''Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction'' is an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of original

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

stories edited by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand ...

, first published in hardcover by Avon Eos in May 1999, with a book club edition following from Avon and the Science Fiction Book Club in July of the same year. Paperback and trade paperback editions were issued by Eos/HarperCollins in May 2000 and December 2005, respectively, and an ebook edition by HarperCollins e-books in March 2009. The first British edition was issued in hardcover and trade paperback by Orbit/Little Brown in June 1999, with a paperback edition following from Orbit in July 2000. The book has also been translated into

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Summary

The anthology contains eleven short works by various science fiction authors, including one by the editor himself, together with an introduction explaining the project by the editor and an introduction and occasionally an afterword to each story by its author. Each story was original to the anthology and set in one of the principal

fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

s of each author (the exact ones are noted in the Contents section below). Silverberg was also the editor of the ''

Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, co ...

'' anthologies, which similarly contain new short works by

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

authors set in those authors' fantasy universes. Four authors (Card, Le Guin, McCaffrey, and Silverberg) had stories included in both collections.

*Introduction, by Robert Silverberg *"Old Music and the Slave Women",

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

(

Ekumen The ''Hainish Cycle'' consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is set in a future history in which civilizations of human beings on planets orbiting a number of nearby stars, including wikt:Terra, Terra ( ...

) *"A Separate War", by

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have wo ...

(

The Forever War series ''The Forever War series'' is a series of science fiction novels by Joe Haldeman. Not all of them take place in the same future universe. ''The Forever War'' and ''Forever Peace'' both received the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. The ''Fo ...

) *" Investment Counselor",

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

(

Ender's Game series The ''Ender's Game'' series (often referred to as the ''Ender'' saga and also the Enderverse) is a series of science fiction books written by American author Orson Scott Card. The series started with the novelette ''Ender's Game'', which was la ...

) *"Temptation",

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,Uplift Universe The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by American science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift. His books which take place in this universe are: * '' Sundiver'' (1980) * ...

) *"Getting to Know the Dragon",

(

Roma Eterna ''Roma Eterna'' is a science fiction fixup novel by American writer Robert Silverberg, published in 2003, which presents an alternative history in which the Roman Empire survives to the present day. Each of the ten chapters was first published as ...

) *"

Orphans of the Helix "Orphans of the Helix" is a 46-page science fiction short story by American writer Dan Simmons, set in his Hyperion Cantos fictional universe (one of three, the others being "Remembering Siri", a story which is also a chapter of '' Hyperion'', and " ...

Dan Simmons Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes wi ...

(

Hyperion Cantos The ''Hyperion Cantos'' is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. The title was originally used for the collection of the first pair of books in the series, '' Hyperion'' and '' The Fall of Hyperion'', and later came to refer to the ...

) *"Sleeping Dogs",

Nancy Kress Nancy Anne Kress (born January 20, 1948) is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo- and Nebula-winning 1991 novella ''Beggars in Spain'', which became a ...

( The Sleepless) *"The Boy Who Would Live Forever",

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

(

Tales of the Heechee The Heechee Saga, also known as the Gateway series, is a series of science fiction novels and short stories by Frederik Pohl. The Heechee are an advanced alien race that visited the Solar System hundreds of millennia ago and then mysteriously dis ...

) *"A Hunger for the Infinite",

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

(the

Galactic Center series The Galactic Center Saga is a series of books by author Gregory Benford detailing a galactic war between mechanical and biological life. * ''In the Ocean of Night'' (1977) — 1977 Nebula Award nominee, 1978 Locus Award nominee * ''Across the Sea o ...

) *"The Ship That Returned",

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

(

The Ship Who Sang ''The Ship Who Sang'' (1969) is a science fiction novel by American writer Anne McCaffrey, a fix-up of five stories published 1961 to 1969. By an alternate reckoning, "The Ship Who Sang" is the earliest of the stories, a novelette, which became ...

) *" The Way of All Ghosts",

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), ...

( The Way)

Awards

''Far Horizons'' won the 2000

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

for Best Anthology.

Reception

Reviews were positive, generally noting the anthology's status as a science fiction equivalent to the editor's previous fantasy anthology ''

'', "collecting new tales by a number of the world's greatest SF writers set in the universes of their best-known series."Zaleski, Jeff. Review in ''Publishers Weekly'' v. 246, iss. 15, April 12, 1999, page 58, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-380-97630-0. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' calls the book " ideal combination of the reassuringly familiar and the excitingly new: should prove as popular as its fantasy predecessor." Jeff Zaleski in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' assesses the book as "an important anthology that should appeal to all serious readers of SF." He notes that " me entries ... stand more or less independent of what has preceded them. Others ... are essentially engaging footnotes, filling in worthwhile bits of information that never made it into previous novels. Still others... continue an author's ongoing stories beyond the reach of the major works. ... All the stories are, at a minimum, very good, and several are outstanding. The Le Guin and Simmons contributions are particularly worthy of award consideration." Sally Estes in ''

The Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' notes that the authors "each explor some aspect of theirs that they did not find a way of dealing with in the books of the series proper. ... And, once again, the stories remain true to their universes and characters, so they deliver good first-contact experiences for series novices as well as happy reading for longtime fans." The book is rated a "must" for young adult science fiction collections. Jackie Cassada in ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' writes "this collection of novellas ... serves as a sampler of the best of the genre. Highly recommended for series fans and newcomers alike and a good choice for most sf collections."Cassada, Jackie. Review in ''Library Journal'' v. 124, iss. 9, May 15, 1999, pages 130-131.

Notes

{{Works of Robert Silverberg 1999 non-fiction books Science fiction anthologies Robert Silverberg anthologies Avon (publisher) books