May of these stories are from the pages of Weird Tales and other classic magazines which brought the work of masters like H.P. Lovecraft, Seabury Quinn, Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, and many others to the public. Includes an active table of contents.

    Even old fans will find surprises in this collection. For instance, how many devotees have read Passion Play, Zelazny s first published work, and how many are familiar with He Who Shapes, the foundation of his classic novel The Dream Master?ContentsPassion PlayHorseman!The Stainless Steel LeechA Thing of Terrible BeautyHe Who ShapesComes Now the PowerAuto-Da-Fe'Damnation alleyFor a Breath I TarryThe Engine at Heartspring's CenterThe Game of Blood and DustNo AwardIs There a Demon Lover in the House?The Last Defender of CamelotStand Pat, Ruby StoneHalfjack

    Here, a talented group of writers has taken up the challenge of creating strong, well-rounded female protagonists, more than able to defend themselves and take the helm--whether in space, on distant worlds, in our own future, or in fantasy realms where a civilization's fate hangs in the balance.Introduction by Tanya Huff and Alexander PotterFighting Chance by Sharon Lee and Steve MillerPainted Child of Earth by Rosemary EdghillShe’s Such a Nasty Morsel by Julie E. CzernedaThe Children of Diardin: To Find the Advantage by Fiona PattonNot That Kind of a War by Tanya HuffThe Black Ospreys by Michelle WestThe Art of War by Bruce Holland RogersGeiko by Kerrie HughesShin-Gi-Tai by Robin Wayne BaileyThe Last Hand of War by Jana PanicciaWar Games by Lisanne NormanFire from the Sun by Jane LindskoldSweeter Far Than Flowing Honey by Stephen LeighToken by Anna OsterElites by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

    Cambias, Greg Egan, Charles Coleman Finlay, James Alan Gardner, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Gwyneth Jones, Ted Kosmatka, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, Maureen McHugh, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, Hannu Rajaniemi, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Mary Rosenblum, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Geoff Ryman, Karl Schroeder, Gord Sellar, and Michael Swanwick.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.xi • Acknowledgments (The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection) • (2009) • essay by Gardner Dozoisxiii • Summation: 2008 • (2009) • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • Turing's Apples • (2008) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter16 • From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled • (2008) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick (aka From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled . . .)32 • The Gambler • (2008) • novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi50 • Boojum • [Boojum] • (2008) • shortstory by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette65 • The Six Directions of Space • (2008) • novella by Alastair Reynolds107 • N-Words • (2008) • shortstory by Ted Kosmatka120 • An Eligible Boy • (2008) • novelette by Ian McDonald140 • Shining Armour • (2008) • shortstory by Dominic Green (aka Shining Armor)154 • The Hero • (2008) • novelette by Karl Schroeder172 • Evil Robot Monkey • (2008) • shortstory by Mary Robinette Kowal175 • Five Thrillers • (2008) • novelette by Robert Reed209 • The Sky That Wraps the World Round, Past the Blue and Into the Black • (2008) • shortstory by Jay Lake217 • Incomers • (2008) • shortfiction by Paul J. McAuley233 • Crystal Nights • (2008) • novelette by Greg Egan252 • The Egg Man • (2008) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum270 • His Master's Voice • (2008) • shortstory by Hannu Rajaniemi280 • The Political Prisoner • (2008) • novella by Charles Coleman Finlay327 • Balancing Accounts • (2008) • shortstory by James L. Cambias341 • Special Economics • (2008) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh362 • Days of Wonder • (2008) • novelette by Geoff Ryman390 • City of the Dead • (2008) • novelette by Paul J. McAuley [as by Paul McAuley ]410 • The Voyage Out • (2007) • shortstory by Gwyneth Jones424 • The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm • (2008) • shortstory by Daryl Gregory439 • G-Men • (2008) • novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch466 • The Erdmann Nexus • (2008) • novella by Nancy Kress520 • Old Friends • (2008) • shortstory by Garth Nix526 • The Ray-Gun: A Love Story • (2008) • novelette by James Alan Gardner543 • Lester Young and the Jupiter's Moons' Blues • (2008) • novelette by Gord Sellar568 • Butterfly, Falling At Dawn • (2008) • novelette by Aliette de Bodard585 • The Tear • (2008) • novella by Ian McDonald

    Bey had spent his entire life running through the woods and never once saw anything to convince him there were creatures worth fearing. When his littler sister, Chensei, whines about the trip home at night, Bey only mocks her. Until she disappears beyond the treeline. I, PONTIANAK Everyone hates and fears monsters, except for when you’re the monster. I never asked for it, and honestly I can’t say I’ve really enjoyed it. But I am what I am, and I can’t change it. Hell, I can’t even control it. My name used to be Anastasia, and I am a Pontianak.

