Uncanny Magazine Issue 2: January/February 2015


Lynne M. ThomasAmal El-Mohtar - 2008
    Featuring new fiction by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu), Sam J. Miller, Amal El-Mohtar, Richard Bowes, and Sunny Moraine, classic fiction by Ann Leckie, essays by Jim C. Hines, Erika McGillivray, Michi Trota, and Keidra Chaney, poetry by Isabel Yap, Mari Ness, and Rose Lemberg, interviews with Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu) and Ann Leckie, by Deborah Stanish, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editoral by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. Contents:FictionThe Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History by Sam J. MillerFolding Beijing by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken LiuLove Letters to Things Lost and Gained by Sunny MoraineAnyone With a Care for Their Image by Richard BowesPockets by Amal El–MohtarThe Nalendar by Ann LeckiePoetryAfter the Moon Princess Leaves by Isabel YapAfter the Dance by Mari Nessarchival testimony fragments / minersong by Rose LembergEditorialsThe Uncanny Valley by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian ThomasEssaysThank You, Again, Kickstarter Backers!The Politics of Comfort by Jim C. HinesAge of the Geek, Baby by Michi TrotaThe Evolution of Nerd Rock by Keidra ChaneyThe Future’s Been Here Since 1939: Female Fans, Cosplay, and Conventions by Erica McGillivrayInterviewsInterview: Hao Jingfang by Deborah Stanish, translated by Ken LiuInterview: Ann Leckie by Deborah Stanish

Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean


Kirsty MurrayPriya Kuriyan - 2015
    Be amazed and beguiled by a nursery story with a reverse twist, a futuristic take on TV cooking shows, a playscript with tentacles - and more, much more. Plunge in and enjoy!A collection of sci-fi and fantasy writing, including six graphic stories, showcasing twenty stellar writers and artists from India and Australia: Isobelle Carmody, Penni Russon, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, Lily Mae Martin, Kuzhali Manickavel, Prabha Mallya, Annie Zaidi, Kate Constable, Vandana Singh, Mandy Ord, Priya Kuriyan, Manjula Padmanabhan, Samhita Arni, Alyssa Brugman, Nicki Greenberg and Amruta Patil.

The Breaking Light


Heather Hansen - 2017
    Arden—beautiful, street-smart, and cynical—is one of the citizens of the lowest Level, known as Undercity, of an off-world colony. A blackout band traps Arden in her district, but as sister to the leader of the most powerful gang in Undercity, she has access to Above.There she meets Dade, one of the few lucky enough to be born into the sun-kissed families who reside in the Towers soaring above the rest of the city. But life isn’t perfect in the sky. Dade, desperate to escape his upcoming arranged marriage, has a secret of his own, and he’s willing to risk everything for it.An unlikely romance develops between the two teens—but their love faces opposition from above and below. When her gang pressures Arden to help break the grip of the elite and end Dade’s interference with their drug trade, she is forced to make a deadly choice between love and family loyalty. But will the brewing class war destroy the world around them first?

Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy


AmerieSamantha Shannon - 2017
    No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again!Featuring writing from . . .Authors: Renée Ahdieh, Ameriie, Soman Chainani, Susan Dennard, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Nicola YoonBookTubers: Benjamin Alderson (Benjaminoftomes), Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia), Whitney Atkinson (WhittyNovels), Tina Burke (ChristinaReadsYA blog and TheLushables), Catriona Feeney (LittleBookOwl), Jesse George (JessetheReader), Zoë Herdt (readbyzoe), Samantha Lane (Thoughts on Tomes), Sophia Lee (thebookbasement), Raeleen Lemay (padfootandprongs07), Regan Perusse (PeruseProject), Christine Riccio (polandbananasBOOKS), and Steph Sinclair & Kat Kennedy (Cuddlebuggery blog and channel).

Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance


George R.R. MartinMike Resnick - 2009
    Martin and Gardner Dozois, with the full cooperation of Jack Vance, his family, and his agents, suggest a Jack Vance tribute anthology called Songs of the Dying Earth, to encourage the best of today's fantasy writers to return to the unique and evocative milieu of The Dying Earth, from which they and so many others have drawn so much inspiration, to create their own brand-new adventures in the world of Jack Vance s greatest novel.Half a century ago, Jack Vance created the world of the Dying Earth, and fantasy has never been the same. Now, for the first time ever, Jack has agreed to open this bizarre and darkly beautiful world to other fantasists, to play in as their very own. To say that other fantasy writers are excited by this prospect is a gross understatement; one has told us that he'd crawl through broken glass for the chance to write for the anthology, another that he'd gladly give up his right arm for the privilege that's the kind of regard in which Jack Vance and The Dying Earth are held by generations of his peers.

