Bodily autonomy and transformation, the importance of negative emotions, unhealthy relationships, and bad situations amidst the staggering and urgent question of how build and nurture meaning, love, and safety in a larger world/society that might not be "fixable."

    The novella “A Necessary Being” showcases Octavia E. Butler’s ability to create alien yet fully believable “others.” Tahneh’s father was a Hao, one of a dwindling race whose leadership abilities render them so valuable that their members are captured and forced to govern. When her father dies, Tahneh steps into his place, both chief and prisoner, and for twenty years has ruled without ever meeting another of her kind. She bears her loneliness privately until the day that a Hao youth is spotted wandering into her territory. As her warriors sharpen their weapons, Tahneh must choose between imprisoning the newcomer—and living the rest of her life alone. The second story in this volume, “Childfinder,” was commissioned by Harlan Ellison for his legendary (and never-published) anthology The Last Dangerous Visions™. A disaffected telepath connects with a young girl in a desperate attempt to help her harness her growing powers. But in the richly evocative fiction of Octavia E. Butler, mentorship is a rocky path, and every lesson comes at a price. The award-winning author of science fiction classics Parable of the Sower and Kindred bestows these compelling, long lost gems “like the miraculous discovery that the beloved book you’ve read a dozen times has an extra chapter” (Los Angeles Review of Books). Harlan Ellison and Dangerous Visions are registered trademarks of the Kilimanjaro Corporation. All rights reserved.

    Here for the first time are his short stories and other short form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press,; to the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas,all of it shot through with his inimitable brand of humour.With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.

    After ecological disasters nearly destroyed the Earth, 26 survivors—the last of humanity—are trapped by an alien race in a sterile enclosure known as the Shell. Fifteen-year-old Pete is one of the Six—children who were born deformed or sterile and raised in the Shell. As, one by one, the survivors grow sick and die, Pete and the Six struggle to put aside their anger at the alien Tesslies in order to find the means to rebuild the earth together. Their only hope lies within brief time-portals into the recent past, where they bring back children to replenish their disappearing gene pool. Meanwhile, in 2013, brilliant mathematician Julie Kahn works with the FBI to solve a series of inexplicable kidnappings. Suddenly her predictive algorithms begin to reveal more than just criminal activity. As she begins to realize her role in the impending catastrophe, simultaneously affecting the Earth and the Shell, Julie closes in on the truth. She and Pete are converging in time upon the future of humanity—a future which might never unfold. Weaving three consecutive time lines to unravel both the mystery of the Earth's destruction and the key to its salvation, this taut post-apocalyptic thriller offers a topical plot with a satisfying twist.

    In “The Price of Survival,” an alien ship arrives in our solar system without hostile intentions—but with a desperate need that could destroy humanity. “The Giftie Gie Us” is set in a post-apocalyptic United States, in which two lonely survivors find love among the ruins. And in the title story, a human and his alien opponent face off over a game that will decide which one of them will return home—and which will not. This collection also includes the Hugo Award–winning novella Cascade Point and eight stories previously unpublished in book form.

    Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including: Neal Asher, Stephen Baxter, Damien Broderick, Karl Bunker, Aliette de Bodard, Brendan DuBois, Greg Egan, Alexander Jablokov, James Patrick Kelly, Jake Kerr, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Ken Liu, Ian R. MacLeod, Paul J. McAuley, Ian McDonald, Sandra McDonald, Sean McMullen, Sunny Moraine, Val Nolan, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Geoff Ryman, Melissa Scott, Martin L. Shoemaker, Allen M. Steele, Michael Swanwick, Lavie Tidhar, and Carrie Vaughn.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.Content: “The Discovered Country” by Ian R. MacLeod “The Book Seller” by Lavie Tidhar “Pathways” by Nancy Kress “A Heap of Broken Images” by Sunny Moraine “Rock of Ages” by Jay Lake “Rosary and Goldenstar” by Geoff Ryman “Gray Wings” by Karl Bunker “The Best We Can” by Carrie Vaughn “Transitional Forms” by Paul McAuley “Precious Mental” by Robert Reed “Martian Blood” by Allen M. Steele “Zero For Conduct” by Greg Egan “The Waiting Stars” by Aliette de Bodard “A Map of Mercury” by Alastair Reynolds “One” by Nancy Kress “Murder on the Aldrin Express” by Martin L. Shoemaker “Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince” by Jake Kerr “The Plague” by Ken Liu “Fleet” by Sandra McDonald “The She-Wolf’s Hidden Grin” by Michael Swanwick “Bad Day on Boscobel” by Alexander Jablokov “The Irish Astronaut” by Val Nolan “The Other Gun” by Neal Asher “Only Human” by Lavie Tidhar “Entangled” by Ian R. MacLeod “Earth 1″ by Stephen Baxter “Technarion” by Sean McMullen “Finders” by Melissa Scott “The Queen of Night’s Aria” by Ian McDonald “Hard Stars” by Brendan DuBois “The Promise of Space” by James Patrick Kelly “Quicken” by Damien Broderick

