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

    A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.These four stories, along with 14 other pieces, have one thing in common: They're short, sharp, and to the point - science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best and features four never-before-published stories exclusive to this collection: "Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth", "Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back", "Important Holidays on Gronghu", and "The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest".John Scalzi is the New York Times best-selling author of Old Man's War, Lock In, and Redshirts, among others. His work has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell Awards. He lives in Ohio and online. He enjoys pie.Full cast of narrators includes Oliver Wyman, Dina Pearlman, and Allyson Johnson.

    More than just two books for the price of one, this book brings together over 200,000 words of the best genre fiction anywhere. Strahan's critical eye and keen editorial instincts have served him well for earlier best of the year round-ups in the Best Short Novels, Science Fiction: Best of and Fantasy: Best of series, and this is his most impressive effort yet.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.

    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.

    These stories feature cats, bees, wolves, dogs, and even that most capricious of animals, humans, and have been reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, and The Secret History of Fantasy. Kij Johnson's stories have won the Sturgeon and World Fantasy awards. She has taught writing; worked at Tor, Dark Horse, and Microsoft; worked as a radio announcer; run bookstores; and waitressed in a strip bar.Contents:The Man Who Bridged the Mist (2011)Wolf Trapping (1989)The Empress Jingu Fishes (2004)The Bitey Cat (2012)Chenting, in the Land of the Dead (1999)My Wife Reincarnated as a Solitaire—Exposition on the Flaws in my Spouse's Character—The Nature of the Bird—The Possible Causes—Her Final Disposition (2007)Schrödinger's Cathouse (1993)Names for Water (2010)Fox Magic (1993)Spar (2009)The Horse Raiders (2000)26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss (2008)At the Mouth of the River of Bees (2003)The Evolution of Trickster Stories among the Dogs of North Park after the Change (2007)The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles (2009)Ponies (2010)

    This artfully assembled anthology of original fiction, nonfiction, and art can serve as an introduction to the Steampunk culture or provide dedicated fans with more fuel. Stories of outlandishly imaginative technologies, clockwork contraptions, eccentric heroines, and mad scientists are complemented by canon-defining nonfiction and an array of original illustrations. This collection showcases the most sensational Steampunk talents of the last decade, including Daniel Abraham, John Coulthart, William Gibson, and Margo Lanagan, and demonstrates exactly why the future of the past is so excitingly new.ContentsIntroduction: “What Is Steampunk?” by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer“The Cast Iron Kid” by Andrew Knighton“The Steam Dancer (1896)” by Caitlín R. Kiernan“The Anachronist’s Cookbook” by Catherynne M. Valente“Tanglefoot” by Cherie Priest“O One” by Chris Roberson“Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance” by Daniel Abraham“The Bold Explorer in the Place Beyond” by David Erik Nelson“The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday” by Geoffery D. Falksen“At the Intersection of Technology and Romance” by Jake von Slatt“The Future of Steampunk: A Roundtable Interview” by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer“Dr. Lash Remembers” by Jeffrey Ford“Lost Pages From The Encyclopdia of Victoriana” by Jess Nevins“As Recorded on Brass Cylinders: Adagio for Two Dancers” by Lisa Mantchev“A Serpent in the Gears” by Margaret Ronald“Machine Maid” by Margo Lanagan“Which Is Mightier, the Pen or the Parasol?” by Gail Carriger“The Unbecoming of Virgil Smythe” by Ramsey Shehadeh“Wild Copper” by Samantha Henderson“The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar” by Shweta Narayan“The Unblinking Eye” by Stephen Baxter“Lovelace & Babbage” by Sydney Padua“The Persecution Machine” by Tanith Lee“Flying Fish (Prometheus)” by Vilhelm Bergsøe“The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson

    . . A fighter leads his band of virtual warriors, thieves, and wizards across a deadly computer-generated landscape . . . A company outsources grief for profit, their tagline: "Don't feel like having a bad day? Let someone else have it for you."

