We all know the line: “Space…the final frontier.” But with all due respect to Kirk and crew, Star Trek wasn’t about people colonizing other worlds. Sure, they sometimes looked in on them, dropped off supplies, but it was never about how those colonizers got to their new homes.
But that is what you get in the sci-fi space Western short story anthology Last Train Outta Kepler-283c (paperback, Kindle), which, according to editor David Book, features stories “…about colonists, from miners to law keepers to gunslingers, and everything in between.”
In the following email interview, Boop explains how this book and this series — which also includes 2021’s Gunfight On Europa Station and 2023’s High Noon On Proxima B — came to be, and how he finds the stories to fill them.
For people unfamiliar with these books, what were the stories in Gunfight On Europa Station and High Noon On Proxima B about, and when and where did they take place?
I asked the authors a simple question: Is space the final frontier, and if so, what is it truly like out there so far away from Terra Firma?
None of the stories are set (predominately) on Earth. They are meant to give a sense of disconnection from our home planet, and in several cases, Earth isn’t even where they originally came from. A couple stories have alien or robot protagonists. But mostly, the stories are about colonists, from miners to law keepers to gunslingers, and everything in between.
And then what are the stories in Last Train Outta Kepler-283c about, and when do they take place in relation to High Noon On Proxima B?
Since each is an anthology, there are no connections between stories. They’re as varied as the imagination. The second anthology, as usual, was a little darker, and I think this one ends more on a positive note.
Who came up with the idea for this series, and for it to be a series of short stories written by multiple authors?
It was my idea. I’d just finished three volumes of weird Westerns [Straight Outta Tombstone, Straight Outta Deadwood, and Straight Outta Dodge City] and wanted to do space Westerns as my next set of anthologies. It was always going to be multiple authors, but which ones? I tried to pull from some of Baen’s best, plus others I’ve known for years I felt could bring a high level of adventure and excellence.
Once that was established, how did you then get the stories?
I always ask for pitches so that I’m not getting too many of the same story ideas. I approach each of the authors myself, as I hate reading slush. Then, it’s just a matter of accepting the pitches or tweaking them subtly to fit in with the overall theme.
And did you approve all of the stories before they were written? Y’know, to make sure one writer didn’t blow up some town that some other writer robbed in theirs?
These are not shared world anthologies, so no worries about blowing up towns, planets, etc. Each story stands on its own. And yes, my process is to accept the pitch, read the story, send back developmental edits, read the revision, send back copy edits, and accept the story. I send a contract after that. Then they’ll get developmental / copy edits from Baen’s editors, followed finally by the ARC (advance reader’s copy), where they get one last chance to fix typos.
Kepler-283c is a real planet. When you were setting all of this in motion, why did you pick Kepler-283c as opposed to a planet in our solar system or a planet in a different solar system or, for that matter, a made up planet like, uh, Semel-2112f? I hear they’re getting a T.J. Maxx there next year.
In each anthology, I chose titular places that were possible to inhabit within a generation or three. Europa being the closest, Proxima B next, then Kepler-283C. These are the planets reported to most likely to sustain human life if we reach them.
As you said, the stories in Gunfight On Europa Station, High Noon On Proxima B, and Last Train Outta Kepler-283c are all space Westerns. But are there any other sub-genres of sci-fi included as well?
They’re all space Westerns, as that’s the theme. Though each story creates with that in mind, but often goes off in its own direction. Some are very fanciful, others more grounded in science. Magic disguised as science and science beyond our wildest dreams give each story in each anthology a fresh take on the theme.
Now, in the press materials for Last Train Outta Kepler-283c, it says this book, “…brings the series to conclusion (for now).” What does that mean?
It means that these three are the only ones I have a contract for currently.
However, if they are well received, there’s always a chance for more down the road. I’m going in a different direction for my next Baen anthology, which cannot be disclosed yet. I’m also doing anthologies for other publishers. But it always comes down to sales. If this third antho does really well, Baen will ask for more. They’re a business, after all. We create entertainment, but we still have to keep lights on.
So, is there anything else you think people need to know about Last Train Outta Kepler-283c or the earlier books in this series?
The great thing about this anthology are the writers inside. We have one of the last Liaden-Verse short stories written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller before his sudden passing [“Last Train To Clarkesville”]. We have a new Mark L. Van Name Johnny And Lobo story [“Enjoy Every Sandwich”], the first in a while. We have an epic science fiction ballad by M. Tod Gallowglas [“The Ballad Of The Junk Heap Man And Mistress Bullet”] and Dr. Chesya Burke’s first Baen appearance [“This World Belongs To Monsters”]. We even have the lost script of Roy Rogers in SPACE! There is so much space western goodness in here, you’ll finish and want to start over to reread them all again.
Finally, if someone has enjoyed Gunfight On Europa Station, High Noon On Proxima B, and Last Train Outta Kepler-283c, what collection of short stories that tells a single , connected, or related story would you recommend they check out?
Of course, there are the three weird Westerns I did for Baen — Straight Outta Tombstone, Straight Outta Deadwood, and Straight Outta Dodge City — which are not connected in any way either except by theme. There are many shared world anthologies, such as the ones by Larry Coreia (Monster Hunter International) and George RR Martin (Wild Cards) out there.
But my novel, The Drowned Horse Chronicle Vol. 1, is the mosaic you’re looking for. Each chapter is connected by an overall narrative that ends in a big two-part finale, or as I like to say, it’s a TV series in book form.
