Anthologies
August 1991. Cover art by Broeck Steadman, illustrating "A Flying Saucer with Minnesota Plates" by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Editor: Gardner Dozois.
Since its debut in 1996, Starlight has been recognized as the leading SF and Fantasy original anthology series in the world. Stories from Starlight have won the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, and the Tiptree Award, and have been repeatedly honored by all of the field's "best of the year" collections. In Starlight 2 , award-winning editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden offers a serving of powerful, original fiction, from SF writers such as Jonathan Lethem, Ellen Kushner, David Langford, Susanna Clarke, Esther M. Friesner, and Ted Chiang.
Stories by Suzy McKee Charnas, Ted Chiang, Avram Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler, Paul McAuley, Brian Stableford, and others. The theme of this anthology is "endangered species", loosely interpreted to include in some cases the human race. The contents are four excellent reprints and a dozen new stories, including a new novella from Ted Chiang, one of the hottest young story writers in SF. This is a distinguished original anthology fit to put on the shelf beside Starlight .
Edited by the widely acclaimed SF author Robert Silverberg, the Nebula Awards series is "the pulse of modern science fiction" (The New York Times Book Review) The Nebula Awards are the Academy Awards of science fiction, the finest works each year in the genre as voted by the members of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The Nebula Awards anthology series has now reached its thirty-fifth year. This edition contains the complete award-winning texts by Ted Chiang, Mary A. Turzillo, Leslie What, and Octavia E. Butler (an excerpt from her novel The Parable of the Talents); a report on the field ("still inarguably dynamic") by Gary K. Wolfe; runner-up stories by David Marusek and Michael Swanwick; an early story by 2000 Grand Master Brian W. Aldiss; and 2000 Author Emeritus Daniel Keyes's account of how he wrote Flowers for Algernon. In his introduction, editor Robert Silverberg looks back wryly at Damon Knight, the beginnings of SFWA, and the first Nebula banquets.
Since its debut in 1996, Starlight has been recognized as the preeminent original anthology of science fiction and fantasy. Its stories have won the Nebula Award, the Sturgeon Award, and the Tiptree Award. Starlight 1 itself won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. The series represents the best new short fiction in fantasy and SF. Now, with Starlight 3 , award-winning editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden offers a new serving of powerful, original stories. Some are playful, some rigorous, or exuberant, or melancholy; some are set in the world of today, and some amidst the farthest stars or in worlds that never were. Stephen Baxter Terry Bisson Ted Chiang Susanna Clarke Brenda W. Clough D. G. Compton Cory Doctorow Andy Duncan Colin Greenland Alex Irvine Geoffrey A. Landis Maureen F. McHugh Susan Palwick Madeleine E. Robins Greg van Eekhout Jane Yolen
Mind-expanding explorations of the future of the human form Our bodies and minds are malleable, and only the imagination is the limit to the possible improvements. From genetics to artificial enhancements, humanity will alter the course of its own evolution. Included here are more than twenty stories from the most imaginative writers in the field, including: Poul Anderson * James Blish * Eric Brown * Ted Chiang * Tony Daniel * Samuel R. Delany * Greg Egan * Joe Haldeman * Geoffrey A. Landis * Paul McAuley * Ian MacLeod * David Marusek * Tom Purdom * Robert Reed * Joanna Russ * Robert Silverberg * Brian Stableford * Bruce Sterling * Charles Stross * Michael Swanwick * Liz Williams * Gene Wolfe * Roger Zelazny
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
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.
If it is true that the test of a first-rate mind is its ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time, then we live in a century when it takes a first-rate mind just to get through the day. We have unprecedented access to information; cognitive dissonance is a banner headline in our morning papers and radiates silently from our computer screens. Slipstream, poised between literature and popular culture, embraces the dissonance. These ambitious stories of visionary strangeness defy the conventions of science fiction. Tales by Michael Chabon, Karen Joy Fowler, Jonathan Lethem, Carol Emshwiller, George Saunders, and others pull the reader into a vivid dreamspace and embrace the knowledge that life today is increasingly surreal.