    There is no better anthology that captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country. This volume contains novellas by: Ray Bradbury, James Blish, Algis Budrys, Theodore Cogswell, E. M. Forster, Frederik Pohl, James H. Schmitz, T. L. Sherred, Wilmar H. Shiras, Clifford D. Simak, and Jack Vance.Contents: Introduction · Ben Bova · in · Call Me Joe · Poul Anderson · nv Astounding Apr ’57 · Who Goes There? [as by Don A. Stuart] · John W. Campbell, Jr. · na Astounding Aug ’38 · Nerves · Lester del Rey · na Astounding Sep ’42 · Universe [Hugh Hoyland] · Robert A. Heinlein · na Astounding May ’41 · The Marching Morons · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Galaxy Apr ’51 · Vintage Season [as by Lawrence O’Donnell] · Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore · na Astounding Sep ’46 · ...And Then There Were None · Eric Frank Russell · na Astounding Jun ’51 · The Ballad of Lost C’Mell · Cordwainer Smith · nv Galaxy Oct ’62 · Baby Is Three · Theodore Sturgeon · na Galaxy Oct ’52 · The Time Machine [Time Machine] · H. G. Wells · na The New Review Jan, 1895 (+4) · With Folded Hands... [Humanoids] · Jack Williamson · nv Astounding Jul ’47

    In Lammas Night a young weaver is persuaded to bide a while in a small village, to make their village spells and keep the Dark at bay. The villagers give her the house of her predecessor. Now a half-seen phantom courts her. He is either her lover for all time--or a wicked spirit's seeming, the aim of which is to entrap her in an unspeakable fate.Contents:Lammas Night by Mercedes LackeyHallowmas Night by Mercedes LackeyHarvest of Souls by Doranna DurginThe Heart of the Grove by Ardath MayharMiranda by Ru EmersonDemonheart by Mark ShepherdSunflower by Jody Lynn NyeSummer Storms by Christie GoldenA Choice of Many by Mark GarlandThe Captive Song by Josepha ShermanMidsummer Folly by Elizabeth WatersThe Mage, The Maiden and The Hag by S.M. Stirling and Jan StirlingThe Road Taken by Laura Anne GilmanA Wanderer of Wizard-kind by Nina Kiriki HoffmanCircle of Ashes by Stephanie D ShaverA Choice of Dawns by Susan SchwartzMiranda's Tale by Jason HendersonLady of the Rock by Diana L PaxsonBefore by Gael Baudino

    Authors include Elizabeth Moon, Jody Lynne Nye, Harry Turtledove and Margaret Ball.

    The first volume of this extraordinary new annual anthology series of fantastic literature explodes on the scene with works that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the manner in which they cross genre boundaries, that aren't afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques, and yet seamlessly blend form with meaningful function. The delectable offerings found within these pages come from some of today's most distinguished contemporary fantasists and brilliant rising newcomers.Whether it's a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant style, or mind-blowing philosophical speculation and insight, the reader will be led into unfamiliar territory, there to find shock and delight.Introducing CLOCKWORK PHOENIX.