    Come meet Jilly, painting wonders in the rough city streets; and Geordie, playing fiddle while he dreams of a ghost; and the Angel of Grasso Street gathering the fey and the wild and the poor and the lost. Gemmins live in abandoned cars and skells traverse the tunnels below, while mermaids swim in the grey harbor waters and fill the cold night with their song.Contents:Uncle Dobbin's Parrot FairThe Stone DrumTimeskipFreewheelingThat Explains PolandRomano DromThe Sacred FireWinter Was HardPity the MonstersGhosts of Wind and ShadowThe Conjure ManSmall DeathsThe Moon is Drowning While I SleepIn the House of My EnemyBut for the Grace Go IBridgesOur Lady of the HarbourPaperjackTallulah

    In "Stone Animals," a house's haunting takes the unusual form of hordes of rabbits that camp out nightly on the front lawn. This proves just one of several benign but inexplicable phenomena that begin to pull apart the family newly moved into the house as surely as a more sinister supernatural influence might. The title story beautifully captures the unpredictable potential of teenage lives through its account of a group of adolescent schoolfriends whose experiences subtly parallel events in a surreal TV fantasy series. Zombies serve as the focus for a young man's anxieties about his future in "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" and offer suggestive counterpoint to the lives of two convenience store clerks who serve them in "The Hortlak." Not only does Link find fresh perspectives from which to explore familiar premises, she also forges ingenious connections between disparate images and narrative approaches to suggest a convincing alternate logic that shapes the worlds of her highly original fantasies.Contents:The Faery Handbag (2004)The Hortlak (2003)The Cannon (2003)Stone Animals (2004)Catskin (2003)Some Zombie Contingency Plans (2005)The Great Divorce (2005)Magic for Beginners (2005)Lull (2002)

    From The Wizard of Oz to The Dark Tower, from Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass to C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a rich tradition of this kind of fiction, but never before have the best parallel world stories and portal fantasies been collected in a single volume—until now.

    Steele - "Begone" by Daryl Gregory - "The Red Menace" by Lavie Tidhar - "Muse of Fire" by John Scalzi - "Writer’s Block" by Nancy Kress - "Highland Reel" by Jack Campbell - "Karin Coxswain" or "Death as She Is Truly Lived" by Paul Di Filippo - "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal - "Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air" by Tad Williams - "Declaration" by James Patrick KellyAs a bonus, the authors introduce their stories, explaining what they ripped-off - and why.Rip-Off! was produced in partnership with SFWA - Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Gardner Dozois served as project editor.

    Eavesdropping and exploring; savaging our bodies, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends. Some have called them genies: these are the Djinn. And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places. There is no part of the world that does not know them.They are the Djinn. They are among us.With stories from: Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, Helene Wecker, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherine King, Claire North,  E.J. Swift, Hermes (trans. Robin Moger), Jamal Mahjoub, James Smythe, J.Y. Yang, Kamila Shamsie, Kirsty Logan, K.J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley, Monica Byrne, Saad Hossein, Sami Shah, Sophia Al-Maria and Usman Malik.