The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia


Jaymee GohL.L. Hill - 2015
    Children upgrade their fighting spiders with armor, and toymakers create punchcard-driven marionettes. Large fish lumber across the skies, while boat people find a new home on the edge of a different dimension. Technology and tradition meld as the people adapt to the changing forces of their world. The Sea Is Ours is an exciting new anthology that features stories infused with the spirits of Southeast Asia’s diverse peoples, legends, and geography.

Space, Inc


Julie E. CzernedaJan Stirling - 2003
    Czerneda11 • The Eightfold Career Path; or Invisible Duties • short story by James Alan Gardner23 • Porter's Progress • short story by Isaac Szpindel43 • Catalog of Woe • short story by Mindy L. Klasky63 • Ferret and Red • short story by Josepha Sherman82 • A Man's Place • novelette by Eric Choi108 • Dancing in the Dark • novelette by Nancy Kress130 • The Siren Stone • novelette by Derwin Mak154 • Feef's House • novelette by Doranna Durgin179 • Attached Please Find My Novel • novelette by Sean P. Fodera202 • Field Trip • novelette by Janet Stirling and S. M. Stirling236 • Come All Ye Faithful • short story by Robert J. Sawyer252 • Riggers • short story by Michael E. Picray272 • Suspended Lives • novelette by Alison Sinclair297 • I Knew a Guy Once • novelette by Tanya Huff320 • Editor's Bio (Space Inc.) • essay by Julie E. Czerneda

While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction


Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - 2011
    In these previously unpublished gems, Vonnegut’s originality infuses a unique landscape of factories, trailers, and bars—and characters who pit their dreams and fears against a cruel and sometimes comically indifferent world.Here are stories of men and machines, art and artifice, and how ideals of fortune, fame, and love take curious twists in ordinary lives. An ambitious builder of roads, commanding an army of bulldozers, graders, and asphalt spreaders, fritters away his free time with miniature trains—until the women in his life crash his fantasy land. Trapped in a stenography pool, a young dreamer receives a call from a robber on the run, who presents her with a strange proposition. A crusty newspaperman is forced onto a committee to judge Christmas displays—a job that leads him to a suspiciously ostentatious ex-con and then a miracle. A hog farmer’s widow receives cryptic, unsolicited letters from a man in Schenectady about “the indefinable sweet aches of the spirit.” But what will she find when she goes to meet him in the flesh?These beautifully rendered works are a testament to Vonnegut’s unique blend of observation and imagination. Like a present left behind by a departed loved one, While Mortals Sleep bestows upon us a shimmering Kurt Vonnegut gift: a poignant reflection of our world as it is and as it could be.

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year #11


Jonathan StrahanDaryl Gregory - 2017
    With established names and new talent this diverse and ground-breaking collection will take the reader to the outer-reaches of space and the inner realms of humanity with stories of fantastical worlds and worlds that may still come to pass.ContentsIntroduction by Jonathan StrahanThe Future Is Blue / Catherynne M. ValenteMika Model / Paolo BacigalupiSpinning Silver / Naomi NovikTwo's Company (The First Law Universe) / Joe AbercrombieYou Make Pattaya / Rich LarsonYou'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay / Alyssa WongA Salvaging of Ghosts (Universe of Xuya) / Aliette de BodardEven the Crumbs Were Delicious / Daryl GregoryNumber Nine Moon / Alex IrvineThings with Beards / Sam J. MillerSuccessor, Usurper, Replacement / Alice Sola KimLaws of Night and Silk / Seth DickinsonTouring with the Alien / Carolyn Ives GilmanThe Great Detective (Cwmlech Manor #2) / Delia ShermanEveryone from Themis Sends Letters Home / Genevieve ValentineThose Shadows Laugh / Geoff RymanSeasons of Glass and Iron / Amal El-MohtarThe Art of Space Travel / Nina AllanWhisper Road (Murder Ballad No. 9) / Caitlín R. KiernanRed Dirt Witch / N. K. JemisinRed as Blood and White as Bone / Theodora GossTerminal / Lavie TidharFoxfire, Foxfire / Yoon Ha LeeElves of Antarctica / Paul J. McAuleyThe Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight / E. Lily YuSeven Birthdays / Ken LiuThe Visitor from Taured / Ian R. MacLeodFable / Charles YuHonorable Mentions: 2016 -- essay

Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy


Terry Brooks - 2006
    Experience the sweeping tale of good and evil, of myth and magic, of innocence and power-and witness the tragic transformation of Anakin Skywalker from mere slave to one of the greatest, most powerful, and feared villains of the galaxy: Darth Vader. "The path has been placed before you, Anakin.The choice to take it must be yours alone." On the barren desert world of Tatooine, young Anakin Skywalker toils by day and dreams by night . . . of traveling the stars to worlds he's only heard of in stories. When Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, cross paths with Anakin, it marks the beginning of the drama that will become legend. Courageous to the point of recklessness, Anakin comes of age in a time of great upheaval. The attempted assassination of Senator Padme Amidala thrusts the Republic close to the edge of disaster-and brings Anakin and Padme into a secret romance as intense as it is forbidden. As combat escalates across the galaxy, the stage is set for an explosive endgame. Tormented by unspeakable visions, Anakin edges closer to the brink of a decision with profound ramifications. It remains only for Darth Sidious to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic-and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord: Darth Vader. THE PHANTOM MENACEby Terry Brooks, based on the story and screenplay by George Lucas ATTACK OF THE CLONESby R. A. Salvatore, from a story by George Lucas and a screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales REVENGE OF THE SITHby Matthew Stover, based on the story and screenplay by George Lucas

The Last Mimzy


Henry Kuttner - 1975
    In “Mimsy Were the Borogoves”–the inspiration for New Line Cinema’s major motion picture The Last Mimzy–a boy finds a discarded box containing a treasure trove of curious objects. When he and his sister begin to play with these trinkets–including a crystal cube that magnifies the unimaginable and a strange doll with removable organs that don’t quite correspond to those of the human body–their parents grow concerned. And they should be. For the items are changing the way the children think and perceive the world around them–for better or worse. Ray Bradbury called Henry Kuttner “a man who shaped science fiction and fantasy in its most important years.” Marion Zimmer Bradley and Roger Zelazny said he was a major inspiration. Kuttner was a writer’s writer whose visionary works anticipated our own computer-controlled, machine-made world. At the time of his death at forty-two in 1958, he had created as many as 170 stories under more than a dozen pseudonyms–sometimes writing entire issues of science fiction magazines–in close collaboration with his wife, C. L. Moore. This definitive collection will be a revelation to those who wish to discover or rediscover Henry Kuttner, a true master of the universe.

Werehunter


Mercedes Lackey - 1999
    A woman who can change into a leopard is pursued by a hunter who is more than human. Occult detective Diana Tregarde trails a very unusual vampire. Four SKitty stories, and more!ContentsIntroduction --Werehunter --SKitty --A tail of two SKitties --SCat --A better mousetrap --The last of the season --Satanic, Versus --Nightside --Wet wings --Stolen silver --Roadkill --Operation Desert Fox --Grey --Grey's ghost.

Zombies Vs. Unicorns


Holly BlackScott Westerfeld - 2010
    Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Schismatrix Plus


Bruce Sterling - 1996
    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.

Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies


John Joseph AdamsAlan Dean Foster - 2017
    Buckell“The Deckhand, the Nova Blade, and the Thrice-Sung Texts” © 2017 by Becky Chambers“The Sighted Watchmaker” © 2011 by Vylar Kaftan. Originally published in Lightspeed“Infinite Love Engine” © 2017 by Joseph Allen Hill. Originally published in Lightspeed“Unfamiliar Gods” © 2017 by Adam-Troy Castro & Judi B. Castro“Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World” © 2015 by Caroline M. Yoachim. Originally published in Lightspeed“Our Specialty Is Xenogeology” © 2017 by Alan Dean Foster“Golden Ring” © 2017 by Karl Schroeder“Tomorrow When We See the Sun” © 2015 by A. Merc Rustad. Originally published in Lightspeed“Bring the Kids and Revisit the Past at the Traveling Retro Funfair!” © 2017 by Seanan McGuire“The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun” © 2017 by Aliette de Bodard.“Diamond and the World Breaker” © 2017 by Linda Nagata“The Chameleon’s Gloves” © 2017 by Yoon Ha Lee“The Universe, Sung in Stars” © 2015 by Kat Howard. Originally published in Lightspeed“Wakening Ouroboros” © 2017 by Jack Campbell“Warped Passages” © 2017 by Kameron Hurley“The Frost Giant’s Data” © 2017 by Dan Abnett.