so that others may explore the outer limits of sexual perversion.Far beneath the surface of the planet earth, a doomed architect lives out the rest of his years in a hideous life-sustaining coffin... in a world where not dying is the ultimate form of punishment.And in a remote outpost near Canada, a lone cluster of Hell's Angels prepare for the final battle with a society which demands that all men share in the good life... whether they want to or not.This is the universe of Samuel R. Delany. Rooted in the present, projected into the future, it is an existence where anything can happen—and does!

    And an ancient Spanish galleon, fully crewed with ancient Spaniard, was taken in tow off Tampa by the Coast Guard...and a few luckless people found themselves living the same day over and over and over...Something was badly wrong with Time - but Roger Tyson didn't know it until he met the lovely agent from elsewhen and started on a mad chase through the dimensions, plagued by a motley bunch of temporal castaways, and pursued hotly by Oob the Rhox!

    Dickson, author of the best-selling DORSAI books and many other praiseworthy novels and scince fiction stories, has selected nine of his finest tales in this book.Here are stories of interstellar exploration, of adventure at the dawn of star flight and at the ultimate end of star flight, of man versus machine, of man versus nature, and of man versus the cosmos.If you like science fiction, it will be impossible not to find among these tales several that will prove to be as memorable in fantasy experience as any you will ever read again. Such is the skill and imagination of Gordon R. Dickson, one of the real giants of the science fiction world.Contents:Ancient, My EnemyThe Odd OnesThe Monkey WrenchTiger GreenThe Friendly ManLove Me TrueOur First DeathIn the BoneThe Bleak and Barren Land

    Now, after twenty-one annual collections, comes the ultimate in science fiction anthologies, The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction, in which legendary editor Gardner Dozois selects the very best short stories for this landmark collection. Contributors include: * Stephen Baxter * Greg Bear * William Gibson * Terry Bisson * Pat Cadigan * Ted Chiang * John Crowley * Tony Daniel * Greg Egan * Molly Gloss * Eileen Gunn * Joe Haldeman * James Patrick Kelly * John Kessel * Nancy Kress * Ursula K. Le Guin * Ian R. MacLeod * David Marusek * Paul McAuley * Ian McDonald * Maureen F. McHugh * Robert Reed * Mike Resnick * Geoff Ryman * William Sander * Lucius Shepard * Robert Silverberg * Brian Stableford * Bruce Sterling * Charles Stross * Michael Swanwick * Steven Utley * Howard Waldrop * Walter Jon Williams * Connie Willis * Gene WolfeWith work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best stands as one of the ultimate science fiction anthologies ever published.Contents xi • Foreword (The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction) • essay by Robert Silverbergxvii • Preface (The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction) • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • Blood Music • (1983) • novelette by Greg Bear19 • A Cabin on the Coast • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe28 • Salvador • (1984) • shortstory by Lucius Shepard42 • Trinity • (1984) • novella by Nancy Kress78 • Flying Saucer Rock and Roll • (1985) • novelette by Howard Waldrop (aka Flying Saucer Rock & Roll)93 • Dinner in Audoghast • (1985) • shortstory by Bruce Sterling103 • Roadside Rescue • (1985) • shortstory by Pat Cadigan109 • Snow • (1985) • shortstory by John Crowley121 • The Winter Market • (1985) • novelette by William Gibson137 • The Pure Product • (1986) • novelette by John Kessel152 • Stable Strategies for Middle Management • (1988) • shortstory by Eileen Gunn162 • Kirinyaga • [Kirinyaga • 2] • (1988) • novelette by Mike Resnick177 • Tales from the Venia Woods • [Roma Eterna] • (1989) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg191 • Bears Discover Fire • (1990) • shortstory by Terry Bisson199 • Even the Queen • (1992) • shortstory by Connie Willis213 • Guest of Honor • (1993) • novelette by Robert Reed238 • None So Blind • (1994) • shortstory by Joe Haldeman246 • Mortimer Gray's History of Death • (1995) • novella by Brian Stableford (aka Mortimer Gray's "History of Death")293 • The Lincoln Train • (1995) • shortstory by Maureen F. McHugh303 • Wang's Carpets • (1995) • novelette by Greg Egan328 • Coming of Age in Karhide • [Hainish] • (1995) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin342 • The Dead • (1996) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick352 • Recording Angel • (1996) • shortstory by Ian McDonald363 • A Dry, Quiet War • (1996) • novelette by Tony Daniel380 • The Undiscovered • (1997) • novelette by William Sanders400 • Second Skin • (1997) • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley418 • Story of Your Life • (1998) • novella by Ted Chiang454 • People Came from Earth • (1999) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter464 • The Wedding Album • [Cathy] • (1999) • novella by David Marusek502 • 10 to 16 to 1 • (1999) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly (aka 1016 to 1)520 • Daddy's World • (1999) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams541 • The Real World • [Silurian Tales] • (2000) • shortstory by Steven Utley561 • Have Not Have • (2001) • novelette by Geoff Ryman577 • Lobsters • [Macx Family] • (2001) • novelette by Charles Stross597 • Breathmoss • (2002) • novella by Ian R. MacLeod647 • Lambing Season • (2002) • shortstory by Molly Gloss

