"George Mann - The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mann George)

in a short story and develop it into a novel, whilst oth-ers will masterfully
build a sequence of linked stories into a wider exploration of a world or set
of characters. The majority of short story writers, however, will take a single
kernel of an idea and make it flower, creating a perfect, succinct tale in a
few pages, sketching in enough detail to impart the sense of wonder so
desired by the readers of SF.

I believe the short story market is also an excel-lent barometer of the
current trends in SF, of the issues and topics at play in the field, the
obsessions and debates of our favorite writers. The short form lends itself
to this perfectly - a testing ground for new ideas - and thus is often seen to
represent the very cutting edge of the genre.

Nevertheless, I often hear talk that the short story is dying, that
commercially, тАШSHORT STORIES DO NOT SELL!тАЩ, and itтАЩs certainly true
that the amount of venues for original, non-themed short stories in the
science fiction field has shrunk in recent years. Yet IтАЩm also heartened by
the strength of the anthologies that are hitting the market - be they themed,
non-themed or simply reprinting the best stories to appear in the digests in
any given year. Read all of these books. They are the lifeblood of our
genre, and they enable writers to flourish.

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction aims to do just that - to
publish original, never-before-seen stories by some of the best writers
working in the field today. Some are tales of alien contact, others of the end
of the world, some explore new gadgets that could revolutionize the way we
think, whilst others still are more personal, reflective. Indeed, The Solaris
Book of New Science Fiction is indica-tive of the approach of the Solaris
imprint as a whole: the desire to publish outstanding science fiction and
fantasy, whatever the form.

This book is our manifesto.

Enjoy.

George Mann
Solaris Consultant Editor
Nottingham
September 2006

****
 In His Sights
Jeffrey Thomas

THE OTHER YOUNG returnees kept looking at him, wondering what
horrors were concealed by his mask. The mask looked like several layers
of black plastic, vacuum-formed to his face, with openings for his eyes,
nostrils, and mouth. From his eyes, with their epicanthic folds, they could at
least tell that he was of Asian ancestry. But what wounding had he
suffered? Had he been spattered with hot, corrosive plasma from a mortar