I scratched my head a bit and went back to re-read the introduction—which I had admittedly initially sort of scanned—after I finished this collection. I enjoyed the stories, which were quite vivid and thought provoking. But space opera, even new space opera? Some of them maybe... Apparently I’m not the only one to say that. The intro began with a definition of space opera that was what I had expected (basically a thrilling action-adventure tale of heroes being heroic, powerful space ships and far frontiers—yes, Star Wars definitely qualifies), but then noted that some critics had my complaint about the first anthology while explaining that "the line between New Space Opera and Old Space Opera, and just plain science fiction, for that matter, is often subjective and hard to draw..." I still don’t know as I buy the idea that this is all space opera or that the lines are quite that blurred, but if you’re willing to expand your personal definition a bit, you’ll find some really enjoyable reading here.

My own favorites range pretty widely across the map.  To name a few: John Barnes’ "The Lost Princess Man" is a mirror reflecting mirror reflecting mirror tale of who is really conning whom and why; Elizabeth Moon’s "Chameleons" could be a simple rescue adventure but well, there’s that chameleon aspect to consider, too; John Scalzi’s "The Tale of the Wicked" is a wicked look at how bad—or is it—even good ideas can go; Mike Resnick’s "Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz" is the romp it sounds like;  Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s "Defect" features a spy trying to come in from the cold, and we all know it’s very cold out in space, problem is, it’s not exactly cozy warm elsewhere; while John Meaney’s "From the Heart" involves a very different type of spy and a very different sort of relationship.

That’s really just a small sample. There are five hundred pages worth of good reading here, with plenty to think about, and enough variety that there’s something for every taste. The New Space Opera 2 may not really be all space opera but it offers a great taste of what some of the best in current science fiction are writing and thinking about. Recommended.