Galactic Empires

Galactic Empires from Editor Neil Clarke is a huge anthology with stories about humanity successfully making it out into space. Here, one will find giant societies and intergalactic alliances. This is old-time science fiction, when it was still popular to dream such things were not impossible. These stories assume that we would be able to travel as fast as the speed of light and that we would find many worlds to settle. Some of these stories have very large numbers of settled planets. There is intrigue, politics, war, and adventures. As such, the book has a lot to absorb with a lot of galaxy building. Some might find it demanding, but certain stories might need to be reread by some. Collected are reprints of stories written since the millennium.

The anthology, however, has some stellar writers, with a lineup comparable to some of the most qualified anthologies in the field. Robert Silverberg is a standout in this one. There also are many other stars, especially some recent award-winners, including Anne Leckie and Naomi Novik. One may find some of these stories hard to follow, but these are trips to alien worlds and strange intergalactic societies. There are planets out there for all of them. One can be amazed by the level of creativity in these stories, some of which will take you beyond gravity.