    Here you’ll discover the dangers of walking the boulevards dreamed up by Harlan Ellison … the dark side of wishes granted by Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Djinn Number Seven … the wry twists of Rick Norwood’s wordplay … the sinister shadows lurking behind H. P. Lovecraft’s wonders … and the blood-curdling terror of feeding time at James Gunn’s zoo.This superb collection of the best short short works by outstanding contemporary writers packs an infinite amount of entertainment into these 100 small masterpieces of fantasy fiction… and takes you beyond the limits of time and space to savor the suspense, the shivers, the supernatural fun of every eerie, unforgettable one.Contents: Introduction: The widest field / Isaac Asimov — The Abraham Lincoln murder case / Rick Norwood — A dozen of everything / Marion Zimmer Bradley — The anatomy lesson / Scott Sanders — And I alone am escaped to tell thee / Roger Zelazny — Angelica / Jane Yolen — Apocryphal fragment / Edward Wellen — A prophecy of monsters / Clark Ashton Smith — At the bureau / Steve Rasnic Tem — Aunt Agatha / Doris Pitkin Buck — The Boulevard of Broken Dreams / Harlan Ellison — But not the herald / Roger Zelazny — Chained / Barry N. Malzberg — Chalk talk / Edward Wellen — Climacteric / Avram Davidson — The contest / Robert J. Sawyer — Controlled experiment / Rick Conley — The curse of Hooligan’s Bar / Charles E. Fritch — The Dark Ones / Richard Christian Matheson — Dead call / William F. Nolan — Deadline / Mel Gilden — Deal with the D.E.V.I.L. / Theodore R. Cogswell — The devil finds work / Mack Reynolds — Devlin’s dream / George Clayton Johnson — Displaced person / Eric Frank Russell — Echoes / Lawrence C. Connolly — Ex oblivione / H. P. Lovecraft — Farewell party / Richard Wilson — Feeding time / James Gunn — Final version / John Morressy — Five minutes early / Robert Sheckley — Freedom / Rick Norwood — Garage sale / Janet Fox — Getting back to before it began / Raylyn Moore — The giveaway / Steve Rasnic Tem — Give her hell / Donald A. Wollheim — God’s nose / Damon Knight — The good husband / Evelyn E. Smith — The handler / Damon Knight — The haters / Donald A. Wollheim — The house / Andre Maurois — How Georges Duchamps discovered a plot to take over the world / Alexei Panshin — The human angle / William Tenn — The importance of being important / Calvin W. Demmon — Interview with a gentleman farmer / Bruce Boston — Judgment Day / Jack C. Haldeman II — Just one more / Edward D. Hoch — The lady and the merman / Jane Yolen — The last unicorns / Edward D. Hoch — The last wizard / Avram Davidson — Letters from camp / Al Sarrantonio — L is for loup-garou / Harlan Ellison — Love filter / Gregg Chamberlain — The maiden’s sacrifice / Edward D. Hoch — Malice aforethought / Donald A Wollheim — The man who sold rope to the gnoles / Margaret St. Clair — Miranda-Escobedo / James Sallies — Mr. Wilde’s second chance / Joanna Russ — Mortimer Snodgrass Turtle / Jack C. Haldeman Ii — Mouse-kitty / Rick Norwood — Naturally / Fredric Brown — Night visions / Jack Dann — Once upon a unicorn / F. M. Busby — $1.98 / Arthur Porges — Opening a vein / Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg — The Other / Katherine Maclean — The other one / Rick Norwood — The Other Train Phenomenon / Richard Bowker — The painters are coming today / Steve Rasnic Tem — Paranoid fantasy #1 / Lawrence Watt-Evans — Perchance to dream / Katherine Maclean — Personality problem / Joe R. Lansdale — Pharaoh’s revenge / C. Bruce Hunter — Pick-up for Olympus / Edgar Pangborn — The poor / Steve Rasnic Tem — Prayer war / Jonathan V. Post — The prophecy / Bill Pronzini — The rag thing / Donald A. Wollheim — The recording / Gene Wolfe — Red carpet treatment / Robert Lipsyte — The sacrifice / Gardner Dozois — Santa’s tenth reindeer / Gordon Van Gelder — The second short-shortest fantasy ever published / Barry N. Malzberg — Sleep / Steve Rasnic Tem — Some days are like that / Bruce J. Balfour — Temporarily at liberty / Lawrence Goldman — The thing that stared / Richard Wilson — Thinking the unthinkable / Will Creveling — The third wish / Rick Norwood — Those three wishes / Judith Gorog — Thus I refute / Terry Carr — The toe / Phyllis Ann Karr — Tommy’s Christmas / John R. Little — The tower bird / Jane Yolen — Vernon’s dragon / John Gregory Betancourt — Voodoo / Fredric Brown — Weather prediction / Evelyn E. Smith — Who rides with Santa Anna? / Edward D. Hoch — Wisher takes all / William F. Temple — The world where wishes worked / Stephen Goldin — Your soul comes C.O.D. / Mack Reynolds

    and anything is possible. In this, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders -- a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality -- obscured by smoke and darkness, yet brilliantly tangible -- in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

    And here they must face great challenges: recontact with Terra, the native chieri, and the laran powers they must control at all costs.

    Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF.Now, collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume.What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.