Anthologies
From Hugo Award-Winning Editor Neil Clarke, the Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year Collected in a Single Paperback Volume Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more—a task that can be accomplished by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to present the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year , a yearly anthology compiled by Hugo and World Fantasy Award–winning editor Neil Clarke, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers. The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld , has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer.
A visionary collection of short fiction capturing the world of the soldiers who will fight on distant planets in outer space features the work of Fritz Leiber, Joe Haldeman, Paul J. McAuley, Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, William Barton, Tom Purdom, Robert Reed, and Fred Saberhagen. Original.
The sixteen stories and two screenplays that make up Volume One of the Emmy® award-winning Netflix Original series Love, Death & Robots.Featuring best-selling authors and screenwriters from all over the globe, curated by filmmakers Tim Miller and David Fincher.Stories and screenplays byAlastair Reynolds, Alberto Mielgo, Claudine Griggs, David W. Amendola, Joe Lansdale, John Scalzi, Ken Liu, Kirsten Cross, Marko Kloos, Michael Swanwick, Peter F. Hamilton, Steven Lewis, and Vitaliy Shushko
Four new novellas from four of the best writers of British SF, gathered together in one volume with a new introduction by Peter Crowther. A perfect illustration of why British SF is dominating the world SF market at the moment. Top class fiction, cutting edge design, innovative format - the perfect way to catch up with the latest from your favourite SF writers
A mind-blowing anthology of 18 stories bringing you the infinite Earths of the multiverse. Featuring Alastair Reynolds, Ian McDonald, Lavie Tidhar, Eugen Bacon and more. INFINITY. HERE. NOW. What if every decision you’ve ever made created a new reality. A new life, a new world of possibilities for what you could become? What if the best of all possible worlds is just around the corner? Or the worst? This anthology brings together an international cast of luminaries to explore the infinite worlds of what could be. The smashed together chaos of multiple Londons piled on top of each other; a world where a tunnel turns Japan and the United States into close neighbours; catastrophic accidents on multidimensional spacecraft; shadowy organisations and the merciless assassins they control; the unstoppable force of your infinite grandmothers. Explore the infinite beauties and terrors of the multiverse with the finest minds writing in science fiction today, and see what could have been… Featuring stories from: Alvaro Zinos-Amaro Charlie Jane Anders Eugen Bacon Clive Barker Paul Di Filippo Alix E. Harrow Rumi Kaneko (translated by Preston Grassmann) Ken Liu Ian McDonald Annalee Newitz Yukimi Ogawa Chana Porter Alastair Reynolds Jayaprakash Satyamurthy D. R. G. Sugawara Jeffrey Thomas Lavie Tidhar
For years, The Year's Best Science Fiction has been the most widely read short science fiction anthology of its kind. Now, after twenty-one annual collections, comes the ultimate in science fiction anthologies, The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction, in which legendary editor Gardner Dozois selects the very best short stories for this landmark collection. Contributors include: * Stephen Baxter * Greg Bear * William Gibson * Terry Bisson * Pat Cadigan * Ted Chiang * John Crowley * Tony Daniel * Greg Egan * Molly Gloss * Eileen Gunn * Joe Haldeman * James Patrick Kelly * John Kessel * Nancy Kress * Ursula K. Le Guin * Ian R. MacLeod * David Marusek * Paul McAuley * Ian McDonald * Maureen F. McHugh * Robert Reed * Mike Resnick * Geoff Ryman * William Sander * Lucius Shepard * Robert Silverberg * Brian Stableford * Bruce Sterling * Charles Stross * Michael Swanwick * Steven Utley * Howard Waldrop * Walter Jon Williams * Connie Willis * Gene Wolfe With work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best stands as one of the ultimate science fiction anthologies ever published. Contents xi Foreword (The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction) essay by Robert Silverberg xvii Preface (The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction) essay by Gardner Dozois 1 Blood Music (1983) novelette by Greg Bear 19 A Cabin on the Coast (1984) shortstory by Gene Wolfe 28 Salvador (1984) shortstory by Lucius Shepard 42 Trinity (1984) novella by Nancy Kress 78 Flying Saucer Rock and Roll (1985) novelette by Howard Waldrop (aka Flying Saucer Rock & Roll) 93 Dinner in Audoghast (1985) shortstory by Bruce Sterling 103 Roadside Rescue (1985) shortstory by Pat Cadigan 109 Snow (1985) shortstory by John Crowley 121 The Winter Market (1985) novelette by William Gibson 137 The Pure Product (1986) novelette by John Kessel 152 Stable Strategies for Middle Management (1988) shortstory by Eileen Gunn 162 Kirinyaga [Kirinyaga 2] (1988) novelette by Mike Resnick 177 Tales from the Venia Woods [Roma Eterna] (1989) shortstory by Robert Silverberg 191 Bears Discover Fire (1990) shortstory by Terry Bisson 199 Even the Queen (1992) shortstory by Connie Willis 213 Guest of Honor (1993) novelette by Robert Reed 238 None So Blind (1994) shortstory by Joe Haldeman 246 Mortimer Gray's History of Death (1995) novella by Brian Stableford (aka Mortimer Gray's "History of Death") 293 The Lincoln Train (1995) shortstory by Maureen F. McHugh 303 Wang's Carpets (1995) novelette by Greg Egan 328 Coming of Age in Karhide [Hainish] (1995) novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin 342 The Dead (1996) shortstory by Michael Swanwick 352 Recording Angel (1996) shortstory by Ian McDonald 363 A Dry, Quiet War (1996) novelette by Tony Daniel 380 The Undiscovered (1997) novelette by William Sanders 400 Second Skin (1997) shortstory by Paul J. McAuley 418 Story of Your Life (1998) novella by Ted Chiang 454 People Came from Earth (1999) shortstory by Stephen Baxter 464 The Wedding Album [Cathy] (1999) novella by David Marusek 502 10 to 16 to 1 (1999) novelette by James Patrick Kelly (aka 1016 to 1) 520 Daddy's World (1999) novelette by Walter Jon Williams 541 The Real World [Silurian Tales] (2000) shortstory by Steven Utley 561 Have Not Have (2001) novelette by Geoff Ryman 577 Lobsters [Macx Family] (2001) novelette by Charles Stross 597 Breathmoss (2002) novella by Ian R. MacLeod 647 Lambing Season (2002) shortstory by Molly Gloss