    Every year, supporting members of WorldCon nominate their favorite stories first published during the previous year to determine the top five in each category for the final Hugo Award ballot. Between the announcement of the ballot and the Hugo Award ceremony at WorldCon, these works often become the center of much attention (and contention) across fandom. But there are more stories loved by the Hugo voters, stories on the longer nomination list that WSFS publishes after the Hugo Award ceremony at WorldCon. The Long List Anthology Volume 2 collects 18 fiction stories from that nomination list, along with 2 essays from the book Letters to Tiptree that was also on the nomination list, totaling over 500 pages of fiction by writers from all corners of the world. Within these pages you will find a mix of science fiction and fantasy and horror, the dramatic and the lighthearted, from android caretakers to Lovecraftian romances, from adventures to quests and more. There is a wide variety of styles and types of stories here, and something for everyone. The stories included are: "Damage" by David D. Levine "Pockets" by Amal El-Mohtar "Today I Am Paul" by Martin L. Shoemaker "The Women You Didn't See" by Nicola Griffith (a letter from Letters to Tiptree) "Tuesdays With Molakesh the Destroyer" by Megan Grey "Wooden Feathers" by Ursula Vernon "Three Cups of Grief, By Starlight" by Aliette de Bodard "Madeleine" by Amal El-Mohtar "Neat Things" by Seanan McGuire (a letter from Letters To Tiptree) "Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" by Alyssa Wong "So Much Cooking" by Naomi Kritzer "The Deepwater Bride" by Tamsyn Muir "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" by Elizabeth Bear "Grandmother-nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" by Rose Lemberg "Another Word For World" by Ann Leckie "The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild" by Catherynne M. Valente "Our Lady of the Open Road" by Sarah Pinsker "The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn" by Usman T. Malik "The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps" by Kai Ashante Wilson

    . . OPERATOR ASSISTED CALLS ARE CHARGED AT A HIGHER RATE. Mr. Parkworthy had a score to settle with the telephone company, and he was a man used to getting his own way. But he should have remembered that it is not polite to be rude to a lady . . . especially when the lady is Ma Bell.THE METROGNOME. Charlie Dimsdale was only a little man in the company that ran New York City's subways . . . until some odd little denizens of the city's subterranean tunnels showed him who was really in charge!THE TESSELATED TETRAHEXAHEDRAL YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS. Country people in America are a fair but mighty independent bunch. So when some government scientists rudely demanded that the Shattucks turn over the UFO that crashed on their Texas ranch, the Shattucks became a bit obstinate. Besides, the shining little spacecraft looked real cute hanging on the barn with the Christmas decorations.COLLECTIBLE. When young Pearl's life was collapsing around her, she could always find comfort in her extensive collection of dragon memorabilia -- but some youngsters are more fragile than others, and dragons can be deadly.Plus eleven more stories!

    Technological intrigue-international and intersteller- a hard edged conflict with alien races.Contents:• Ernie • (1979) • Raison D'Etre • (1981) • The Price of Survival • (1981) • Between a Rock and a High Place • (1982) • Houseguest • (1982) • Time Bomb • (1988) • The President's Doll • (1987) • Banshee • (1987)

    Clarke is the most celebrated science fiction author alive. He is—with H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein—one of the writers who define science fiction in our time. Now Clarke has cooperated in the preparation of a massive, definitive edition of his collected shorter works. From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre," through classics like "The Star," "Earthlight," "The Nine Billion Names of God," and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel, and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God," this immense volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

    Poems and stories, set in India, introduce a tree-climbing grandmother, bullies buttered on toast, and a very naughty hornbill.

