Alastair Reynolds is the author of eight novels and two short story collections. His story in The Starry Rift is “The Star Surgeon’s Apprentice”

1. When did you start reading science fiction? How old were you, and can you remember the first book or story that really excited you as a reader?

I started reading SF - as opposed to just absorbing it through the TV - when I was eight, beginning with serialised versions of Arthur C Clarke’s short stories. I was blown away almost from the get-go, but it was Clarke’s long “A Meeting with Medusa” that really did it for me. Not long after I read 2001: A Space Odyssey, and then worked my way steadily through his novels.

2. What do you think science fiction has to offer young readers today?

SF is basically the literature of rational enquiry - it’s fiction that says the universe is intinsically knowable, that - however strange things might appear at first - there’ll always be a sensible explanation if you look hard enough. Sensible doesn’t have to mean dull or mundane - it can be as awe-inspiring as any battle between wizards and dragons. I’ve nothing against fantasy, but in these times of declining scientific literacy and anything-goes, grab-bag belief systems, we need SF all the more. It’s the literature of the enlightenment, one more candle in the darkness.

3. Tell us about your story for The Starry Rift.

It’s a pirate story - I love pirate stories. It’s got cyborgs in it, and a space battle. It’s not to be taken hugely seriously as hard SF, but it’s not completely fantastical either. I chose not to set it in my “Revelation Space” universe as I wanted a sense of a larger backdrop than I can get within than framework - a real galactic civilisation, with countless worlds and solar systems. But the tone of the piece, and the characters, share a lot in common with some of my other stories.

4. Did you find there was a real difference between writing for younger readers, or was your approach basically the same as when you’re writing for any other audience?

Rightly or wrongly, the process was 99% identical to that of any other story I’ve written. I had intended to write “Star Surgeon” anyway; it just moved to the top of the stack when the anthology was announced, and a young adult protagonist suited the theme perfectly. In fact, it wouldn’t have worked if the apprentice had been older.

5. What are you writing now? Is there something you’d recommend to readers who enjoyed your story in The Starry Rift?

I’m working on a new novel now; a standalone about which I’ll say as little as possible other than that it’s SF, it’s weird, and it doesn’t have spaceships in it. If readers enjoyed my story in The Starry Rift, I might point them to my recent collection Galactic North - there are stories in there that I hope they might enjoy, especially “Weather”, which is another pirate-themed piece. With cyborgs.

I have winners for the five copies of The Starry Rift. I’ll post their names here just as soon as I’ve let the winners know, and we’ll get copies out to them as quickly as possibe. Many thanks to everyone who emailed me, and for the great descriptions of favorite books. I’ll post some of them here, if I can.

Ken Macleod is a terrific writer. He’s written some marvelous novels, and is increasingly showing up on awards ballots for his short fiction.  His story “Lighting Out” recently won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Short Story of the Year.  What’s not widely known is that it was originally written for The Starry Rift.  When Ken sent me the story I was delighted, but when I read it, I knew something didn’t work but I couldn’t put my finger on what.  We went round and round about it for a while, and ultimately agreed it just wasn’t working. Ken, however, sat down with the story, made some major changes (mostly changing the gender of everyone in the story), and made it work really well. It appeared in disLOCATIONS and you can read it here.

The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows hits bookstores across the US next week.  It’s been four years in the making, and I’m really,  really excited to see how it goes.  I’ve seen a copy of the book, and it’s beautiful. I’ve read the book, and it’s terrific.  Over the next few days I’m going to add more stuff here as we move to publication.  There’ll be a competition to win free copies of the book, there’ll be short interviews with many of the authors, you’ll be able to download the terrific cover art by Stephan Martiniere to use as computer wallpaper, and I’m developing one or two other features.  Hopefully you’ll all enjoy it. Oh, and drop me a note in the comments to let me know when you first see the book ‘in the wild’.  I’d love to know where it is.