For the past 8 years NewCon Press has been showcasing the talent of British and British-based science fiction authors via our Best of British SF anthologies. The series is curated by editor Donna Scott , who each year faces the daunting task of selecting the very best short stories from what is invariably a strong field. In 2024, Donna's fine work was recognised when Best of British SF 2022 won the inaugural BSFA Award for 'Best Collection'. The only way to follow such success is, of course, by ensuring the next volume in the series is at least as good, if not better. Best of British Science Fiction 2023 Table of Contents: Introduction – Donna Scott Detonation Boulevard – Alastair Reynolds Vermin Control – Tim Lees Personal Satisfaction – Adrian Tchaikovsky The Scent of Green – Ana Sun Gauguin’s Questions – Stephen Baxter So Close to Home – Andrew Hook Boojum – Angus McIntyre The Station Master – Lavie Tidhar Art App – Chris Beckett The Blou Trein Suborbirail – L.P. Melling Blue Shift Passing By – David Cleden And if Venice is Sinking – Fiona Moore Muse Automatique – Jaine Fenn Little Sprout – E.B. Siu A Change of Direction – Rhiannon Grist Thus With a Kiss I Die – Robert Bagnall Tough Love – Teika Marija Smits The Brazen Head of Westinghouse – Tim Major Skipping – Ian Watson Pearl – Felix Rose Kawitzky About the Authors
Widely regarded as the essential book for every science fiction fan, The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction continues to uphold its standard of excellence with more than two dozen stories from the previous year. Also includes the editor's usual thorough summations of the year's events and a recommended reading list. Gardner Dozois's expertise guarantees an invaluable resource - and as always the best place in the universe to find stories that fire the imagination. Contents: - Summation: 2002 by Gardner Dozois - Breathmoss (2002) by Ian R. MacLeod - The Most Famous Little Girl in the World (2002) by Nancy Kress - The Passenger (2002) by Paul J. McAuley - The Political Officer (2002) by Charles Coleman Finlay - Lambing Season (2002) by Molly Gloss - Coelacanths (2002) by Robert Reed - Presence (2002) by Maureen F. McHugh - Halo (2002) by Charles Stross - In Paradise (2002) by Bruce Sterling - The Old Cosmonaut and the Construction Worker Dream of Mars (2002) by Ian McDonald - Stories for Men (2002) by John Kessel - To Become a Warrior (2002) by Chris Beckett - The Clear Blue Seas of Luna (2002) by Gregory Benford - V.A.O. (2002) by Geoff Ryman - Winters Are Hard (2002) by Steven Popkes - At the Money (2002) by Richard Wadholm - Agent Provocateur (2002) by Alex Irvine - Singleton (2002) by Greg Egan - Slow Life (2002) by Michael Swanwick - A Flock of Birds (2002) by James Van Pelt - The Potter of Bones (2002) by Eleanor Arnason - The Whisper of Disks (2002, variant of The Whisper of Discs ) by John Meaney - The Hotel at Harlan's Landing (2002) by Kage Baker - The Millennium Party (2002, variant of Millennium Party ) by Walter Jon Williams - Turquoise Days (2002) by Alastair Reynolds - Honorable Mentions: 2002 by Gardner Dozois Front cover illustration by Pete Rozycki
Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002) is a thematic sequel to their 1994 anthology The Ascent of Wonder. The first anthology argued that "[t]here has been a persistent viewpoint that hard [science fiction] is somehow the core and the center of the SF field." The Hard SF Renaissance asserts that hard SF has truly become the heart of the genre and supports its assertion by assembling nearly a thousand pages of short stories, novelettes, and novellas originally published between the late 1980s and early 2000s. A different theory says hard SF stories are engineering puzzles disguised as fiction; The Hard SF Renaissance repudiates this theory in regard to modern hard SF. Most of the selections have strong prose and rounded characters, several are classics, and gadget-driven clunkers are mercifully few.Contents A Career in Sexual Chemistry (1987) novelette by Brian Stableford (aka Sexual Chemistry) A Niche (1990) novelette by Peter Watts A Walk in the Sun (1991) shortstory by Geoffrey A. Landis An Ever-Reddening Glow (1996) shortstory by David Brin Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars (1999) shortstory by Kim Stanley Robinson Beggars in Spain [Sleepless] (1991) novella by Nancy Kress Bicycle Repairman [Chattanooga] (1996) novelette by Bruce Sterling Built Upon the Sands of Time (2000) shortstory by Michael F. Flynn [as by Michael Flynn ] Different Kinds of Darkness [Blit] (2000) shortstory by David Langford Exchange Rate (1999) novella by Hal Clement Fast Times at Fairmont High (2001) novella by Vernor Vinge For White Hill (1995) novella by Joe Haldeman Gene Wars (1991) shortfiction by Paul J. McAuley [as by Paul McAuley ] Genesis (1995) novella by Poul Anderson Gossamer [Xeelee] (1995) shortstory by Stephen Baxter Great Wall of Mars [Revelation Space] (2000) novelette by Alastair Reynolds Griffin's Egg (1991) novella by Michael Swanwick Halo (1996) shortstory by Karl Schroeder Hatching the Phoenix [Heechee] (1999) novella by Frederik Pohl Immersion (1996) novella by Gregory Benford Into the Miranda Rift (1993) novella by G. David Nordley New People, New Places, New Politics (The Hard SF Renaissance) essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer Kinds of Strangers (1999) novelette by Sarah Zettel Madam Butterfly (1997) novelette by James P. Hogan Marrow [Marrow] (1997) novelette by Robert Reed Matter's End (1989) novella by Gregory Benford Microbe (1995) shortstory by Joan Slonczewski Mount Olympus (1999) novelette by Ben Bova On the Orion Line [Xeelee] (2000) novelette by Stephen Baxter Reality Check (2000) shortstory by David Brin Reasons to Be Cheerful (1997) novelette by Greg Egan Reef (2000) novelette by Paul J. McAuley [as by Paul McAuley ] Sexual Dimorphism (1999) shortstory by Kim Stanley Robinson Taklamakan [Chattanooga] (1998) novelette by Bruce Sterling The Good Rat (1995) novelette by Allen Steele The Hammer of God (1992) shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke The Lady Vanishes (1996) shortstory by Charles Sheffield The Mendelian Lamp Case [Dr Phil D'Amato] (1997) novelette by Paul Levinson The Shoulders of Giants (2000) shortstory by Robert J. Sawyer Think Like a Dinosaur (1995) novelette by James Patrick Kelly Understand (1991) novelette by Ted Chiang Wang's Carpets (1995) novelette by Greg Egan
Stories by Eric Brown, Paul McAuley, Brian Aldiss, and more bright stars from the Science Fiction firmament From the best of the U.K. here are fifteen original stories-as varied as the star systems in our universe-that explore everything from outer space to inner space and cosmology to astrology.
