Molly Tanzer, whom I first became aware of through her new Jirel of Joiry story for New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine, has previously won recognition for her fantasy novels and steampunk historical fiction. Her new novella, And Side by Side They Wander, is her first longform publication in science fiction/space opera, but I certainly hope she continues writing in this genre, too! She explores interesting questions in an open-ended way, but neither the philosophizing nor some interstitial reminiscences slow down the interstellar art-heist plot significantly. This story goes down easily while leaving the reader hungry for more.
An advanced alien race trades solutions to humanity’s problems (pollution, scarcity, etc.) for its great original artworks, from paintings to the Parthenon, saying we can take them back once we’ve made our planet safe again. Hundreds of years later, when humanity thinks it’s ready, the aliens say not yet, just enjoy your perfect reproductions, and don’t call us, we’ll call you. The irony of this situation as opposed to human history regarding the Parthenon Marbles (also called the Elgin Marbles) and various U.S. and European museums regarding the “third world” countries whose artifacts they have appropriated, that’s not lost on art historians, but some people (especially one rich man) find the situation intolerable. They find an alien from a different species who’s willing to give them a spaceship ride to the alien art-gallery space station, to perform a substitution caper.
Meanwhile, the extraterrestrials are not the only alien intelligences facing humanity. There’s the Great Mycelium, a fungal network that took over part of North America following an eco-engineering accident, with which humanity is beginning to negotiate. Also on Earth are the synthetics, machine intelligences, one of which is on the heist crew, along with the aforementioned rich man, the alien pilot, a woman who’s the “muscle” for them, and the narrator (first person, mostly past tense), an art historian who has a history with the synth. As is natural with a heist plot, several of the characters are keeping secrets from the rest, and even those without hidden agendas have their frictions. So, when the heist actually starts to happen, it’s no surprise that things go sideways, but it’s fun to watch it happen.
Along with the musings on who gets to own and control art, there’s also quite a bit of discussion about the difference between original artwork and reproductions of art, and how they make people feel. In addition, emotional and sexual relationships and the feelings that people share, or sometimes just project onto each other, also play a significant part in the plot. It’s all very interesting!
One way to read the ending is that everything does get an implied closure, with everything tied off neatly. Another way is to see several ways the plot could continue from here. I’d also enjoy seeing more stories set in this universe with different characters. But Tanzer obviously has a lot of ideas bubbling along, so I’d be equally happy to see what she does with some completely different space-opera settings! Meanwhile, I’ll check out some of her previous work, and I expect I’ll have a very good time with that.
And Side by Side They Wander is out today, May 19, 2026; you can order it here.
Content warnings: References to environmental catastrophes and accidental deaths, and war, along with grief and romantic difficulties.
Disclaimer: I obtained a free eARC from the publisher for review through NetGalley.