In most cultures, women’s space is understood as private space, while public space is coded male. WisCon explicitly aims to create a non-separatist “women’s space” that is public. A women’s space that is also a public space is such a rare occurrence in our world that it feels science fictional. —from the Introduction The word’s been out for some time now that we’re living in “post-feminist” times. And yet the world’s largest feminist science fiction convention, held annually in Madison, Wisconsin, which many of the genre’s luminaries attend, has become so popular that the ceiling limiting attendance to 1000 participants tops out months in advance. More than half those attending are women; and since the convention is openly feminist, women’s issues dominate the programming. People attend to meet up with friends from other parts of the country (or the world) whom they’ve come to know online; they attend because the programming goes far beyond the “Feminism 101” that is the most they can hope for from most other science fiction conventions. But above all they come to experience the kind of community they can’t get elsewhere. Some participants even characterize it as “four days of feminist utopia”—a reference to the communities created in the most famous feminist novels of the 1970s. L. Timmel Duchamp has assembled a collage of diverse materials to document the thirtieth anniversary of WisCon in 2006, which was a grand reunion of most of the convention’s previous Guests of Honor. These include the transcript of Samuel R. Delany’s interview of Joanna Russ, several essays reflecting on the diverse aspects of the convention, as well as papers presented in the academic track, panel notes and transcripts, an original short story by Rosaleen Love, and Eileen Gunn’s snappy series of Q&A with numerous WisCon attendees, among them Ursula K. Le Guin, Julie Phillips, Ted Chiang, Carol Emshwiller, and Suzy McKee Charnas. Reviews “In addition to capturing the proceedings, [Duchamp] also was interested in exploring hot-button issues that emerged from the discussions. Homing in on those areas of discomfort fits with the convention’s reputation as an event that goes beyond Feminism 101.” — The Capital Times , June 21, 2007 “What I admired most about the collection was that, far from being the kind of shiny ‘aren’t we marvellous’ text that usually emerges from conventions as souvenir books, many of the pieces in the book are designed to ask the uncomfortable questions, or to point out some of the failings and inadequacies of previous panels or discussions at various WiCons. These kinds of criticisms online can turn so easily into vicious and circular flamewars in which people end up spending more time shouting in defence of friends ‘under attack’ than actually discussing the important issues raised. “…In the context of the book, however, the discussion seems far more productive and far less accusatory—indeed, the overall vibe is not ‘what we did wrong’ but ‘look what we did wrong so we can talk about how to do it better in the future’. No one feels the need to defend their perspective as perfect or all-encompassing, as often happens online. Instead, we have considered and constructive criticism of issues that still haven’t been resolved at WisCon, let alone other conventions: gender or race balance on panels, for example, and how concentrating on one inequality or minority can make others feel closed off or unheard. Another issue is that of the assumptions of panellists, sometimes having conflicting ideas about what the panels are about. Personal experiences are shared and valued without ego or public face being a priority… I came away from this first volume feeling like I had participated in something special, even from half a world and three years away.” — Tansy Rayner Roberts, AS if , Aug. 2009
In extreme fantasy anything can happen . In Mike Ashley's breathtaking new anthology the only rules are those the writer makes - these are stories to liberate both the writers' and readers' imagination. They will take you to hell and back (literally - two of the stories involve hell in ways never explored before). For too long fantasy fiction has become synonymous with vast heroic-fantasy adventures in imitation of The Lord of the Rings , but the genre has always been far greater than dwarves and elves. Today many writers are rediscovering the wider world of fantasy and creating bold new ideas or magically reworking older arts. Ashley selects 25 stories by the likes of Orson Scott Card, Paul Di Filippo, A. A. Attanasio, Michael Swanwick, Christopher Priest and Peter Crowther, arranged in ascending order of 'extremeness'. The anthology opens with a story that takes us beyond Middle Earth in 'Senator Bilbo' by Andy Duncan - showing what happens when a radical descendant of his famous namesake tries to introduce immigration control - and reaches the ultimate in 'The Dark One' by A. A. Attanasio, a rite of passage story where you, the reader, discover you are being tested to become the successor to Satan. Other stories include: A man with a terminal disease looks for a cure in a world where Edward Lear meets Lewis Carroll. A man decides to banish all language. A tour of Hell by the boatman himself. The great comic stars of Hollywood find themselves seeking their lost world. A magical experiment recreates the Crucifixion. Suddenly all colour drains out of the world. A magical recreation of Chinese fantasy cinema where a magician and his adepts fight the flying dead.
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
As in every year since 1988, the editors tirelessly scoured story collections, magazines, and anthologies worldwide to compile a delightful, diverse feast of tales and poems. On this anniversary, the editors have increased the size of the collection to 300,000 words of fiction and poetry, including works by Billy Collins, Ted Chiang, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth Hand, Glen Hirshberg, Joyce Carol Oates, and new World Fantasy Award winner M. Rickert. With impeccably researched summations of the field by the editors, Honorable Mentions, and articles by Edward Bryant, Charles de Lint and Jeff VanderMeer on media, music and graphic novels, this is a heady brew topped off by an unparalleled list of sources of fabulous works both light and dark.
“Some of the most interesting fantasist-fabulists writing today.” — Los Angeles Times “A science-fiction symphony of strangeness....The Cabinet of Curiosities will give you a good jolt of wonder.” — Gainesville Times You’ll be astonished by what you’ll find in The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities . Editors Ann and Jeff Vandermeer have gathered together a spectacular array of exhibits, oddities, images, and stories by some of the most renowned and bestselling writers and artists in speculative and graphic fiction, including Ted Chiang, Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy ), China Miéville, and Michael Moorcock. A spectacularly illustrated anthology of Victorian steampunk devices and the stories behind them, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities is a boldly original, enthrallingly imaginative, and endlessly entertaining entry into a hidden world of weird science and unnatural nature that will appeal equally to fantasy lovers and graphic novel aficionados.