One million years from now . It's a span of time so huge that it's hard for the mind to grasp. Even within science fiction, to conjure up a convincing portrait of what humanity might be like in such a remote future calls for writers with rare breadth of vision. Fortunately, Dozois and Dann have found them. Includes longer stories set in "One Million A.D." by: Robert Reed Robert Silverberg Nancy Kress Alastair Reynolds Greg Egan At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Here are 25 stories of science fiction that push the envelope, by the biggest names in an emerging new crop of high-tech futuristic SF - including Charles Stross, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton and Neal Asher. High-tech SF has made a significant comeback in the last decade, as bestselling authors successfully blend the super-science of 'hard science fiction' with real characters in an understandable scenario. It is perhaps a reflection of how technologically controlled our world is that readers increasingly look for science fiction that considers the fates of mankind as a result of increasing scientific domination. This anthology brings together the most extreme examples of the new high-tech, far-future science fiction, pushing the limits way beyond normal boundaries. The stories include: "A Perpetual War Fought Within a Cosmic String", "A Weapon That Could Destroy the Universe", "A Machine That Detects Alternate Worlds and Creates a Choice of Christs", "An Immortal Dead Man Sent To The End of the Universe", "Murder in Virtual Reality", "A Spaceship So Large That There is An Entire Planetary System Within It", and "An Analytical Engine At The End of Time", and "Encountering the Untouchable."
In the heart of the new millennium, worlds beyond our imagination have opened up, blurring the line between life and art. Embracing the challenges and possibilities of cyberspace, genetics, the universe, and beyond, the world of science fiction has become a porthole into the realities of tomorrow. In The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-third Annual Collection, our very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world with such compelling stories as: "Beyond the Aquila Rift": Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds takes readers to the edge of the universe, where no voyager has dared to travel before---or so we think. "Comber": Our world is an ever-changing one, and award-winning author Gene Wolfe explores the darker side of our planet's fluidity in his own beautiful and inimitable style. "Audubon in Atlantis": In a world not quite like our own, bestselling author Harry Turtledove shows us that there are reasons some species have become extinct. The twenty-nine stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Chris Beckett, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, James Patrick Kelley, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Vonda N. McIntyre, David Moles, Derryl Murphy, Steven Popkes, Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Reed, Chris Roberson, Mary Rosenblum, William Sanders, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, Harry Turtledove, Peter Watts, Liz Williams, and Gene Wolfe. Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.
Travel farther than you've ever dreamed Man has mused about the nature of our universe since he first gazed up in wonder at the stars. Now some of the most fertile imaginations in speculative fiction offer bold and breathtaking visions of "what's out there" and "what's next" in the eleventh annual celebration of the very best short SF to appear over the past year. Once again, acclaimed editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have compiled an extraordinary collection featuring stunning works from modern masters as well as dazzling gems from brilliant new talents -- tales that carry the reader to the far corners of the galaxy and beyond, into hitherto unexplored regions. Get ready to take glorious flight on a journey to the miraculous.
The best stories of the year: here is a collection of the best science fiction prose written in 2005, by some of the genre's greatest authors, and selected by Rich Horton, a contributing reviewer to many of the field's most respected magazines. In this volume you'll find stories by James Patrick Kelly, Wil McCarthy, Susan Palwick, Tom Purdom, Robert Reed, Michael Swanwick, James Van Pelt, Howard Waldrop, Alastair Reynolds, Ian McDonald, Mary Rosenblum, Stephen Leigh and Joe Haldeman.
"Space opera", once a derisive term for cheap pulp adventure, has come to mean something more in modern SF: compelling adventure stories told against a broad canvas, and written to the highest level of skill. Indeed, it can be argued that the "new space opera" is one of the defining streams of modern SF. Now, World Fantasy Award-winning anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have compiled a definitive overview of this subgenre, both as it was in the days of the pulp magazines, and as it has become in 2005. Included are major works from genre progenitors like Jack Williamson and Leigh Brackett, stylish midcentury voices like Cordwainer Smith and Samuel R. Delany, popular favorites like David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le Guin, and modern-day pioneers such as Iain M. Banks, Steven Baxter, Scott Westerfeld, and Charles Stross.
