Ballard. The Venus Hunters. London: Gollancz, 1986. First hardcover edition, first printing. Octavo. 142 pages.

    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.

    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.

    See far-flung worlds, they said. Meet interesting creatures, and kill them all. Soldiers fighting aliens in unforgiving landscapes, where every breath could be their last. Featuring stories by Weston Ochse, Mike Resnick, and others. From near-future to far-future, featuring some of the best writers working in the field today.

    This spellbinding collection is a must for fans of classic SF. - Publishers WeeklyWith the publication of his first story, 'The Coldest Place', in 1964 Larry Niven launched one of the most important careers in the history of science fiction. Over the next decade his stunning hard science fiction won four short fiction Hugo Awards and both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his all-time classic novel, Ringworld.But it was the short stories that amazed and astounded first. Stories like 'The Coldest Place', 'Becalmed in Hell', 'Neutron Star', and 'All the Myriad Ways' set the boundaries for 'Known Space', one of science fiction s grandest future histories, while Niven also explored the classic tavern story in his 'Draco's Tavern' sequence and even fantasy in his 'Magic Goes Away' stories.Astoundingly, there has never been a single compendium the focused solely on Niven's best short fiction until now. The Best of Larry Niven collects no less than twenty seven stories written over a period of thirty-five years, bringing together some of the best-loved stories in science fiction for the first time, along with some overlooked classics. Whether this is your first time in Known Space or you're visiting old friends in Draco's Tavern, The Best of Larry Niven is unforgettable.Contents:9 • Introduction (The Best of Larry Niven) • essay by Jerry Pournelle11 • Becalmed in Hell • [Known Space] • (1965) • shortstory by Larry Niven25 • Bordered in Black • (1966) • shortstory by Larry Niven45 • Neutron Star • [Known Space] • (1966) • novelette by Larry Niven63 • The Soft Weapon • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven113 • The Jigsaw Man • [Known Space] • (1967) • shortstory by Larry Niven125 • The Deadlier Weapon • non-genre • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven135 • All the Myriad Ways • [Time Travel - Parallel Universe] • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven145 • Not Long Before the End • [Magic Goes Away] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven157 • Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex • (1969) • essay by Larry Niven165 • Inconstant Moon • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven191 • Rammer • [State] • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven219 • Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven239 • The Fourth Profession • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven285 • Flash Crowd • [Teleportation] • (1973) • novella by Larry Niven337 • The Defenseless Dead • [Gil Hamilton] • (1973) • novelette by Larry Niven381 • The Flight of the Horse • [Svetz] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven395 • The Hole Man • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven409 • Night on Mispec Moor • [State] • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven421 • Flatlander • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven459 • The Magic Goes Away • [Magic Goes Away • 1] • (1978) • novel by Larry Niven523 • Cautionary Tales • (1978) • shortstory by Larry Niven527 • Limits • [Draco Tavern] • (1981) • shortstory by Larry Niven533 • A Teardrop Falls • [Berserker] • (1983) • shortstory by Larry Niven545 • The Return of William Proxmire • (1989) • shortstory by Larry Niven555 • The Borderland of Sol • [Known Space] • (1975) • novelette by Larry Niven595 • Smut Talk • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry Niven605 • The Missing Mass • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry NivenCover art by Edward Miller

    Butler82 • Blued Moon • (1984) • novelette by Connie Willis113 • A Message to the King of Brobdingnag • (1984) • novelette by Richard Cowper135 • The Affair • (1984) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg153 • Press Enter [] • (1984) • novella by John Varley207 • New Rose Hotel • (1984) • shortstory by William Gibson219 • The Map • [Solar Cycle] • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe232 • Interlocking Pieces • (1984) • shortstory by Molly Gloss239 • Trojan Horse • (1984) • novelette by Michael Swanwick269 • Bad Medicine • (1984) • novelette by Jack Dann291 • At the Embassy Club • (1984) • shortstory by Elizabeth A. Lynn301 • Pursuit of Excellence • (1984) • novelette by Rena Yount319 • The Kindly Isle • (1984) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl341 • Rock On • (1984) • shortstory by Pat Cadigan350 • Sunken Gardens • [Shaper/Mechanist] • (1984) • shortstory by Bruce Sterling365 • Trinity • (1984) • novella by Nancy Kress409 • The Trouble With the Cotton People • (1984) • shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin420 • Twilight Time • (1984) • novelette by Lewis Shiner440 • Black Coral • (1984) • novelette by Lucius Shepard466 • Friend • (1984) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel484 • Foreign Skins • (1984) • novelette by Tanith Lee511 • Company in the Wings • (1983) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty524 • A Cabin on the Coast • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe536 • The Lucky Strike • (1984) • novelette by Kim Stanley Robinson569 • Honorable Mentions: 1984 • essay by Gardner Dozois

    No longer relegated to the fringes of literature, this explosive collection of the world’s best apocalyptic writers brings the inventors of alien invasions, devastating meteors, doomsday scenarios, and all-out nuclear war back to the bookstores with a bang.The best writers of the early 1900s were the first to flood New York with tidal waves, destroy Illinois with alien invaders, paralyze Washington with meteors, and lay waste to the Midwest with nuclear fallout. Now collected for the first time ever in one apocalyptic volume are those early doomsday writers and their contemporaries, including Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Lucius Shepard, Robert Sheckley, Norman Spinrad, Arthur C. Clarke, William F. Nolan, Poul Anderson, Fredric Brown, Lester del Rey, and more. Relive these childhood classics or discover them here for the first time. Each story details the eerie political, social, and environmental destruction of our world.

