partially-read, 2012

"Yon Horned Moon" by Margo Lanagan - super-weird and erotic ...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Patty Jansen rated it really liked it · (Review from the author)

This is a great collection of stories set on not-Earths. My favourites were Alien Tears by Wendy Waring and Eating Gnashdal by Jason Fischer.

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Sep 08, 2012 Rivqa rated it liked it

My review at http://www.rivqa.net/2012/12/off-worl... ...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Liviu marked it as started_finish_later

interesting anthology which I just found out about and as I find it hard to resist such when they are sf and take place in space, I got a copy and will starts reading soon

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About Keith Stevenson

Keith Stevenson

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I'm a speculative fiction writer, editor and publisher, and reviewer born in Scotland and now living in Wollongong NSW.

My short fiction has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Aurealis Magazine, Oceans of the Mind and the Agog! Press anthology Agog! Fantastic Fiction.

I'm probably best known for being editor of Aurealis - Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine from 2001 to 2 ...more