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Tor.com Publishing's Summer of Space Opera Sampler
A collection of excerpts from some of the best original science fiction short fiction published by Tor.comBlast off into adventure with psychic powers, half-human revolutions, haunted luxury spaceships, murderous sentient robots, and genetic experiments. Check out excerpts from five short works that will be lighting up the stars this A Red Peace by Spencer EllsworthThe Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray and J. S. HerbisonAcadie by Dave HutchinsonAll Systems Red by Martha WellsKilling Gravity by Corey J. White.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
107 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2017
60 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Spencer Ellsworth
36 books79 followersSpencer Ellsworth lives in Bellingham, WA, teaches at a tribal college, plays in too many bands, and writes his little brain out. He is the author of The Great Faerie Strike from Broken Eye Books, about a plucky union leader gnome and young investigative report vampire, who join forces to take on the alchemists and sorcerers industrializing the Otherworld.
He is also the author of the space opera Starfire Trilogy from Tor, and his short work has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Tor.com, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Michael Moorcock's New Worlds Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and a whole bunch of anthologies and little markets, and been recommended by Locus and other venues. You can find more about him at spencerellsworth.com
He is also the author of the space opera Starfire Trilogy from Tor, and his short work has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Tor.com, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Michael Moorcock's New Worlds Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and a whole bunch of anthologies and little markets, and been recommended by Locus and other venues. You can find more about him at spencerellsworth.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 15, 2017
When Tor offered this sampler I chose it because 1) I like space opera and 2) that this could save me time and money by finding out if I liked any of this books. So,
Acadie-this was probably my favorite piece in the sampler. I thought that there was some well done world building in the short amount of space given over to it, and I was beginning to buy into the characters. This is the one I would be most likely to come back to.
The Ghost Line-I like the concept of a luxury liner style cruiser abandoned among the stars, and a crew of salavgers etc., choosing to investigate it and see what could be salvaged. The reader definitely gets a hint that there is a mystery and that something is still on board the ship. The characters were almost well done enough in the space provided to retain my interest.
Killing Gravity-the most pulpish of the stories, but I will admit that I had fun with it. Fast paced, and in way that moved the story along well. I'm not certain from this sample if there is enough to support a novel. A novella yes, but past that length I remain uncertain.
All System Red-the surprise piece for me. Wells did a better than anticipated job of beginning to get me interested in the main characters.
Starfire: A Red Peace: Nope. Sorry. Felt way too cliched based of of what was offered.
Acadie-this was probably my favorite piece in the sampler. I thought that there was some well done world building in the short amount of space given over to it, and I was beginning to buy into the characters. This is the one I would be most likely to come back to.
The Ghost Line-I like the concept of a luxury liner style cruiser abandoned among the stars, and a crew of salavgers etc., choosing to investigate it and see what could be salvaged. The reader definitely gets a hint that there is a mystery and that something is still on board the ship. The characters were almost well done enough in the space provided to retain my interest.
Killing Gravity-the most pulpish of the stories, but I will admit that I had fun with it. Fast paced, and in way that moved the story along well. I'm not certain from this sample if there is enough to support a novel. A novella yes, but past that length I remain uncertain.
All System Red-the surprise piece for me. Wells did a better than anticipated job of beginning to get me interested in the main characters.
Starfire: A Red Peace: Nope. Sorry. Felt way too cliched based of of what was offered.
April 14, 2020
Small but very interesting selection of space opera - as announced in the title. I didn't like the narrator's voice in "A Red Peace" but I'll definitely give the other four a try. Picking up reads from Tor's publishing samplers can be surprising (sometimes good, sometimes bad) but it sure has expanded my horizon... :-)
June 13, 2017
damnit, enabling Tor; I've already downloaded/preordered three of the stories!!!
I regret nothing 😛
I regret nothing 😛
July 30, 2017
Dishing for readers
Interesting. The first few chapters of a number of (unpublished) books, cobbled together in an e-reader package. Some were quite interesting starts, but then it was on to a completely different book without the satisfying conclusions of a short story collection.
Be warned ... this is book bait.
Interesting. The first few chapters of a number of (unpublished) books, cobbled together in an e-reader package. Some were quite interesting starts, but then it was on to a completely different book without the satisfying conclusions of a short story collection.
Be warned ... this is book bait.
October 14, 2017
Great collection of modern day science fiction.
November 25, 2018
A great sampler combo ... my only problem is that now I have a whole new list of books waiting to be read!
February 24, 2023
Gave me good ideas on what authors to read more of
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews