The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015


John Joseph AdamsNathan Ballingrud - 2015
    G. Wells, and Jules Verne to Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, and William Gibson. In The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy award-winning editor John Joseph Adams delivers a diverse and vibrant collection of stories published in the previous year. Featuring writers with deep science fiction and fantasy backgrounds, along with those who are infusing traditional fiction with speculative elements, these stories uphold a longstanding tradition in both genres—looking at the world and asking, What if . . . ?  The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 includes  Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Karen Russell T. C. Boyle, Sofia Samatar, Jo Walton, Cat Rambo Daniel H. Wilson, Seanan McGuire, Jess Rowand others  JOE HILL, guest editor, is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, and NOS4A2 and the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the writer of the comic book series Locke & Key.   JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, series editor, is the best-selling editor of more than two dozen anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, and The Living Dead. He is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare and is a producer of Wired’s podcast The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Old Venus


George R.R. MartinLavie Tidhar - 2015
    Here, that steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation is explored in sixteen all-new stories collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and editor Gardner Dozois.

The Dark Tower: And Other Stories


C.S. Lewis - 1977
    S. Lewis’s adult religious books, a repackaged edition of the revered author’s definitive collection of short fiction, which explores enduring spiritual and science fiction themes such as space, time, reality, fantasy, God, and the fate of humankind.From C.S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—comes a collection of his dazzling short fiction.This collection of futuristic fiction includes a breathtaking science fiction story written early in his career in which Cambridge intellectuals witness the breach of space-time through a chronoscope—a telescope that looks not just into another world, but into another time. As powerful, inventive, and profound as his theological and philosophical works, The Dark Tower reveals another side of Lewis’s creative mind and his longtime fascination with reality and spirituality. It is ideal reading for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien, Lewis’s longtime friend and colleague.

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition


Paula GuranEllen Klages - 2013
    There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring thirty-five tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone...Instructions for Use • Paula GuranNo Ghosts in London • Helen MarshallFake Plastic Trees • Caitlín R KiernanThe Natural History of Autumn • Jeffrey FordGreat-Grandmother in the Cellar • Peter S. BeagleRenfrew’s Course • John LanganEnd of White • Ekaterina SediaWho is Arvid Pekon? • Karin TidbeckIphigenia in Aulis • Mike CareySlaughterhouse Blues • Tim LebbonEngland Under the White Witch • Theodora GossThe Sea of Trees • Rachel SwirskyThe Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury • Neil GaimanThe Education of a Witch • Ellen KlagesWelcome to the Reptile House • Stephen Graham JonesGlamour of Madness • Peter BellBigfoot on Campus • Jim ButcherEverything Must Go • Brooke WondersNightside Eye • Terry DowlingEscena de un Asesinato • Robert HoodGood Hunting • Ken LiuGo Home Again • Simon StrantzasThe Bird Country • K. M. FerebeeSinking Among Lilies • Cory SkerryDown in the Valley • Joseph BruchacArmless Maidens of the American West • Genevieve ValentineBlue Lace Agate • Sarah MonetteThe Eyes of Water • Alison LittlewoodThe Tall Grass • Joe R. LansdaleGame • Maria Dahvana HeadleyPearls • Priya SharmaForget You • Marc LaidlawWhen Death Wakes Me to Myself • John ShirleyDahlias • Melanie TemBedtime Stories for Yasmin • Robert ShearmanHand of Glory • Laird Barron

The Apex Book of World SF 2 (Apex Book of World SF #2)


Lavie TidharHannu Rajaniemi - 2012
    In The Apex Book of World SF 2, World Fantasy Award nominated editor Lavie Tidhar brings together a unique collection of stories from around the world. Quiet horror from Cuba and Australia; surrealist fantasy from Russia and epic fantasy from Poland; near-future tales from Mexico and Finland, as well as cyberpunk from South Africa. In this anthology one gets a glimpse of the complex and fascinating world of genre fiction – from all over our world. Pre-order edition also includes Nir Yaniv‘s never-before-published-in-English novelette “Undercity” (8800 words) as well as Charles Tan‘s essay, “World SF: Our Possible Future”!Table of Contents:“Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz“Mr Goop” by Ivor W. Hartmann“Trees of Bone” by Daliso Chaponda“The First Peruvian in Space” by Daniel Salvo (translated by Jose B. Adolph)“Eyes in the Vastness of Forever” by Gustavo Bondoni“The Tomb” by Chen Qiufan (translated by the author)“The Sound of Breaking Glass” by Joyce Chng“A Single Year” by Csilla Kleinheincz (translated by the author)“The Secret Origin of Spin-Man” by Andrew Drilon“Borrowed Time” by Anabel Enríquez Piñeiro (translated by Daniel W. Koon)“Branded” by Lauren Beukes“December 8th” by Raúl Flores (translated by Daniel W. Koon)“Hungry Man” by Will Elliott“Nira and I” by Shweta Narayan“Nothing Happened in 1999” by Fábio Fernandes“Shadow” by Tade Thompson“Shibuya no Love” by Hannu Rajaniemi“Maquech” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia“The Glory of the World” by Sergey Gerasimov“The New Neighbours” by Tim Jones“From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7” by Nnedi Okorafor"The Slows” by Gail Hareven (translated by Yaacov Jeffrey Green)“Zombie Lenin” by Ekaterina Sedia“Electric Sonalika” by Samit Basu“The Malady” by Andrzej Sapkowski (translated by Wiesiek Powaga)“A Life Made Possible Behind The Barricades” by Jacques Barcia“Undercity” by Nir Yaniv“World SF: Our Possible Future” by Charles Tan

Word Puppets


Mary Robinette Kowal - 2015
    12"* "For Want of a Nail"* "The Shocking Affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland"* "Salt of the Earth"* "American Changeling"* "The White Phoenix Feather"* "We Interrupt This Broadcast"* "Rockets Red" (A brand new story in the Lady Astronaut universe)* "The Lady Astronaut of Mars"

Otherness


David Brin - 1994
    Pak's Preschool" a woman discovers that her baby has been called upon to work while still in the womb.  In "NatuLife" a married couple finds their relationship threatened by the wonders of sex by simulation.  In "Sshhh . . . " the arrival of benevolent aliens on Earth leads to frenzy, madness . . . and unimaginable joy.  In "Bubbles" a sentient starcraft reaches the limits of the universe--and dares to go beyond.  These are but a few of the challenging speculations in Otherness, from the pen of an author whose urgent and compelling imaginative fiction challenges us to wonder at the shape and the nature of the universe--as well as at its future.• The Giving Plague • (1988)• Myth Number 21 • (1990)• Story Notes (Transitions) • (1994)• Dr. Pak's Preschool • (1989)• Detritus Affected • (1993)• The Dogma of Otherness • [Editorial (Analog)] • (1986)• Sshhh ... • (1988)• Story Notes (Contact) • (1994)• Those Eyes • (1994)• What to Say to a UFO • (1994)• Bonding to Genji • (1992)• The Warm Space • (1985)• Whose Millennium? • (1994)• NatuLife ® • (1994)• Piecework • (1990)• Science versus Magic • (1990)• Bubbles • (1987)• Story Notes (Cosmos) • (1994)• Ambiguity • (1989)• What Continues ... And What Fails ... • (1991)• The Commonwealth of Wonder • (1990)

Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond


John Joseph AdamsKat Howard - 2013
    Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, bestselling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together leading fantasy writers such as Orson Scott Card and Seanan McGuire to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fans—and, really, any reader with an appetite for richly imagined worlds. Stories include: Seanan McGuire’s “Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust” finds Dorothy grown up, bitter, and still living in Oz. And she has a murder to solve—assuming Ozma will stop interfering with her life long enough to let her do her job. In “Blown Away,” Jane Yolen asks: What if Toto was dead and stuffed, Ozma was a circus freak, and everything you thought you knew as Oz was really right here in Kansas? “The Cobbler of Oz” by Jonathan Maberry explores a Winged Monkey with wings too small to let her fly. Her only chance to change that rests with the Silver Slippers. In Tad Williams’s futuristic “The Boy Detective of Oz,” Orlando investigates the corrupt Oz simulation of the Otherland network. Frank Baum’s son has the real experiences that his father later fictionalized in Orson Scott Card’s “Off to See the Emperor.”Some stories are dystopian... Some are dreamlike... All are undeniably Oz.***No stranger to Oz reinvention himself, Wicked author Gregory Maguire provides the foreword to these outstanding modern stories inspired by the enchanting Land of Oz.

Chicks Ahoy!


Esther M. Friesner - 1994
    Well, maybe not too seriously. After all, the popular Chicks in Chainmail series wasn't known for stark drama and solemn think-pieces. In fact, they made a lot people laugh. And now the first three books in the series are combined in one volume.Chicks in Chainmail(The look at the lighter side of amazons that started it all.)Did You Say Chicks/(Smile when you say that, you wimpy noncombatant!)Chicks 'n Chained Males(Those men just can't take care of themselves, so send in the amazons!)It's all right to have a laugh or two. These rambunctious swordswomen like a good laugh as much as the next amazon. Just don't make them think you're laughing at them, instead of with them — if you know what's good for you...Stories of fierce female fighters by Harry Turtledove, Roger Zelazny, Elizabeth Moon, Jan and S. M. Stirling, K. D. Wentworth, Barbara Hambly, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and more — including Esther Friesner herself.

WebMage


Kelly McCullough - 2006
    A child of the Fates—literally—he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can zero in on the fatal flaw in any program. Now that twenty-first-century magic has gone digital that makes him a very talented sorcerer. But a world of problems is about to be downloaded on Ravirn—who’s just trying to pass his college midterms.Great Aunt Atropos, one of the three Fates, decides that humans having free will is really overrated and plans to rid herself of the annoyance—by coding a spell into the Fate Core, the server that rules destiny. As a hacker, Ravirn is a big believer in free will, and when he not only refuses to debug her spell but actively opposes her, all hell breaks loose.Even with the help of his familiar Melchior, a sexy sorceress (who’s also a mean programmer), and the webgoblin underground, it’s going to be a close call...

Harvest Moon


Mercedes Lackey - 2010
    But in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, nothing's ever simple—and the wrong blonde goddess is stolen by mistake, leaving Prince Leopold without his new bride. At least until he braves the realm of the dead to get her back….Cast in Moonlight by New York Times bestselling author Michelle SagaraBarely a teenager, Kaylin Neya is a thief, a fugitive and an attempted assassin. She also has a smart mouth, sharp wits and mysterious markings on her skin. All of which make her perfect bait for a child prostitution sting in the city of Elantra—if she survives her first meeting with the Hawks!Retribution by Cameron HaleyIn the underworld, there are tricks to killing. Like executing rivals at crossroads so ghosts won't follow you home. But sometimes retribution is hard to avoid—and now a supernatural hit man has a contract on Domino Riley's life. Luckily she knows a thing or two about death….

Black Heart, Ivory Bones


Ellen DatlowJoyce Carol Oates - 2000
     As in their previous critically acclaimed volumes of reconsidered fairy tales, award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together remarkable stories that illuminate the more sinister, sensual, and sophisticated aspects of the tales we cherished in childhood; the fables of witches and princes and lost children that we once imagined we knew. "Black Heart, Ivory Bones" showcases twenty beguiling tales for the child-that-was and the adult-that-is, penned by twenty of the most creative artists in contemporary American literature. Here dissected are the darker anatomies of the timeless, seemingly simple stories we have long loved. Here wonder and truth have serious bite. A lovelorn prince seeking his father's blessing concocts a fantastic tale of a witch, a tower, and lustrous long hair... A pair of accursed red boots punishes a beautiful dancer for her pride... A troll-killing, princess-rescuing warrior is compelled to consider events from his adversaries' point of view...In a blistering tell-all memoir, Goldilocks reveals the sordid truth about her brutal foster parent, Papa Bear... Rich, surprising, funny, erotic, and unsettling, these twenty new yarns and poems offer exceptional anew treasures--as they brilliantly reveal lusts and jealousies, foibles, hatreds and dangerous obsessions, the things that slyly lurk in the midnight interior of oft-told tales. The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

Stories of the Raksura, Volume 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud


Martha Wells - 2014
    When she fails to return, her consort Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult.The Tale of Indigo and Cloud explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon came to Court. In the distant past, Indigo stole Cloud from Emerald Twilight. But in doing so, the reigning Queen Cerise and Indigo are now poised for a conflict that could ruin everything.Stories of Moon and the shape changers of Raksura have delighted readers for years. This world is a dangerous place full of strange mysteries, where the future can never be taken for granted, and must always be fought for with wits and ingenuity, and often tooth and claw. With two brand-new novellas, Martha Wells shows that the world of Raksura has many more stories to tell...Contains: The Falling World #3.6The Tale of Indigo and Cloud #0.1The Forest Boy #0.2Adaptation #0.4Appendices

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories


Maggie Stiefvater - 2012
    These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author's comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.So, are you curious now?

Rage Against the Night


Shane Jiraiya CummingsStephen King - 2011
    These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil. Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror—including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson, Nancy Holder, Sarah Langan, and many, many more.