Eclipse One

Eclipse One
Ed: Jonathan Strahan
Night Shade Books

256 pages
October 2007

Eclipse is a new science fiction and fantasy anthology series edited by the popular, award-winning anthologist, Jonathan Strahan.

After having read my first anthology, Wastelands, with stories post-apocalypse, I was eager to read some more. I've come to the (admittedly obvious) conclusion that it's a great way to find new authors, and is a good sampling ground.

There are some really good stories in Eclipse One. One thing I did notice, though, is that a lot of the stories in the anthology are quite whimsical and playful. We have the (multiple award nominated) story by Andy Duncan, Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse, with a backward walking chicken that may or may not be the Saviour incarnate, and the priest who is suddenly developing a phobia of everything birdlike...

“Best thing for her,” the bishop said. “Get over this morbid fascination. You, too. Not healthy for a man of the cloth to be combing Scripture for chickens…”

I also really enjoyed Garth Nix’s story. I’d always heard about him through his Young Adult stuff, and Bad Luck, Trouble, Death, And Vampire Sex is definitely one of the more accessible pieces in the anthology -- and very funny, too. Unlike Andy Duncan’s story, Nix’s sets out to be funny right from the word “Granny”, and with a ridiculous, madcap story, that works well.

Then there are stories like Peter S. Beagle's The Last And Only or, Mr. Moscowitz Becomes French which was a strangely disturbing, sad story of an American who suddenly turned French, loving everything that was French, losing his ability to speak English, and ending up disappointed with even France's lack of true French-ness. It was a good story, but perhaps slightly over-long.

I had hoped to like Maureen F. McHugh's story, The Lost Boy, but for some reason it didn't do much for me, although it had an intriguing idea. Generally, though, I really liked nearly all of the stories in Eclipse One. The last one I shall mention is by Ellen Klages, called Mrs. Zeno's Paradox. It was one of the shortest stories in the book, with two women in a café, chatting, and splitting a brownie into smaller and smaller chunks -- until the brownie is the size of the smallest possible particle, and now theoretical. A strange story, but very good!

All in all, this is an excellent anthology. Especially living over in the UK, I don't think we see enough of them, and I'd definitely like more. Solaris Books have taken a few good steps in that direction, however. Eclipse One is a definite must-read, and Night Shade have some good stuff going on, that's for sure.

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