Anthologies
Long before our robots got there, writers were dreaming about going to Mars. From Edgar Rice Burroughs to Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction authors have been speculating about Mars for decades. Fourth Planet from the Sun is a collection of twelve of the very best stories about the Red Planet featuring classics from some of the masters of the genre—including Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, John Varley, and Theodore Sturgeon. There's Ray Bradbury's 1952 story, "The Wilderness," a mood-piece tracing the last day on Earth of two women who are about to follow their men to the Martian frontier. In "Mars Is Ours" by Alfred Coppel, a war on the cold and lonely Martian sands exacts a terrible price from the people who fight it. Arthur C. Clarke imagines "Crime on Mars," in an irony-laden mystery that reviews crime and punishment Martian-style. Leigh Brackett takes us to Mars where an unwilling visitor is forced to witness the secret rites of the "Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon." Jerry Oltion's "The Great Martian Pyramid Hoax" looks at the Face on Mars with tongue firmly placed in cheek. Moving into the twenty-first century, there is Alex Irvine's "Pictures from an Expedition," which shows the corrosive effects of fame and celebrity on the scientists who need public support for their scientific exploration. As Mars continually cycles into the news bringing us new scientific understanding of our neighboring planet—just in the last ten years, we've seen breathtaking images from the 2004 Rover expeditions and new data is returning from Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory that landed in August of 2012—it is fascinating to read how authors' conceptions of Mars have also changed so dramatically over time.
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
“Delightful . . . A treat for dictionary hounds and vocabulary-challenged word lovers everywhere.”— Booklist For most of us, these prizewinning spelling bee words would be difficult to pronounce, let alone spell. We asked twenty-one of today’s most talented and inventive writers to go even further and pen an original tale inspired by one of dozens of obscure and fascinating championship words. The result is Logorrhea —a veritable dictionary of the weird, the fantastic, the haunting, and the indefinable that will have you spellbound from the very first page. Including twenty-one stories and the inscrutable words that inspired them: Chiaroscuro: “The Chiaroscurist” by Hal Duncan Lyceum: “Lyceum” by Liz Williams Vivisepulture: “Vivisepulture” by David Prill Eczema: “Eczema” by Clare Dudman Sacrilege, Semaphore: “Semaphore” by Alex Irvine Smaragdine: “The Smaragdine Knot” by Marly Youmans Insouciant: “A Portrait in Ivory” by Michael Moorcock Cambist: “The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics” by Daniel Abraham Logorrhea: “Logorrhea” by Michelle Richmond Pococurante: “Pococurante” by Anna Tambour Autochthonous: “From Around Here” by Tim Pratt Vignette: “Vignette” by Elizabeth Hand Sycophant: “Plight of the Sycophant” by Alan DeNiro Elegiacal: “The Last Elegy” by Matthew Cheney Eudaemonic: “Eudaemonic” by Jay Caselberg Macerate: “Softer” by Paolo Bacigalupi Transept: “Crossing the Seven” by Jay Lake Psoriasis: “Tsuris” by Leslie What Euonym: “The Euonymist” by Neil Williamson Dulcimer: “Singing of Mount Abora” by Theodora Goss Appoggiatura: “Appoggiatura” by Jeff VanderMeer “This book is a logophile’s dream—a left-field collection of stories inspired by winning words from the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Anyone who has ever spent an hour or two happily browsing the pages of a dictionary will find something to love here.”—Kevin Brockmeier, author of A Brief History of the Dead
The thirty-two 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: John Barnes, Elizabeth Bear, Damien Broderick, Karl Bunker, Paul Cornell, Albert E. Cowdrey, Ian Creasey, Steven Gould, Dominic Green, Nicola Griffith, Alexander Irvine, John Kessel, Ted Kosmatka, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Rand B. Lee, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, Maureen F. McHugh, Sarah Monette, Michael Poore, Robert Reed, Adam Roberts, Chris Roberson, Mary Rosenblum, Geoff Ryman, Vandana Singh, Bruce Sterling, Lavie Tidhar, James Van Pelt, Jo Walton, Peter Watts, Robert Charles Wilson, and John C. Wright. 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.
NOVELETS Why That Crazy Old Lady Goes up the Mountain – Michael Libling Thief of Shadows – Fred Chappell Dr. Death vs. The Vampire – Aaron Schutz The Crocodiles – Steven Popkes SHORT STORIES A History of Cadmium – Elizabeth Bourne The Real Martian Chronicles – John Sladek Remotest Mansions of the Blood – Alex Irvine Seven Sins for Seven Dwarves – Hilary Goldstein Silence – Dale Bailey Forever – Rachel Pollack The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe – Robert Onopa The Gypsy's Boy – Lokiko Hall DEPARTMENTS Books to Look For – Charles de Lint Books – Michelle West Coming Attractions – Film: Blockbuster as Religious Experience – Kathi Maio Competition #79 – Curiosities – Bud Webster CARTOONS Arthur Masear COVER Kent Bash for "Why That Crazy Old Lady Goes Up The Mountain."
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.