    It is the genre that stands in opposition to literary modernism." So says David G. Hartwell in his introduction to The Science Fiction Century, an anthology spanning a hundred years of science fiction, from its birth in the 1890s to the future it predicted.David G. Hartwell is a World Fantasy Award-winning editor and anthologist who has twice before redefined a genre--first the horror field with The Dark Descent, then the subgenre of hard science fiction with The Ascent of Wonder, coedited with Kathryn Cramer. Now, Hartwell has compiled the mother of all definitive anthologies, guaranteed to change not only the way the science fiction field views itself but also the way the rest of literature views the field.Contents 17 • Introduction (The Science Fiction Century) • (1997) • essay by David G. Hartwell 21 • Beam Us Home • (1969) • shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr. 31 • Ministering Angels • (1955) • shortstory by C. S. Lewis 39 • The Music Master of Babylon • (1954) • novelette by Edgar Pangborn 57 • A Story of the Days to Come • (1899) • novella by H. G. Wells 112 • Hot Planet • (1963) • shortstory by Hal Clement 127 • A Work of Art • (1956) • novelette by James Blish 139 • The Machine Stops • (1909) • novelette by E. M. Forster 161 • Brightness Falls from the Air • (1951) • shortstory by Margaret St. Clair 166 • 2066: Election Day • (1956) • shortstory by Michael Shaara 177 • The Rose • (1953) • novella by Charles L. Harness [as by Charles Harness ] 232 • The Hounds of Tindalos • (1929) • shortstory by Frank Belknap Long 242 • The Angel of Violence • (1978) • shortstory by Adam Wisniewski-Snerg 252 • Nobody Bothers Gus • [Gus] • (1955) • shortstory by Algis Budrys 261 • The Time Machine • (1954) • shortstory by Dino Buzzati 265 • Mother • (1953) • novelette by Philip José Farmer 285 • As Easy as A.B.C. • (1912) • novelette by Rudyard Kipling 304 • Ginungagap • (1980) • novelette by Michael Swanwick 327 • Minister Without Portfolio • (1952) • shortstory by Mildred Clingerman 333 • Time in Advance • (1956) • novelette by William Tenn 352 • Good Night, Sophie • (1973) • novelette by Lino Aldani (aka Buonanotte Sofia 1963 ) 369 • Veritas • (1987) • novelette by James Morrow 382 • Enchanted Village • (1950) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt 393 • The King and the Dollmaker • (1970) • novella by Wolfgang Jeschke (aka Der König und der Puppenmacher 1961 ) 435 • Fire Watch • [Time Travel] • (1982) • novelette by Connie Willis 462 • Goat Song • (1972) • novelette by Poul Anderson 486 • The Scarlet Plague • (1912) • novella by Jack London 518 • Drunkboat • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1963) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith 539 • Another World • (1962) • novelette by J. H. Rosny aîné (aka Un Autre Monde 1895 ) 558 • If the Stars Are Gods • [Bradley Reynolds] • (1974) • novelette by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford 585 • I Still Call Australia Home • (1990) • shortstory by George Turner 598 • Liquid Sunshine • (1982) • novelette by Alexander Kuprin (aka Zhidkoe solntse 1913 ) 632 • Great Work of Time • (1989) • novella by John Crowley 683 • Sundance • (1969) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg 694 • Greenslaves • (1965) • novelette by Frank Herbert 716 • Rumfuddle • (1973) • novella by Jack Vance 754 • The Dimple in Draco • (1967) • shortstory by R. S. Richardson [as by Philip Latham ] 765 • Consider Her Ways • (1956) • novella by John Wyndham 805 • Something Ending • (1973) • shortstory by Eddy C. Bertin 812 • He Who Shapes • (1965) • novella by Roger Zelazny 869 • Swarm • [Shaper/Mechanist] • (1982) • novelette by Bruce Sterling 886 • Beggars in Spain • [Sleepless] • (1991) • novella by Nancy Kress 939 • Johnny Mnemonic • (1981) • shortstory by William Gibson 952 • "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman • (1965) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison 961 • Blood's a Rover • (1952) • novella by Chad Oliver 993 • Sail the Tide of Mourning • [Bentfin Boomers] • (1975) • shortstory by Richard A. LupoffThe story The Angel of Violence by Adam_Wiśniewski-Snerg was translated from Polish to English by Thomasz Mirkowicz for this anthology.The story Good Night, Sophie by Lino Aldani was translated from Italian to English by L. K. Conrad.The story Liquid Sunshine by Alexander Kuprin was translated from Russian to English by Leland Fetzer.

    In the years between the first two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. They may have found their man--or boy--in John Paul Wiggin....In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection--a brilliant but arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now a university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student. "The Investment Counselor" is set after the end of the Bugger Wars. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive--until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xeoncide. Also reprinted here is the original award-winning novella, "Ender's Game," which first appeared in 1977.

    Clarke-nominated author Yoon Ha Lee comes a collection of stories set in the world of the best-selling Ninefox Gambit. Showcasing Lee’s extraordinary imagination, this collection takes you to the very beginnings of the hexarchate’s history and reveals new never-before-seen stories.

    McAuley88 • Glory • (2007) • novelette by Greg Egan112 • Maelstrom • (2007) • novelette by Kage Baker143 • Blessed by an Angel • (2007) • shortstory by Peter F. Hamilton158 • Who's Afraid of Wolf 359? • shortstory by Ken MacLeod170 • The Valley of the Gardens • (2007) • novelette by Tony Daniel202 • Dividing the Sustain • (2007) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly234 • Minla's Flowers • [Merlin [4] • 2] • (2007) • novella by Alastair Reynolds291 • Splinters of Glass • (2007) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum316 • Remembrance • (2007) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter334 • The Emperor and the Maula • (2007) • novelette by Robert Silverberg379 • The Worm Turns • (2007) • shortstory by Gregory Benford401 • Send Them Flowers • (2007) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams436 • Art of War • shortstory by Nancy Kress454 • Muse of Fire • (2007) • novella by Dan Simmons