Books Front Lines and Frontiers A Quirky Mix of Tales: Galactic Empires, Volume One, Edited by Brian Aldiss An interesting mix of stories and authors — how many of these have you read? By Alan Brown | Published on May 12, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement. Today, I’m looking at a themed anthology, Galactic Empires: Volume One, edited by Brian Aldiss and published by St. Martin’s Press in 1976. I recently reviewed a collection of stories by H. Beam Piper, an author noted for his tales of the rise and fall of nations, republics, and empires, and with empires still on my mind, had run across this book in my basement. I’d picked it up used at some point, but have no idea where or when it came into my possession, and it had lurked in my “to be read” pile for many years. It’s adorned with a painting that tilts more toward fantasy than outer space empires, showing a cadre of armored warriors, with their leader adorned with a red cloak, his hand resting on an enormous two-handed sword. Beside him is an unarmored, nearly naked, woman also holding a large sword. The dust jacket credits the painting to Karel Thole, who is touted as “the world’s foremost cover artist of science fiction,” but is someone I can’t say I’ve ever heard of. The book might have sat for so long because, even though I am a big fan of stories about galactic empires, I was not too familiar with Brian Aldiss’ work, having only read a few of his shorter stories, and associated him with the British New Wave movement, a subset of science fiction that never impressed me much. As it turns out, this anthology was not what I expected, as it didn’t stick closely to the galactic empire theme promised by the title. But it is an entertaining and diverse collection of tales, and offers a good cross section of science fiction from the 1950s through the mid-1970s from a variety of magazines of the time. The stories, like so many of their time, are largely male-oriented, with women largely in supporting roles. And you can see that by the middle of the 20th century, and especially after World War II, the pro-imperial attitudes of the 19th century were waning. While I had always associated Aldiss with science fiction of a more serious sort, he shows with this anthology that he is not averse to having a little fun as well. About the Editor Brian Aldiss (1925-2017) was a noted British author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, critic, and artist. Aldiss served in the British Army in southern Asia during World War II. He became a bookseller after the war, but began writing in his spare time, and was successful enough to become a full-time writer. He was prolific, producing dozens of novels, over three hundred short stories, and extensive critical writings. Aldiss was a leading exemplar of what became known as the “New Wave,” an approach to science fiction distinguished by its artistic ambitions and its emphasis on the soft rather than hard sciences. He is best known for his Helliconia trilogy, set on an intricately crafted world with two suns, a planet with extremely long seasons. Aldiss received two Hugo Awards and one Nebula during his career. In 1999, he was selected by SFWA for its Grand Master Award, and in 2004 he became a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Galactic Empires: Volume One [Note: I can’t give the background of every author featured in this anthology, but for those who might want more biographical information, where I have discussed an author in this column before, I have tagged their name with a link to the latest of those reviews.] I was in the mood for fiction when I started the book, so I skipped over Aldiss’ introduction and framing material and jumped right into the first story, “Been a Long Time,” by R.A. Lafferty. One of my younger brothers, Bruce, is a huge fan of Lafferty, and owns nearly everything, if not everything, the man ever wrote. While I myself sometimes find Lafferty’s work amusing, I always find it baffling, and this story is no exception. It is the tale of an angel assigned to oversee an effort to determine how long it would take a group of monkeys equipped with typewriters to reproduce the works of William Shakespeare (spoiler alert: a pretty long time). And I was left wondering what this had to do with empires. The next story, “The Possessed,” by Arthur C. Clarke, is another tale that takes place over a long time. An alien swarm is meddling with the destiny of races on planets throughout the galaxy. Clarke lets you think that the race the story focuses on is humanity, but then in a nice twist, he pulls the rug out from under your expectations. A clever tale, but another without a connection to galactic empires. “Protected Species,” by H.B. Fyfe, is a dark tale of humans colonizing a mysterious planet full of ruins from a lost civilization. They display a callous disregard for the inhabitants, who may be an intelligent species. And then one of them meets a creature who delivers some devastating news, and everything becomes clear. This tale had at least a hint of lost empires to it. I was surprised to find that Michael Sharra, an author I associated with books about the American Civil War, was also a science fiction author. His contribution, “All the Way Back,” is a solid story, a tale of human explorers looking for habitable planets who encounter a warship from a multi-species civilization. Like the previous entries, it is built around a twist at the end, and was one of my favorite tales in the book. And then, before I read the next story, I ran into a subtitle: “Wider Still and Wider…” And I realized the tales were grouped by themes. I turned back to the introduction, and the organization of the anthology began to make sense. The first section is entitled “Rise and Shine,” and the first four stories came under the heading “A Sense of Perspective.” So, the stories that didn’t seem to fit were there to set the stage for what followed. The next section focused on the beginnings of empires, and “The Star Plunderer,” by Poul Anderson, quite squarely fits the bill, being the story of a prisoner who will become the first emperor of a resurgent human civilization. The story begins on an Earth falling to odious and uncivilized Gorzuni invaders. It is told from the perspective of John Reeves, a Solar Navy officer, who is captured along with his beloved fiancée, fellow officer Kathryn O’Donnell, and finds Manuel Argos, the future emperor, to be an odious companion, although also ruthlessly competent. The story is full of action and adventure in the best tradition of pulp science fiction, but like all of Anderson’s work, it rises above other pulp stories because of its connection to Anderson’s well-crafted future history, and because of Anderson’s ability to spin compelling tales that are often dark and full of emotion. Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation,” one of the short stories eventually stitched together to produce his Foundation Trilogy, is far from my favorite story in the anthology. While I enjoy many of Asimov’s shorter stories, and especially the humorous ones, his Foundation stories leave me cold. In this tale, the Galactic Empire is falling, and scientist Hari Seldon establishes a group on the planet Terminus whose job it is to compile a Galactic Encyclopedia. They are a clueless bunch, smugly ignoring the dangers posed by new political entities emerging around their planet. And they are sure that a time capsule from Seldon will tell them what to do, only to find that they have been serving a lie, and the work of decades is simply a ruse that is part of a larger plan. I found the characters unappealing, and disliked the idea of arrogant technocrats deceiving and manipulating the people they were supposed to serve. The story encapsulates the reason I disliked the Foundation Series, although I’ve always felt like I was in the minority with that opinion. The story “We’re Civilized!” by Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides is another tale where arrogant humans expand into the galaxy only to get their comeuppance. It is a cleverly constructed story, if not especially deep. The next section of the anthology is “Maturity or Bust,” and the next subsection is “Horses in the Starship Hold,” which promises tales of pulp adventure—and they do not disappoint. Cordwainer Smith’s contribution to the anthology, “The Crime and Glory of Commander Suzdal,” is set in his baroque Instrumentality of Mankind universe, a darkly humorous setting full of animals uplifted to intelligence and enslaved by humans. An explorer, the eponymous Commander Suzdal, is duped by a colony of humans mutated by a hostile environment (and unfortunately, in keeping with the era when the story was written, their homosexuality is portrayed as part of the problem). His solution, to use time travel to populate a nearby planet with a new race of warrior cats in order to defeat the mutants, is laugh-out-loud funny, but gets Suzdal thrown into exile upon his return to civilization. Creating warrior cats who might eventually threaten human supremacy is not looked upon kindly. The best story in the anthology, and one of the best planetary romance tales I’ve ever read that wasn’t written by Leigh Brackett, is “The Rebel of Valkyr,” by Alfred Coppel. I’d never heard of him, but this tale is a gem. It is set in a galaxy where the old empire has fallen, and the secrets of its technology have been lost with it. But humans still travel the stars in spaceships now powered by magic, lit by oil lamps that replace the electric lights that no longer work, and equipped with stables to carry the horses that the cavalry troops use to wage war. The story is a straightforward tale of a struggle for succession after the death of the emperor, awash in greed, ambition, and corruption, and naturally features a noble warrior who allies himself with the true heir. There are swordfights, swashbuckling, reversals of fortune, romance, and adventures aplenty to keep the reader entertained. After I read it, I was pleased to learn that, writing under the pen name Robert Cham Gilman, the story was expanded into a series of four volumes, so I have some book-hunting to do. The story “Brightness Falls from the Air,” by Idris Seabright, is a bittersweet tale set in a decadent empire that entertains the populace with gladiatorial contests, often involving a race of bird people. The story follows a young man who falls in love with a female bird person, and ends with a heartbreaking conclusion. It is one of those stories that sticks with you long after it is over. Clifford Simak is one of my favorite authors, and I hadn’t run into his tale “Immigrant” before. It’s a good one, which follows an Earth man who is one of the elite few allowed to emigrate to the planet Kimon. What he finds there doesn’t fit his preconceived notions, and he is humbled by the planet’s gifted telepaths. But that humility allows him to discover why these aliens have allowed humans to settle on their planet, and the story ends on a hopeful note. The story is memorable, and infused with the whimsical sadness that makes Simak’s stories so compelling. The next subsection is “The Health Service in the Skies,” and starts with James White’s “Resident Physician,” a story set in his Sector General series, which follows doctors who treat aliens from a wide range of environments in a massive space-based hospital. In this one, the doctor in question must treat a sick alien who has apparently not only killed, but eaten, his shipmate. Along the way, he must puzzle out how this tragedy unfurled. The next story is a short one; “Age of Retirement,” by Hal Lynch, is intended to be humorous, but is so insubstantial, it doesn’t leave much of an impression. And its connection to the medical theme is peripheral at best. The last story, “Planting Time,” by Pete Adams and Charles Nightingale, is my least favorite story in the anthology, and its only connection to the medical theme is that sex can sometimes be considered a medical issue. A human explorer lands on a planet to replenish his supplies, finds an island full of nubile females lounging on couches, and wears himself out satisfying their desires. Upon discovering they were really flowers that attract the native humanoids to cross-pollenate themselves, instead of being embarrassed, he transplants the flora to another planet and establishes a plant-based bordello. From my perspective, the story had no redeeming qualities, and I felt like I needed to wash my mind out with soap after I finished. It definitely ended the volume on a sour note. Final Thoughts Even after I figured out how it was organized, I found Galactic Empires: Volume One to be loosely connected at best. But Aldiss had good taste—the diversity of the tales ended up being a strength, and the majority of the contents was entertaining. And some of the stories were outstanding, especially “The Rebel of Valkyr,” a delightful space-based fantasy full of the best kind of action and adventure. I definitely want to seek out Volume Two, as the anthology was worth reading. And now I turn the floor over to you, to hear your thoughts on Galactic Empires: Volume One, if you’ve read it, on the tales it contains if you’ve read them elsewhere, or on stories of galactic empires in general.[end-mark] The post A Quirky Mix of Tales: <i>Galactic Empires, Volume One</i>, Edited by Brian Aldiss appeared first on Reactor.