StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 3
Tony C. Smith
- For
- those
- of
- you
- who
- are
- already
- rabid
- fans
- of
- StarShipSofa,
- this
- volume
- needs
- no
- introduction.
- This
- foreword
- is
- for
- the
- rest
- of
- you,
- the
- yet-to-be-converted.
- (And
- man,
- do
- I
- envy
- you
- who
- have
- yet
- to
- experience
- all
- the
- ‘Sofa’s
- episodes
- for
- the
- first
- time!)
StarShipSofa
- is
- not
- your
- typical
- podcast
- –
- it’s
- a
- fully-fledged
- audio
- magazine.
- Every
- episode
- (or
- issue,
- if
- you
- prefer)
- features
- editorials,
- interviews,
- nonfiction
- articles,
- recurring
- columns,
- just
- like
- paper
- and
- pixel
- magazines.
- But
- in
- my
- mind
- –
- and
- I
- think
- many
- of
- the
- ‘Sofa’s
- fans
- will
- agree
- –
- the
- real
- stars
- of
- the
- podcast
- are
- the
- stories.
Under
- the
- able
- command
- of
- Captain-Editor
- Tony
- C.
- Smith,
- StarShipSofa
- has
- featured
- many
- of
- the
- best
- and
- the
- brightest
- authors
- working
- in
- the
- Science
- Fiction
- and
- fantasy
- genres
- today.
- But
- the
- captain
- doesn’t
- just
- go
- for
- the
- big
- names
- you
- are
- already
- familiar
- with
- –
- and
- don’t
- get
- me
- wrong,
- he
- presents
- plenty
- of
- those
- –
- but
- he
- also
- brings
- you
- the
- up-and-comers
- you
- might
- not
- already
- be
- familiar
- with,
- the
- writers
- who
- may
- turn
- out
- to
- be
- the
- big
- names
- of
- tomorrow.
- Just
- take
- a
- look
- at
- the
- contents
- of
- this
- volume:
- you’ve
- got
- long-established
- authors
- such
- as
- Tad
- Williams,
- David
- Brin,
- Karen
- Joy
- Fowler,
- Kevin
- J.
- Anderson,
- and
- Joe
- Haldeman
- alongside
- exciting
- new
- talent
- like
- Catherynne
- M.
- Valente,
- Aliette
- de
- Bodard,
- Will
- McIntosh,
- and
- Saladin
- Ahmed.
- That’s
- quite
- a
- lineup!
And,
- of
- course,
- since
- the
- ‘Sofa
- is
- open
- to
- all
- kinds
- of
- Science
- Fiction
- and
- fantasy,
- every
- episode
- (and
- all
- three
- volumes
- collecting
- the
- fiction)
- presents
- a
- very
- wide
- range
- of
- topics
- and
- themes.
- By
- listening
- to
- the
- ‘Sofa
- (and
- reading
- this
- anthology),
- you
- really
- get
- an
- overview
- of
- what’s
- happening
- in
- genre
- short
- fiction
- today.
But
- StarShipSofa
- is
- more
- than
- an
- audio
- magazine
- –
- it’s
- a
- community.
- The
- ‘Sofa
- is
- not
- just
- a
- monolithic
- publication
- that
- drops
- every
- week;
- it’s
- a
- conversation
- between
- the
- ‘Sofa’s
- contributors
- and
- its
- listeners.
- If
- you
- just
- read
- the
- stories
- in
- this
- anthology,
- you’ll
- appreciate
- why
- people
- love
- the
- ‘Sofa,
- but
- you
- might
- not
- grok
- what
- really
- sets
- it
- apart
- and
- inspires
- the
- kind
- of
- devotion
- that
- made
- the
- ‘Sofa
- the
- first
- podcast
- in
- history
- to
- win
- a
- Hugo
- Award.
- But
- if
- you
- listen
- to
- the
- podcast,
- it’ll
- immediately
- become
- clear:
- It’s
- the
- good
- captain,
- Tony
- C.
- Smith.
- His
- enthusiasm
- for
- Science
- Fiction
- and
- fantasy,
- his
- tireless
- efforts
- to
- promote
- short
- fiction,
- and
- his
- ability
- to
- engage
- with
- the
- listeners...
- those
- are
- the
- real
- reasons
- people
- tune
- into
- StarShipSofa...
- and
- what’s
- made
- StarShipSofa
- the
- flagship
- of
- SF
- podcasts.John
- Joseph
- Adams
California,
- October 2011