    And in The Forgotton Planet a ship is marooned on a planet whose ecology has gone wild.

    The eight stories, reprinted for the first time in this collection delve further into the history and exploits of the Company and its operatives, including Mendoza, Lewis, and Alec. The book opens with the novella, "To the Land Beyond the Sunset," starring Lewis and Mendoza, and involving a strange tribe in Bolivia whose members claim to be gods. Their ability to grow a small tropical paradise in the middle of the desert certainly seems godlike, and it's Mendoza's job to figure what their secret is."Standing in His Light" features Van Drouten, and her role in the career of the artist Jan Vermeer. The story illustrates how, with a little help from the Company, lost masterpieces can be found (or created) easily. Other stories include "Welcome to Olympus, Mr. Hearst," which opens up intriguing questions about The Company, and the original novelette, "Hellfire at Twilight," which concludes the volume and tells of Lewis infiltrating the famous Hellfire Club in the England of the 18th century. This book is a compelling read for every Baker fan, and essential for Company addicts

    The results are individual glimpses of a shared vision, and a reading experience unlike any you've had before.A strange man comes to an even stranger encampment...a bouncer becomes the linchpin of an unexpected urban movement...a courier on the run has to decide who to trust in a dangerous city...a slacker in a "zero-footprint" town gets a most unusual new job...and a weapons investigator uses his skills to discover a metropolis hidden right in front of his eyes.Welcome to the future of cities. Welcome to Metatropolis.Contents:Introduction (METAtropolis) - essay by John ScalziIn the Forests of the Night - novella by Jay LakeStochasti-city - novella by Tobias S. BuckellThe Red in the Sky Is Our Blood - novelette by Elizabeth BearUtere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis - novella by John ScalziTo Hie from Far Cilenia - novella by Karl Schroeder

    Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Edgar awards, his acclaimed first book The Dying Earth and its sequels helped shape the face of modern heroic fantasy for generations of readers—and writers! In more than sixty novels, he has done more than any other author to define science fantasy and its preeminent form: the planetary adventure.Born in San Francisco in 1916, Vance wrote much of what you'll find between these covers both abroad and at home in the hills above Oakland, either while serving in the merchant marine or traveling the world with his wife Norma, all the while pursuing his great love of fine cuisine and traditional jazz.Now, at last, the very best of Vance's mid-length and shorter work has been collected in a single landmark volume. With a Preface by Vance himself and a foreword by long-time Vance reader George R.R. Martin, it stands as the capstone to a splendid career and makes the perfect introduction to a very special writer.Table of ContentsPreface, Jack VanceJack Vance: An Appreciation, George R.R. MartinIntroduction: Fruit from the Tree of LifeThe Dragon MastersLiane the WayfarerSail 25The Gift of GabThe Miracle WorkersGuyal of SfereNoiseThe Kokod WarriorsThe OverworldThe Men ReturnThe Sorcerer PharesmThe New PrimeThe SecretThe Moon MothThe Bagful of DreamsThe MitrMorreionThe Last CastleBiographical Sketch & Other Facts, Jack Vance

