This edition contains the original introduction by Theodore Sturgeon and the original foreword by Harlan Ellison, along with a brief update comment by Ellison that was added in the 1983 edition. Among Ellison's more famous stories, two consistently noted as among his very best ever are the title story and the volume's concluding one, Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes.Since Ellison himself strongly resists categorization of his work, we won't call them science fiction, or SF, or speculative fiction or horror or anything else except compelling reading experiences that are sui generis. They could only have been written by Harlan Ellison and they are incomparably original.CONTENTS"I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream""Big Sam Was My Friend""Eyes of Dust""World of the Myth""Lonelyache""Delusion for Dragonslayer""Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"

    Gone are the cartoon images of wizened gray-haired men in pointy caps creating magic with a wave of their wands. Today's wizards are more subtle in their powers, more discerning in their ways, and-in the hands of modern fantasists-more likely than ever to capture readers' imaginations.In Neil Gaiman's "The Witch's Headstone," a piece taken from his much-anticipated novel in progress, an eight-year-old boy learns the power of kindness from a long-dead sorceress. Only one woman possesses two kinds of magic-enough to unite two kingdoms-in Garth Nix's "Holly and Iron." Patricia A. McKillip's "Naming Day" gives a sorcery student a lesson in breaking the rules. And a famished dove spins a tale worthy of a meal, but perhaps not the truth, in "A Fowl Tale" by Eoin Colfer.

    Lily Yu, Andrea Hairston, Tobias Buckell, Hiromi Goto, Rebecca Roanhorse, Indrapramit Das, Chinelo Onwualu and Darcie Little Badger.

    That moment of understanding drives the greatest science-fiction stories and lies at the heart of Engineering Infinity. Whether it's coming up hard against the speed of light - and, with it, the enormity of the universe - realising that terraforming a distant world is harder and more dangerous than you'd ever thought, or simply realizing that a hitchhiker on a starship consumes fuel and oxygen with tragic results, it's hard science-fiction where sense of wonder is most often found and where science-fiction's true heart lies.This exciting and innovative science-fiction anthology collects together stories by some of the biggest names in the field including Gwyneth Jones, Stephen Baxter and Charles Stross.Contents:- Beyond the Gernsback Continuum... by Jonathan Strahan- Malak by Peter Watts- Watching the Music Dance by Kristine Kathryn Rusch- Laika's Ghost by Karl Schroeder- The Invasion of Venus by Stephen Baxter- The Server and the Dragon by Hannu Rajaniemi- Bit Rot by Charles Stross- Creatures with Wings by Kathleen Ann Goonan- Walls of Flesh, Bars of Bone by Damien Broderick and Barbara Lamar- Mantis by Robert Reed- Judgement Eve by John C. Wright- A Soldier of the City by David Moles- Mercies by Gregory Benford- The Ki-anna by Gwyneth Jones- The Birds and the Bees and the Gasoline Trees by John BarnesCover illustration by Stephan Martiniere

    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.

    Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Ian McDonald, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, and Patrick Rothfuss.

    Catherynne M. Valente, the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and other acclaimed novels, now brings readers a treasure trove of stories and poems in The Bread We Eat in Dreams.In the Locus Award-winning novelette “White Lines on a Green Field,” an old story plays out against a high school backdrop as Coyote is quarterback and king for a season. A girl named Mallow embarks on an adventure of memorable and magical politicks in “The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While.” The award-winning, tour de force novella “Silently and Very Fast” is an ancient epic set in a far-flung future, the intimate autobiography of an evolving A.I. And in the title story, the history of a New England town and that of an outcast demon are irrevocably linked.The thirty-five pieces collected here explore an extraordinary breadth of styles and genres, as Valente presents readers with something fresh and evocative on every page. From noir to Native American myth, from folklore to the final frontier, each tale showcases Valente’s eloquence and originality.Table of Contents:The ConsultantWhite Lines on a Green FieldThe Bread We Eat in DreamsThe Melancholy of MechagirlA Voice Like a HoleThe Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little WhileHow to Raise a MinotaurThe Shoot-out at Burnt Corn Ranch Over the Bride of the WorldMouse KoanThe Blueberry Queen of Wiscasset In the Future When All’s WellFade to WhiteAeromausRed EnginesThe Wolves of BrooklynOne Breath, One StrokeKallistiThe WeddingThe Secret of Being a CowboyTwenty-Five Facts About Santa ClausWe Without Us Were ShadowsThe Red GirlAquaman and the Duality of Self/Other, America, 1985The RoomSilently and Very FastWhat the Dragon Said: A Love Story

    Mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories have all been written about cats.From legendary editor Ellen Datlow comes Tails of Wonder and Imagination, showcasing forty cat tales by some of today’s most popular authors. With uncollected stories by Stephen King, Carol Emshwiller, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Hand, Dennis Danvers, and Theodora Goss and a previously unpublished story by Susanna Clarke, plus feline-centric fiction by Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, George R.R. Martin, Lucius Shepard, Joyce Carol Oates, Graham Joyce, Catherynne M. Valente, Michael Marshall Smith, and many others.Tails of Wonder and Imagination features more than 200,000 words of stories in which cats are heroes and stories in which they’re villains; tales of domestic cats, tigers, lions, mythical part-cat beings, people transformed into cats, cats transformed into people. And yes, even a few cute cats.Table of Contents:"Through the Looking Glass (excerpt)" - Lewis Carroll"No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be..." - A. R. Morlan"The Price" - Neil Gaiman"Dark Eyes, Faith, and Devotion" - Charles de Lint"Not Waving" - Michael Marshall Smith"Catch" - Ray Vukcevich"The Manticore Spell" - Jeffrey Ford"Catskin" - Kelly Link"Mieze Corrects an Incomplete Representation of Reality" - Michaela Roessner"Guardians" - George R. R. Martin"Life Regarded as a Jigsaw Puzzle of Highly Lustrous Cats" - Michael Bishop"Gordon, the Self-Made Cat" - Peter S. Beagle"The Jaguar Hunter" - Lucius Shepard"Arthur's Lion" - Tanith Lee"Pride" - Mary A. Turzillo"The Burglar Takes a Cat" - Lawrence Block"The White Cat" - Joyce Carol Oates"Returns" - Jack Ketchum"Puss-Cat" - Reggie Oliver"Cat in Glass" - Nancy Etchemendy"Coyote Peyote" - Carole Nelson Douglas"The Poet and the Inkmaker's Daughter" - Elizabeth Hand"The Night of the Tiger" - Stephen King"Every Angel is Terrifying" - John Kessel"Candia" - Graham Joyce"Mbo" - Nicholas Royle"Bean Bag Cats(R)" - Edward Bryant"Antiquities" - John Crowley"The Manticore's Tale" - Catherynne M. Valente"In Carnation" - Nancy Springer"Old Foss is the Name of His Cat" - David Sandner"A Safe Place to Be" - Carol Emshwiller"Nine Lives to Live" - Sharyn McCrumb"Tiger Kill" - Kaaron Warren"Something Better than Death" - Lucy Sussex"Dominion" - Christine Lucas"Tiger in the Snow" - Daniel Wynn Barber"The Dweller in High Places" - Susanna Clarke"Healing" - Benjamin Dennis Danvers"The Puma" - Theodora Goss

    This debut short story collection by award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor includes notable previously-published short work, a new novella co-written with New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster, and a brief foreword by Whoopi Goldberg.

    Volume One contains the following 48 short stories:- The Dead Past- The Foundation of S. F. Success- Franchise- Gimmicks Three- Kid Stuff- The Watery Place- Living Space- The Message- Satisfaction Guaranteed- Hell-Fire- The Last Trump- The Fun They Had- Jokester- The Immortal Bard- Someday- The Author's Ordeal- Dreaming Is a Private Thing- Profession- The Feeling of Power- The Dying Night- I'm in Marsport Without Hilda- The Gentle Vultures- All the Troubles of the World- Spell My Name with an S- The Last Question- The Ugly Little Boy- Nightfall- Green Patches- Hostess- Breeds There a Man…?- C-Chute- In a Good Cause—- What If—- Sally- Flies- Nobody Here But—- It's Such a Beautiful Day- Strikebreaker- Insert Knob A in Hole B- The Up-to-Date Sorcerer- Unto the Fourth Generation- What Is This Thing Called Love?- The Machine That Won the War- My Son, the Physicist- Eyes Do More Than See- Segregationist- I Just Make Them Up, See!- Rejection Slips.

    A free novella from the Elfome unverse that takes place directly before Elfhome #1

    When light destroys shadows, darkness does not gain in density elsewhere. When shadows steal over earth and across the sky, darkness is not diluted. Featuring an Introduction by Aliette De Bodard, Conservation of Shadows features a selection of short stories from Yoon Ha Lee.Content"Ghostweight" (2011)"The Shadow Postulates" (2007)"The Bones of Giants" (2009)"Between Two Dragons" (2010)"Swanwatch" (2009)"Effigy Nights" (2013)"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" (2010)"Iseul's Lexicon" (2013)"Counting the Shapes" (2001)"Blue Ink" (2008)"The Battle of Candle Arc" (2012) "A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel" (2011)"The Unstrung Zither" (2009) "The Black Abacus" (2002)"The Book of Locked Doors" (2012)"Conservation of Shadows" (2012)

    Novellas, longer than short stories but shorter than novels, are a rich and rewarding literary form that can fully explore tomorrow’s technology, the far reaches of the future, thought-provoking imaginings, fantastic worlds, and entertaining concepts with the impact of a short story and the detailed breadth of a novel. Gathering a wide variety of excellent SF and fantasy, this anthology of “short novels” showcases the talents of both established masters and new writers.Contents (alphabetical order by author last name):“In Her Eyes” by Seth Chambers (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2014)The Churn: An Expanse Novella by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)“Where the Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (translated by Liisa Rantalaiho) (Tor.com, 15 November 2014)Yesterday’s Kin by Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)“Claudius Rex” by John P. Murphy (Alembical 3: A Distillation of Three Novellas, eds. Schoen & Dorrance)“The Things We Do For Love” by K. J. Parker (Subterranean Press Magazine, Summer 2014)“The Mothers of Voorhisville” by Mary Rickert, (Tor.com, 30 Apr 2014)“The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss (Rogues, eds. Martin & Dozois)Dream Houses by Genevieve Valentine (Dream Houses WSFA/ Wyrm Publishing)

    Fortunately, Rio is fully aware he's a sadistic psychopath utterly lacking in empathy, and thus does not hurt the puppy. But he also doesn't know what to do with it. This 4,000-word short story is a companion to the Russell's Attic series and takes place in parallel to book 2 (Half Life). The best time in the series to read it is directly following book 2.

    Librarians guide us to enlightenment as well as serving as the captains, mages, and gatekeepers who open the doors to delight, speculation, wonder, and terror. Both inspire writers of speculative fiction to pen wonderful tales woven around them. This captivating compilation of science fiction and fantasy short fiction showcases stories of librarians-mysterious curators, heroic bibliognosts, arcane archivists, catalogers of very special collections-and libraries-repositories of arcane wisdom, storehouses of signals from other galaxies, bastions of culture, the last outposts of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world . . . grand adventures and small sagas of the magical places we call libraries and the wizards who staff them!