Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002) is a thematic sequel to their 1994 anthology The Ascent of Wonder. The first anthology argued that "[t]here has been a persistent viewpoint that hard [science fiction] is somehow the core and the center of the SF field." The Hard SF Renaissance asserts that hard SF has truly become the heart of the genre and supports its assertion by assembling nearly a thousand pages of short stories, novelettes, and novellas originally published between the late 1980s and early 2000s. A different theory says hard SF stories are engineering puzzles disguised as fiction; The Hard SF Renaissance repudiates this theory in regard to modern hard SF. Most of the selections have strong prose and rounded characters, several are classics, and gadget-driven clunkers are mercifully few.

Contributors to The Hard SF Renaissance range from SF gods like Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frederik Pohl; to promising newcomers like Alastair Reynolds, Karl Schroeder, and Peter Watts; and to acclaimed SF writers not usually associated with hard SF, like James Patrick Kelley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bruce Sterling, and Michael Swanwick.

You may have noticed the lack of women in that list. It reflects the book: the 30-odd contributors (some with two stories) include only three women (Nancy Kress, Joan Slonczewski, and Sarah Zettel, with one story each). Some eyebrow-elevating omissions are Eleanor Arnason, Catherine Asaro, Nicola Griffith, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Connie Willis, all of whom have written hard SF stories in the period covered by The Hard SF Renaissance. They've certainly written SF harder than the book's implicit definition (the book reprints Kim Stanley Robinson's fine story "Sexual Dimorphism," in which fossil DNA serves as a metaphor for the protagonist's failing relationship; a few cosmetic changes and this SF story would be mainstream). The absence of several crucial authors makes The Hard SF Renaissance a less-than-definitive anthology of late-20th-century hard SF. --Cynthia Ward

From Library Journal
From Paul McAuley's tale of runaway technology ("Gene Wars") to Gregory Benford's story of evolution and murder ("Immersion"), the 41 stories in this annotated anthology provide a strong argument for the revival of hard sf as a major force in the genre in the 1990s. Showcasing short fiction by veteran sf authors like Kim Stanley Robinson, Joe Haldeman, Bruce Sterling, Nancy Kress, Ben Bova, and Arthur C. Clarke, the collection charts the emergence of trends in the genre. Primary among them are the movement away from a conservative, pro-military route and toward a more liberal-minded science, as well as the rising prominence of British and Australian authors. Each story is prefaced by brief commentaries that continue the arguments posited in the general introduction. For libraries wanting a definitive collection of hard sf written since 1990, this is a priority purchase. Highly recommended. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This colossal anthology covers the return of sf to themes based in the hard sciences. The contents demonstrate that biology now rivals physics as an inspiration, and that the farther shores of inspirational physics extend farther out than ever before. Of course, some writers draw on a complex compound of the sciences to realize the worlds they conjure; for instance, Kim Stanley Robinson, whose two stories here share the setting of his Mars trilogy. Among the venerable titans who have contributed to the new hard sf and whose work is represented are the late Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Gregory Benford, Hal Clement, and Frederick Pohl. One very fruitful entry is "Beggars in Spain," the seed of Nancy Kress' award-winning Beggars trilogy. Other diverse offerings come from Stephen Baxter; David Brin; Joan Slonczewski, showing her usual dab hand with biology; and Robert J. Sawyer, quietly intelligent as ever. A very satisfactory overview of a major portion of contemporary sf and a sterling achievement by Tor and the Hartwell-Cramer team. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"We are in the hands of a loving expert." -John Updike on The World Treasury of SF


Review
"We are in the hands of a loving expert." -John Updike on The World Treasury of SF


Review
"We are in the hands of a loving expert." -John Updike on The World Treasury of SF


Book Description
Something exciting has been happening in modern SF. After decades of confusion, many of the field's best writers have been returning to the subgenre called, roughly, "hard SF"-science fiction focused on science and technology, often with strong adventure plots. Now, World Fantasy Award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present an immense, authoritative anthology that maps the development and modern-day resurgence of this form, argues for its special virtues and present preeminence-and entertains us with some spectacular storytelling along the way.

Included are major stories by contemporary and classic names such as Poul Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Charles Sheffield, Brian Stableford, Allen Steele, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, and Vernor Vinge.

The Hard SF Renaissance will be an anthology that SF readers return to for years to come.

A major anthology of the "hard SF" subgenre-arguing that it's not only the genre's core, but also its future:

Poul Anderson
Stephen Baxter
Gregory Benford
Ben Bova
David Brin
Ted Chiang
Arthur C. Clarke
Hal Clement
Greg Egan
Michael Flynn
Joe Haldeman
James P. Hogan
James Patrick Kelly
Nancy Kress
Geoffrey A. Landis
David Langford
Paul Levinson
Paul McAuley
David Nordley
Frederik Pohl
Robert Reed
Alastair Reynolds
Kim Stanley Robinson
Robert J. Sawyer
Karl Schroeder
Charles Sheffield
Joan Slonczewski
Brian Stableford
Allen Steele
Bruce Sterling
Michael Swanwick
Vernor Vinge
Peter Watts
Sarah Zettel


About the Author
David G. Hartwell, called "an editor extraordinaire" by Publishers Weekly, is one of science fiction's most experienced and influential editors. As an editor with Berkley Books, Pocket Books, William Morrow, and Tor Books, he has worked with many of the field's best authors and edited many award-winning works. He is the author of Age of Wonders, a nonfiction study of the science fiction field. Among his many anthologies are the bestselling World Treasury of Science Fiction and the World Fantasy Award winner The Dark Descent. He is the holder of a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Columbia University, a winner of the Eaton Award, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award twenty-four times.

Kathryn Cramer coedited the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology The Architecture of Fear and was the editor of its widely praised sequel Walls of Fear. She has edited and coedited several other anthologies. With David G. Hartwell, she edited The Ascent of Wonder, a major anthology covering the earlier history and development of "hard SF," to which this volume is a companion. Hartwell and Cramer also coedit the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Year's Best SF series. They live in Pleasantville, NY, with their son, Peter.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The Hard SF Renaissance is a truly significant anthology edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer that examines the resurgence of hard science fiction in the 1990s and its rightful place at the cutting edge of the genre. It is significant from a historical perspective, not only for the authors and stories it contains but also for the editors' insights included in the introduction and story notes. Among the stories included are classics like Arthur C. Clarke's "The Hammer of God," Poul Anderson's "Genesis," "Hatching the Phoenix" by Frederick Pohl, Kim Stanley Robinson's "Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars," Ben Bova's "Mount Olympus," and "Reef" by Paul McAuley.

While not a definitive collection of the decade by any means, this shelf-bender is a must-read for any serious fan of the genre. Hartwell and Cramer have once again compiled an outstanding anthology that will undoubtedly lead to hours of heated debate between science fiction enthusiasts about which story or author should or should not have been included. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"After decades of confusion, many of the field's best writers have been returning to the subgenre called, roughly, "hard SF" - science fiction focused on science and technology, often with strong adventure plots. Now, David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present an immense, authoritative anthology that maps the development and modern-day resurgence of this form, argues for its special virtues and present preeminence - and entertains us with some storytelling along the way." Included are major stories by contemporary and classic names such as Poul Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Charles Sheffield, Brian Stableford, Allen Steele, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, and Vernor Vinge.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The Hard SF Renaissance, a hefty story anthology edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, showcases such talents as Paul McAuley, Greg Egan, Ted Chiang and Vernor Vinge, who have returned to SF's roots in emphasizing science and technology. The editors supply an astute introduction surveying recent trends in the genre.

Library Journal