    Hartwell returns with this fifth annual collection of the year's most imaginative, entertaining, and mind-expanding science fiction.Here are works from some of today's most acclaimed authors, as well as visionary new talents, that will introduce you to new ideas, offer unusual perspectives, and take you to places beyond your wildest imaginings. Contents ix • Introduction (Year's Best SF 3) • (1998) • essay by David G. Hartwell 1 • Petting Zoo • (1997) • short story by Gene Wolfe 9 • The Wisdom of Old Earth • (1997) • short story by Michael Swanwick 23 • The Firefly Tree • (1997) • short story by Jack Williamson 29 • Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City • (1997) • short story by William Gibson 41 • The Nostalginauts • (1997) • short story by Sharon N. Farber [as by S. N. Dyer ] 53 • Guest Law • (1997) • novelette by John C. Wright 77 • The Voice • (1997) • short story by Gregory Benford 95 • Yeyuka • (1997) • short story by Greg Egan 117 • An Office Romance • (1997) • short story by Terry Bisson 135 • Itsy Bitsy Spider • (1997) • short story by James Patrick Kelly 151 • Beauty in the Night • (1997) • novelette by Robert Silverberg 197 • Mr. Pale • (1997) • short story by Ray Bradbury 205 • The Pipes of Pan • (1997) • novelette by Brian Stableford 233 • Always True to Thee, in My Fashion • (1997) • short story by Nancy Kress 249 • Canary Land • (1997) • novelette by Tom Purdom 277 • Universal Emulators • (1997) • short story by Tom Cool 295 • Fair Verona • (1997) • novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson 331 • Great Western • (1997) • novelette by Kim Newman 363 • Turnover • (1997) • short story by Geoffrey A. Landis 369 • The Mendelian Lamp Case • [Dr Phil D'Amato] • (1997) • novelette by Paul Levinson 415 • Kiss Me • (1997) • short story by Katherine MacLean 421 • London Bone • (1997) • novelette by Michael Moorcock

    A stunning collection of the kind of fiction that has only one source--the unparalleled Ray Bradbury.

