This is only the start, and the close of the 21st century will look absolutely nothing like its inception. It has been said that science fiction is an ongoing dialogue about the future, and the front line of that dialogue is the short story. The field has a long history of producing famous anthologies to showcase its distinguished short fiction, but it has been several years since there has been a prestigious all-original science fiction anthology series. Fast Forward is offered in the tradition of Damon Knight’s prestigious and influential anthology series, Orbit, and Frederik Pohl’s landmark Star SF. Fast Forward marks the start of a new hard science fiction anthology series, dedicated to presenting the vanguard of the genre and charting the undiscovered country that is the future. Contributors scheduled for the first volume include:Robert Charles Wilson - YFL-500Justina Robson - The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the OnePaolo Bacigalupi - Small OfferingsRobyn Hitchcock - They Came From the FutureKage Baker - Plotters and ShootersTony Ballantyne - Aristotle OSElizabeth Bear - The Something-Dreaming GameStephen Baxter - No More StoriesA.M. Dellamonica - Time of the SnakeLarry Niven and Brenda Cooper - The Terror BardLouise Marley - p dolceKen MacLeod - Jesus Christ, ReanimatorMike Resnick and Nancy Kress - Solomon's ChoiceIan McDonald - Sanjeev and RobotwallahPamela Sargent - A Smaller GovernmentMary A. Turzillo - PrideRobyn Hitchcock - I Caught IntelligenceGeorge Zebrowski - SettlementsGene Wolfe - The Hour of the SheepJohn Meaney - Sideways from NowPaul Di Filippo - Wikiworld

    In “Vortex,” by Gregory Benford, astronauts find a once thriving microbial lifeform that carpets the caves of Mars dying off. A code monkey tracks down the vain creator of a pernicious software virus that people jack cerebrally in “RedKing,” by Craig DeLancey. In “Number Nine Moon,” by Alex Irvine, illicit scavengers on Mars are on a rescue mission to save themselves after one of their team members dies. A young girl’s thirst for vengeance becomes a struggle for survival when she is swallowed by a gigantic sea creature on an alien planet in “Of the Beast in the Belly,” by C.W. Johnson. In “The Seventh Gamer,” by Gwyneth Jones, a writer immerses herself into a MMORPG community to search for characters being played by real aliens from other worlds. A woman armed with a rifle stalks a herd of cloned wooly mammoths in British Columbia in “Chasing Ivory,” by Ted Kosmatka. In “Fieldwork,” by Shariann Lewitt, a volcanologist struggles with her research on Europa where both her mother and grandmother suffered dire consequences. A daughter pays homage to her mother with mega-engineering projects to deal with climate change over eons in “Seven Birthdays,” by Ken Liu. In “The Visitor from Taured,” by Ian R. MacLeod, a cosmologist in the near future is obsessed with proving his theory of multiverses. The citizens of a small town on a “Jackaroo” planet object to a corporation placing a radio telescope near local alien artifacts in “Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was,” by Paul McAuley. And finally, in “Sixteen Questions for Kamala Chatterjee,” by Alastair Reynolds, a graduate student defends her dissertation on a solar anomaly that threatens humanity.

    Well, Dale has a lot of problems. Addiction. Rent. A girlfriend he let slip away.But Dale has a solution. It's a Box. And it will let him go back 10 minutes in time. Enough to fix his new mistakes as they happen. And give him an edge to fix the old ones that haunt him.Oh, and one other problem: Where did these other Dales come from?Walter Bard has a problem. Well, Walter has twenty problems. Each of them a body buried in a pumpkin patch. And... they're all the same. Down to the teeth. But Walter has a solution. It's his job. Solutions. He's a detective, after all.

    If someone were stupid enough to do it, novels could be written and published with such titles as " Moby Dick," " Alice in Wonderland" or "Gone With the Wind." But also, by law, ownership of a title can be guaranteed if it can be proved that the original author has established such a connection with the title that any duplication would infringe that linkage. How famous is this most famous of all Harlan Ellison's books? Well known enough that an English film company was stopped in its attempt to make a movie called " I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream." It's Ellison's title, the company was told.For more than sixteen years this work has been considered a classic of imaginative fiction.Isn't it about time you found out why? Discover why no one who has read this story has ever been able to forget it!Contents:· The Song of the Soul · in · I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream · ss If Mar ’67 · The Discarded [“The Abnormals”] · ss Fantastic Apr ’59 · Deeper Than the Darkness · nv Infinity Science Fiction Apr ’57 · Blind Lightning · ss Fantastic Universe Jun ’56 · All the Sounds of Fear · ss The Saint Detective Magazine (UK) Jul ’62 · The Silver Corridor · ss Infinity Science Fiction Oct ’56 · “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman · ss Galaxy Dec ’65 · Bright Eyes · ss Fantastic Apr ’65 · Are You Listening? · ss Amazing Dec ’58 · Try a Dull Knife · ss F&SF Oct ’68 · In Lonely Lands · ss Fantastic Universe Jan ’59 · Eyes of Dust · ss Rogue Dec ’59 · Nothing for My Noon Meal · ss Nebula #30 ’58 · O Ye of Little Faith · ss Knight Sep ’68 · The Time of the Eye · ss The Saint Detective Magazine May ’59 · Life Hutch [Kyben] · ss If Apr ’56 · The Very Last Day of a Good Woman [“The Last Day”] · ss Rogue Nov ’58 · Night Vigil [“Yellow Streak Hero”] · ss Amazing May ’57 · Lonelyache · ss Knight Jul ’64 · Pennies, Off a Dead Man’s Eyes · ss Galaxy Nov ’69

    Among the dozen selections is the Nebula Award-winning “Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge.”Contents:Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge (1988)Daughter Earth (1991)Known but to God and Wilbur Hines (1991)Bible Stories for Adults, No. 20: The Tower (1994)Spelling God with the Wrong Blocks (1987)The Assemblage of Kristin (1984)Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant (1989)Abe Lincoln in McDonald's (1989)The Confessions of Ebenezer Scrooge (1989)Bible Stories for Adults No. 46: The Soap Opera (1994)Diary of a Mad Deity (1988)Arms and the Woman (1991)

    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.

