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Tales of the Birth of Legends
One day humans may colonize other stellar systems. When Those colonies will have their own histories. They will also have their own founding legends. These may be based on history, but branch off into lessons to be taken from the tales. In our world Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and Jean Lafitte were historical individuals. Legends about them differ, often radically, from their actual histories.
“The Founder Effect,” edited by Robert E. Hampson and Sandra L. Medlock illustrates this. It is a collection of stories about a possible first colonization effort by humans of another stellar system. The stories are less about what happens than about how the happenings create future legends and controversy.
“The Founder Effect,” is more a sequential novel written by different authors than an anthology. Individual episodes are independent, but linked by a common background. Earth sends a colony ship to a distant star known to have at least three Earth-like planets. One planet is within the habitable zone. A second is on the fringes. Ten thousand colonists will be sent by a slower-than-light colony ship. Cryostasis, the ability to put humans into hibernation via cold sleep, is used to allow colonists to make the trip.
The colony ship, Victoria, takes 35 years to complete. Its construction is opposed by the Feffers (Fix Earth First). They believe we cannot leave the solar system until we fix problems on Earth first. They resort to sabotage to keep the expedition from leaving and from succeeding once it leaves. for Cistercia, as the target star system is named.
Sixteen prominent and budding science fiction authors produce their take on the venture. Larry Correia contributes a foreword, an essay about legends and history. The other 15 authors contribute stories. The best-known contributors include David Weber, Sarah Hoyt, Jody Lynn Nye, Brad Torgersen, and D. J. Butler.
The stories take place in a range beginning before the launch of Victoria to centuries after the actual landing. They are divided into three sections. The Journey covers the voyage and initial landing. The Colonists explores the early years of the colonies. Paradise Lost looks at the mature phase of the effort. They are linked by interstitial encyclopedia entries which provide context and background.
“The Founder Effect” succeeds admirably. It provides sixteen highly entertaining stories about a first and flawed interstellar colonization effort. It also shows how legends grow and why we need them.
“The Founder Effect,” edited by Robert E. Hampson and Sandra L. Medlock, Baen Books, 2020, 736 pages, $16.00 (Trade Paperback), $8.99 (Ebook – at baen.com)
This review was written by Mark Lardas who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.
Published in General
Sounds interesting. I’ve always liked the ability of anthologies to introduce the reader to more, and especially new, writers.
Never heard of any of them.
That aside, I hope the colonization effort described in the book is not supposed to be about easing Earth’s population. They would have to launch 3 of those ships every month, just to deal with the number of births per month in Texas alone.
I love science fiction. However, I don’t much bother with anything written past 1970. Mainly because there’s so much written up to that time that I haven’t read.
Sarah Hoyt we should all know from her Instapundit blogging, but… I haven’t read any of her fiction.
Are any “new” authors worth reading?
And why are they wearing space suits on the cover, if they’re going to Earth-type planets?
Yes. If you liked SF from the 1950s and 1960s you will like Baen’s authors. This collection is a good introduction to them.
What Mark said. Torgersen, Weber and Hoyt I like a lot. Correia and Nye, too. Butler I’m unfamiliar with.
If you like the other three, you will like Butler. And Dan Hoyt (Sarah’s husband), who also has a story in the collection, is as readable as his spouse.
Cool. Thanks.