Book picks similar to
Vanishing Acts: A Science Fiction Anthology by Ellen DatlowJoe Haldeman
short-stories
science-fiction
sci-fi
fiction
The Mammoth Book of Vampires
Stephen JonesBasil Copper - 1992
Among them are: Harlan Ellison, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Paul McAuley, Peter Tremayne, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Ramsey Campbell.This anthology collects the very best in vampire fiction which blends sheer horror with dark humor, deadly tenderness with tingling terror. For the classic vampire, as this volume amply shows, the Blood is the Life. From Hugh B. Cave's pulp thriller "Stragella" through to Harold Waldrop's bizarre mix of vampire and Nazis in "Der Untergang Des Abendlandesmenschen" and Christopher Fowler's "The Legend of Dracula Reconsidered as a Primetime TV Special." In between lie artful chillers by the likes of Clive Barker, Brian Lumley, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Robert Bloch and John Burke, along with new and original stories by Niel Gaiman with "Cards from a Vampire Tarot," and Kim Newman with "Andy Warhol's Dracula: anno Dracula 1978-79." You can sink your teeth, too, in F. Paul Wilson's fast-paced thriller "Midnight Mass," Manly Wade Wellman's "Chastel," offering bloody intrigue and adventure with Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant; and Les Daniel's "Yellow Fog," which features his enigmatic vampire-hero Don Sebastian de Villanueva.CONTENTSIntroduction: The Children of the Night by Stephen JonesHuman Remains by Clive BarkerNecros by Brian LumleyThe Man Who Loved The Vampire Lady by Brian StablefordA Place To Stay by Michael Marshall SmithThe Brood by Ramsey CampbellRoot Cellar by Nancy KilpatrickHungarian Rhapsody by Robert BlochThe Legend of Dracula Reconsidered as a Prime-Time TV Special by Christopher FowlerVampire by Richard Christian MathesonStragella by Hugh B. CaveA Week In The Unlife by David J. SchowThe House At Evening by Francis GarfieldVampyrrhic Outcast by Simon ClarkThe Labyrinth by R. Chetwynd-HayesBeyond Any Measure by Karl Edward WagnerDoctor Porthos by Basil CopperStraight To Hell by Paul McAuleyIt Only Comes Out At Night by Dennis EtchisonInvestigating Jericho by Chelsea Quinn YarbroDracula's Chair by Peter TremayneA Taste For Blood by Sydney J. BoundsThe Better Half by Melanie TemThe Devil's Tritone by John BurkeChastel by Manly Wade WellmanDer Untergang Des Abendlandesmenschen by Howard WaldropRed As Blood by Tanith LeeLaird of Dunain by Graham MastersonA Trick of the Dark by Tina RathMidnight Mass by F. Paul WilsonBlood Gothis by Nancy HolderYellow Fog by Les DanielsFifteen Cards From a Vampire Tarot by Neil GaimanVintage Domestic by Steve Rasnic TemTry A Dull Knife by Harlan EllisonAndy Warhol's Dracula: Anno Dracula 1978-1979 by Kim Newman
Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing
Lauren Beukes - 2016
Nothing is simple and everything is perilous when humans are involved: corruption, greed, and even love (of a sort).A permanent corporate branding gives a young woman enhanced physical abilities and a nearly-constant highRecruits lifted out of poverty find a far worse fate collecting biohazardous plants on an inhospitable worldThe only adult survivor of the apocalypse decides he will be the savior of teenagers; the teenagers are not amused.From Johannesburg to outer space, these previously uncollected tales are a compelling, dark, and slippery ride.
