Dangerous Space

Book excerpt: Dangerous Space is a collection of seven seductive stories by Kelley Eskridge, whose novel Solitaire was a New York Times Notable Book, with an introduction by Geoff Ryman (author of Was and Air). The opening story, ?Strings, ? takes us to a world that tightly controls musical expression and values faithfulness to the canon above all else. By contrast, in the title novella, ?Dangerous Space, ? we see the full power of music unleashed to sexually enthralling as well as risky effect; original to the volume, this tale features Mars, the intriguing narrator of ?And Salome Danced? (short-listed for the Tiptree Award), on tour with an indie rock band on the verge of breaking out. Closing the volume, the moving, edgy ?Alien Jane? (a finalist for the Nebula Award and adapted for the SciFi Channel's Welcome to Paradox series) delves into the importance of pain for the human organism and finds hope in the most unlikely of places.