Best of
Speculative-Fiction

1983

The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World


A.K. Dewdney - 1983
    Now brought back into print in this revised and updated edition, the book is written within the great tradition of Abbott's Flatland, and Hinton's famous Sphereland. Accessible, imaginative, and clever, it will appeal to a wide array of readers, from serious mathematicians and computer scientists, to science fiction fans.

Unicorn Variations


Roger Zelazny - 1983
    The title story, "Unicorn Variation", was written as a result of Zelazny having been asked to contribute to two different upcoming anthologies — one collecting stories set in bars, and one collecting stories about unicorns. When Zelazny mentioned these requests to his close friend George R. R. Martin, the other told Zelazny of a third upcoming anthology — one which would collect stories about chess — and jokingly suggested that Zelazny write a story about playing chess against a unicorn in a bar, so that he could sell the story three times. Zelazny did just that and then went on to win a Hugo Award for the story.Contents:Introduction (Unicorn Variations) [essay] (1983)Unicorn Variation (1981)The Last of the Wild Ones [Sam Murdock] (1981)Recital (1981)The Naked Matador (1981)The Parts That Are Only Glimpsed: Three Reflexes [essay] (1978)Dismal Light [Francis Sandow] (1968)Go Starless in the Night (1979)But Not the Herald (1965)A Hand Across the Galaxy (1967)The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current (1976)Home is the Hangman [Nemo] (1975)Fire and/or Ice, Exeunt Omnes, A Very Good Year ... [essay] (1983)Fire and/or Ice (1980)Exeunt Omnes (1980)A Very Good Year ... (1979)My Lady of the Diodes (1970)And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee (1981)The Horses of Lir (1981)The Night Has 999 Eyes (1964)Angel, Dark Angel (1967)Walpurgisnacht (1981)The George Business (1980)Some Science Fiction Parameters: A Biased View [essay] (1975)

The World of Tiers


Philip José Farmer - 1983
    five short novels in The World of Tiers series: 1-The Maker of the Universe; 2-the Gates of Creation; 3-A Private Cosmos; 4-Behind the Walls of Terra; 5-The Lavalite World.

King's Blood Four


Sheri S. Tepper - 1983
    Prince or Sorcerer, Armiger or Tragamor, Demon or Doyen... Which will it be?

The Sentinel


Arthur C. Clarke - 1983
    Clarke. It is the startling realism of his vision that has made classics of his novels, such as CHILDHOOD'S END and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. It has also made Clarke himself one of the genre's most successful writers. The trade paperback was published to commemorate the arrival of the year 2001, one of the most notable dates in science fiction history. THE SENTINEL is a brilliant collection of Clarke's highest calibre short fiction.

Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was


Angélica Gorodischer - 1983
    In eleven chapters, "Kalpa Imperial"'s multiple storytellers relate the story of a fabled nameless empire which has risen and fallen innumerable times. Fairy tales, oral histories and political commentaries are all woven tapestry-style into Kalpa Imperial: beggars become emperors, democracies become dictatorships, and history becomes legends and stories. But this is much more than a simple political allegory or fable. It is also a celebration of the power of storytelling. Gorodischer and translator Ursula K. Le Guin are a well-matched, sly and delightful team of magician-storytellers. Rarely have author and translator been such an effortless pairing. "Kalpa Imperial" is a powerful introduction to the writing of Angelica Gorodischer, a novel which will enthrall readers already familiar with the worlds of Le Guin.Selected for the "New York Times" Summer Reading list.* "The dreamy, ancient voice is not unlike Le Guin's, and this collection should appeal to her fans as well as to those of literary fantasy and Latin American fiction."--"Library Journal" (Starred Review)"There's a very modern undercurrent to the Kalpa empire, with tales focusing on power (in a political sense) rather than generic moral lessons. Her mythology is consistent--wide in scope, yet not overwhelming. The myriad names of places and people can be confusing, almost Tolkeinesque in their linguistic originality. But the stories constantly move and keep the book from becoming overwhelming. Gorodischer has a sizeable body of work to be discovered, with eighteen books yet to reach English readers, and this is an impressive introduction."--"Review of Contemporary Fiction""Borges and Cortazar are alive and well."--"Bridge Magazine""Those looking for offbeat literary fantasy will welcome "Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, " by Argentinean writer Angelica Gorodischer. Translated from the Spanish by Ursula Le Guin, this is the first appearance in English of this prize-winning South American fantasist."--"Publishers Weekly""It's always difficult to wrap up a rave review without babbling redundant praises. This time I'll simply say "Buy this Book!""--"Locus""The elaborate history of an imaginary country...is Nabokovian in its accretion of strange and rich detail, making the story seem at once scientific and dreamlike."--"Time Out New York""Kalpa Imperial" has been awarded the Prize "Mas Alla" (1984), the Prize "Sigfrido Radaelli" (1985) and also the Prize Poblet (1986). It has had four editions in Spanish: Minotauro (Buenos Aires), Alcor (Barcelona), Gigamesh (Barcelona), and Planeta Emece Editions (Buenos Aires).Praise for the Spanish-language editions of "Kalpa Imperial" "Angelica Gorodischer, both from without and within the novel, accomplishes the indispensable function Salman Rushdie says the storyteller must have: not to let the old tales die out; to constantly renew them. And she well knows, as does that one who met the Great Empress, that storytellers are nothing more and nothing less than free men and women. And even though their freedom might be dangerous, they have to get the total attention of their listeners and, therefore, put the proper value on the art of storytelling, an art that usually gets in the way of those who foster a forceful oblivion and prevent the winds of change."--Carmen Perilli, "La Gaceta," Tucuman"At a time when books are conceived and published to be read quickly, with divided attention in the din of the subway or the car, this novel is to be tasted with relish, in peace, in moderation, chewing slowly each and every one of the stories that make it up, and digesting it equally slowly so as to properly assimilate it all."--Rodolfo Martinez"A vast, cyclical filigree . . . Gorodischer reaches much farther than the common run of stories about huge empires, maybe because she wasn't interested in them to begin with, and enters the realm of fable, legend, and allegory."--Luis G. Prado, "Gigamesh," Barcelona