Unnatural Creatures
Neil GaimanGahan Wilson - 2013
Nesbit, Diana Wynne Jones, Gahan Wilson, and other literary luminaries. Sales of Unnatural Creatures benefit 826DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students in their creative and expository writing, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
Worlds Enough & Time: Five Tales of Speculative Fiction
Dan Simmons - 2002
Now he offers us a superb quintet of novellas -- five dazzling masterworks of speculative fiction, including "Orphans of the Helix," his award-winning return to the Hyperion Universe -- that demonstrates the unique mastery, breathtaking invention, and flawless craftsmanship of one of contemporary fiction's true greats.Human colonists seeking something other than godhood encounter their long-lost "cousins"...and an ancient scourge.A devastated man in suicide's embrace is caught up in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game with a young woman possessing a world-ending power.The distant descendants of a once-oppressed people learn a chilling lesson about the persistence of the past.A terrifying ascent up the frigid, snow-swept slopes of K2 shatters preconceptions and reveals the true natures of four climbers, one of whom is not human.At the intersection of a grand past and a threadbare present, an aging American in Russia confronts his own mortality as he glimpses a wondrous future.
The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories
H.G. Wells - 1911
The Dover Thrift Edition:"The Country of the Blind" (1904)"The Star" (1897)"The New Accelerator" (1901)"The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (1895)"Under the Knife" (1896)"The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper" (1932)
Brave New Worlds
John Joseph AdamsNeil Gaiman - 2010
Brave New Worlds brings together the best dystopian fiction of the last 30 years, demonstrating the diversity that flourishes in this compelling subgenre. This landmark tome contains stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, M. Rickert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and many others.Table of ContentsIntroduction / John Joseph Adams --Lottery / Shirley Jackson --Red card / S.L. Gilbow --Ten with a flag / Joseph Paul Haines --Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K. Le. Guin --Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert --The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm --O happy day! / Geoff Ryman --Pervert / Charles Coleman Finlay --From homogeneous to honey / Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot --Billennium / J.G. Ballard --Amaryllis / Carrie Vaughn --Pop squad / Paolo Bacigalupi --Auspicious eggs / James Morrow --Peter Skilling / Alex Irvine --The Pedestrian / Ray Bradbury --Things that make me weak and strange get engineered away / Cory Doctorow --Pearl diver / Caitlin R. Kiernan --Dead space for the unexpected / Geoff Ryman --"Repent harlequin!", said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison --Is this your day to join the revolution? / Genevieve Valentine --Independence day / Sarah Langan --Lunatics / Kim Stanley Robinson --Sacrament / Matt Williamson --Minority report / Philip K. Dick --Just do it / Heather Lindsley --Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. --Caught in the organ draft / Robert Silverberg --Geriatric ward / Orson Scott Card --Arties aren't stupid / Jeremiah Tolbert --Jordan's waterhammer / Joe Mastroianni --Of a sweet slow dance in the wake of temporary dogs / Adam-Troy Castro --Resistance / Tobias S. Buckell --Civilization / Vylar Kaftan.
A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
Terry Pratchett - 2012
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.
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
Roger Zelazny - 1964
In Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth, Zelazny's rare ability to mix the dream-like, disturbing imagery of fantasy with the real-life hardware of science fiction is on full display. His vivid imagination and fine prose made him one of the most highly acclaimed writers in his field.Contents:· The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth · nv F&SF Mar ’65 · The Keys to December · nv New Worlds Aug ’66 · Devil Car [Sam Nurdock] · ss Galaxy Jun ’65 · A Rose for Ecclesiastes · nv F&SF Nov ’63 · The Monster and the Maiden · vi Galaxy Dec ’64 · Collector’s Fever · vi Galaxy Jun ’64 · This Mortal Mountain · nv If Mar ’67 · This Moment of the Storm · nv F&SF Jun ’66 · The Great Slow Kings · ss Worlds of Tomorrow Dec ’63 · A Museum Piece · ss Fantastic Jun ’63 · Divine Madness · ss Magazine of Horror Sum ’66 · Corrida · ss Anubis v1 #3 ’68 · Love Is an Imaginary Number · ss New Worlds Jan ’66 · The Man Who Loved the Faioli · ss Galaxy Jun ’67 · Lucifer · ss Worlds of Tomorrow Jun ’64
Ark
Veronica Roth - 2019
Though most of Earth has already been evacuated, it’s Samantha’s job to catalog plant samples for the survivors’ unknowable journey beyond.Preparing to stay behind and watch the world end, she makes a final human connection.As certain doom hurtles nearer, the unexpected and beautiful potential for the future begins to flower.Veronica Roth’s Ark is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.