    This set of linked stories describes a part of the epic voyage of the Marathon, powered by the Flettner Drive, seeking new worlds for humanity to spread onto. One planet is inhabited by only machines, survivors perhaps of a civilization in which the machine-makers had perished. Another contains a race of master hypnotists, who make the crew see only what they wish to see! Included is the classic, oft-anthologized novella Jay Score."One of my own all-time favorites, is Men, Martians and Machines... I re-read this one at least once a year, with as much delight and amusement as I got from it the first time."- Bud Webster"A rousing inventive space adventure; and the first story remains a technical marvel. I know of few surprise-ending stories in any category that are so rereadable and so absolutely fair - and what other trick short ever had enough un-tricky meat to it to serve as the foundation for a series?" - Anthony Boucher in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction"A substantial space opera." - Galaxy"Good fun to read, an old and popular formula, happily applied." - P. Schuyler Miller in Astounding

    Some of the world's most talented SF writers (including Alastair Reynolds, Kay Keyon and Jason Stoddard) show how things can change for the better. From gritty polyannas to workable futures, from hard-fought progress to a better tomorrow; heart-warming and mind-expanding stories that will (re-) awaken the optimist in you!

    A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.These four stories, along with 14 other pieces, have one thing in common: They're short, sharp, and to the point - science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best and features four never-before-published stories exclusive to this collection: "Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth", "Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back", "Important Holidays on Gronghu", and "The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest".John Scalzi is the New York Times best-selling author of Old Man's War, Lock In, and Redshirts, among others. His work has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell Awards. He lives in Ohio and online. He enjoys pie.Full cast of narrators includes Oliver Wyman, Dina Pearlman, and Allyson Johnson.

    Here’s the correct version, as published in Omni, 1990." -- Terry Bisson

    The new quantum computer system is foolproof. But someone on the inside is no fool. For once the odds may not favor the house—unless human ingenuity isn’t entirely a thing of the past.Andy Weir’s Randomize is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

    By his death in 1986, Herbert had completed six novels in the series, but much of his vision remained unwritten. Now, working from his father's recently discovered files, Brian Herbert and bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson collaborate on a new novel, the prelude to Dune—where we step onto the planet Arrakis…decades before Dune's hero, Paul Muad'Dib Atreides, walks its sands.Here is the rich and complex world that Frank Herbert created, in the time leading up to the momentous events of Dune. As Emperor Elrood's son plots a subtle regicide, young Leto Atreides leaves for a year's education on the mechanized world of Ix; a planetologist named Pardot Kynes seeks the secrets of Arrakis; and the eight-year-old slave Duncan Idaho is hunted by his cruel masters in a terrifying game from which he vows escape and vengeance. But none can envision the fate in store form them; one that will make them renegades—and shapers of history.

    Twenty stories and two poems, originally published in high profile places like SciFi.com and Asimov's.Contents1 • L'Esprit d'Escalier: Not a Play in One Act • short story by Elizabeth Bear15 • Gone to Flowers • [Jenny Casey] • short story by Elizabeth Bear35 • The Company of Four • (2000) • short story by Elizabeth Bear45 • Ice • (2003) • short story by Elizabeth Bear53 • High Iron • short story by Elizabeth Bear59 • ee "doc" cummings • (2003) • poem by Elizabeth Bear61 • The Devil You Don't • short story by Elizabeth Bear75 • Tiger! Tiger! • (2003) • short story by Elizabeth Bear91 • The Dying of the Light • (2003) • poem by Elizabeth Bear and Amber van Dyk95 • And the Deep Blue Sea • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear111 • Schrödinger's Cat Chases the Super String • short story by Elizabeth Bear115 • One-Eyed Jack and the Suicide King • [One-Eyed Jack and the Suicide King] • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear127 • Sleeping Dogs Lie • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Bear131 • Two Dreams on Trains • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear139 • Stella Nova • short story by Elizabeth Bear145 • This Tragic Glass • (2004) • novelette by Elizabeth Bear171 • Botticelli • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear181 • Seven Dragons Mountains • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Bear191 • Old Leatherwings • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Bear199 • When You Visit the Magoebaskloof Hotel, Be Certain Not to Miss the Samango Monkeys • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Bear205 • Follow Me Light • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear217 • The Chains That You Refuse • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Bear