On August 13th, Tachyon Publications are due to publish New Adventures in Space Opera, the latest fantastic new collection of science fiction edited by Jonathan Strahan. To celebrate the upcoming release, the publisher has provided CR with two excerpts! The first excerpt went up on last week, and the second — from Charlie Jane Anders‘s “A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime” — is below.
First, here’s the anthology’s synopsis:
Award-winning science fiction editor Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction of the Year series) presents this quintessential guide to the New Space Opera, showcasing short stories from fifteen of acclaimed speculative fiction authors, including Charlie Jane Anders, Alastair Reynolds, Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, Sam J. Miller, and more.
In “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance,” a cloud-based contractor finds a human war criminal clinging to the hull of the ship. The clones of “All the Colours You Thought Were Kings,” about to attend their coming-of-age ceremony, are also plotting treason. During “A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime,” two outlaws go on the run after stealing a device from a space cult.
Take a faster-than-light trip to the future. Discover where memes rise and fall in moments. Here are the new, adventurous, and extremely efficient–takes on interstellar battles, sentient spaceships, and galactic intrigue. The future is sooner than you think, and there’s only so much time to visit.
“I’d left her out here all alone, with nothing but the snow and the night that closes in too soon. How could anyone live so remotely without it creeping into them – the cold, endless blue dark?”
Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Jane Yolen?
A short collection of stories to add colour to some of the Primarchs
Return to the dark places of the worlds of Warhammer for a new anthology of sinister stories that dive into the arcane, the unexpected and the downright terrifying.
An anthology of Age of Sigmar short fiction, which serves very well as an introduction
Life is busy. Between work and family and friends, we all have countless commitments that are scrambling to suck up all of our free time. If we aren’t careful, reading time gets broken up and given away to other tasks. Before you know it, one day you stop and think Wow! When was the last time I sat down and read a book? If you’re a big reader like I am, this is a sad thought and one that I’ve had in the past when life has gotten too hectic. Setting a reading goal each year helps keep me from finding myself in this place. Since it is January, I thought this would be the perfect time to share some tips for setting such a goal. 
Civilian Reader 