Starlings
Jo Walton - 2018
The magic mirror sees all but can do nothing. A cloned savior solves a fanatically-inspired murder. Three Irish siblings thieve treasures with bad poetry and the aid of the Queen of Cats.With these captivating initial glimpses into her storytelling psyche, Jo Walton shines through subtle myths and reinvented realities. Through eclectic stories, subtle vignettes, inspired poetry, and more, Walton soars with humans, machines, and magic—rising from the every day into the universe itself.
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
Laird Barron - 2013
Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.Barron returns with his third collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. Collecting interlinking tales of sublime cosmic horror, including “Blackwood’s Baby”, “The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven”, and “The Men from Porlock”, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All delivers enough spine-chilling horror to satisfy even the most jaded reader.
The Seeds of Time
John Wyndham - 1956
For the ten short stories collected here, John Wyndham turns his imagination to, among other subjects, body-snatching, time-travel and mind-travel, and the the tricky business of interplanetary colonization.
Meet Me in the Future: Stories
Kameron Hurley - 2019
Yes, it will be dangerous, frequently brutal, and often devastating. But it’s also savagely funny, deliriously strange, and absolutely brimming with adventure.In these edgy, unexpected tales, a body-hopping mercenary avenges his pet elephant, and an orphan falls in love with a sentient starship. Fighters ally to power a reality-bending engine, and a swamp-dwelling introvert tries to save the world—from her plague-casting former wife.So come meet Kameron Hurley in the future. The version she's created here is weirder—and far more hopeful—than you could ever imagine.
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964
Robert SilverbergFritz Leiber - 1970
Selected by a vote of the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), these 26 reprints represent the best, most important, and most influential stories and authors in the field. The contributors are a Who's Who of classic SF, with every Golden Age giant included: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Other contributors are less well known outside the core SF readership. Three of the contributors are famous for one story--but what stories!--Tom Godwin's pivotal hard-SF tale, "The Cold Equations"; Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life" (made only more infamous by the chilling Twilight Zone adaptation); and Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" (brought to mainstream fame by the movie adaptation, Charly). The collection has some minor but frustrating flaws. There are no contributor biographies, which is bad enough when the author is a giant; but it's especially sad for contributors who have become unjustly obscure. Each story's original publication date is in small print at the bottom of the first page. And neither this fine print nor the copyright page identifies the magazines in which the stories first appeared. Prefaced by editor Robert Silverberg's introduction, which describes SFWA and details the selection process, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964 is a wonderful book for the budding SF fan. Experienced SF readers should compare the table of contents to their library before making a purchase decision. Fans who contemplate giving this book to non-SF readers should bear in mind that, while several of the collected stories can measure up to classic mainstream literary stories, the less literarily-acceptable stories are weighted toward the front of the collection; adult mainstream-literature fans may not get very far into The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. --Cynthia Ward· Introduction · Robert Silverberg · in · A Martian Odyssey [Tweel] · Stanley G. Weinbaum · nv Wonder Stories Jul ’34 · Twilight [as by Don A. Stuart; Dying Earth] · John W. Campbell, Jr. · ss Astounding Nov ’34 · Helen O’Loy · Lester del Rey · ss Astounding Dec ’38 · The Roads Must Roll · Robert A. Heinlein · nv Astounding Jun ’40 · Microcosmic God · Theodore Sturgeon · nv Astounding Apr ’41 · Nightfall · Isaac Asimov · nv Astounding Sep ’41 · The Weapon Shop [Isher] · A. E. van Vogt · nv Astounding Dec ’42 · Mimsy Were the Borogoves · Lewis Padgett · nv Astounding Feb ’43 · Huddling Place [City (Websters)] · Clifford D. Simak · ss Astounding Jul ’44 · Arena · Fredric Brown · nv Astounding Jun ’44 · First Contact · Murray Leinster · nv Astounding May ’45 · That Only a Mother · Judith Merril · ss Astounding Jun ’48 · Scanners Live in Vain · Cordwainer Smith · nv Fantasy Book #6 ’50 · Mars Is Heaven! · Ray Bradbury · ss Planet Stories Fll ’48 · The Little Black Bag · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Astounding Jul ’50 · Born of Man and Woman · Richard Matheson · vi F&SF Sum ’50 · Coming Attraction · Fritz Leiber · ss Galaxy Nov ’50 · The Quest for Saint Aquin · Anthony Boucher · ss New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy, Holt, 1951; F&SF Jan ’59 · Surface Tension [Lavon] · James Blish · nv Galaxy Aug ’52 · The Nine Billion Names of God · Arthur C. Clarke · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #1, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953 · It’s a Good Life · Jerome Bixby · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #2, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953 · The Cold Equations · Tom Godwin · nv Astounding Aug ’54 · Fondly Fahrenheit · Alfred Bester · nv F&SF Aug ’54 · The Country of the Kind · Damon Knight · ss F&SF Feb ’56 · Flowers for Algernon · Daniel Keyes · nv F&SF Apr ’59 · A Rose for Ecclesiastes · Roger Zelazny · nv F&SF Nov ’63
Lightspeed: Year One
John Joseph AdamsCarol Emshwiller - 2011
Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors - from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven''t heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed''s first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan''s "I''m Alive, I Love You, I''ll See You in Reno" and "Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn''s Hugo Award-nominee "Amaryllis," to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.Contents:"I'm Alive, I Love You, I'll See You in Reno" by Vylar Kaftan"The Cassandra Project" by Jack McDevitt"Cats in Victory" by David Barr Kirtley"Amaryllis" by Carrie Vaughn"No Time Like the Present" by Carol Emshwiller"Manumission" by Tobias S. Buckell"The Zeppelin Conductors' Society Annual Gentlemen's Ball" by Genevieve Valentine"...For a Single Yesterday" by George R. R. Martin"How to Become a Mars Overlord" by Catherynne M. Valente"Patient Zero" by Tananarive Due"Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro"More Than the Sum of His Parts" by Joe Haldeman"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" by Yoon Ha Lee"The Long Chase" by Geoffrey A. Landis"Amid the Words of War" by Cat Rambo"Travelers" by Robert Silverberg"Hindsight" by Sarah Langan"Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back" by Joe R. Lansdale"The Taste of Starlight" by John R. Fultz"Beachworld" by Stephen King"Standard Loneliness Package" by Charles Yu"Faces in Revolving Souls" by Caitlin R. Kiernan"Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters" by Alice Sola Kim"Ej-Es" by Nancy Kress"In-Fall" by Ted Kosmatka"The Observer" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch"Jenny's Sick" by David Tallerman"The Silence of the Asonu" by Ursula K. Le Guin"Postings from an Amorous Tomorrow" by Corey Mariani"Cucumber Gravy" by Susan Palwick"Black Fire" by Tanith Lee"The Elephants of Poznan" by Orson Scott Card"Long Enough And Just So Long" by Cat Rambo"The Passenger" by Julie E. Czerneda"Simulacrum" by Ken Liu"Breakaway, Backdown" by James Patrick Kelly"Saying the Names" by Maggie Clark"Gossamer" by Stephen Baxter"Spider the Artist" by Nnedi Okorafor"Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed"All That Touches the Air" by An Owomoyela"Maneki Neko" by Bruce Sterling"Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son" by Tom Crosshill"Velvet Fields" by Anne McCaffrey"The Harrowers" by Eric Gregory"Bibi From Jupiter" by Tessa Mellas"Eliot Wrote" by Nancy Kress"Scales" by Alastair Reynolds