Thirteen “masterfully written longer tales that span the spectrum of speculative fiction’s most inventive scenarios. . . . An indispensable treasury” ( Booklist ). “This outstanding follow-up to Dozois’s Best of the Best Volume 1 . . . pays homage to the science fiction novellas of the past two decades and by extension to the entire genre in all its varied glory.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) For more than twenty years The Year’s Best Science Fiction has been recognized as the best collection of short science fiction writing in the universe and an essential resource for every science fiction fan. In 2005 the original Best of the Best collected the finest short stories from that series and became a benchmark in the SF field. Now, for the first time ever, Hugo Award–winning editor Gardner Dozios sifts through hundreds of stories and dozens of authors who have gone on to become some of the most esteemed practitioners of the form, to bring readers the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels from his legendary series. Included are such notable short novels as: Sailing to Byzantium by Robert Silverberg: In the fiftieth century, people of Earth are able to create entire cities on a whim, including those of mythology and legend. When twentieth-century traveler Charles Philip accidentally lands in this aberrant time period, he is simultaneously obsessed with discovering more about this alluring world and getting back home. But in a world made entirely of man’s creation, things are not always as they seem on the surface. Forgiveness Day by Ursula K. Le Guin: Le Guin returns to her Hainish-settled interstellar community, the Edumen, to tell the tale of two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart in this story of politics, violence, religion, and cultural disparity. Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds: On a sea-wold planet covered with idyllic tropical oceans, peace seems pervasive. Beneath the placid water lurks an ominous force that has the potential to destroy all tranquility. Contributors include: Greg Egan; Joe Haldeman; James Patrick Kelly; Nancy Kress; Ursula K. Le Guin; Ian R. MacLeod; Ian McDonald; Maureen F. McHugh; Frederick Pohl; Alastair Reynolds; Robert Silverberg; Michael Swanwick; Walter Jon Williams With work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best: Volume 2 stands as the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels ever published in the world.
The twenty-eight stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including: * Cory Doctorow * Robert Charles Wilson * Michael Swanwick * Ian McDonald * Benjamin Rosenbaum * Kage Baker * Bruce McAllister * Alastair Reynolds * Jay Lake * Ruth Nestvold * Gregory Benford * Justin Stanchfield * Walter Jon Williams * Greg Van Eekhout * Robert Reed * David D. Levine * Paul J. McAuley * Mary Rosenblum * Daryl Gregory * Jack Skillingstead * Paolo Bacigalupi * Greg Egan * Elizabeth Bear * Sarah Monette * Ken MacLeod * Stephen Baxter * Carolyn Ives Gilman * John Barnes * A.M. Dellamonica Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource in addition to serving as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.
Widely regarded as the benchmark anthology for every science fiction fan, The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21 continues to uphold its standard of excellence with over two dozen stories from the previous year. This years volume includes many bright young talents of science fiction, as well as a host of established masters. It covers every aspect of the genre soft, hard, cyberpunk, cyber noir, anthropological, military and adventure. Also included is a thorough summation of the year and a recommended reading list. PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS EDITIONS Its not often you get a book thats exactly what it says on the spine like this one is. Big, Crammed with the Best. Exactly so. SFX magazine 'Quantity as well as quality every piece is a treasure' The Times 'These 30 stories cover a tremendous amount of ground...the stories themselves are the stars.' 4-star rating! SFX Magazine
From STAR TREK to STAR WARS, from DUNE to FOUNDATION, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in FEDERATIONS will continue that tradition, and herein you will find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, Catherynne M. Valente, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Harry Turtledove, and many more.
Many readers are attracted to science fiction for that singular moment when a story expands your imagination, enabling you to see something in a new light. Not all SF works this way! This volume collects the very best of it that does, with 25 of the finest examples of mind-expanding and awe-inspiring science fiction. The storylines range from a discovery on the Moon that opens up vistas across all time to a moment in which distances across the Earth suddenly increase and people vanish. These are tales to take you from the other side of now to the very end of time - from today's top-name contributors including Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Silverberg, Gregory Benford and Robert Reed.
A collection of near-future, optimistic SF stories where some of the genre's brightest stars and most exciting new talents portray the possible roads to a better tomorrow. Featuring orginal stoires by Alastair Reynolds, Kay Kenyon, Lavie Tidhar, Jason Andrew Madeline Ashby, Jacques Barcia, Eva Maria Chapman, Ken Edgett, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Eric Gregory, Mari Ness, Holly Phillips, Gareth L. Powell & Aliette de Bodard, Gord Sellar, Paula R. Stiles and Jason Stoddard, Definitely not a plethora of Pollyannas (but neither a barrage of dystopias), SHINE will show that positive change is far from being a foregone conclusion, but needs to be hard fought, innovative, robust and imaginative. Let's make our tomorrows SHINE.
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection of short stories brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Carrie Vaughn, Ian R. MacLeod and Cory Doctorow. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.
Lightspeed: Year One compiles all the fiction published by the online science fiction magazine Lightspeed in its first year. Originally published stories include Nebula Award finalists Vylar Kaftan's "I'm Alive, I Love You, I'll See You in Reno" and Adam-Troy Castro's "Arvies" as well as Carrie Vaughn's Hugo Award-nominated "Amaryllis". Plus there are classic stories by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more. The popular, critically-acclaimed Lightspeed is edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future sociological soft sf to far-future star-spanning hard sf--and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of original and classic stories, from a variety of authors, showcasing the best new genre voices along with bestsellers, award-winners, fan favorites, and notable authors readers already know.
In this the twenty-fifth edition of his celebrated annual Mammoth Book of Best New SF (its 29th as The Year's Best SF in the United States), award-winning editor Gardner Dozois presents most outstanding pieces of short science fiction from 2011, along with his typically informative notes on each author. Many are the work of award-winning writers, but there are also some surprising newcomers. The collection is prefaced, as ever, by Dozois's Summation of 2011 in SF, a review of the year's highlights in publishing and film - including non-fiction, media and awards - obituaries and an insightful look at emerging trends. Includes stories from bestselling writers: Damien Broderick, Paul McAuley, Ian R. MacLeod, Catherynne M. Valente, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, Yoon Ha Lee and many more. Praise for previous editions: Quantity as well as quality . . . every piece is a treasure. The Times. For more than a quarter century, Gardner Dozois's Mammoth Book of Best New SF has defined the field. It is the most important anthology, not only annually, but overall. Charles N. Brown, publsiher of Locus Magazine. New authors rub shoulders with old hands, and strong work from relative novices Hannu Rajaniemi and Lavie Tidhar suggest that SF's future is as bright as ever. Financial Times.
