COVER ARTWORK BY SAM KENNEDY
Am I tipping my hand when I say the best thing about Going Interstellar (2012) is the cover artwork? Going Interstellar presents a mixed bag of fiction and non-faction. The editor, Lee Johnson, writes that these stories could NOT use faster-than-light drives, no wormholes, no portals.
The result is that these stories all concern generational spaceships whose crews spend hundreds of. years in suspended animation pods. And, of course, stuff goes Wrong.
I was not that interested in the non-fiction articles included in Going Interstellar involving various propulsion systems.
My favorite two stories in this anthology were “LUCY” by Jack McDevitt and “THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL” by Sarah A. Hoyt. Both stories involve mysteries. In “LUCY” a spaceship run by Artificial Intelligence is sent out to Deep Space–and disappears. Another spaceship run by another Artificial Intelligence–LUCY–is sent to find out what happened.
In “THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL” Sarah A. Hoyt presents a generational spaceship that has been traveling for hundreds of years. But three young travelers question how the spaceship is run by those in charge and investigate some troubling anomalies.
Sadly, I found Going Interstellar very average. GRADE: C
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD By Lee Johnson — 1
INTRODUCTION — Lee Johnson & Jack McDevitt — 3
A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Ben Bova — 27
ANTIMATTER STARSHIPS
Dr. Gregory Matloff — 79
LUCY
Jack McDevitt — 103
LESSER BEINGS
Charles E. Gannon — 141
FUSION STARSHIPS
Dr. Gregory Matloff — 197
PROJECT ICARUS
Dr. Richard Obousy — 219
DESIGN FLAW
Louise Marley — 233
TWENTY LIGHTS TO THE LAND OF SNOW
Michael Bishop — 263
SOLAR AND BEAMED ENERGY SAILS
Les Johnson — 351
THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL
Sarah A. Hoyt — 367
SIREN SONG
Mike Resnick — 407