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, December 1983 (Asimov's Science Fiction, #72)


Shawna McCarthyCynthia Morgan - 1983
    GentlePoetry"Convert" by Bernard Blicksilver"Sara Newcombe-Arbor" by Roger L. DutcherDepartments"Editorial: Autographs" by Isaac Asimov"Mooney's Module" by Gerry Mooney"Letters""IAsfm Puzzle #16: The 28-23-31-65-8-10-36-55-17-5-53-13-71-44-54-20-42-62-43-2-30" by Merl H. Reagle"Gaming" by Dana Lombardy"Viewpoint: In Defense of Fantasy" by Piers Anthony"On Books" by Baird Searles"SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. StraussIsaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, December 1983, Vol. 7, No. 12 (Whole No. 72)Shawna McCarthy, editorCover art by XX

Lammas Night


Katherine Kurtz - 1983
    Hitler's Germany is about to employ the secret arts of evil witchcraft to destroy England. What can stop them?Ancient WeaponIt is the mission of John Graham, colonel in British Intelligence, to stop the onslaught of evil with an extraordinary strategy that defies all the rules of twentieth-century warfare: Unite the different witches' covens throughout England, drawing upon powers that reach back through dark centuries, in a ritual of awesome sacrifice on the first night of August, the magicalLammas Night

Futuretrack 5


Robert Westall - 1983
    Whether crazed proles in the Unnem zones, smug pampered bourgeois Ests or arrogant Techs, all are ultimately pawns of the computer that governs it all. One boy penetrates the conspiracy by which the nation is governed and has the knowhow to strike at the heart of evil.

Gertie's Green Thumb


Catherine Dexter - 1983
    Eleven-year-old Gertie, lover of plants and animals, finds a working wishbone in the park and turns her family's home into a magical House of Nature.

The Magic Labyrinth of Philip José Farmer


Edgar L. Chapman - 1983
    Chapman provides the first comprehensive examination of Farmer's major themes and fiction, from his earliest writings to his bestseller, The Gods of Riverworld.

The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film


Christopher Finch - 1983
    

Souls/Houston, Houston, Do You Read? (Tor Double 11)