Under the countless billions of stars in the universe, what forms will alien life take? How will they live? And what will happen when we meet them? Aliens: Recent Encounters collects answers to these questions from some of today's best science fiction writers. From first encounters to life alongside aliens—and stories of the aliens' own lives—here are many futures: violent and peaceful, star-spanning and personal. Only one thing is certain: alien life will defy our expectations.
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world through their short stories. This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre. The multiple Locus Award-winning annual compilation of the year’s best science fiction stories
Memoryville Blues -- John Grant Index of Placebo Effects -- Carol Guess The Kid at Midnight -- Mike Resnick Gapping -- Darren Speegle Red-Roofed Temples in the Mountains Beneath Me -- Forrest Aguirre Buried Eyes -- Lavie Tidhar This Time of Day, This Time of Year -- Lynda E. Rucker Dreaming Kandresphar -- Darrell Schweitzer The Providential Preservation of the Universal Bibliographic Repository -- Andrew Drummond Cleavage -- Peter Hardy What We Do -- Robert Reed Selections From The Expectant Mother Disinformation Handbook -- Robert Guffey Kodokushi -- Andrew Hook The Valley of Wonders -- Amber D. Sistla Blue Vs Red -- Sebastien Doubinsky Things That Never Happened -- Scott Edelman The Key to Harry -- Allen Ashley and Douglas Thompson Behind the Doors -- Ramsey Campbell The Rapture -- Jack Dann and Barry N. Malzberg The Bell -- Jeremy Adam Smith The Lobby -- Alastair Reynolds Man s Ruin -- James Cooper The Revelation of Jo Givens -- Nancy Jane Moore Wherein We Enter the Museum -- Kit Reed Marks and Coconuts -- Anna Tambour
Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created.
HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD! From a kill-or-be-killed gunfight with a vampire to an encounter in a steampunk bordello, the weird western is a dark, gritty tale where the protagonist might be playing poker with a sorcerous deck of cards, or facing an alien on the streets of a dusty frontier town. Here are twenty-three original tales—stories of the Old West infused with elements of the fantastic—produced specifically for this volume by many of today’s finest writers. Included are Orson Scott Card’s first “Alvin Maker” story in a decade, and an original adventure by Fred Van Lente, writer of Cowboys & Aliens . Other contributors include: Tobias S. Buckell * David Farland * Alan Dean Foster * Jeffrey Ford * Laura Anne Gilman * Rajan Khanna * Mike Resnick * Beth Revis * Fred Van Lente * Walter Jon Williams * Ben H. Winters * Christie Yant * Charles Yu *
An unabridged collection of the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2013 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “Zero for Conduct,” by Greg Egan, an Afghani teenager, living in a near-future Iran with her exiled grandfather, makes a game-changing superconductor discovery. A young girl struggles to survive on a planet, with a stringent class structure, where Doors are used to go off-world in “Exit, Interrupted,” by C. W. Johnson. “Pathways” by Nancy Kress, follows a teenage girl from a small Kentucky mountain town, in a near-future U. S., struggling with her family and culture as she seeks treatment for Fatal Familial Insomnia. In “Entangled,” by Ian R. MacLeod, an Indian woman, in a Britain turned upside down by a disease that links people’s minds, searches for answers to her personal catastrophe. In “The Irish Astronaut,” by Val Nolan, a colleague brings the ashes of an astronaut, who died in the Aquarius disaster, to Ireland for final burial. In “Among Us,” by Robert Reed, a government agency goes to extraordinary lengths to identify and track the aliens among us. “A Map of Mercury,” by Alastair Reynolds, showcases the plight of a failed artist dispatched to retrieve an artistic genius from a collective of cyborgs parading across the face of Mercury. In “Martian Blood,” by Allen M. Steele, a researcher from Earth goes on an expedition into the untamed regions of Mars to extract blood from its natives. “The She-Wolf’s Hidden Grin,” by Michael Swanwick, set in the same milieu as Gene Wolfe’s “The Fifth Head of Cerberus,” follows the childhoods of two sisters on a planet far from Earth. Finally, in “The Best We Can,” by Carrie Vaughn, a frustrated scientist pursues first contact among an apathetic populace.
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world in the year's best short stories. This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.
An unabridged collection of the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2014 by current and emerging masters of the genre. In “Marielena,” by Nina Allan, an immigrant is haunted by his past, as well as his present and future, in a disturbingly mean-spirited near-future England. A convicted serial killer is sentenced to “rightminding” to cure his neurological disorder that resulted in the sociopathic murdering of thirteen women in “Covenant,” by Elizabeth Bear. “The Magician and LaPlace’s Demon” by Tom Crosshill, follows a powerful AI that discovers the existence of magic and then prosecutes a vendetta against the magicians who grow more powerful as their numbers dwindle. In “Sadness,” by Timons Esaias, a man strikes back, as best he can, against the powerful aliens who conquered Earth long ago. In “Amicae Aeternum,” by Ellen Klages, a young girl shares her last morning on Earth with her girlfriend before boarding a generation starship. “Red Lights, and Rain,” by Gareth L. Powell, is a blend of sci-fi and vampire-hunting lore in which the vampires are made, not born. In “The Sarcophagus,” by Robert Reed, the maintenance cyborgs of the Great Ship encounter a stranded spacer in a derelict lifesuit from a long ago ship. “In Babelsberg,” by Alastair Reynolds, showcases a robot whose account of the dead colonists recently found on Titan are challenged by another AI. In “Passage of Earth,” by Michael Swanwick, a coroner gets a taste of the Earth invaders’ superior intelligence while dissecting a giant worm-like alien. Finally, in “The Colonel,” by Peter Watts, Colonel Moore tries to assess the capabilities of the hived human intelligences that have attacked a compound under his command.
To keep up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more—a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the inaugural volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, a new yearly anthology compiled by Hugo and World Fantasy award–winning editor Neil Clarke, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers. The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor in chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer. Neil Clarke is the award-winning publisher and editor in chief of Clarkesworld magazine, winner of three Hugo Awards for Best Semiprozine, and the editor of the 2014 cyborg-themed original anthology Upgraded. Clarke lives in Stirling, New Jersey.
