Life beyond us
What would life be like if it evolved in a cold ocean beneath an impenetrable shell of ice? Or on a world whose haze obscured any view of the universe beyond? Is there a common template for life, or can we expect to find preciously fragile silicon creatures drifting in seas of liquid nitrogen? How would finding alien life change our society?
Life Beyond Us, a new anthology by the European Astrobiology Institute and Laksa Media, depicts the timeless quest for finding alien life in 27 science fiction stories and 27 science essays, aiming to imagine, inspire and illuminate.
A brilliant addition to any university, school or home library. Coming on April 22, 2023.
SF STORIES BY: Eugen Bacon, Gregory Benford, Renan Bernardo, Jana Bianchi, Tobias S. Buckell, Eric Choi, Julie E. Czerneda, Tessa Fisher, Simone Heller, Valentin D. Ivanov, Mary Robinette Kowal, Lisa Jenny Krieg (translated by Simone Heller), Geoffrey A. Landis, Rich Larson, Liu Yang (translated by Ladon Gao), Lucie Lukačovičová, Premee Mohamed, G. David Nordley, Malka Older, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Tomáš Petrásek, Brian Rappatta, Arula Ratnakar, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Bogi Takács, Peter Watts, and B. Zelkovich.
SCIENCE ESSAYS BY: Jacques Arnould, William Bains, José A. Caballero, Dimitra Demertzi, Martina Dimoska, Tessa Fisher, Dennis Höning, Valentin D. Ivanov, Fabian Klenner, Nina Kopacz, Geoffrey A. Landis, Natuschka Lee, Ania Losiak, Stephen Francis Mann, Connor Martini, Tony Milligan, Philippe Nauny, Julie Nováková, Erik Persson, Tomáš Petrásek, Joanna Piotrowska, Giovanni Poggiali, Amedeo Romagnolo, Stefano Sandrelli, Floris van der Tak, Jan Toman, Sheri Wells-Jensen, and Raymond M. Wheeler
INTRODUCTION BY: Stephen Baxter
FOREWORD BY: Julie Nováková
AFTERWORDS BY: Wolf D. Geppert; Lucas K. Law & Susan Forest
LIFE BEYOND US has been published on April 22, 2023! If you are interested in reviewing the book, please contact Julie Nováková (julie.novakova at natur.cuni.cz) for an electronic advance reading copy.
Please stay tuned for materials for educators gaining inspiration from LIFE BEYOND US – they are going to be released online here very soon!
Reader reviews and ratings: Goodreads page of Life Beyond Us
This book has been edited by Julie Nováková (EAI), in collaboration with Lucas K. Law and Susan Forest from Laksa Media.
Julie is an evolutionary biologist by study, active in science education and outreach, one of the many founding members of the EAI, co-leader of the EAI outreach working group, and acclaimed author, editor and translator of speculative fiction. She edited or co-edited four anthologies so far in three different languages (English: Dreams From Beyond: Anthology of Czech Speculative Fiction; Strangest of All: Anthology of Astrobiological Science Fiction; Czech: Terra nullius; Filipino: Haka, co-edited with Jaroslav Olša, Jr.). Her stories and translations appeared in Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Analog, Tor.com, F&SF and elsewhere, and she occasionally publishes nonfiction in Clarkesworld and Analog.
Lucas is a Malaysian-born editor and author who divides his time and heart between Calgary and Qualicum Beach. He edits Laksa Media’s award-winning anthology series (with Susan Forest—Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Shades Within Us, Seasons Between Us—and with Derwin Mak, Where the Stars Rise). When he is not editing, writing, or reading, he is a corporate and non-profit organization consultant in business planning and development. Lucas is a life member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.
Susan is the author of (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award-winning Bursts of Fire, as well as over 25 internationally-published short stories. She edits an award-winning anthology series (Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Shades Within Us, Seasons Between Us) for Laksa Media, and has appeared at many local and international writing conventions. The second novel of her seven-volume Addicted to Heaven series, Flights of Marigold, is available now. Susan is the past Secretary for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Laksa Media Groups Inc. publishes inspiring and hopeful social issue-related fiction and non-fiction. We have published speculative fiction anthologies on mental health, caregiving, migrations, ageism, discriminations, and cultural identities. Our tagline is ‘Help Us Change the World, One Book at a Time.’ The charitable causes dear to our hearts are literacy, education, public libraries, elder care, mental health, affordable housing, and prevention of abuse or bullying.
We would like to thank all the backers of the LIFE BEYOND US project on Kickstarter; without you, creating the anthology wouldn’t have been possible! Thank you, Aris Alissandrakis, B. Abrams, B. Hightower, Ben Henley, Bendrix, Fred C. Moulton, Jaroslav Medek, Jennifer Hudak, Konstantin Chterev, Laura Loolaid, Libluini, Marco Brieden, Marek “Fangorn” Has., Markus Thierstein, Martin Schröder, Matthew Reece-Ford, Max Kaehn, ondrej.urban, Rae Streets, Raul Castro, Robert Boyle, Robert Lau, Sagan Y, Sarah Liberman, Tara K, Tim Gatewood, tuttleturtle, and all others (who did not opt to be included here, but deserve the same huge thanks).
