Escape From Earth New Adventures In Space

The Story

Whatever happened to the good old days when authors like Andre Norton and Robert A. Heinlein wrote books for young adults? How come fantasy has all the really cool books like The Bartimaeus Trilogy and Harry Potter, while children’s sf lags behind in the excitement department? If you’ve been lamenting the death of the juvenile, dust off a place on your bookshelf because Escape from Earth resurrects this long-languished tradition with stories that are as vivid, fun and fast-paced as you remember. Tales of young people blasting off into the unknown have quickened our sense of wonder ever since we were kids. So we asked two highly respected editors—Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois—to find stories that pique that sensation: stories that deal with the restless urge to explore, to get away from mundane limitations, to see what’s happening out there. And true to form, they came up with seven tales by award-winning writers you’ll be eager to read and pass on to your own kids. Wide-screen stories about struggle and hope, romance and danger, friendship and conflict, all opening up unexpected worlds and surprising vistas. Take a look…. Escape from Earth by Allen Steele Sixteen-year-old Eric always wanted to be an astronaut, but after his father died in Iraq, he lost hope that he’d ever get out of his dull little town. Then he catches a bunch of teenage cadets stealing fuel for their 24th–century starship, and he's launched on the jaunt of a lifetime. Where the Golden Apples Grow by Kage Baker Neither Bill nor Ford likes his life very much. Tired of hauling ice from the Martian poles to Mons Olympus, Bill dreams of farming the warm green fields under the domes. Ford, a farmer's son, yearns to drive a freighter under the stars. Thrown together by chance, the boys discover that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Derelict by Geoffrey A. Landis For the daredevil teens on Malina space colony, visiting ghost station Hercules without adult permission is the thing to do. Home to fifty thousand dissidents, Hercules was destroyed by an impact, but what exactly hit it isn't known. Now, amid dangers they’d only ever heard about, Dylan and friends will learn what really happened there, and why. Space Boy by Orson Scott Card Sometimes, if you can’t go to space, space will come to you. Which is just what happens to Todd. When his mom disappeared, everyone believed she either ran away or was killed. Then a little man from another planet shows up saying she’s alive…in another universe. And recovering her will prove quite a challenge…. Incarnation Day by Walter Jon Williams Coming of age is a significant milestone, yet in the high-risk world of space colonization, it can be downright dangerous. Orbiting Saturn, one culture raises their children in the safety of virtuality—but it’s hell on the kids. Because if you turn out the way your parents want you to be, you’re downloaded into a body…and if you don't, you're permanently erased. Combat Shopping by Elizabeth Moon When you live amidst the icy wastes of Ganymede, going shopping can take on a life and death dimension. Ask Andi, one of the five children adopted by the horrible Murchisons. There are bad people at Base, and when Andi loses the younger kids, only the piloting skills she learned on the sly can save them. The Mars Girl by Joe Haldeman Carmen has troubles. For some reason, the colony administrator on Mars has it in for her, and a walk outside the habitat seems just the thing to let off steam. The next thing she knows, she's plunging into a lava tube…where the real Mart