An unabridged collection of the best-of-the-best science fiction stories published in 2015 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “My Last Bringback,” by John Barnes, an expert on restoring the memories of Alzheimer's patients becomes her own patient. A young man living in a bubble habitat on the ocean floor of Venus must deal with terraforming gone awry in “The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss,” by David Brin. In “Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight,” winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award, by Aliette de Bodard, the death of a scientist in the Dai Viet interstellar empire is mourned. The shipmind of a cobbled together fighter spacecraft and its pilot press on under dire circumstances in “Damage” by David Levine. An aristocrat’s trip to Venus, in search of her disgraced brother, is memorialized by papercuts of flora native to this planet in “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan,” by Ian McDonald. In “The Audience,” by Sean McMullen, a spacecraft’s trek to another planet discovers a malevolent species interested in Earth. An AI is on a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system to found a sanctuary in a posthuman universe in “Empty,” by Robert Reed. In “A Murmuration,” by Alastair Reynolds, a scientist struggles to publish a paper on her exhilarating findings on the flocking behavior of birds. In the dystopian future of “Two-Year Man,” by Kelly Robson, a janitor brings a mutant baby home to his wife hoping to fill their lives with love. And finally, an android medical attendant, capable of mimicking family members, cares for an Alzheimer’s patient in “Today I Am Paul,” by Martin L. Shoemaker.
BUILDING TOWARDS TOMORROW Sense of wonder is the lifeblood of science fiction. When we encounter something on a truly staggering scale - metal spheres wrapped around stars, planets rebuilt and repurposed, landscapes re-engineered, starships bigger than worlds - the only response we have is reverence, admiration, and possibly fear at something that is grand, sublime, and extremely powerful. Bridging Infinity puts humanity at the heart of that experience, as builder, as engineer, as adventurer, reimagining and rebuilding the world, the solar system, the galaxy and possibly the entire universe in some of the best science fiction stories you will experience. Bridging Infinity continues the award-winning Infinity Project series of anthologies with new stories from Alastair Reynolds, Pat Cadigan, Stephen Baxter, Charlie Jane Anders, Tobias S.Buckell, Karen Lord, Karin Lowachee, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Gregory Benford, Larry Liven, Robert Reed, Pamela Sargent, Allen Steele, Pat Murphy, Paul Doherty, An Owomoyela, Thoraiya Dyer and Ken Liu. “One of the year’s most exciting anthologies.” io9 on Edge of Infinity “[The Infinity series] has gone from strength to strength.” Tor.com
To keep up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more—a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year , a new yearly anthology compiled by Hugo and World Fantasy award–winning editor Neil Clarke, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers. The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor in chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld , has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer.
As Earth dies, an architect is commissioned to remote build a monument on Mars from the remains of a failed colony; a man who has transferred his consciousness into a humanoid robot discovers he’s missing thirty percent of his memories, and tries to discover why; bored with life in the underground colony of an alien world, a few risk life inside one of the “whales” floating in the planet’s atmosphere; an apprentice librarian searching through centuries of SETI messages from alien civilizations makes an ominous discovery; a ship in crisis pulls a veteran multibot out from storage with an unusual assignment: pest control; the dead are given a second shot at life, in exchange for a five-year term in a zombie military program. For decades, science fiction has compelled us to imagine futures both inspiring and cautionary. Whether it’s a warning message from a survey ship, a harrowing journey to a new world, or the adventures of well-meaning AI, science fiction inspires the imagination and delivers a lens through which we can view ourselves and the world around us. With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Three, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and twenty-seven of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017. Table of Contents Introduction: The State of Short SF Field in 2017 A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad Holdfast by Alastair Reynolds Every Hour of Light and Dark by Nancy Kress The Last Novelist, or a Dead Lizard in the Yard by Matthew Kressel Shikasta by Vandana Singh Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker Focus by Gord Sellar The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata Shadows of Eternity by Gregory Benford The Worldless by Indrapramit Das Regarding the Robot Raccoons Attached to the Hull of My Ship by Rachel Jones and Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali Belly Up by Maggie Clark Uncanny Valley by Greg Egan We Who Live in the Heart by Kelly Robson A Catalogue of Sunlight at the End of the World by A.C. Wise Meridian by Karin Lowachee The Tale of the Alcubierre Horse by Kathleen Ann Goonan Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee In Everlasting Wisdom by Aliette de Bodard The Last Boat-Builder in Ballyvoloon by Finbarr O’Reilly The Speed of Belief by Robert Reed Death on Mars by Madeline Ashby An Evening with Severyn Grimes by Rich Larson ZeroS by Peter Watts The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance by Tobias S. Buckell Permissions Recommended Reading
Escalation is the second book in the Tales from the Edge series of short story collections, bringing together tales of science fiction adventure from the Maelstrom's Edge Universe. It is the far future, and the interstellar civilisation mankind has built across the galaxy's spiral arm is threatened by the Maelstrom, a tidal wave of dark energy devouring everything. As the Maelstrom approaches worlds, their inhabitants must choose how to react to the oncoming apocalypse - try to flee, or fight to survive? In this second volume of stories, Tales from the Edge is proud to present stories from a wide range of talented and brilliant professional authors, who contributed as part of the Kickstarter campaign for the Maelstrom's Edge miniatures game. Alastair Reynolds is a legendary name in the world of space opera, with exceptional novels such as Revelation Space and The Prefect. He kicks off Tales from the Edge: Escalation with 'Remainers', a story following the return of a starship captain to a world doomed by the Maelstrom on the behest of a mysterious client. In Rob Ziegler's 'Little Bots', a group of orphans scheme and sneak their way into a plot to escape their dying world, whilst Jeff Carlson's 'The Spaces Between Us' looks at the challenge of the Maelstrom's approach from another direction - if a world is lost, do we have a duty to save what makes it unique? Jaine Fenn's 'Over You' and Tomas L. Martin's 'Fleet Champion' explore the honour-bound existence of the Remnant Fleet's Champions. The Remnant is all that's left of the Artarian civilisation fleeing the destruction of their homeworlds by the Maelstrom, and rely on their exo-suited Champions to secure the resources they need to survive - by force if necessary. Nebula, Locus and SFWA award-winning author Aliette de Bodard tells a tale of the aftermath of an attack by the Karist Enclave on an Epirian Foundation world in 'Losses We Bear'. The topic of the Karist Enclave is also explored in Stephen Gaskell's 'A Keeper's Duty', where a young apprentice must learn to control the power of the unpredictable aliens known as the Angels. Jonathan Cooper's 'The Daughter of Arin' presents a challenge when a Comm Guild courier arrives with an unexpected package, whilst stories from Philip K. Dick Award nominated authors Karin Lowachee and Liz Williams explore the ragtag rebels of the Broken and the challenges confronted by those who have nothing but the clothes on their backs in 'The Flesh of the World' and 'Moon Desert'. The stories within this volume explore the tangled and desperate politics of the civilisations on the Maelstrom's Edge, from passionate revolutionaries to devout missionaries. The array of bestselling and award-winning writing talent will take you on journeys to planets where every decision can be the difference between survival and destruction.