    A brand new short story collection from Kage Baker, including an original novella set in her ongoing series of The Company, "Mother Aegypt." The Company novels are being released by Tor, and include The Graveyard Game and The Life of the World to Come.

    

    Henry of science fiction… stories that range from the wryly humorous to the deadly serious, but are always unforgettable.Contents:ix · Introduction · Robert Bloch · in 1 · “Arena” · nv Astounding Jun ’44 31 · Imagine · pp F&SF May ’55 33 · It Didn’t Happen · ss Playboy Oct ’63 47 · Recessional · vi Dude Mar ’60; Portfolio, gp 49 · Eine Kleine Nachtmusik · Fredric Brown & Carl Onspaugh · ss F&SF Jun ’65 69 · Puppet Show · ss Playboy Nov ’62 81 · Nightmare in Yellow · vi Dude May ’61; Five Nightmares, gp 85 · Earthmen Bearing Gifts · vi Galaxy Jun ’60 89 · Jaycee · vi Nightmares and Geezenstacks, Bantam, 1961 91 · Pi in the Sky · nv Thrilling Wonder Stories Win ’45 121 · Answer · vi Angels and Spaceships, Dutton, 1954 123 · The Geezenstacks · ss Weird Tales Sep ’43 133 · Hall of Mirrors · ss Galaxy Dec ’53 141 · Knock · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Dec ’48 153 · Rebound [“The Power”] · vi Galaxy Apr ’60 157 · Star Mouse [Mitkey] · ss Planet Stories Spr ’42 179 · Abominable · vi Dude Mar ’60; Portfolio, gp 183 · Letter to a Phoenix · ss Astounding Aug ’49 193 · Not Yet the End · vi Captain Future Win ’41 197 · Etaoin Shrdlu · nv Unknown Feb ’42 221 · Armageddon · ss Unknown Aug ’41 227 · Experiment · vi Galaxy Feb ’54; Two Timer, gp 229 · The Short Happy Lives of Eustace Weaver I, II, & III [“Of Time and Eustace Weaver”] · ss EQMM Jun ’61 237 · Reconciliation · vi Angels and Spaceships, Dutton, 1954 239 · Nothing Sirius · ss Captain Future Spr ’44 257 · Pattern · vi Angels and Spaceships, Dutton, 1954 259 · The Yehudi Principle · ss Astounding May ’44 271 · Come and Go Mad · nv Weird Tales Jul ’49 315 · The End [“Nightmare in Time”] · vi Dude May ’61; Five Nightmares, gp

    For the first time ever, a monster collection of 26 new original Kolchak short fiction stories by noted authors from comics, horror fiction, and film! With the advent of the new Kolchak ABC TV show, Moonstone proudly announces new contemporary prose adventures of the original Kolchak, TV's first and foremost paranormal investigator! Plus all kinds of other cool stuff, like tales from Kolchak's untold past, monster huntings, noir thrillers, and even horror stories of more cerebral type!

    Anacondas, piranha, giant crocodiles/alligators/lizards, mutated bears near nuclear power stations, prehistoric sharks. All featured heavily in books and films of the 70s and 80s, when bio-horror was at its modern peak. This anthology of military-bio-horror stories takes you back to those classic days. Think Greg McLean’s Rogue, Lake Placid, Eight-legged Freaks, Anaconda, Meg, Prophecy, Deep Blue Sea, and other films/books where people (in this case soldiers) are fighting against mutated or ultra-dangerous animals. Join some of the best writers working today, along with some SNAFU favourites, for an unnaturally good time. TOC: 1. Here There Be Monsters - Dave Beynon 2. Unborn - Justin Bell 3. The Weavers in Darkness - James A. Moore & Charles R. Rutledge 4. Kill Team Kill - Justin A Coates 5. Restless - Lee Murray 6. A Hole in the World - Tim Lebbon & Christopher Golden 7. Cargo - B. Michael Radburn 8. Vermin - Richard Lee Byers 9. The Valley of Death - David W. Amendola 10. Venom - Michael McBride

    It is not an easy task, for many dangers threaten the bridge builders, from nomad raiders to Free Magic sorcerers. Despite the danger, Morghan wants nothing more than to join the Bridge Company as a cadet. But the company takes only the best, the most skillful Charter mages, and trains them hard, for the night might come when only a single young cadet must hold the bridge against many foes. Will Morghan be that cadet?Also included in this collection are eighteen short stories that showcase Nix’s versatility as he adds a fantastical twist on an array of genres including science fiction, paranormal, realistic fiction, mystery, and adventure.

    The illustrator is Rohan Eason.Each short story will feature a frightening nemesis for the Doctor to outwit, and each will star one incarnation of the Doctor with additional appearances from favourite friends and companions such as Sarah Jane, Jo and Ace.

    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