Joanna Russ - 1983
    (1976)(92 pages)Houston, HoustonThe astronauts had the "right Stuff" to deal with . . . almost anything...Houston isn't there any moreLorimer comes through to the command module in time to hear a girl's voice over the speaker, "--Dinko trip. What did Lorna say? Gloria over!"He starts up the Lurp and begins scanning. No results this time. "They're either in line behind us or on the sunward quadrant," he tells Dave and Bud. "I can't isolate their position."Presently the speaker holds another thin thread of sound. A hard soprano says suddenly, "--should be outside your orbit. Try around Beta Aries."The first girl's voice comes back. "We see them, Margo! But they're so small, how can they live in there. Maybe they're tiny aliens. Over."Bud chuckles. "Dave, this is screwy, it's all in English. It has to be some UN thingie."Dave massages his elbows, flexes his fists; thinking. The three astronauts wait. In thirteen minutes the voice from Earth says, "Judy, call the others, will you? We're going to play you the conversation, we think you should all hear. Oh, while you're waiting, Zebra wants to tell Connie the baby is fine. And we have a new cow.""Code," says Dave.SoulsThe Vikings thought the pickings would be easy--but the Abbess was more than she seemed.The woman who had been Radegunde did not change; it was still Radegunde's gray hairs and wrinkled face and old body in the peasant woman's brown dress, and yet at the same time it was a stranger who stepped out of the Abbess Radegunde as out of a gown dropped to the floor. This stranger was without feeling, though Radegunde's tears still stood on her cheeks, and there was no kidness or joy in her. She said in a voice I had never heard before, one with no feeling in it, as if I did not concer her or Thorvald Einarsson either, as if neither of us were worth a second glance:"Thorvald, turn around.:Far up the hall something stirred."Now come back. This way."There were footsteps, coming closwer. Then the big Norseman walked clumsily into the room--jerk! jerk! jerk! at ever step as if he were being pulled by a rope. Sweat beaded his face. He said, "You--how?""By my nature," she said.(From the blurb in each novella)

The Worlds of H. Beam Piper


H. Beam Piper - 1983
    Beam Piper) • (1983) • essay by John F. Carr9 • Time and Time Again • (1947) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper29 • The Mercenaries • (1950) • novelette by H. Beam Piper57 • Dearest • (1951) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper77 • Hunter Patrol • (1959) • novelette by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire111 • Flight from Tomorrow • (1950) • novelette by H. Beam Piper135 • Operation R.S.V.P. • (1951) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper147 • Genesis • [Paratime Police] • (1951) • novelette by H. Beam Piper171 • The Answer • (1959) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper185 • Crossroads of Destiny • (1959) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper199 • Day of the Moron • (1951) • novelette by H. Beam Piper

Mama


Ruby Jean Jensen - 1983
    Her porcelain like face was so smooth, just like a baby. Her mouth even had a tiny hole so she could eat and breathe. But her one beaded glass eye gleamed with mischief and evil. She had waited a long time in the attic for someone to set her free...Once upon a time there lived a sweet little girl. The only place she was happy was in the attic with her dolly. If she could have seen her little doll's legs kick, she would have been frightened. If she could have felt her little doll's arms squeeze, she would have been shocked. But if she could have read her little doll's thoughts she would have run from the attic forever--for her sweet little dolly only had killing her on her mind...

The Ancient Track: The Complete Poetical Works


H.P. Lovecraft - 1983
    P. Lovecraft is best known for his fiction, but he spent a great portion of his creative energy on his poetry. The Ancient Track collects the complete poetry of one of the twentieth centuries most iconic writers. The great majority of these poems were written between 1914, and 1920, the period of Lovecraft's heaviest concentration on poetry.Lovecraft's poetry may be regarded as the lesser of is literary output, but it merits collection precisely because it is an important ancillary to his other more well known forms of creative endeavor. Prior to the publication of The Ancient Track, Lovecraft's poetry had been scattered across several different volumes whose textual accuracy has not always been exemplary, while several poems had been uncollected."The Ancient Track"By H. P. LovecraftThere was no hand to hold me backThat night I found the ancient trackOver the hill, and strained to seeThe fields that teased my memory.This tree, that wall-I knew them well,And all the roofs and orchards fellFamiliarly upon my mindAs from a past not far behind.I knew what shadows would be castWhen the late moon came up at lastFrom back of Zaman's Hill, and howThe vale would shine three hours from now.And when the path grew steep and high,And seemed to end against the sky,I had no fear of what might restBeyond that silhouetted crest.Straight on I walked, while all the nightGrew pale with phosphorescent light,And wall and farmhouse gable glowedUnearthly by the climbing road.There was the milestone that I knew-"Two miles to Dunwich"-now the viewOf distant spire and roofs would dawnWith ten more upward paces gone. . . .There was no hand to hold me backThat night I found the ancient track,And reached the crest to see outspreadA valley of the lost and dead:And over Zaman's Hill the hornOf a malignant moon was born,To light the weeds and vines that grewOn ruined walls I never knew.The fox-fire glowed in field and bog,And unknown waters spewed a fogWhose curling talons mocked the thoughtThat I had ever known this spot.Too well I saw from the mad sceneThat my loved past had never been-Nor was I now upon the trailDescending to that long-dead vale.Around was fog-ahead, the sprayOf star-streams in the Milky Way. . . .There was no hand to hold me backThat night I found the ancient track.Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.