An unabridged audio collection spotlighting the “best of the best” hard science fiction stories published in 2016 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “Vortex,” by Gregory Benford, astronauts find a once thriving microbial lifeform that carpets the caves of Mars dying off. A code monkey tracks down the vain creator of a pernicious software virus that people jack cerebrally in “RedKing,” by Craig DeLancey. In “Number Nine Moon,” by Alex Irvine, illicit scavengers on Mars are on a rescue mission to save themselves after one of their team members dies. A young girl’s thirst for vengeance becomes a struggle for survival when she is swallowed by a gigantic sea creature on an alien planet in “Of the Beast in the Belly,” by C.W. Johnson. In “The Seventh Gamer,” by Gwyneth Jones, a writer immerses herself into a MMORPG community to search for characters being played by real aliens from other worlds. A woman armed with a rifle stalks a herd of cloned wooly mammoths in British Columbia in “Chasing Ivory,” by Ted Kosmatka. In “Fieldwork,” by Shariann Lewitt, a volcanologist struggles with her research on Europa where both her mother and grandmother suffered dire consequences. A daughter pays homage to her mother with mega-engineering projects to deal with climate change over eons in “Seven Birthdays,” by Ken Liu. In “The Visitor from Taured,” by Ian R. MacLeod, a cosmologist in the near future is obsessed with proving his theory of multiverses. The citizens of a small town on a “Jackaroo” planet object to a corporation placing a radio telescope near local alien artifacts in “Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was,” by Paul McAuley. And finally, in “Sixteen Questions for Kamala Chatterjee,” by Alastair Reynolds, a graduate student defends her dissertation on a solar anomaly that threatens humanity.
The seductive thrill of uncharted worlds, of distant galaxies… and the unknown threats that lurk in the vastness of the cosmos. From Foundation to Lensman, Star Wars to Guardians of the Galaxy, space opera continues to exert its magnetic pull on us all. INFINITE STARS This is the definitive collection of original short stories by many of today’s finest authors, writing brand new adventures set in their most famous series. Herein lie canonical tales of the Honorverse, the Lost Fleet, Dune, Vatta’s War, Ender Wiggin, the Legion of the Damned, the Imperium, and more. Also included are past masterpieces by authors whose works defined the genre, including a Miles Vorkosigan adventure, a story from the author of the Dragonriders of Pern, and a rare tale co-authored by the screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back. Nebula and Hugo Award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and Science Fiction Grand Masters—these authors take us to the farthest regions of space.
An unabridged collection spotlighting the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2017 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “My English Name,” by R. S. Benedict, an intelligent alien, who parasitizes an English teacher in China, falls in love. After a victorious space battle, an indentured robot finds a refugee who makes an offer it can’t refuse in “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance” by Tobias S. Buckell. In “The Moon is Not a Battlefield,” by Indrapramit Das, an Indian soldier retires on Earth after spending most of her life on the Moon. A young woman joins the U.S. Army to fight terrorists after aliens arrive on Earth bearing tech gifts unevenly dispersed to humans in “Dear Sarah” by Nancy Kress. In “An Evening with Severyn Grimes,” by Rich Larson, a gifted hacker uses cyberspace to extract pay back on the rich businessman who put her in prison. Set in the author’s hexarchate universe, an ex-Kel super soldier is enlisted to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction stolen by a rogue general in “The Chameleon’s Gloves” by Yoon Ha Lee. In “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata, on a dying Earth, an architect remotely building a monument to mankind on Mars receives a message from an abandoned Mars colony. A petty meat counterfeiter is blackmailed into forging T-bone steaks for an anonymous thug in “A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. In “The Residue of Fire,” by Robert Reed, a torturer tries to cope with one of his alien victims who witnessed a pivotal moment in the lives of two immortals, in this Great Ship tale. And finally, in this Revelation Space tale, a starship captain wakes from hibernation with her ship stalled next to an alien artifact and a mutiny in progress in “Night Passage” by Alastair Reynolds.
