Introduction
I've been writing introductions to anthologies since the summer of 1996. Twenty-two opening salvos written or co-written for anthologies, each intended to preface a selection of original or reprinted tales, and those stories themselves selected either from the submissions I'd received from potential contributors or filtered from the annual output of the science fiction and fantasy field. For the last three or four years science fiction publishing journal Locus has estimated that roughly three thousand or so pieces of short science fiction and fantasy have been published, and I've estimated that number to possibly represent as little as half of what's actually being published. That means up to six thousand new stories are being printed or displayed, or whatever's done with them in the early twenty-first century to get them to readers, each year. If that number has been roughly constant, and it may well not have been, that means somewhere in the vicinity of sixty thousand new stories have been "published" since I co-wrote the introduction to my first year year's best anthology, The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Realizing that, I began to wonder what exactly it is that I'm looking for when I read stories for a new book, and especially when I'm reading for this anthology series. It's true that most of the stories published are of little relevance to Eclipse, but I think they are relevant to what I read, why I read, and that colors this book. And what I've come to realize is that genre purity isn't something that interests me. I love science fiction. I love fantasy. I like horror. I have loved stories that come from both the purest centers of those genres, ones that come from their farthest peripheries, and ones that mix and match elements from all of them as they please. Whether something is or isn't genre is not an essential part of what makes me respond to a story and think that it's good or not. It's also not a matter of structure or technical approach. I don't care whether a story is told using a traditional "Clarion" structure, or whether it's been torn apart, rebuilt, and resembles nothing more than some crazy patchwork quilt. I also don't especially crave novelty. I love new ideas, having my brain stretched around corners in the way that only the best science fiction can do, but I equally love stories that revisit old ideas in interesting ways or simply elucidate them well.
What I have come to realize is that for me the pre-eminent thing is story. I want a strong story built around a good idea that is complete; one that opens, builds and then delivers some kind of pay-off at its conclusion. Again, this isn't structure: the conclusion can come at the beginning if you can make that work. It's about whether there's a story to be told and whether the author manages to get it told before his or her piece is done. It's not simply plot, either. Plot is important, but it's how plot is used in the service of theme, character and setting. It's voice. I want a story that is immersive, that takes me away into its world, for however long it lasts, or that makes me think differently about something. As you can see, not the most clearly explained thing, but I've realized over the past few years that I know it when I see it, and it's what I hope to put into all the anthologies that I edit, and most especially what I put into these Eclipse series because, as much as I stand behind what I said in the introduction to Eclipse One—that the Eclipse anthologies are inspired by the work of Damon Knight in his Orbit anthologies and Terry Carr in his Universe anthologies—these books represent my personal search for a greater understanding of the nature of story, and of science fiction and fantasy.
This means that each book in the Eclipse series will be somewhat different from its predecessors and that the one constant will be the window on the science fiction and fantasy short story that I create by editing the anthology. Certainly this book, Eclipse Two, is different from its predecessor. I was delighted with the reception that first book received—the reviews were good and stories have ended up on awards ballots and in year's best annuals—but I knew this book had to be its own thing. So, after discussions with my publishers, I deliberately nudged this Eclipse installment towards science fiction, dropping some of the balance that had characterized Eclipse One. While there is still some fantasy here—in three strong stories from Peter S. Beagle, Margo Lanagan, and Richard Parks—and no horror, there are tales of galactic empires, uplifted personalities, strange worlds, and stranger characters. Most of all, though, there are stories. Some timely, like Paul Cornell's tale of social networking website Facebook, some timeless, like Ted Chiang's examination of the nature of our universe. There are stories that connect to series, like Terry Dowling's first new Wormwood story in seventeen years, and Karl Schroeder's latest installment in his stunning SF "Virga" series. Each of them is complete, engaging, and right for Eclipse and where I see it sitting in the science fiction and fantasy field.
All of which I hope gives you some idea of what you're about to experience. A rich, varied selection of new stories, mostly science fiction but with a touch of fantasy too, each of which engaged me in some way, and which I hope will engage you too. Some of the stories are adventurous and some are not: that's not what this book is about. It's about story, and I hope you enjoy these ones as much as I have.
Even though this is just the second volume of Eclipse (and I hope there'll be many more), a community has already grown up around it and, before you move on to the stories, I'd like to thank a few people. First and foremost, Jeremy Lassen, Jason Williams, Ross Lockhart, and John Joseph Adams at "the Shade". Without them this book literally wouldn't and couldn't exist. I'd also like to thank the contributors to the book, and all of those who, for whatever reason, didn't quite make it for this Eclipse (next time!). Above all, though, I'd like to thank my wife Marianne, who has been there for every difficult moment I went through getting us here. And, last of all, I'd like to thank you for picking up this book and taking it home. Whether you were there for Eclipse One, or this is your first time under its darkling skies, welcome, and I hope to see you here again next year.
Jonathan Strahan
Perth, Western Australia
June/September 2008