Lightspeed is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF--and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales. This month, We have a pair of connected fantasy stories by husband-and-wife creative duo J.T. Petty and Sarah Langan ("Family Teeth, Part 5: American Jackal" and "Family Teeth, Part 6: St. Polycarp's Home for Happy Wanderers"), along with fantasy reprints by Brian Evenson ("An Accounting") and Kelly Link ("Catskin"). Plus, we have original science fiction by D. Thomas Minton ("Dreams in Dust") and Ken Liu ("The Perfect Match"), and SF reprints by Yoon Ha Lee ("Swanwatch") and Marta Randall ("Lazaro y Antonio"). For our ebook readers, our ebook-exclusive novella is "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, and of course we have our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, along with feature interviews with bestseller Tad Williams and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz. Plus, we have an excerpt of the new Dresden Files novel, Cold Days, by Jim Butcher.
NOVELLAS Coyote Song Pat MacEwen NOVELETS More Heat Than Light Charlotte Ashley Last Of The Sharkspeakers Brian Trent Steamboat Gothic Albert E. Cowdrey The Long Fall Up William Ledbetter The Stone War Ted Kosmatka SHORT STORIES The Nostalgia Calculator Rich Larson The Great Silence Allora & Calzadilla and Ted Chiang Caribou: Documentary Fragments Joseph Tomaras Ash Susan Palwick The Secret Mirror Of Moriyama House Yukimi Ogawa DEPARTMENTS Books To Look For Charles de Lint Books Elizabeth Hand Films: Alternating Currents David J. Skal Competition 91 Coming Attractions Curiosities Paul Di Filippo CARTOONS: Bill Long, Arthur Masear, Nick Downes. COVER by Max Bertolini For "The Stone War"
LIGHTSPEED is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF--and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales. This month, we have original science fiction by Ted Kosmatka ("The One Who Isn't") and Jilly Dreadful ("5x5"), along with SF reprints by Genevieve Valentine ("Small Medicine") and Seth Fried ("Hello Again"). Plus, we have original fantasy by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz ("Magnifica Angelica Superable") and Kenneth Schneyer ("Some Pebbles in the Palm"), and fantasy reprints by A. Merc Rustad ("Finding Home") and Spencer Ellsworth ("The Child Support of Cromdor the Condemned"). All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns, and an interview with screenwriter and film director Alex Garland. For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive reprint of Walter Jon Williams's novella "Surfacing" and a book excerpt.
In dozens of anthologies published over the last thirty years, the words “edited by” have been followed by a singularly reassuring name: Ellen Datlow. For countless readers (and writers), Datlow’s name has served as a virtual guarantee of quality. Each of her many anthologies, whatever its specific nature, reflects a high degree of taste, intelligence, and professional judgment. As Gary K. Wolfe notes in his excellent introduction, her work has received “an almost unprecedented string of honors.” Honors and awards are fine, of course, but it’s the stories that ultimately matter. And Datlow has ushered more good stories into the world than any editor in living memory. The book you are currently holding stands as a testament to that fact. Edited By is a thoroughgoing attempt to reflect both the quality and infinite variety of the fiction she has championed in the course of her career. The stories gathered here come from all over the literary map. There are SF, fantasy, and horror stories, often in unique combinations. There are household names among the contributors, such as Neil Gaiman, whose screenplay/story “Eaten (Scenes from a Moving Picture)” is a chilling account of eater and eaten, predator and prey. There are newer, lesser known figures as well, among them Nathan Ballingrud, whose “Monsters of Heaven” is an achingly beautiful story of grief, loss, and strange encounters. And there are many award-winning writers included, among them Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Lucius Shepard, Ted Chiang, and Jeffrey Ford, to name just a few. Their contributions are among the many highlights of this book. Edited By is one of those rare books that offers intense pleasure and intellectual excitement on every page. There are no bad stories here, and there is no lazy or indifferent writing. Some of the finest imaginative fiction of modern times awaits within the covers of this magisterial book. This one really does belong on the permanent shelf. Don’t let it pass you by.
Outstanding Science Fiction and Fantasy, selected by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The latest volume of the prestigious anthology series, published annually across six decades! The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published yearly since 1966, reprinting winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). This year's editor is New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente, an Andre Norton, Otherwise, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award winner. This year's Nebula Award winners include Sarah Pinsker, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and Cat Rambo, among others. Stories and Excerpts by: G. V. Anderson, Siobhan Carroll, Ted Chiang, P. Djèlí Clark, Seth Dickinson, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone, A.T. Greenblatt, Vylar Kaftan, Foz Meadows, Mimi Mondal, Karen Osborne, Sarah Pinsker, Cat Rambo, Shiv Ramdas, Nibedita Sen, Rivers Solomon, LaShawn M. Wanak, Fran Wilde, A. C. Wise, and Caroline M. Yoachim