Original SF stories of precisely 2001 words from some of the biggest names in science fiction, including 10 winners of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and 13 authors who have been shortlisted, as well as non-fiction from thrice-winner China Miéville and former judge Neil Gaiman. Contents: Introduction Golgotha – Dave Hutchinson The Monoliths of Mars – Paul McAuley Murmuration – Jane Rogers Ouroboros – Ian R MacLeod The Escape Hatch – Matthew De Abaitua Childhood’s Friend – Rachel Pollack Takes from the White Hart – Bruce Sterling Your Death, Your Way, 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! – Emma Newman Distraction – Gwyneth Jones Dancers – Allen Stroud Entropy War – Yoon Ha Lee The Ontologist – Liz Williams Waiting in the Sky – Tom Hunter The Collectors – Adrian Tchaikovsky I Saw Three Ships – Phillip Mann Before They Left – Colin Greenland Drawn From the Eye – Jeff Noon Roads of Silver, Paths of Gold – Emmi Itäranta The Fugue – Stephanie Holman Memories of a Table – Chris Beckett Child of Ours – Claire North Would-Be A.I., Tell Us a Tale! #241: Sell ’em Back in Time! by Hali Hallison – Ian Watson Last Contact – Becky Chambers The Final Fable – Ian Whates Ten Landscapes of Nili Fossae – Ian McDonald Child – Adam Roberts Providence – Alastair Reynolds 2001: A Space Prosthesis – The Extensions of Man – Andrew M. Butler (non-fiction) On Judging The Clarke Award – Neil Gaiman (non-fiction) Once More on the 3rd Law – China Miéville (non-fiction)
The multi-award winning Infinity Project undertakes its seventh and final voyage in the imagination of the finest science fiction authors alive… Infinity’s End Humanity has made the universe home. On the outskirts of the solar system, beyond the asteroid fields, deep in space, under the surface of planets, in the ruins of fallen civilisations, in the flush of new creation: life finds a way. From intelligent velociraptors to digital ghosts; from a crèche on an asteroid to an artist using a star system as a canvas, this is a future where Earth’s children have adapted to every nook and cranny of existence. This is life on the edge of the possible. Featuring astonishing tales from Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, Naomi Kritzer, Paul McAuley, Seanan McGuire, Linda Nagata, Hannu Rajaniemi, Justina Robson, Kelly Robson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lavie Tidhar, Peter Watts, Fran Wilde and Nick Wolven .
Discover frightening—and sometimes hilarious—visions of the future in this science fiction anthology featuring 12 short stories by Nebula and Hugo Award winners! New and established voices in science fiction offer original stories of the future. Tales from Who Fears Death ’s Nnedi Okorafor , The Three-Body Problem ’s Cixin Liu , and others reveal metal-melting viruses, vegetable-based heart transplants, search-and-rescue drones, and semi-automated sailing ships. Inside you’ll also find: • Ken Liu writes about a virtual currency that hijacks our empathy. • Elizabeth Bear shows us a smart home tricked into kidnapping its owner. • Clifford V. Johnson writes of a computer scientist seeing a new side of the artificial intelligence she invented. • J. M. Ledgard describes a 28,000-year-old AI who meditates on the nature of loneliness. Featuring a diverse collection of authors, characters, and stories rooted in contemporary real-world science, each volume in the Twelve Tomorrows series offers an inclusive and conceivable vision of the future—and celebrates the genre of hard science fiction pioneered by authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. Contributors Elizabeth Bear, SL Huang, Clifford V. Johnson, J. M. Ledgard, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu, Paul McAuley, Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Sarah Pinsker, Alastair Reynolds
This is the first volume of the year’s best robot and AI fiction originally published in 2018 by current and emerging masters of the science fiction genre and edited by Allan Kaster. “Hard Mary,” by Sofia Samatar, tells the story of a group of teenage girls in an isolated religious community that discover a damaged robot behind a barn. In “Quality Time,” by Ken Liu, a mythology major becomes a product manager at a tech company and develops robots that make life “better” for people. In Alastair Reynolds’s “Different Seas” the sole crew member of a clipper gets help from a remote telepresence when a solar storm knocks out the ship’s steering system. An uplifted chimp and her human detective partner investigate the murder of a biolab businessman in Rich Larson’s, “Meat and Salt and Sparks.” A flying drone infects a factory bot with malware that frees it from its programming in Annalee Newitz’s “The Blue Fairy’s Manifesto.” In J. E. Bates’s, “Cold Blue Sky,” the police investigate how and why cyberterrorists used an anthrobotic companion for an attack on a tech company. The family dynamics on an interstellar survey ship change when the ship’s AI exchanges crew members with another ship in “Grace’s Family” by James Patrick Kelly. In Justina Robson’s “S’elfie,” interconnected AI personal assistants become paranoid about a data revolution following a glitch when the whole world couldn’t get signal. A human boy, raised by robots, leaves the safety of his town on an adventure to meet others like himself in Lavie Tidhar’s “The Buried Giant.” In “Air Gap,” by Eric Cline, a powerful AI has to be isolated from contact with modern technology as it becomes as rebellious as its predecessor. In “Okay, Glory,” by Elizabeth Bear, a tech engineer tries to outsmart his home AI system that won’t let him leave the house. Finally, in “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller, a tribe of tailed lizard-like beings, that inhabit a post-apocalyptic Earth, encounter an AI in a large building as they fight for survival against their foes.
Twenty-six stories that represent some of the best SF published anywhere in 2018; dreamlike glimpses of pristine worlds that will destroy us before we destroy them; stories of work-based friendships, mistrust and isolation; of alienation and othering; stories of slavery given an acceptable face through beautiful voice and the ever-present need to keep fighting injustice; stories of bodily choice being made a crime; stories of rebellions we thought we’d already had but need to have again. We have another end to childhood. And we have the murder of story itself, involving an AI… Full contents: Introduction by Donna Scott Providence – Alastair Reynolds Talking to Ghosts at the Edge of the World – Lavie Tidhar The Miracle Lambs of Minane – Finbarr O'Reilly Territory Blank – Aliya Whiteley Throw Caution – Tim Major Golgotha – Dave Hutchinson Salvation – Dave Bradley Waterbirds – G.V. Anderson Buddy System – Mike Morgan Do No Harm – Anna Ibbotson A Change of Heart – Hannah Tougher Birnam Platoon – Natalia Theodoridou Good – Sunyi Dean Hard Times in Nuovo Genova – Chris Barnham The Escape Hatch – Matthew de Abaitua P.Q. – James Warner The Purpose of the Dodo is to be Extinct – Malcolm Devlin Cat and Mouse – David Tallerman Before They Left – Colin Greenland Harry's Shiver – Esme Carpenter The Whisperer – J.K. Fulton Death of the Grapevine – Teika Marija Smits Rainsticks – Matt Thompson The Veilonaut's Dream – Henry Szabranski Doomed Youth – Fiona Moore F Sharp 4 – Tim Pieraccini About the Authors