    This new double volume from Subterranean Press stands squarely in that distinguished tradition, offering a pair of colorful, fast-paced stories from the reigning master of the intergalactic space opera: Alastair Reynolds. Thousandth Night, the genesis for the epic novel House of Suns, is quintessential Reynolds. A visionary account of intrigue, ambition, and technological marvels set within a beautifully realized far-future milieu, it combines world-class storytelling with a provocative meditation on the mystery, grandeur, and inconceivable immensity of the universe.The masterful novella Minla s Flowers features Merlin, a familiar figure to Reynolds s readers. Diverted by technical difficulties to a planet known as Lecythus, Merlin finds himself forced to play a part in the moral and military dilemmas of a world on the verge of extinction.

    Among the universe's civilizations, some conceive of the journey between stars as the sailing of bright ships, and others as tunneling through the crevices of night.  Some look upon their far-voyaging as a migratory imperative, and name their vessels after birds or butterflies....

    In Steele’s universe, the stars are cold, space is big, and it’s the normal people who make things interesting.

    Hamilton has proven himself a modern master of epic space opera, carrying the tradition of far-future empire building begun by Heinlein and Asimov into the new millennium. But Hamilton is also a master of the short story, and when he tackles one of science fiction’s most enduring themes—time travel—the result is as provocative as it is entertaining. It starts in 2007 with a break-in. The victim: Marcus Orthew, the financial and technological genius behind Orthanics, the computer company whose radical products have delivered a one-two punch to the industry, all but knocking PCs and Macs out of the ring. The perpetrator: a man obsessed with Orthew. Just another simple case of celebrity stalking—or so everyone assumes at first, including Metropolitan Police Chief Detective David Lanson. But when Lanson interviews the suspect, he makes a startling claim: Orthew is from the future. Or, rather, a future—a parallel timeline. Thus begins the ride of a lifetime for Lanson, as his pursuit of the facts tumbles him headlong down a rabbit hole—and the hunter finds himself hunted.

    It was edited by Harlan Ellison, illustrated by Ed Emshwiller. Like its predecessor, Again, Dangerous Visions and the 46 stories within it received many awards. The Word for World Is Forest, by Ursula K. Le Guin, won a Hugo for Best Novella. When It Changed by Joanna Russ won a Nebula Award for Best Short Story. For a 2nd time, Ellison received a special Hugo for editing the anthology. Again, Dangerous Visions was to be followed by a 3rd anthology, The Last Dangerous Visions. At this point, Ellison has said that it will probably never see the light of day.Introduction: An Assault of New Dreamers by Harlan Ellison The Counterpoint of View by John Heidenry Ching Witch! by Ross Rocklynne The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin For Value Received by Andrew J. Offutt Mathoms from the Time Closet: 1/Robot's Story, 2/Against the Lafayette Escadrille, 3/Loco Parentis by Gene Wolfe Time Travel for Pedestrians by Ray Nelson Christ, Old Student in a New School (poem) by Ray Bradbury King of the Hill by Chad Oliver The 10:00 Report Is Brought to You by... by Edward Bryant The Funeral by Kate Wilhelm Harry the Hare by James B. Hemesath When It Changed by Joanna Russ The Big Space Fuck by Kurt Vonnegut Bounty by T.L. Sherred Still-Life by K.M. O'Donnell (Barry N. Malzberg) Stoned Counsel by H.H. Hollis Monitored Dreams & Strategic Cremations: 1/The Bisquit Position, 2/The Girl with Rapid Eye Movements by Bernard Wolfe With a Finger in My I by David Gerrold In the Barn by Piers Anthony Soundless Evening by Lee Hoffman [█] by Gahan Wilson The Test-Tube Creature, Afterward by Joan Bernott And the Sea Like Mirrors by Gregory Benford Bed Sheets Are White by Evelyn Lief Tissue: At the Fitting Shop & 53rd American Dream by James Sallis Elouise and the Doctors of the Planet Pergamon by Josephine Saxton Chuck Berry, Won't You Please Come Home by Ken McCullough Epiphany for Aliens by David Kerr Eye of the Beholder by Burt K. Filer Moth Race by Richard Hill In re Glover by Leonard Tushnet Zero Gee by Ben Bova A Mouse in the Walls of the Global Village by Dean R. Koontz Getting Along by James Blish & Judith Ann Lawrence Totenbüch by Parra y FiguéredoThings Lost by Thomas M. Disch With the Bentfin Boomer Boys on Little Old New Alabama by Richard A. Lupoff Lamia Mutable by M. John Harrison Last Train to Kankakee by Robin Scott Empire of the Sun by Andrew Weiner Ozymandias by Terry Carr The Milk of Paradise by James Tiptree, Jr.

    

    The settings include an American wasteland of drained swimming pools, lushest Knightsbridge, a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, and a suburb of Cape Kennedy.

    This was published as a Clarkesworld audiobook podcast in 2020.

    Qiouyi Lu, reprinted fiction by Kameron Hurley, essays by Sam J. Miller, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Shveta Thakrar, Dawn Xiana Moon, and Paul Booth, poetry by Cassandra Khaw, Brandon O’Brien, Bogi Takács, and Lisa M. Bradley, interviews with Stephen Graham Jones and Sarah Pinsker by Julia Rios, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.