    Hartwell 43 • Nine Lives • (1969) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin 61 • Light of Other Days • [Slow Glass] • (1966) • shortstory by Bob Shaw 68 • Rappaccini's Daughter • (1844) • novelette by Nathaniel Hawthorne 86 • The Star • (1955) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 91 • Proof • (1942) • shortstory by Hal Clement 103 • "It's Great to Be Back!" • [Future History] • (1947) • shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein 116 • Procreation • (1983) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe 122 • Mimsy Were the Borogoves • (1943) • novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Lewis Padgett ] 144 • Davey Jones' Ambassador • (1935) • novelette by Raymond Z. Gallun 166 • The Life and Times of Multivac • (1975) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov 174 • The Singing Diamond • (1979) • shortstory by Robert L. Forward 180 • Down & Out on Ellfive Prime • (1979) • novelette by Dean Ing 196 • Send Me a Kiss by Wire • (1985) • shortstory by Hilbert Schenck 208 • The Xi Effect • (1950) • shortstory by R. S. Richardson [as by Philip Latham ] 222 • A Descent into the Maelstrom • (1841) • shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (aka A Descent into the Maelström) 233 • Exposures • (1981) • shortstory by Gregory Benford 243 • The Planners • (1968) • shortstory by Kate Wilhelm 254 • Beep • (1954) • novelette by James Blish 278 • Drode's Equations • (1981) • novelette by Richard Grant 288 • The Weather Man • (1962) • novella by Theodore L. Thomas 313 • Transit of Earth • (1971) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 323 • Prima Belladonna • [Vermilion Sands] • (1956) • shortstory by J. G. Ballard 333 • To Bring in the Steel • (1978) • novelette by Donald Kingsbury 360 • Gomez • (1954) • novelette by C. M. Kornbluth 377 • Waterclap • (1970) • novelette by Isaac Asimov 398 • Weyr Search • [Dragonriders of Pern] • (1967) • novella by Anne McCaffrey 434 • Message Found in a Copy of Flatland • (1983) • shortstory by Rudy Rucker 442 • The Cold Equations • (1954) • novelette by Tom Godwin 459 • The Land Ironclads • (1903) • novelette by H. G. Wells 474 • The Hole Man • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven 484 • Atomic Power • (1934) • shortstory by John W. Campbell, Jr. [as by Don A. Stuart ] 494 • Stop Evolution in Its Tracks! • (1988) • shortstory by John Sladek 499 • The Hungry Guinea Pig • (1930) • shortstory by Miles J. Breuer, M.D. 514 • The Very Slow Time Machine • (1978) • novelette by Ian Watson 528 • The Beautiful and the Sublime • (1986) • novelette by Bruce Sterling 547 • "The Author of the Acacia Seeds" and Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics • (1974) • shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin (aka The Author of the Acacia Seeds and Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics) 553 • Heat of Fusion • (1984) • shortstory by John M. Ford 564 • Dolphin's Way • (1964) • shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson 576 • All the Hues of Hell • (1987) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe 585 • Occam's Scalpel • (1971) • novelette by Theodore Sturgeon 600 • giANTS • (1979) • shortstory by Edward Bryant 612 • Time Fuze • (1954) • shortstory by Randall Garrett 616 • Desertion • [City] • (1944) • shortstory by Clifford D. Simak 627 • Kyrie • (1968) • shortstory by Poul Anderson 635 • The Person from Porlock • (1947) • shortstory by Raymond F. Jones 651 • Day Million • (1966) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl 656 • The Cage of Sand • (1962) • novelette by J. G. Ballard 672 • The Psychologist Who Wouldn't Do Awful Things to Rats • (1976) • novelette by James Tiptree, Jr. 689 • In the Year 2889 • (1889) • shortstory by Jules Verne (aka La Journée d'un journaliste américain en 2890 1891 ) 700 • Surface Tension • [Pantropy] • (1952) • novelette by James Blish 724 • No, No, Not Rogov! • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1959) • shortstory by Cordwainer Smith 737 • In a Petri Dish Upstairs • (1978) • novelette by George Turner 758 • With the Night Mail • (1905) • novelette by Rudyard Kipling 788 • The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told • (1966) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 790 • The Pi Man • (1959) • shortstory by Alfred Bester 803 • Relativistic Effects • (1982) • novelette by Gregory Benford 818 • Making Light • (1981) • shortstory by James P. Hogan 826 • The Last Question • (1956) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov 835 • The Indefatigable Frog • (1953) • shortstory by Philip K. Dick 843 • Chromatic Aberration • (1984) • novelette by John M. Ford 864 • The Snowball Effect • (1952) • shortstory by Katherine MacLean 873 • The Morphology of the Kirkham Wreck • (1978) • novelette by Hilbert Schenck 892 • Tangents • (1986) • shortstory by Greg Bear 904 • Johnny Mnemonic • (1981) • shortstory by William Gibson 917 • What Continues, What Fails . . . • (1991) • novelette by David Brin 937 • Mammy Morgan Played the Organ, Her Daddy Beat the Drum • (1990) • novella by Michael F. Flynn 967 • Bookworm, Run! • (1966) • novelette by Vernor Vinge 989 • Appendix: Another Path Through the Book (The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF) • (1994) • essay by Kathryn Cramer

    Fan. Author. Editor. Creative force. He has been an integral part of the field for longer than most of his readers have been alive. Earlier this year, he kindly agreed to put together a MEGAPACK® of his short stories, so here, then, is a selection of early works by one of the all-time greats. Included are:ALAREEBIRDS OF A FEATHERBLAZE OF GLORYDELIVERY GUARANTEEDTHE DESSICATORTHE HAPPY UNFORTUNATETHE HUNTED HEROESTHE IRON STARTHE ISOLATIONISTSTHE LONELY ONETHE MAN WHO CAME BACKNEUTRAL PLANETOZYMANDIASTHE PAIN PEDDLERSTHE PLEASURE OF THEIR COMPANYPOINT OF FOCUSPOSTMARK GANYMEDEPRIME COMMANDMENTTHE SONGS OF SUMMERSPACEROGUETHERE WAS AN OLD WOMANTHE WOMAN YOU WANTEDVALLEY BEYOND TIMEWE KNOW WHO WE AREIf you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more![Version 1.4]

    For the first time in one volume: every word Bruce Sterling has ever written on the Shapers-Mechanists Universe.In the last decade, Sterling has emerged a pioneer of crucial, cutting-edge science fiction. Now Ace Books is proud to offer Sterling's stunning world of the Schismatrix--where Shaper revolutionaries struggle against aristocratic Mechanists for ultimate control of man's destiny. This volume includes the classic full-length novel, Schismatrix, plus thousands of words of mind-bending short fiction.