The Final Frontier: Stories of Exploring Space, Colonizing the Universe, and First Contact

Star Trek, probably the most influential science-fiction enterprise ever, and one of the best usually, is an inspiration here for a collection of stories, edited by Neil Clarke, that takes us to The Final Frontier. Frontiers are great places to set action stories, and science-fiction readers are not likely to be interested at length in tales of a space that more closely resembles a wilderness, one we now find lacking in the essentials to support life as we know it. We, however, unlike these stories, are not out of our earthly cradle yet. We can still dream and imagine as Clarke shows us.

The Final Frontier contains twenty one fascinating tales from some of science fiction’s new stars. The reprint collection is multicultural and diverse, with tales of all kinds and from some unusual places. There are characters old and young, of various ethnicities, and with multiple gender expressions in this exploration of our dreams, fears, and expectations. Many standouts in this one and likely something here for all sorts of different kinds of folks. The introductions, however, could have said a little bit more about the stories, maybe, and their public reception. Maybe a long slog for some in the entire, but as pointed out at the end of the collection, thankfully, there will be no end to this….